The Son of Man

Responsive Reading: Ps. 8.

Faith is not easy.

Because of sin.

Terry Eagelton, in his book, Culture and the death of God, “Societies become secular not when they dispense with religion altogether, but when they are no longer especially agitated by it.”[1]

Terry Eagleton, Culture and the Death of God (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2014), 1.

When I gave my life to Christ, I died of long slow spiritual death. I did not want to change my evil ways and accept the path of Christ. It took long painful periods of conviction, falling short, making mistakes over again, and crying out to God in my guilt before I surrendered. We are becoming more secular- more worldly.

Any faith or religion or church that does not convict you of sin lacks the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, “When the Holy Spirit comes, He will convict the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment.”

Faith is not easy because of culture.

We have to navigate different cultures.

Kevin Van Hooser, and his book, the Pastor as public theologian, says

We walk in three publics, each with its own kind of opinion- three social realities, three locations into which pastors may speak of God and Jesus Christ: (1) the academy, (2) the church, and (3) the broader society.[5]

In some academies, Jesus is no more than a prophet. Some institutions of higher learning have stripped Jesus of power and salvation. The academy wants a social- justice messiah; not a sin savior.

It is safe to talk about Christ in the church. The problem is we have worn out our understanding of Jesus. We’ve heard so much about Jesus, we gloss over mysteries and insights.

We are confronted with a watered-down, non-confrontational understanding of Jesus Christ.

It is dangerous to talk about Jesus in the larger world. People get offended when you talk about Jesus in public. They feel we have imposed our world view upon them.

Matthew 10:22–23 (NIV)

You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. Truly I tell you, you will not finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

Faith is not easy because of language.

We have to understand Biblical Language

“Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

The Son of Man.

The Bible is the only book in the world that uses the simplest terms to explain the greatest truths. The Imagery is quick and often unexplained. It is passed down but inviolate: It is not reshaped to fit the time.

The church is use to the language, but has lost the power of its meaning.

Listen to the sentence again. “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

Why didn’t he say, “what are people saying about me?” This phrase is loaded with theology, prophecy and judgment. It means, the Son of Man has come.

We need to know biblical language, and resist its coercion if we will possess the keys of Spiritual authority.

We have to address hard truths.

Many in the ministry are seduced by the size of the crowd instead of the size of the truth they preach. I want to wrestle with divine mysteries and when the Holy Spirit turns the light comes on, run and tell the people the good news. Let me tell you what I’ve wrestled with and have been captivated by for 41 years. I hardly ever repeat a sermon, not because I am so great, but the Bible is limitless in its wonder, captivating in its mystery, and compelling in its truth. God became a man; The Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory.

The goal of faith is to observe the scriptures and abide in their commandments.

WHO IS THE SON OF MAN?

The Son of Man was the human-divine figure in Daniel’s prophecy.

Daniel 7:13–14 (NIV)

“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.

He comes from heaven. He can approach God like no other. He is given authority, glory and power over heaven and earth. He is worshipped by all nations and peoples. His dominion will never end.

God called the prophet Ezekiel The Son of Man 93 times.

God used humans to do supernatural things. He gave Ezekiel visions in captivity.

Ezekiel 2:1 NIV

He said to me, “Son of man, stand up on your feet and I will speak to you.”

God used it to describe his love for us.

Psalm 8:4 NKJV

What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?

Jesus is the fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy.

THE SON OF MAN iIS A TITLE DESCRIBING JESUS’ SONSHIP.

one writer said, “It speaks of Jesus divinity and humanity and is closely associated with his role as promised Messiah, suffering Saviour, risen Lord and coming judge and king.

It also speaks of his intimate, obedient and unique relationship with his Father and of his mission to enable people to become children of God through faith in him.

(Logos sermon starter on the subject of Jesus as son of God)

Jesus came from God, yet he never exalted himself.

To claim divinity, today is almost comical; to claim divinity inJesus day was blasphemous. Howard Thurman said, Jesus did not want to be worshipped, but followed.

Jesus almost dismisses worship,

Mark 10:45 NIV

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

He dismisses his title for the sake of service.

Jesus addressed himself as the “Son of Man eighty-three times in the Gospels and at least thirteen times in John.

Conclusion

You never hear Jesus referred to as the Son of Man in today’s usage. You hear Savior Lord, Lilly of The Valley, bright and Morning Star, but not Son of Man. Yet he referred to himself as the Son of Man more than anyone else.

As the Son of man Jesus became the principal representative of humanity.

The forerunner of our destiny.

As the Son of man Jesus became the suffering servant.

What happens to him happens to all who believe in him. He would suffer and die, then rise from the dead. We are called to suffer in his name. We have the hope to rise in eternal life.

Hebrews 2:9 NIV

But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

He is the first fruits of our resurrection.

1 Corinthians 15:20–21 NIV

But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.

As the son of man, Jesus fulfills the law and defines our belief.

Jesus fulfilled Daniel’s prophecy.

John 3:13 (NIV)

No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.

Jesus alone can claim divinity. As the angels ascended and descended from Jacob’s ladder as a gateway to heaven, Jesus is the gateway to eternal life. He can claim incarnation. No one can claim equality with God, or claim coming from God as Jesus Christ.

HE IS THE LORD OF THE SABBATH.

Matthew 12:8 (NIV)

For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

God established the Sabbath at the dawn of creation. God ordained a day of rest. Jesus brought us into God’s eternal rest. For there is a rest for the people of God. We live in the sabbath rest of Christ. This is why we worship on the first day of the week, on Lord’s day. He rose on the first day of the week. As the Lord of the Sabbath, he fulfills the Sabbath.

He has power on earth to forgive sins.

Matt. 9:6

Matthew 9:6 (NIV)

But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, take your mat and go home.”

You and I do not have to live with sin. Isaiah said, “ Come, let us reason together. Though you sin be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they shall be red as crimson, they shall be as wool.”

He is the source of our salvation.

Luke 19:10 (NIV)

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

No one need be lost in sin’s darkness. He came from heaven to find you where you are and reconcile you to God, to wash your sins away and make you whole.

He will receive eternal glory from God.

Matthew 25:31 (NIV)

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne.

We are surrounded by false prophets and messiahs. Everyone claims to have special power and authority. When Jesus returns, and his angels with him, he shall sit upon his throne in glory and all will worship him as Lord, God Almighty.

He will be lifted up on the cross to die for our sins.

John 3:14 (NIV)

Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,

This passage changed my faith. Everyone else describes Jesus’ death in other terms.

The Romans made crucifixion the worst form of death. It is a curse to all who witnessed it.

Cursed: Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.

Crucifixision was a bloody, shameful form of death. it was meant to scare anyone who challenged the empire.

When Jesus speaks of his death on a cross, he says, LIFTED.

EVEN THOUGH HE WAS NAILED… CROWNED WITH A CROWN OF THORNS… PIERCED IN THE SIDE… HE WAS LIFTED.

When Israel sinned in the wilderness, Moses lifted a serpent and all who looked upon it were healed.

JESUS TOOK THE STING OUT OF DEATH, HE TOOK THE VENOM OUT OF INIQUITY; HE TOOK THE DREAD OUT OF OUR HARDSHIPS, THE PENALTY OUT OF SIN AND TRANSGRESSIONS, THE SORROW OUT OF THE WORLD, THE POWER FROM THE GRAVE. HE WAS LIFTED.

NOW HE IS EXALTED, HIGH ABOVE THE HEAVENS. HE DWELLS IN THE MAJESTY OF GOD.

THERE IS NO WAY YOU SEE YOUR LIFE IN OUTSIDE OF GOD’S WILL.