Post by Mark on Oct 31, 2008 3:51:42 GMT -8
Messiah Yeshua referred to Himself as "the Son of Man" at least 30 times in His recorded teachings of the New Testament. The idiom, in Christian circles, has come to understand this as an exclusive reference to Him, as the Messiah, as the Redeemer of man. It is easily forgotten that the term is found over 100 times in the Old Testament, speaking of Job, David (possibly as prophecy concerning the coming Messiah), the Jewish observer of 
(Isaiah 56:2), Ezekiel, and Daniel.
From a Jewish perspective, the term "Son of Man" is a specific identity referring to a specific quality or position. Because of the graphic and vivid nature of the Hebrew language, a simple phrase or word draws the depth of an entire history. The complex nature of the Jewish vocabulary allows for a depth of significance in simple phrases that, to the Greek thinker, seems only cursory.
To a Jew, when you say "the Son of Man", you are specifically referencing the positional qualities of Daniel and Ezekiel. These were men who stood as righteous pillars in a land that was oppressed by idolatry and paganism. These were men who stood as beacons for righteousness, heros of the faith, in a land that was dark with and heavy with pressure to yield to the current of status quo and assimilate into the culture surrounding them.
When Messiah Yeshua speaks of Himself as the Son of Man, He is drawing reference to the similarities between His role in the land and the defining qualities of Daniel and Ezekiel. He is contrasting Himself with the status quo. He is drawing distinction between His direction and purpose and the direction in which the people are being led.
It was undoubtedly a slap in the face to the theological leadership of the nation of Israel for Messiah to refer to Himself in such a way. It was, in the most culturally articulate manner, to declare what He would most eloquently say,
"I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6).
The status quo doesn’t like to hear that. They’d prefer not be exposed to the idea that they are bending away from the standard of God’s righteousness in the direction of man-centered self-acceptance. They are the "beacon of light"… or so they will tell us. For someone to come up and say that there needs to be true reference point in the midst of all their wavering is a bit incongruous.
While Messiah Yeshua stood in the New Testament period as the single standard and beacon for righteousness; it should not be over-looked that His predecessors, Daniel and Ezekiel, were contemporaries. Both of them stood in that position as "sons of man" at the same time, drawing people to the same God and the same standard of biblical obedience and worship. Both men stood erect among the wavering of the theological society that was trying to "fit in" under the dominance and oppression of the Babylonians.
When we understand the definition of the term and the circumstances under which it was employed, we may understand that as we are called to be followers and imitators of our Messiah, we are called to the position of Son of Man.
With the most cursory study of the phrase, "Son fo Man" it is easy to see that this role is not for the weak or unresolved. The Son of Man is the bulwark against the constant barrage of secularism and compromise. He (or she) stands alone against the tide that will make every effort and seize every opportunity blow him down and move his position. The Son of Man is a position of constancy in a world that demands compromise.
The call to walk in our life even as Messiah walked is a call to stand fast as the Son of Man, though that position is an offense and afront to all those who have been established and are considered by our society as the mainstream and general authority of faith and practice. It is the resolve to stand alone even though there is no sign that you will ever be defended, ever be vendicated nor that the pressure nor oppression will ever let up. Happy thoughts? Spend some time with Ezekiel for a little while. This is the admonishment of Paul:
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
(Galatians 6:7-9)
It would be nice if I could tell you that it is easy to follow the course that Adonai has commissioned us to follow. It would be nice to say that the world around us will respect our tenacity and honor our steadfastness to His righteous Word. That’s not what Messiah told us will happen. Rather, when the pressure is off, we best consider where it is that we may have drifted. The Son of Man is not come to a happy place where everyone is coming to lift him up on their shoulders in victory. He has come to a battlefield that is raging against him and those who are drawn to him need His steadfastness to sustain them, not the other way around.
If we are called to follow in the way of Messiah in our community… and, by the way, we are. We are called to be the Son of Man in that community. When we see our Christian community as a happy, loving place where all the cares of this world cannot touch us, we have lost our moorings. We are free-floating in a pagan society that is going down the drain.
(Isaiah 56:2), Ezekiel, and Daniel. From a Jewish perspective, the term "Son of Man" is a specific identity referring to a specific quality or position. Because of the graphic and vivid nature of the Hebrew language, a simple phrase or word draws the depth of an entire history. The complex nature of the Jewish vocabulary allows for a depth of significance in simple phrases that, to the Greek thinker, seems only cursory.
To a Jew, when you say "the Son of Man", you are specifically referencing the positional qualities of Daniel and Ezekiel. These were men who stood as righteous pillars in a land that was oppressed by idolatry and paganism. These were men who stood as beacons for righteousness, heros of the faith, in a land that was dark with and heavy with pressure to yield to the current of status quo and assimilate into the culture surrounding them.
When Messiah Yeshua speaks of Himself as the Son of Man, He is drawing reference to the similarities between His role in the land and the defining qualities of Daniel and Ezekiel. He is contrasting Himself with the status quo. He is drawing distinction between His direction and purpose and the direction in which the people are being led.
It was undoubtedly a slap in the face to the theological leadership of the nation of Israel for Messiah to refer to Himself in such a way. It was, in the most culturally articulate manner, to declare what He would most eloquently say,
"I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6).
The status quo doesn’t like to hear that. They’d prefer not be exposed to the idea that they are bending away from the standard of God’s righteousness in the direction of man-centered self-acceptance. They are the "beacon of light"… or so they will tell us. For someone to come up and say that there needs to be true reference point in the midst of all their wavering is a bit incongruous.
While Messiah Yeshua stood in the New Testament period as the single standard and beacon for righteousness; it should not be over-looked that His predecessors, Daniel and Ezekiel, were contemporaries. Both of them stood in that position as "sons of man" at the same time, drawing people to the same God and the same standard of biblical obedience and worship. Both men stood erect among the wavering of the theological society that was trying to "fit in" under the dominance and oppression of the Babylonians.
When we understand the definition of the term and the circumstances under which it was employed, we may understand that as we are called to be followers and imitators of our Messiah, we are called to the position of Son of Man.
With the most cursory study of the phrase, "Son fo Man" it is easy to see that this role is not for the weak or unresolved. The Son of Man is the bulwark against the constant barrage of secularism and compromise. He (or she) stands alone against the tide that will make every effort and seize every opportunity blow him down and move his position. The Son of Man is a position of constancy in a world that demands compromise.
The call to walk in our life even as Messiah walked is a call to stand fast as the Son of Man, though that position is an offense and afront to all those who have been established and are considered by our society as the mainstream and general authority of faith and practice. It is the resolve to stand alone even though there is no sign that you will ever be defended, ever be vendicated nor that the pressure nor oppression will ever let up. Happy thoughts? Spend some time with Ezekiel for a little while. This is the admonishment of Paul:
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
(Galatians 6:7-9)
It would be nice if I could tell you that it is easy to follow the course that Adonai has commissioned us to follow. It would be nice to say that the world around us will respect our tenacity and honor our steadfastness to His righteous Word. That’s not what Messiah told us will happen. Rather, when the pressure is off, we best consider where it is that we may have drifted. The Son of Man is not come to a happy place where everyone is coming to lift him up on their shoulders in victory. He has come to a battlefield that is raging against him and those who are drawn to him need His steadfastness to sustain them, not the other way around.
If we are called to follow in the way of Messiah in our community… and, by the way, we are. We are called to be the Son of Man in that community. When we see our Christian community as a happy, loving place where all the cares of this world cannot touch us, we have lost our moorings. We are free-floating in a pagan society that is going down the drain.
