The Son of Man

Introduction – Getting Off To A Good Start

Good morning everyone. My name is Michael Steemson and I’m the Associate Pastor here at Trinity Church Golden Grove. It’s my pleasure to be here with you today as we kick off a new year together. And as we begin this new year, we ought to do our best to get off to a good start. Because starting well or making a good first impression matters, it makes a difference.

Consider an athlete lined up at the start line of a running race or a swimmer on the blocks poised to jump in the pool. They want a quick reaction to the starter’s gun and to reach top speed as soon as possible to give them the best shot at winning the race.

Similarly, a student wants to start well when they have an exam. It’s a good feeling when you turn over the paper and read the first question and you see that it is an easy one. You have studied for this and you know the answer! On the flip side, your heart drops when the first question has you stumped and panic sinks in as you wonder how much worse it gets from here.

And even for preachers delivering a sermon, starting well matters. We want to grab and hold your attention and not leave you wondering what on earth is this bloke talking about. I’ll let you decide if this sermon has started well or not…

So then, as our church community begins this new year of 2025, we ought to do our best to get the year off to a good start. And given that Jesus is the person at the very centre of our faith, there could be no better way to start our year off than by focusing intently on him.

And so that’s what we’re going to do today and also next week in this series “Jesus the Son of dot dot dot”. Today we’ll consider what it means for Jesus to be the Son of Man, before next week looking into what it means for Jesus to be the Son of God.

And we hope that this two-week dive into Jesus as the Son of Man and the Son of God gives us a strong foundation to then spend the next couple of months in the lead-up to Easter looking at perhaps Jesus’ most famous collection of teaching, the Sermon on the Mount.

So with that outlook of where we are going both today and over the coming weeks and months, let’s dive into our Bible readings from today to see what they have to say about Jesus as the Son of Man.

And if you’ve downloaded the outline or picked up a printed copy, you’ll notice that today’s talk has these main headings – the Glorious Son of Man, Who is Jesus, the Suffering Son of Man, and Following the Son of Man.

Let’s begin with the Glorious Son of Man and to do this let’s turn our attention to the second of today’s readings which came from Daniel chapter 7.

Teaching Point 1 – The Glorious Son of Man (Dan 7:9-14)

(p) If you have vivid dreams that leave you wondering whether or not what you dreamed really happened, then you’ll most likely enjoy the book of Daniel. Whilst on several occasions in the first six chapters, Daniel had interpreted the dreams of the kings of Babylon, here in chapter 7 it is Daniel himself who has a powerfully emotive dream. And his dream leaves him troubled and in search of an interpretation.

Daniel’s dream begins with a vision of four great beasts. The first is a lion with the wings of an eagle. The wings are then torn off and the beast rises to stand up like a human being and is given the mind of a human being.

The second is a ravenous bear that whilst still having the ribs from its last meal in its mouth is told to get up and eat its fill of flesh. The third is a four-headed, four-winged leopard. And the fourth and final beast has iron teeth and ten horns and is so terrifying that it cannot be likened to any known creature.

And then at the beginning of today’s reading in verse 9, the vision of the four great beasts gives way to another figure, the Ancient of Days, the Lord Almighty. So pure and holy is he that everything appears as white as the freshest snow or cleanest wool, and he takes his place on a flaming throne as judge in the heavenly courtroom.

And as impressive as the four beasts are, they are simply no match for the Ancient of Days, who strips them of their authority and power.

Then when we reach verse 13, another figure enters the dream. Reading from verse 13:

“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven.”

This phrase ‘son of man’ is found frequently throughout the book of Ezekiel but only sporadically throughout the rest of the OT. And from that context, we can determine that the phrase ‘son of man’ just means a ‘human being’.

And in the context of this dream, following the fascinating and grotesque descriptions of the four great beasts, this simple description of a figure like a son of man is rather underwhelming. But what happens next is by no means underwhelming.

Continuing from verse 13,

“He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence.14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshipped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”

In contrast to the four great beasts who were mighty in appearance but were ultimately destroyed, the humble son of man comes into the presence of the Lord Almighty and is given attributes reserved for only the divine.

Like God, the Son of Man has authority, glory, and sovereign power. Like God, the Son of Man is worthy of worship, and he is worshipped by people across the world. And like God, the Son of Man is ruler over an eternal kingdom. Meet the Glorious Son of Man of Daniel chapter 7.

(P) Let’s set the Glorious Son of Man of Daniel chapter 7 onto simmer and with these thoughts of glory and power and authority percolating in the back of our minds, let’s now turn our attention to the first of today’s readings from the Gospel of Luke chapter 9. And in verses 18 to 20, the question on everybody’s lips is ‘Who is Jesus?’ … ‘Who is Jesus?’

Teaching Point 2 – Who is Jesus? (Lk 9:18-20)

After having spent some time in prayer, as Jesus often does at key points of Luke’s Gospel, Jesus wants to ask his disciples what is the goss, the chat, the public’s opinion about him. So he says to his disciples “Who do the crowds say I am?”

They reply, “Some say John the Baptist”. As a refresher, John the Baptist was a relative of Jesus whose ministry was to prepare the people for the ministry of Jesus. So given that they were relatives and were in broadly the same line of work, it could have been possible to confuse the two. The only problem with this line of thinking is that at this point of Jesus’ ministry, John had been beheaded by King Herod.

The disciples continue on, “others say Elijah”. Elijah was perhaps Israel’s most famous prophet, with part of his fame attributed to the fact that God took him up to heaven in a chariot of fire so that he never actually died. And so some people may have thought that just as Elijah was taken up to heaven, now God had sent him back to the earth to continue his miraculous prophetic ministry.

This same line of thinking is reflected in the third option the disciples offer to Jesus, “others say that one of the prophets of old has risen.”

Yet as it turns out, Jesus is not that interested in hearing the public’s opinion of him. He wants to know what the disciples think, so he asks them “Who do you say I am?”

It’s worth highlighting that in the original language of the Bible, the emphasis in this question is on the YOU, which is a plural you like y’all or ‘youse’. We don’t see it in our English Bibles but imagine that it has essentially been capitalised, bolded, and underlined. Who do YOU say I am? Who do YOU say I am?

The question is emphatic because the knowledge of who Jesus is is always a personal discovery, not the passing on of a report learnt from other people. And it is emphatic because the recognition of who Jesus is is fundamental to responding to him.

And so likewise, let me ask you – both you all collectively and also each of you individually - Who do YOU say Jesus is? Who do YOU say Jesus is?

(P) I doubt that today anyone gets Jesus confused for John the Baptist or Elijah, but some might think that Jesus was just a teacher whose message was love and good morals. Others may think that he is an important religious figure, a human being but definitely not divine. Others question and doubt his existence at all.

Yet I hope your response mirrors that given by Peter. As he so often is, Peter acts as spokesman for the disciples and offers the response “God’s Messiah” or in other translations “The Christ of God”. Peter is saying that Jesus is the deliverer for whom the people of God had been looking for so long.

When I was a bit younger and had more free time, I used to enjoy doing jigsaw puzzles. And often with jigsaw puzzles, you can get some pieces in easily and quickly but eventually there comes a point where you’re just staring at the board. You can’t see the full picture and none of the pieces seem to fit anywhere. You’re stuck, you might even feel so stuck that you feel like giving up.

And then, a piece finally goes in, YES! And once that first piece is in, it’s like a key that unlocks the whole picture. Suddenly you’re on a roll and piece after piece falls into place quickly until boom, it’s finished!

Well, in the three Gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and similarly in each of our own lives, this confession of Jesus as the Messiah, the Christ, is like that puzzle piece going in that suddenly unlocks the bigger picture.

Now that the disciples have begun to grasp who Jesus really is, Jesus can reveal the bigger picture to them. Now that the critical first piece has fallen into place, he can move on to teaching them what it means for him to be the Messiah and what it means for them to be his followers. This takes us to the next point in the outlines, the Suffering Son of Man, verses 21 and 22.

Teaching Point 3 – The Suffering Son of Man (Lk 9:21-22)

Although Peter has just correctly recognised Jesus as the Messiah, Jesus strictly warns him and the other disciples not to tell this to anyone. The reason for this is the near certainty of misunderstanding if the news was spread around. And to prevent his closest followers from having this misunderstanding, he says to them in verse 22 “The Son of Man…”

I’ll stop there and return to the rest of the sentence in a moment. See how Jesus’ preferred title for himself is not Messiah or Christ as Peter had just said. Rather, his preferred title for himself is Son of Man. Across the 4 Gospels, it is only Jesus who uses this title, and he uses this title frequently and with three main purposes.

The first way Jesus uses the Son of Man title is to refer to his humanity. One example is a bit further on in this same chapter of Luke 9, verse 58 which says:

“Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

Here Jesus uses the Son of Man title to refer to his basic human needs, his need for sleep and shelter. Instances of Jesus’ humanity are littered throughout the Gospels. He eats, drinks, works, rests, and enjoys relationships with family and friends. Our recent Christmas celebrations are a great reminder of Jesus’ humanity; he was born as a baby, a human being living among human beings.

So the first use of the Son of Man title is to refer to Jesus’ humanity. The second way Jesus uses the Son of Man title mirrors what we saw earlier in Daniel chapter 7, which I hope you’ve still got simmering in the back of your mind because it also occurs here in this passage in Luke in verse 26. And that is to speak of the Son of Man as the one who has glory and power and authority.

But Jesus doesn’t want us to get ahead of ourselves, and he didn’t want his disciples to get ahead of themselves either. This is the misunderstanding he is seeking to correct with this teaching. He wants his followers to know that before glory comes something else.

So then let us look at the third way Jesus uses the Son of Man title. Returning to verse 22:

“The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”

The Son of Man, the one we heard about earlier from Daniel 7, the human being with divine authority, glory, and power… he must suffer many things, be rejected, and be killed.

Rather than calling to mind the glorious Son of Man from Daniel 7, Jesus’ description of the Son of Man as one who suffers many things calls to mind a different Old Testament figure.

As the Associate Pastor looking after Children and Families, I’m quite familiar with the work of Colin Buchanon, as I’m sure many of you also are. And if you’ll indulge me, I’m confident that if I call out to you

“We all like sheep have gone astray”

you’ll respond “Baa baa doo baa baa”.

“Each of us has turned to his own way”

“Baa baa doo baa baa”.

“But the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all – sing!”

“Baa baa doo baa baa Isaiah 53:6 UH!”.

That was fantastic, well done. Isn’t it great that so many of us have that particular verse memorised because of the genius of Colin?!

Now if Colin could come up with a way for us to memorise the whole chapter of Isaiah 53, that truly would be remarkable! Because it’s not just verse 6 that deserves our attention. The whole chapter is known as the Song of the Suffering Servant and it’s the final of four poems in the latter parts of Isaiah which speak of a Servant of the Lord.

I know it is the holiday season and I shouldn’t be giving out homework, but some great homework for each of us to do this week would be to read this wonderful chapter of God’s word. Including the last 3 verses of chapter 52 it's only 15 verses long, so hopefully that’s not too much to ask.

I’ll even give us all a free head start. We’ve sung Isaiah 53:6, now let me read the two verses that come before, verses 4 and 5:

“Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.”

The Suffering Servant takes on himself the penalty and punishment of sin so that God’s people might have peace.

And so what Jesus is doing when he tells his followers that the Son of Man must suffer many things, be rejected by the leaders of the people, and be killed, he is combining two significant figures from the Old Testament. Yes, he is the Glorious Son of Man from Daniel chapter 7, but he is also the Suffering Servant from Isaiah 53.

And importantly, suffering would come before glory. He will be the Suffering Son of Man before he becomes the Glorious Son of Man. And just as suffering comes before glory for the Son of Man, Jesus wants his disciples to know that suffering comes before glory for those who follow the Son of Man.

Teaching Point 4 – Following the Son of Man (Lk 9:23-27)

From verse 23:

Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.

The disciples had probably seen a man take up his cross, and they knew what it meant. When a man from one of their villages took up a cross and went off with a little band of Roman soldiers, he was on a one-way journey. He would not be back.

And so likewise, Jesus says that following the Son of Man is a one-way journey that requires the follower to be all-in. It involves walking the same road as Jesus.

Have you ever gone to the beach and in a playful way, followed in someone else’s footsteps? I used to do this with my brothers, and we’d do things like run and jump and spin to make the game more fun. Winning the game meant looking back and seeing only one set of footsteps.

And so similarly, Jesus – the Suffering Son of Man – calls those who would come after him to walk the same road as him. To follow in his footprints. Quite literally, to be his followers.

There is of course a difference between Jesus’ cross and the cross to be carried by his followers. Our cross is not literal, and our suffering is not atoning, but nonetheless, it is real.

Following the Son of Man is costly. Yet we all ought to happily pay this cost because we know who the Son of Man is. We know that he is the Suffering Son of Man, the one who takes on the punishment that brings us peace. And we know that he is the Glorious Son of Man.

From verse 26

Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

Suffering comes before glory. And just as we’ve recently celebrated Jesus’ first coming at Christmas time, we carry our crosses daily knowing that Jesus is returning in glory at his second coming.

To conclude then, let me ask you this… how will you deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow the Son of Man daily in 2025? How will you deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow the Son of Man daily in 2025?

Perhaps you could make a renewed commitment to your relationship with the Son of Man… a new or renewed habit of hearing him speak to you from his word and speaking back to him in prayer.

Perhaps this could mean assessing the resources that God has generously given to you – the resources of time, energy, money – and seeing how you can use those resources sacrificially and generously.

Perhaps this could mean investing in a new relationship, or more deeply into an existing relationship. After all, Jesus does indeed call us to follow him, but he doesn’t call us to follow him alone.

How will you deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow the Son of Man daily in 2025? I invite you to spend a minute now writing something down, either on paper or on your phone, of how you will follow the Son of Man daily this year. Afterwards, I’ll invite X up to lead us through a time of prayer.