Who Does Jesus Say He Is?
Who Does Jesus Say He Is?
?
daniel 7:4–14
?
Daniel 7:13-14 (NASB)
13 “I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a “Son of Man” was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him.
14 And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations and men of every language Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed.”
?
The expression “Son of Man” as a title for Jesus Christ occurs about 80 times in the New Testament. Almost without exception it is found on the lips of Jesus Himself. It was His favorite name for Himself.
Most Christians naturally think that the expression “Son of Man” refers to the humanity of our Lord, while the expression “Son of God” refers to his Deity. When we look at the Bible, however, we find something else.
The Son of Man in Daniel
领英推荐
The key passage to understanding the term “Son of Man” is in Daniel 7. There Daniel sees a divine figure coming on the clouds of heaven. This is a reference to the glory cloud of God Himself, the cloud that appears so often when God appears. Clearly, the person approaching on this cloud is divine.
This Person is called the “Son of Man,” and He is the Father’s agent to rule and judge the world.
The principal role of the “Son of Man” is judge. The Ancient of Days (God the Father) calls on the “Son of Man” to bring judgment. He comes to earth from the Father, evaluates the situation, reports back to the Father, and participates with the Father in judgment. Throughout His earthly ministry, Jesus spoke of the “crisis” or judgment of the world. By saying that He was the “Son of Man”, Jesus was saying to the Jews, “I didn’t come from Bethlehem. I came from heaven. I have come to judge.” It was time for all men to make up their minds whom to serve.
?
?
?
?
CORAM DEO (Before the face of God)
????
????In Acts 7 we read of the stoning of Stephen. As he died, Stephen saw heaven opened and the Son of Man standing next to the Father. He saw that the One who is judge of all was also standing as his advocate and defense attorney. Do you understand that Jesus acts both as your judge and defense attorney? For many it is difficult to conceive that He could perform both roles. The Good News of the Gospel is that the Christian can embrace the “Son of Man” as judge, because we know that He has taken upon Himself the penalty for our sins, and that we are declared righteous before God in Him.
For further study: Mark 13:24–37; Luke 12:35–40; John 5:22–32; Revelation 14:14–20