“Jesus __________” Part 5: The Son of Man
Victory Life Church, — Sunday, March 17, 2024
Mark 1:1 (ESV) The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Jesus, the Son of Man
Mark 14:60–62 (ESV) 60 And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?” 61 But he remained silent and made no answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” 62 And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”
Here in Mark 14, being questioned before the High Priest, for the first time in this gospel, Jesus accepts for himself the title, “the Christ, the Son of God.” Mark revealed this to us in the first verse of the gospel, then laid out why he is the Messiah, the Son of God, but Jesus hadn’t claimed this title for himself until this moment. But then he immediately maps his favorite title for himself onto these titles, the “Son of Man.”
There are four general ways in which Jesus uses “Son of Man” language in the New Testament Gospels: 1) to refer to Himself; 2) to describe His authority and earthly ministry; 3) to anticipate His suffering and death; and 4) to anticipate His future exaltation and glory.
“Son of Man” — a human in general, a specific human
Daniel 7:1-27 — Daniel’s Vision of Beasts and the Son of Man
Daniel is a young man from Israel who is taken into exile in Babylon, and forced to work for a powerful, arrogant, and violent king. In Daniel 7:1-8, Daniel has a vision of four beasts, gruesome and deadly. The fourth beast was terrifying and dreadful, more like a monster, bringing destruction over the earth. But Daniel’s vision shifts from seeing the monstrous beast wreak havoc to a heavenly courtroom.
Daniel 7:9–11 (ESV) 9 “As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat; his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames; its wheels were burning fire. 10 A stream of fire issued and came out from before him; a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the court sat in judgment, and the books were opened. 11 “I looked then because of the sound of the great words that the horn was speaking. And as I looked, the beast was killed, and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire.
Verse 17 makes it clear that these beasts represent kings and their kingdoms. These kings, especially the fourth, are like beasts ravaging the earth, bringing destruction and wreaking havoc on the world, and specifically trying to crush God’s people. But God sits in judgment and will bring justice to the world for God’s people. But curiously, there isn’t just one throne for the Ancient of Days (God). There are plural thrones. And out of the havoc and destruction from the beasts comes “one like a son of man,” a human, ascending on clouds to sit upon a throne with the Most High, who will receive the kingdom, the authority, and even worship alongside God. This whole scene is pulling from major themes all over the Old Testament.
Humans made in the “image of God”: Representation and Rule in Partnership
The idea is that God would rule creation through his royal representatives, they would rule the world together in partnership and relationship. Humans were to “co-rule” over the earth with God, under His authority and direction. They are provided a choice between living submitted under God’s authority, represented by the Tree of Life, or to seize the knowledge for ourselves, grasp the power and wisdom of defining good and evil for ourselves without submission to God, ourselves as ultimate authority, represented by the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.
A serpent (from the “beasts of the field”) arrives on the scene, telling a different story of this tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and Adam and Eve believe it. The humans rebel against God’s rule and try to seize the rule for themselves, trying to make themselves into God. The goodness of the garden is lost, and evil and death enter into God’s good world.
In an effort to “ascend” to be more like God, sin corrupts humanity to descend to become more like beasts. But God makes a promise that one day a human will come in the future, a “wounded victor,” and will destroy evil at its source, but it will be at the cost of his own life. This human won’t give into the beast, but will overcome and strike the beast while being struck by it.
For the rest of the biblical story, you are looking for this wounded victor, this human who will not give into the beast, but destroy him. Instead, in story after story, we find people acting like beasts. The very next story is about about Cain who’s jealous and angry at his brother Abel. God warns Cain that he’s facing a beastly urge called sin, a dark, mysterious kind of evil that consumes humans. But God says that Cain can rule the beast if he chooses. But he doesn’t. He lets this urge devour him and he becomes like a beast, murdering his brother. As the story continues, Cain’s children spread their animal-like violence, eventually leading to the founding of a whole civilization known for its beastly pride, the city of Babylon.
When humans try to be like God without God, we become like beasts.
When humans try to ascend to be like God, we descend to become like beasts.
If you fast-forward through Scripture, Israel ends up in Babylon, now in exile, and Daniel is having this dream of these beasts and the empires they represent. In the vision, Daniel sees into the heavenly courtroom where there are empty thrones: humanity has vacated our role to rule the world in partnership with God. There hasn’t been a human who was able to overcome the beast and rule alongside God until now. Daniel sees a figure called the Son of Man, which means “human.”
Daniel 7:9–10 (ESV) “As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat… the court sat in judgment…
Daniel 7:13–14 (ESV) “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.
The partnership of God, the Ancient of Days, and humanity is renewed through this “son of man.” He rides on a cloud up into God’s presence, which means that it is God who ascends this human, not the human himself, and then sits down on the divine throne to rule the world. And all humanity worships and serves this Son of Man alongside God. This Son of Man is more than human, like a “God-Man.” And the kingdom of this divine Son of Man is eternal and indestructible.
So it makes sense why Jesus chose the title Son of Man as his favorite self-designation. Jesus was claiming to be the truly human one on a mission to confront the beast. Jesus consistently pulled from the themes of the Daniel 7 scene of Son of Man: suffering, enthronement, and God-given authority. Jesus tried to consistently show his disciples that the way of authority (“ascending”), ruling on God’s behalf, is through sacrificial service, and representing God is through self-giving love.
Death and Resurrection Conversations: Mark 8:27-38, 9:30-37, 10:32-45
Back to Mark 14, Jesus is before the council and the High Priest. This is a kind of courtroom scene, and the High Priest, who was supposed to represent God’s character and authority (image) is standing in judgment over Jesus. He asks him if he is the “Messiah, the Son of God.” And Jesus says yes, that is who he is. He is claiming for the first time the truth that he is in fact God’s Anointed and Appointed King of Israel. But he doesn’t stop there. Again, he immediately maps onto these titles, the “Son of Man.”
Mark 14:60–64 (ESV) 60 And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?” 61 But he remained silent and made no answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” 62 And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” 63 And the high priest tore his garments and said, “What further witnesses do we need? 64 You have heard his blasphemy. What is your decision?” And they all condemned him as deserving death.
By making this statement about himself in this specific moment, he uses the imagery of Daniel 7 to not just describe who he is, the “Son of Man,” but who the leaders are: beasts (a beastly empire). The High Priests and the Council were called to represent God, bear his image. But instead of representing God and ruling on his behalf, they had gone the way of all humanity, giving into the beastly urge to grasp power, control, and authority, and in so doing had become the beasts of Daniel 7. Babylon and Rome wasn’t the only beastly empire, Israel had become the beast as well. Now, the beast was going to crush the son of man, but in so doing, God will subvert the evil, and raise the Son of Man up onto the ultimate throne to rule the world, and who’s kingdom and glory and authority will have no end. Jesus knew what he was doing. This is how the Genesis 3 wounded victor would crush the head of the satan and defeat evil, he would let it crush him. But just as the Suffering Servant, so the Son of Man will be vindicated by God and will become the Divine King of the whole world.
Our Discipleship to Jesus, the Son of Man
Jesus, as the Daniel 7 Son of Man, is the ultimate human, and the perfect image of God. Jesus conquers the serpent, the beast of sin, by letting it kill him, not by giving into it. He overcomes and crushes the beastly evil through his sacrificial life and self-giving love. Jesus sees the cross, a symbol of a gruesome torture device for a beastly empire, as a throne on which he will be “lifted up.”
Jesus, the Son of Man, is the ultimate human, the perfect image of God
As the perfect image of God, he represents God’s character in his self-giving love, loving humanity enough to give his life away as a ransom for us. This is what God is like. And as God’s image, he exercises his authority (rule) through sacrificial servanthood, which he took all the way to the cross, suffering for the guilty.
“Being disguised under the disfigurement of an ugly crucifixion and death, the Christ upon the cross is paradoxically the clearest revelation of who God is.” ~ Hans Urs von Balthasar
Philippians 2:5–11 (ESV) 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Do you see here the reversal of the fallen human condition? We tried to “ascend” to be like God, grasping for the authority to rule our own lives, defining good and evil for ourselves, and in so doing, we “descended” into being more like beasts. But Jesus, though equal with God, emptied himself (“descended”) to be human, and humbled himself to be a servant, obeying the will of the Father all the way into death on the cross. But because of his humility and obedience, God has highly exalted him (“ascended”), giving him authority and dominion and glory. Paul here is reflecting on Jesus as the Daniel 7 Son of Man, “ascending” on the clouds to the throne of God, who rules the world and who’s kingdom will know no end. This is what God is like, and this is what image we are called to bear.
But did you see the way Paul started these statements about Jesus? He said, “have this mind among yourselves…” Jesus, as the image of God, the Son of Man, set an example for us to follow. In being Jesus’ disciples, we are invited to be a new humanity, bearing God’s image and defeating the beast in the same paradoxical way: humbling ourselves instead of grasping for power, exercise our authority by being a servant, and revealing the character of Christ through self-giving, sacrificial love, being willing to suffer in obedience to God. Throughout the course of the Gospel of Mark, this is what Jesus has been trying to say about himself, and the life he invites us to follow him in.
2 Corinthians 3:18 (ESV) And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
Fast-forwarding the story to the end, Mark ends his gospel with Jesus, having been raised from the dead, just as he prophesied, and ascends as the Son of Man to the throne of God where he rules and reigns forever.
Mark 16:19 (ESV) So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.
Hebrews 1:1–3 (ESV) 1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
Jesus is the image of God, the perfect human. He has made purification for our sins and is reigning from the throne in heaven. So who do you say Jesus is?
Lexham Bible Dictionary, entry on “Son of Man”
The phrase “son of man” referring to humans is often stated in the Old Testament in contrast to God: Numbers 23:19; Isaiah 51:12, 56:2; Jeremiah 49:18, 33, 50:40; 51:43; Psalm 8:4, 80:17, 146:3; Job 16:21, 25:6, 35:8
Daniel 7:1-27 — “one like a son of man”
Daniel 7:17 (ESV) ‘These four great beasts are four kings who shall arise out of the earth.
Genesis 3:15, “He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.”
Genesis 4:1-8, Cain and Abel
Cain’s family line is in Genesis 4:12-24, and the city of Babel (“Babylon”) is found in Genesis 11:1-9
Jesus does not give into the temptation of the serpent while in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11, Luke 4:1-13) amongst the “wild beasts” (Mark 1:12-13). He goes about expelling the beastly evil (Luke 4:14-44; 5:12-26).
Colossians 1:15, 2 Corinthians 4:4, Hebrews 1:3
See also Romans 5:7-8 and Colossians 2:13-15
Mark 15:26 — “The King of the Jews” (See also John 12:32)
Mark 10:45 — “the Son of Man came…to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Isaiah 53:10-11)
Hans Urs von Balthasar, Love Alone is Credible
Romans 5:17, Ephesians 4:17-24, Colossians 3:1-11
Mark 10:42-45, 8:34-35, 12:29-31, Revelation 12:11