Tag: son_of_man

  • Do you believe in the Son of Man?

    Do you believe in the Son of Man?

    “No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.

    The witness of Jesus to Nikodēmos – John 3:13-15 NASB
    (the world knows where He is leading)

    Returning to the Light

    We have been following the signs of the Messiah which the Apostle John presents in his Gospel.

    Jesus had healed a man born blind who confronts the religious officials of Jerusalem with the evidence that this man must be the Messiah!

    “While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world.”

    The witness of Jesus to His Apostles – John 9:5

    To give a sense of some time passing in these events which took place I paused John’s story Jesus – Siloam – “I washed and I see where the man sent to Siloam to wash and could now see was questioned by Pharisees.

    Before returning to the seeing man’s witness of the Light in John 9, first let’s return to a scene of a Pharisee questioning Jesus. John has already set the stage for this sign of the Messiah giving sight to the blind.

    29:18 וְשָׁמְעוּ בַיֹּום־הַהוּא הַחֵרְשִׁים דִּבְרֵי־סֵפֶר וּמֵאֹפֶל וּמֵחֹשֶׁךְ עֵינֵי עִוְרִים תִּרְאֶֽינָה׃

    John 3:

    Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him,

    “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”

    John 9:13 They brought the man who used to be blind to the Pharisees. 

    John 3:9 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can these things be?”

    10 Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony.

    12 If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?

    John 9:24 So a second time they summoned the man who had been blind ...

    John 3:19 This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”

    John 9:28 They ridiculed him: 
    “You’re that man’s disciple, but we’re Moses’s disciples. We know that God has spoken to Moses. But this man—we don’t know where he’s from.”
     30 “This is an amazing thing!” the man told them. 
    “You don’t know where he is from, and yet he opened my eyes.

    John 9:

    35 Jesus heard that they had thrown the man out, and when he found him, he asked,

    “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”

    Now here is a question from our Lord to the man whose sight He returned worthy of consideration by each and every soul who for a brief time dwells in this world of darkness.

    • “Do you believe in the Son of God?”
    • Is Jesus who now confronts you in plain sight?
    • Does the Messiah of our salvation sent to the world by God our Father ask you to believe?

    Listen, learned Pharisee of these last days, and see the Light of the Gospel. Is the Spirit of the living LORD speaking to you?

    But returning to the response of the man formerly blind:

    36 “Who is he, Sir, that I may believe in him?” he asked.

    37 Jesus answered, “You have seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”

    38 “I believe, Lord!” he said, and he worshiped him.

    Wouldn’t you, if the Messiah had given you sight?

    Shouldn’t you, since the Messiah Jesus has drawn you from the darkness of your sin to the Very Light of Life?

    Son of Man – a view from Scripture

    Where did the Messiah Jesus come up with this favorite self-designation by which He describes His humanity to man?

    Jewish rabbis who studied scripture knew it well, for the Prophet Ezekiel uses ‘son of man’ in numerous descriptions of his heavenly encounters. First, a definition from the Hebrew:

    Son of Man!

    Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell on my face and heard a voice speaking.

    Then He said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet that I may speak with you!”

    Ezekiel 1:28-2:1 NASB

    2:3 וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלַי בֶּן־אָדָם שֹׁולֵחַ אֲנִי אֹֽותְךָ אֶל־בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶל־גֹּויִם הַמֹּורְדִים אֲשֶׁר מָרְדוּ־בִי הֵמָּה וַאֲבֹותָם פָּשְׁעוּ בִי עַד־עֶצֶם הַיֹּום הַזֶּֽה׃

    בֵּן
    ben

    • Meaning ‘son’ in a broad sense, specifically as ‘son’ (2978x); but also as ‘first’ (51x)
    • Genesis 27:32 וַיֹּאמֶר לֹו יִצְחָק אָבִיו מִי־אָתָּה וַיֹּאמֶר אֲנִי בִּנְךָ בְכֹֽרְךָ עֵשָֽׂו׃
    • Revelation 22:13 [gk] ἐγὼ τὸ Ἄλφα καὶ τὸ Ὦ ὁ πρῶτος καὶ ὁ ἔσχατος ἡ ἀρχὴ καὶ τὸ τέλος
      • “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

    אָדָם
    ‘adam

    • man or mankind, generally, only occasionally specific to the first man, Adam or a human man rather than a human woman
    • Genesis 2:7 Then the LORD God formed man H120 of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man H120 became a living being.
    • Ezekiel 1:5 Within it there were figures resembling four living beings. And this was their appearance: they had human H120 form.

    Son of man most frequently designates a human being, one born of flesh. More than any other Prophet Ezekiel uses it to describe a mortal human chosen by God to tell God’s people what the LORD must say to them.

    בֶּן־אָדָם צֹפֶה נְתַתִּיךָ לְבֵית יִשְׂרָאֵל וְשָׁמַעְתָּ מִפִּי דָּבָר וְהִזְהַרְתָּ אֹותָם מִמֶּֽנִּי׃

    “Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman to the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from My mouth, warn them from Me.

    Ezekiel 3:17 – Masoretic text; NASB

    Judgment by the Light

    Prior to this witness by the man who was blind the Apostle John has already witnessed the context of this sign by the Messiah Jesus.

    Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying,

    “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

    John 8:12 NASB

    13 So the Pharisees said to Him, “You are testifying about Yourself; Your testimony is not true.”

    Jesus’ debate with the Pharisees, some who do not believe, has already taken place. John now presents a proverbial metaphor at the conclusion of this sign by Jesus that indeed, He IS the Messiah.

    John 9:

    39 And Jesus said,

    “For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.”

    Would we expect any better reaction to Jesus from those who have already publicly proclaimed their opposition to the Messiah before their very eyes?

    40 Those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and said to Him,

    “We are not blind too, are we?”

    Are they? For they know well their own Scripture of the coming of the Messiah.

    Isaiah 29:

    הֹ֚וי אֲרִיאֵ֣ל אֲרִיאֵ֔ל קִרְיַ֖ת חָנָ֣ה דָוִ֑ד סְפ֥וּ שָׁנָ֛ה עַל־שָׁנָ֖ה חַגִּ֥ים יִנְקֹֽפוּ׃
    וְחָנִ֥יתִי כַדּ֖וּר עָלָ֑יִךְ וְצַרְתִּ֤י עָלַ֨יִךְ֙ מֻצָּ֔ב וַהֲקִֽימֹתִ֥י עָלַ֖יִךְ מְצֻרֹֽת׃
    הִתְמַהְמְה֣וּ וּתְמָ֔הוּ הִשְׁתַּֽעַשְׁע֖וּ וָשֹׁ֑עוּ שָֽׁכְר֣וּ וְלֹא־יַ֔יִן נָע֖וּ וְלֹ֥א שֵׁכָֽר׃
    כִּֽי־נָסַ֨ךְ עֲלֵיכֶ֤ם יְהוָה֙ ר֣וּחַ תַּרְדֵּמָ֔ה וַיְעַצֵּ֖ם אֶת־עֵֽינֵיכֶ֑ם אֶת־הַנְּבִיאִ֛ים וְאֶת־רָאשֵׁיכֶ֥ם הַחֹזִ֖ים כִּסָּֽה׃
    הֹ֛וי הַמַּעֲמִיקִ֥ים מֵֽיהוָ֖ה לַסְתִּ֣ר עֵצָ֑ה וְהָיָ֤ה בְמַחְשָׁךְ֙ מַֽעֲשֵׂיהֶ֔ם וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ מִ֥י רֹאֵ֖נוּ וּמִ֥י יֹודְעֵֽנוּ׃

    Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the city where David dwelt! add ye year to year; let them kill sacrifices.

    And I will camp against thee round about, and will lay siege against thee with a mount, and I will raise forts against thee.

    Be delayed and wait,
    Blind yourselves and be blind;
    They become drunk, but not with wine,
    They stagger, but not with strong drink.

    For the LORD has poured over you a spirit of deep sleep,
    He has shut your eyes, the prophets;
    And He has covered your heads, the seers.

    Woe to those who deeply hide their plans from the LORD,
    And whose deeds are done in a dark place,
    And they say, “Who sees us?” or “Who knows us?”

    On that day

    Isaiah 29:

    18 On that day the deaf will hear words of a book,
    And out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see.

    19 The afflicted also will increase their gladness in the Lord,
    And the needy of mankind will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.

    24 And those who go astray in spirit will come to understanding,
    and those who murmur will accept instruction.”

    These scriptures from Isaiah, a true Prophet of Israel, the Pharisees would know well.

    How will we know that the Messiah stands before us as the Son of Man?

    “The eyes of the blind will see.

    Give glory to the LORD your God,
    Before He brings darkness
    And before your feet stumble
    On the dusky mountains,
    And while you are hoping for light
    He makes it into deep darkness,
    And turns it into gloom.

    Jeremiah 13:16

    “We are not blind too, are we?”

    “What do you say about Him, since He opened your eyes?” And he said, “He is a prophet.”

    “… one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.”

    “… You do not want to become His disciples too, do you?”

    41 Jesus said to them,

    “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.

    God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.

    The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

    “But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

    Genesis 1:4; John 1:5; Matthew 6:23 NASB

    John 9:41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.

    Have you born blind confronted your sin?

    Will you now worship the Messiah, the Lord Jesus, who opens your eyes to the Light?

    Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying,

    “I am the Light of the world;

    he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness,

    but will have the Light of life.”

    John 8:12 NASB
  • WE Have Been Here Before – the Son of Man in a Manger

    WE Have Been Here Before – the Son of Man in a Manger

    Born the Son of Man

    Oh, the humility and love of GOD to be born as a Son of Man!

    Roger Harned – on the birth of the Messiah Jesus

    Think of it – consider the concept of The Almighty LORD God, born as a human being through a woman. In this sense Jesus, the Christ, comes to man through a woman as a son of man born of mankind.

    Christmas – Celebration of the ‘Mass of Christ’

    Shouldn’t we see Christmas not so much as the all-too-familiar scene of ‘a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths lying in a manger,’ but rather a sign of God’s tender mercy for mankind?

    Our common view of the Christ child is both incomplete and a mere introduction to God at best.

    Therefore the humbleness of the Christ child, who was and is and will be the Lord God Almighty, Creator of the heavens and earth should bring us to our knees. Picture the LORD GOD more fully in the Person of Jesus filled with the Holy Spirit!

    We speak of the Messiah Jesus, Son of Man and Son of God. He was born by the Holy Spirit through the virgin Mary, betrothed of Joseph of Nazareth, a son of David.

    And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

    Matthew 1:16 KJV

    This seventeen verse genealogy from the Gospel of Matthew introduces a touching story of a child for children of God. Yet it is not the picture I ask you to see today.

    Son of Man

    17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.

    What’s the point of this extensive genealogy from Abraham? The list through David, Solomon, Rehoboam, Jeconiah and through Jacob the father of Joseph (who was only engaged to Mary)? Of course we know few of these men and women (like Rahab & Tamar or Jeconiah).

    Clearly Jesus is the son of Mary, a woman with child sometimes accused of being with another man. To call Jesus a son of man, that is, adam, refers only to Mary!

    The birth of Jesus Christ came about this way: After his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, it was discovered before they came together that she was pregnant from the Holy Spirit.

    The Gospel of Matthew 1:18

    God as Father

    Jesus’ self-designated title, Son of Man, is at issue here. Who is the father of this Messiah of Israel? (And what role do Joseph and Mary play in God’s mysterious plan of redemption for mankind?)

    If Joseph is not the father why follow his bloodline or ancestry at all?

    (… for she was pregnant from the Holy Spirit}

    Mary, a virgin, is not some young girl who pridefully claims a status as ‘single mom’ as some today will. She does not speak of an indiscretion with a young man other than Joseph who she will not name.

    This is a truly unique instance of Divinity interacting with creation. God becomes the Father of Jesus, yet not a husband to Mary.

    Matthew 1:19

    So her husband Joseph, being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her publicly, decided to divorce her secretly.

    The LORD God is Father to Jesus, Son, a man (child) born to ‘man‘ (adam) in the person of Mary.

    He IS the Very Image of the invisible Father (LORD & Creator of the first Adam and the first woman created). The Son of Man IS fully the Father and yet the seed of adam through Mary.

    God – the Holy Spirit

    Mat 1:20 –

    But after he had considered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying,

    “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

    So scripture records clearly that Mary is the single mom of Jesus. Yet the overshadowing cloud of Life in the Holy Spirit is the Father of this Christ child.

    Jesus the Christ IS the Son of God incarnate (in the flesh).

    Mat 1:21

    “She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

    Joseph, Step-father of God

    Mat 1:24-25 – When Joseph woke up, he did as the Lord’s angel had commanded him. He married her but did not have sexual relations with her until she gave birth to a son. And he named him Jesus.

    Here also Joseph demonstrates humility and righteousness as did Mary. He too obeys the angel of the Lord God; for this Son of David must lead a young Jesus to grow in wisdom and grace.

    Son of Man – a babe in a manger

    map of area from Bethlehem near Jerusalem to Egypt - 300+ miles
    Joseph flees Bethlehem, near Jerusalem in Judea, over 300 miles to Egypt, later returning to Nazareth in Galilee several more miles to the north.

    Matthew 2:

    …an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying,

    “Get up! Take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. For Herod is about to search for the child to kill him.”

    14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night, and escaped to Egypt. He stayed there until Herod’s death, so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled:

    Out of Egypt I called my Son.

    An angel of the Lord warns Joseph to flee to Egypt.

    Also angels had appeared in person to shepherds in the hills where David had watched over flocks. Then later after Herod’s death [~4BC] an angel tells Joseph to return.

    22 But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there.

    And being warned in a dream, he withdrew to the region of Galilee. 23 Then he went and settled in a town called Nazareth

    .. to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.

    Follow the Lord Incarnate

    As any wise men or women might observe, God did not come into this world to condemn the world. Christmas gifts represented by the wise men attract our focus, but should never substitute for our worship of the Lord. Jesus IS the Christ of Christmas.

    We overlook an obedient step-father who saves them all from Herod the Great, murderer of the innocents of Bethlehem. Let’s not hold too high a chosen mother in this iconic manger scene. The Lord God our Father sent Salvation to mankind as a baby born for a Cross.

    Follow the Son of Man

    Later Matthew reveals to us the cost to the Father of the manger, which is the Cross of Christ. The Apostle also reveals the Gospel Good News.

    Matthew later describes a scene where the Apostle Simon Peter asks the Lord the cost of discipleship. Jesus has just told them of the difficulty for men, even faithful men and women, to enter heaven. Peter wants to know our reward.

    “Then who can be saved,” they ask?

    The Lord then states:

    “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

    Matthew 19:26b

    The followers of the Son of Man were not certain if they could be saved.

    Some remain uncertain how God could be born to a virgin or die on a Cross for our sin. You may wonder how Jesus rose from the grave.

    How did the Lord raise Lazarus or how He will reward you at the end of it all?

    Matthew 19:

    27 Then Peter responded to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you. So what will there be for us?”

    So Peter asks for all of us: doubters with limited faith.

    28 Jesus said to them, 

    “Truly I tell you, in the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 

    Good for the Twelve, you think. What about us?

    And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields because of my name will receive a hundred times more and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

    Following Christ from the Manger

    Have you long ago left your gift at the manger or even forgotten Christ’s difficult journey?

    The Son of Man came down to Creation humbly and lived a difficult life in the flesh for us. He lived it without sin so that He could bear ours.

    From Bethlehem to Egypt to Nazareth to Capernaum to Jerusalem to Golgotha…

    to Hell and back from the empty tomb, to the road to Emmaus…

    to rising into the clouds at Pentecost, to appearance to Saul near Damascus, to Revelation to John on Patmos:

    The Lord came to the Created – to you and to me, Jesus lived, died and rose that we might follow Him further than as a Babe in a manger in Bethlehem.

    He has been here before. The Son of Man who was journeys from before Eden until beyond now.

    Next we will explore some of the Lord’s previous appearances to mankind, God-willing.

    To Be Continued...
    
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