GUEST POST: The Son of Man

I've been blessed beyond measure for some time now to have Ross as a friend.  He's trustworthy, full of grace, and not afraid to challenge.  Here's some of his ideas he's been sharing with me.  Check out www.rawspoon.com to see more of his stuff.  

The Son of Man

It seems like Jesus goes out of his way to talk about himself in third person and call himself the “The Son of Man.”

Imagine if you asked me what I'm doing today and I reply, "The son of Doug is gonna mow the lawn.”

Seems a little weird. He must really want people to know where he came from.

The notes in my Bible say that sometimes "son of man" is used to simply denote someone “merely human.” I hear that our God is the only major God who claims to know what it’s like to be human, like us. That’s pretty cool.

But also, this title of “son” helps us understand how he can be fully God AND fully man. Hebrews 2 says Jesus is the son of God as well as the son of man. I can understand this because I am fully the son of Doug, as well as fully the son of Mary Jane. Jesus's dad was God and mother was Mary.

Also in Hebrews 2 it says that those humans who Jesus makes holy are also sons of God! I like this idea that we are sons of men because we are born in these human bodies, but if we turn to Jesus we become more than just humans. We become sons of God.

But what does it mean that Jesus is “THE” son of man? Maybe he’s “THE” next generation produced from mankind. We are of the first Adam, but he is the last Adam. The newer and better model. The ultimate archetype of what we were made to be. The model that includes God’s spirit and that we can upgrade to if we are made holy by him. Like how my iPhone 4S can upgrade to the operating system as the iPhone 5, as long as I’m relying on the source for all my updates.

So why does Jesus so adamantly want us to know he is the son of man? Maybe it’s because he wants us to know he is one of us and feels what we feel, but he also wants us to know it’s possible to be more than just human, by becoming like him, a son of God.

Raw spoon

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