Our outline for this SERIES is taken from the Old Roman Creed (vide ante) from which the Apostles' Creed was adapted and possibly in use before the mid-2nd century.
Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham – Matthew 1:1b
When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying,
“Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”
Gospel of the Apostle Matthew 16:13 NKJV
This question and self-designation of Jesus Christ — iēsous, meaning “Jehovah is salvation” from the Hebrew root, yᵊhôšûaʿ or Joshua with the same meaning — reveals a great mystery that in His incarnation JESUS IS also the Son of Man.
Who is the Son of Man?
“God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
Numbers 23:19 NJKV
Yet the Messiah of Israel IS the Word of God and cannot lie.
‘Ya`akov became the father of Yosef, the husband of Miryam, from whom was born Yeshua, who is called Messiah.
Matthew 1:16 Hebrew Names Version
(Yes, Matthew Levi, Simon Peter, and Miryam the mother of Jesus Christ are all Jews.)
King David, a thousand years before, asks,
What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?
Psalm 8:4
His Jewish disciples whom Jesus asks know this self-designation of Yeshua from the Prophet Ezekiel about 600 years before.
“Son of man, I am sending you to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day.
Ezekiel 2:3 NKJV
“Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with My words to them.
“Son of man, receive into your heart all My words that I speak to you, and hear with your ears.
And He said to me: “Son of man, these are the men who devise iniquity and give wicked counsel in this city.. “Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, O son of man!”
..he asked his talmidim, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”
They said, “Some say Yochanan the immerser, some, Eliyah, and others, Yirmeyahu, or one of the prophets.”
Matthew 16:13b-14 HNV
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Simon Peter answered and said,
“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Matthew 16:15-16 NKJV
The Son of God
And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. – Gospel of Luke 2:7 RSV
Hard to imagine — this Son of Man, the Son of God!
male issue (one begotten by a father and born of a mother)
son of man
Christ seems to have preferred this to the other Messianic titles, because by its lowliness it was least suited to foster the expectation of an earthly Messiah in royal splendour.
son of God
those who revere God as their father,
.. governed by the Spirit of God,
Examine closely every aspect of the life of JESUS from manger to the cross and you will witness both humanity and deity — Christ the Son of Man—Christ the Son of God.
Roger@TalkofJesus.com
NEXT: we will see why JESUS is
His Only Son
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
I looked, and there was a whirlwind coming from the north, a huge cloud with fire flashing back and forth and brilliant light all around it. In the center of the fire, there was a gleam like amber. 5 The likeness of four living creatures came from it, and this was their appearance: They looked something like a human —
You must picture the same scene of GLORY as the Prophet sees -- NO illustration can do it justice -- Ezekiel sees something sons of Adam just do not see!
A voice came from above the expanse over their heads;
— Ezekiel 1:25 (CSB)
This was the appearance of the likeness of the Lord’s glory.
When I saw it, I fell facedown and heard a voice speaking.
— Ezekiel 1:28 (CSB)
Son of Man
He said to me,
“Son of man, stand up on your feet and I will speak with you.”
As he spoke to me, the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet,
and I listened to the one who was speaking to me.
— Ezekiel 2:1-2 (CSB)
The SON OF MAN — in this instance, Ezekiel — has seen the GLORY OF THE LORD and spoken of it to sinful humans chosen to follow Him.
Ezekiel bows down — and obeys the word of the Lord.
The Spirit takes Ezekiel to Jerusalem’s Temple
Then the glory of the Lord moved away from the threshold of the temple and stopped above the cherubim.
The Spirit then lifted me up and brought me to the eastern gate of the Lord’s house.. I saw [25] leaders of the people.
The Lord said to me,
“Son of man, these are the men who plot evil and give wicked advice in this city. They are saying, ‘Isn’t the time near to build houses? The city is the pot, and we are the meat.’
Therefore, prophesy against them. Prophesy, son of man! ”
— Ezekiel 11:1-4 (CSB)
A New Shepherdof the Lord’s Chosen
The word of the Lord came to me:
“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy, and say to them,
‘This is what the Lord God says to the shepherds:
Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who have been feeding themselves! Shouldn’t the shepherds feed their flock?
You eat the fat, wear the wool, and butcher the fattened animals, but you do not tend the flock.
You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bandaged the injured, brought back the strays, or sought the lost.
Does ANY of this sound familiar -- you 21 century shepherds of the Gospel -- have you tended your flock?
Dry Bones “rising from the dead”
“Prophesy concerning these bones
I will cause breath to enter you, and you will live. I will put tendons on you, make flesh grow on you, and cover you with skin. I will put breath in you so that you come to life.
Yet some of you do not believe the Prophets or in the resurrection of the dead to the Judgment or Heaven.
‘This is what the Lord God says:
I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them, my people, and lead you into the land of Israel. You will know that I am the Lord, my people, when I open your graves and bring you up from them.
I will put my Spirit in you, and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I am the Lord. I have spoken, and I will do it.
This is the declaration of the Lord.’ ” —
Ezekiel 37:12-14 (CSB)
In Visions of God – a New Temple
It is not our purpose today to point out similarities of a new temple and city to the Levitical outline of Moses or the Temple of David which had witnessed the glory of the LORD descending into the Holy of Holies. Nor can we visit such visions of Daniel and the Apostle John.
Sufficeth to say the Lord God will send a new Temple to Jerusalem and personalize a saved world in new worship.
in Greek writings, an interpreter of oracles or of other hidden things
one who, moved by the Spirit of God and hence his organ or spokesman, solemnly declares to men what he hasreceived by inspiration, especially concerning future events, and in particular such as relate to the cause and kingdom of God and to human salvation
“But so that you may know that the SonofMan has authority on earth to forgive sins” — then he told the paralytic, “Get up, take your stretcher, and go home.”
Today, in the first of a 2-part look at ordinary men chosen as extraordinary Prophets speaking for God, we will glance briefly at Moses and Elijah.
Prophets Before Christ
Recall that true Prophets of God speak for the LORD God.
NOT every man who claims to be a be a Prophet of God truly speaks God’s word. Nor is every mortal who speaks a prophesy of God is a worshiper of the LORD.
And not every prophesy of a true Prophet is an oracle into the future or an eschatological look into the fulfillment of days.
Yet many prophesies do point us to places and times not yet seen by any man but the appointed Prophet of the LORD.
The Prophet Moses
What could be more prophetic than the written words of the man who encountered the 'I AM' speaking the very commands of the Almighty?
Moses brought the Law – the very words of the LORD – to the Hebrew people.
The LORD had called Moses, age eighty to lead the Hebrews out from Egypt. Moses was 120 years old as the Hebrews prepared to cross the Jordan.
Before he led them from bondage in Egypt into Arabia for forty year prior to crossing the Jordan into Canaan, Moses instructed God’s chosen in the LORD’s ways and means of redemption.
So Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel.
“It is Yahweh your God who will cross ahead of you..
Yet the LORD instructs Moses with a prophecy of what the Hebrews will surly do:
a Prophesy through Moses:
.. and this people will arise and play the harlot with the foreign gods of the land, into the midst of which they are going, and they will forsake Me and break My covenant which I have cut with them.
“Then My anger will be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them and hide My face from them, and they will be consumed…
Deuteronomy 31:16c-17a LSB
When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when He divided the sons of man,He set the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God.
This general reference to humanity and God's 'chosen' would be worthy of your separate study, but we cannot cover it here.
from Canaan to Babylon
Let’s go quickly across the Jordan through the years(centuries, really)with the chosen sons until fulfillment of a foreseen time of Hebrew prophesy from Babylon.
In order to move so quickly we must overlook and pass many important scriptural milestones.
Moving past Joshua,
the capture of much of the promised land
14th c. B.C.
a time of the Judges
14th-11th c. B.C.
a king of the people (Saul)
11th c. B.C.
David King of Judah united with Israel
David united Israel and Judah
~1000 B.C.
Solomon expands his influence back to Egypt and east to Babylon and beyond
973-931 B.C.
then, a civil war between Solomon’s sons and their heirs,
A quick glance at the timeline below will reveal the book of 1 KINGS where we will find Elijah’s story.
Old Testament Books timeline
The Prophet Elijah
~870 B.C. – 849 B.C.
Later, as prophesied:
defeat of ISRAEL the Northern Kingdom
722 B.C.
eventual fall of JUDAH the Southern Kingdom…
586 B.C.
The Man of God
The LORD sent powerful Prophets to both Israel and Judah during a divisive time when most every leader (king) “did what was evil in the sight of the LORD.”
This includes EVERY KING of ISRAEL for a little more than 200 years !
Wouldn’t a NATION claiming GOD repent — when confronted by the man of God showing great signs and even raising a man from the dead?
Furthermore the Kings of JUDAH fared no better in their 334 years with only eight of twenty kings who “did right in the eyes of the LORD.”
Elijah was a man of God WARNING the evil LEADERS of a NATION.
Taking a brief stop on our timeline Before Christ, we proceed past Moses and beyond the break-up of the Kingdom of David to a time of evil kings infamously represented by King Ahab of Israel who reigned for about twenty years from 874 B.C. until 853 B.C. when he was killed in battle.
Jezebel, the King's wife - arguably a head of Ahab - also proved infamous with her own evil legacy.
Elijah’s Prophetic proofs:
Now Elijah the Tishbite, from the Gilead settlers, said to Ahab,
“As the LORD God of Israel lives, in whose presence I stand, there will be no dew or rain during these years except by my command! ”
The severest of droughts - over one thousand dry days in the land - people and animals will die.
Elijah left and lived at the Wadi Cherith where it enters the Jordan.
1 Kings 17:4b CSB
So Elijah got up and went to Zarephath. When he arrived at the city gate, there was a widow gathering wood…
But she said, “As the LORD your God lives, I don’t have anything baked — only a handful of flour in the jar and a bit of oil in the jug. Just now, I am gathering a couple of sticks in order to go prepare it for myself and my son so we can eat it and die.”
1 Kings 17:10a, 12 CSB
Drought. Famine everywhere — and for days upon end.
Have you ever considered the gravity of the fragile mortal lives of those already suffering under the evil reign of Jezebel and Ahab?
But a miracle of God through Elijah: the widow’s flour and food never ran out. But then —
Her son becomes ill and dies. (Probably a common occurrence in these desperate conditions of a three year drought.)
She said to Elijah, “Man of God, what do you have against me?
Have you come to call attention to my iniquity so that my son is put to death? ”
That’s some accusation from the widow who has just lost her only son. Yet note the widow’s contrite acceptance of God’s authority to punish sin (iniquity).
עָוֹן
Note the long list of Scriptures [above] from the Law of Moses (beginning with Cain) pointing to punishment for our iniquity.
Elijah raises the widow’s son from the dead!
He cried out to the LORD and said, “LORD my God, please let this boy’s life come into him again! ”
So the LORD listened to Elijah, and the boy’s life came into him again, and he lived.
Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know you are a man of God and the LORD’s word from your mouth is true.”
A Son of David, theSon of Man, rides victoriously into Jerusalem now captive of Rome, challenging Jerusalem’s leaders to a duel to the death –
+ His +
–for the redemption of sinners.
“King Jesus, King Jesus, King Jesus, Hosanna!, they cry out…
And within a few days their KING of the JEWS will be crucified on a Roman cross.
An Uplifting Recollection
The Son of Man walked once more toward a familiar hillside covered with an olive grove.
What must Jesus have recalled as the Lord approached Gethsemane with His eleven dear friends one last time?
Remember?
After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain by themselves to be alone. He was transfigured in front of them, and his clothes became dazzling — extremely white as no launderer on earth could whiten them.
Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.
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