This is not the first time that Christ Jesus has called Himself “the Son of Man.” And this is not the first time that I have said anything about this title. Just as Jesus spoke of this often, perhaps we should refer to it often as well. But it’s not a matter of redundancy; this is an important part of our doctrine of “Christology.”“Whom do ye say that I the Son of Man am?” It might be an interesting investigation to see how many times the Lord Jesus asked people questions. As I said last week, this was not to answer some sort of ignorance in Jesus’ mind. He knew exactly what others were saying about Him. But it is an important question for Peter, John, the rest of the disciples – and for you and me. Because in comparing the three words in the question and the three words in the answer are eternal lessons. Jesus asked about the “Son of Man,” and Peter answered, “The Son of Man is the Son of God.”
This is just one of a myriad of titles that the Bible gives to the one we call “the Lord Jesus Christ.” Some of those titles and names are more important than others: “Christ,” “Messiah,” “Lord,” “Saviour,” “Jehovah” and even the name “Jesus.” Some are mysterious: “Rose of Sharon,” “Morning Star,” and “Messenger of the Covenant.” Some are New Testament titles, while others are primarily Old Testament. Some are prophetic, while some are fulfillment. Some ought to be terrifying, while others are clearly heartwarming – depending on our hearts.
I hope that YOU know that “Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Saviour, Jehovah.” But as Jesus reminds us, He is also the “Son of Man.” This is a common title in the Old Testament and in the Gospels, but it is rare in the Epistles. I will assume that you know that it was the Lord Jesus’ favorite term for Himself. But why was that?
This title is used to help Jesus express His TRUE IDENTITY.
How can “Son of Man” mark Jesus’ true identity? Isn’t the true identity of Christ more appropriately expressed in “Son of God?” They are both absolutely essential – two sides of the same coin.
It is important to note that Christ was not the first man to use the term. For example, the prophet Ezekiel called himself “son of man.” And Jehovah called Ezekiel by that title more than 90 times. Then when Gabriel visited Daniel, that angel of God called the prophet a “son of man” – Daniel 8:17. Then there are two earlier references in Psalms which are quite significant.
Please turn to the 8th Psalm, which some people think Jesus used as His authority to take this title. “O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. {ordained: Heb. founded} When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; {All & : Heb. Flocks and oxen all of them} The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas. O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!”
I realize that the Jews interpret verse 4 as speaking of themselves, but look at the context. Consider verse 2 – “Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.” The Lord Jesus applied this verse to Himself in Matthew 21:16. “And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; they were sore displeased, And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?”
When Psalm 8:6 says, “Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet,” this is a prophecy of the prophecy of Philippians 2:10-11 – “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” The term “Son of Man” speaks of both the lowliness and at same time the loftiness of human nature. Christ Jesus used that term to identify Himself with the human race.
But there is another use of the term in Psalm 80:17-19 – “Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself. So will not we go back from thee: quicken us, and we will call upon thy name. Turn us again, O LORD God of hosts, cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved. This is a plea that God would raise up a deliverer, a Saviour for Israel. This Psalm may have become dear to the Jesus as a child – a prophecy of himself. Jesus may have taken either Psalm as the source for His use of the term “Son of God.”
Often times when Jesus used it, the context was His manhood and humility. Matthew 8:20: “The foxes holes and the birds of air nests, but the son of man hath not where to lay his head.” Jesus used words “Son of Man” to show how completely He identified with our condition. The “Son of Man” came eating and drinking – he knows the limitations of our bodies. In John 4 Jesus was so hungry and tired that it seemed that He couldn’t go on. He teaches the necessity of vacations; as a child He learned, He grew, He loved and He yearned. Jesus Christ was truly a man who can sympathize and even empathize with you in your agonies. “We have not an High Priest which cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities.” “In the fullness of time, God sent for His Son, but made of a woman, made under the law.” “The eternal Word was made flesh and dwelt amongst us.” “He took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men.”
That verse in Philippians 2 says that the glorious Son of God became a servant. Sometimes Jesus used “Son of Man” when he wanted to emphasize the burden of sin that He carried. The “Son of Man” was betrayed into the hands of sinners – in order to save other sinners. Mark10:45: “For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give His life a ransom for many.” “God hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” “The Son of Man was wounded for our transgressions and was bruised for our iniquities.”
We need a “Son of Man” as Asaph saw in Psalm 80:14-19. The “Son of Man” is the redeemer; the Saviour; the only one qualified to redeem. You need the “Son of Man” as your Lord and King.
When Jesus calls himself “Son of Man” he SEPARATES himself from us as He identifies with us.
Christ Jesus treated the title as something a bit out of the ordinary – unusual. My given name is very common – perhaps not as common as it once was, but still pretty common. But what if I called myself “the David.” Jesus was not just “a Son of Man” but “the Son of Man.” He claimed to be different from all the other sons of men – different from Ezekiel and Daniel. He had taken up all the good of mankind, its best qualities. “I am the ideal of manhood.” Jesus was the REAL man. “You are sons of men, but I am the Son of man.”
This title suggests more than just a bit of dignity and authority. In Mark 2:28 Christ says – “The Son of Man is Lord also of the sabbath.” The Sabbath was given to man for his rest – to give him opportunity to worship his Creator. And who was it who established and ordained that sabbath? “The Son of Man.” Son of Man has authority to regulate and even dictate your worship practices. We have no authority to make our worship services like a rock concert – or a theater, or a night club. And if the Lord wants to move His of worship from one day to another, He has every right. And under what title did He call himself Lord of Sabbath? “The Son of Man.” A few minutes ago we read from Mark 2:10-11 and the healing – and forgiving – of a paralytic man. The question was raised about the authority of Christ to forgive sins. “Why does this nobody from Galilee think that He has the right to forgive sins?” Well, John 3:35 says that “the Father loveth the Son and hath given ALL things into his hand.” But the Jews called this “blasphemy” – for Jesus to forgive the sins of this man. Was that blasphemy? On the contrary. It would have been blasphemy for anyone else in this world – except Christ – to forgive sin. “Be it known unto you therefore men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins.” “In (Christ) we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according of His grace.” “ If we confess our sins, HE is faithful and just to forgive us out sins…” And what is the title of this One who forgives sin? “The Son of Man.” This title separates Christ from all others.
Look at the “Son of Man” in the Gospels. You will not find that title often in the Gospel of John because there we see Jesus on the highest plain. But in Matthew, Mark and Luke we read of the “Son of Man” very often. In those books we read of Jesus, the Man, Jesus, the Servant and Jesus, the King.
When Paul comes along he refers to Christ as “the Second Adam” – which is a very similar idea. As Adam was the head of his family; Christ is the head of another – a race of saints. As Adam fell from innocence, all his children were spiritually still-born. All the descendants of Adam are sinners. But in Christ we have the pattern of full and complete humanity. Adam led the world into sin, but Christ by his blood can lift the sinner all the way to glory. All other sons of men are mere fragments of humanity in comparison to the Lord.
And who is this Son of Man? “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” Jesus said, “I am the Son of Man who came to give his life a ransom for many.” The perfect Son of Man born of a woman especially selected and prepared. This is the One of whom Judas cried, “I have betrayed innocent blood.” This is the One who forced Pilate to wash his hands. This is the One who stopped the mouth of His adversaries by challenging him to prove sin in Him. This Son of Man once said, “Ye shall see heaven open and the angels ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” He is more than a man: He is THE Man, head of the race called, “Saints of God.” He has a unique relationship to the Father, of which all sinners stand in need. He is the Saviour, Helper and Friend to all of us publicans and sinners.
And in addition to this: The Son of Man is a term of prophetic significance.
Please turn to Daniel 7:7-13 – “After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things. I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened. I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame. As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time. I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like THE SON OF MAN came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.”
We haven’t time for a thorough study of this passage, but we need to see the gist of its meaning. The Beast that is described here is the Antichrist of the Tribulation. He will have a great deal of power, politically and satanically, throughout that seven year period. But the time will come that the Lord, the Ancient of Days will have had enough. And at the close of that Tribulation time, “the Son of Man,” the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ shall return and judge not only the Antichrist, but all those who follow him. It is significant that the term “Son of Man” is used here to describe the conquering Messiah.
Now compare that to Mark 14:60-64 – “And the high priest stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus, saying, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee? But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see THE SON OF MAN sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest rent his clothes, and saith, What need we any further witnesses? Ye have heard the blasphemy: what think ye? And they all condemned him to be guilty of death.” It wasn’t just the reference to the “right hand of Power” and His coming in the clouds of Heaven which so angered the High Priest. It was that the Lord Jesus referred to Himself as “the Son of Man” seated at the right hand of Power. Between these two passages I want you to see the Son of Man has cease to be a servant. He will still be the Son of Man – but glorified and given the power and authority that has always been His as the eternal Son of God.
Deacon Stephen at the time of his murder saw the “Son of Man” welcoming him to glory. Christ no longer walks the highways and byways of planet earth in a physical fashion. He has returned to the glories of the Heaven that He created, but He still is the “Son of Man” with a love and concern for His people who are yet on this globe. He is still the Saviour, pleading His blood before corrupt and sinful men. But He has also put on the robes of the Judiciary.
One day you shall stand before Christ as a sinner – either saved or lost. That “Son of Man” knows all about your sin; He knows life and has even experienced temptation like yours. In divine omniscience He knows every lie, and every cheating moment that took residence in your heart. He is aware of your cursing, your back-biting, your pride, your criticism. It is before the “Son of Man” that we all shall stand to be judged. And because He is the “Son of Man,” it shall make His judgment that much more terrible.
What is your relationship to this “Son of Man” today? Has there been – and is there yet – an attitude of repentance? Are your faith and your hope for all that is eternal and glorious, firmly planted on Him? Remember, just because you may CALL the “Son of Man” your “Lord” that does not mean that He really is. Is Jesus Christ, the Son of Man your Lord and Saviour this morning?