Glimpses: Son of Man

Muslims have an interesting view of Jesus. They believe he existed. They believe he was a messenger from God. They believe he was confirmed by miracles. They believe he was taken up to God, without dying. They call him their prophet. But to them, to Mormons, to Jehovah's witnesses, to Jews..... he was not the Son of God. Many of these sects argue that Jesus never claimed to be God. But, to paraphrase Christian apologist Frank Turek, if that were true, why did they try to kill Him?!  The phrase "Son of Man" has an incredible depth layered into it. First off, it confirms the deity of Christ. Look at these prophesies in Ezekiel and Daniel:

"3 He said: “Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their ancestors have been in revolt against me to this very day. 4 The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn."

-Ezekiel 2:3-4a

"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. 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 worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed."

-Daniel 7:13-14

When Jesus called himself the Son of man, this was referring to more than just his humanity. By associating himself with this name, he is pointing back to the Old Testament that the Jews knew so well. In essence, He is saying, I am that promise. I am the messenger and rescuer of that rebellious people. I am the one in the throne room, who has been given authority over every nation, and whose kingdom shall not pass away. I am that river flowing from the temple, that Ezekiel references forty-five chapters later..... the one whose source is at the feet of God himself, whose waters give life to all and purify the sea. I am the uncross-able ocean in Ezekiel, taking you deeper into the richness of my presence until it becomes a sea that you cannot traverse, for its depth. I am the mountain, in the dream of Nebuchadnezzar, who will crush the statue of bronze and clay, and establish the everlasting Kingdom of Heaven. I am the promised Messiah, who will be made known after the seventy sevens, in Daniel 9.
I am the Son of man.

This is our intercessor. Romans 8 tells us that Jesus stands in the throne room of God, interceding on our behalf. Praying for us. Because of his humanity, He not only loves us, but understands our temptations. As Hebrews says, we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weakness, but one who has been tempted in every way, and yet without sin.

Look at the Gospel testimonies of Jesus' temptations, especially in Matthew 4. As one of the pastors at our church pointed out, these temptations were not randomly selected by the Enemy. The first temptation is for fulfillment outside of God. Turn these stones into bread, and satisfy yourself. You don't need God; you have it in yourself. You can do it!  You deserve it. The second temptation was directed towards approval. Throw yourself down from this point. PROVE yourself. The third temptation was for power. Look at all of this. All the kingdoms of the world. All the flashing lights. You can control it ALL. You can have power. You can have respect. Just turn your gaze away from God. Fulfillment, approval, and power...... sound familiar?  I think these are the main temptations the Enemy uses on our hearts, as well. He uses different forms of these temptations on each person, but he has found a weakness for these things in the human heart. And, by becoming a human, Jesus felt that weakness. He had been fasting for forty days and nights; he was not physically strong. He has walked the path of humanity. He knows..... not from head knowledge, but from experience.

Think about those words of verse from Daniel above. The Son of Man is given authority, glory and sovereign power, and the praise of all nations and people. His dominion is beyond the limits of time and imagination, and it cannot be crushed by any power. He is the King of all Kings. He is the one to whom all infinite power in all the supernatural realm is given. He is seated at the right hand of God, and is immovably seated above all principalities and powers. He is greater than any other. He is beyond any human ability to comprehend. His hands hold the universe in its entirety together.

And yet He took the lowest place. He came down as a helpless baby. God became an unborn life form in the womb of a woman. He was born in a cave where animals slept, because the world He came to rescue had no room for Him. He grew up in a rural, oppressed Roman province, where no one knew all of who He was. When His ministry began, He was rejected in his own hometown. He came as the King of Heaven, to eat with tax collectors, heal the sick, restore prostitutes, love the untouchables, and wash feet. Jesus, the son of God himself, was willing, not only to become a man, but to associate himself closely with man; even in the Old Testament, to be called the Son of Man. He became one of us. Not only that; he made himself lower than us, and served us. The system of elevation in heaven works exactly the opposite of earth's system. On earth, the popular and successful are viewed the most favorably. That's not how the Kingdom of Heaven functions; the higher you truly are in the spiritual economy, the lower place you take. The higher you make yourself, the lower you fall. Jesus proved it, by taking the lowest place of all.

He entered into our humanity for more than to watch us make ourselves great. We are called to follow Him; we are called to die His death, and be "born again" into His birth. We are called to take that lowest spot, and serve those around us. Our God was willing to associate himself with man, even the least among us. He was willing to call himself the Son of Man. How much more deeply could we be following that call to walk in those footsteps, if we were willing to hear it?