Journey Outside the Camp

Son of Man

Of all the names and titles that Jesus has, his preferred self-designated title is Son of Man. He uses it over 80 times in the gospels, far more than any other title. I've always thought that it was a strange title until I read up on it and learnt more about what it means.

The phrase the "son of man" is used two ways in the Old Testament. In places like Psalm 8:4 and Ezekiel 2:1, the phrase distinguishes mere humans from God. However in Daniel 7:13–14, the "son of man" reference is different.

Daniel 7:13–14
"I saw in the night visions,
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."

This son of man seems to be greater than any human. The fact that he comes on the clouds is a clear symbol of his divinity (see Psalm 104:3, Isaiah 19:1). This son of man is given dominion and glory and a kingdom that will last forever! Clearly, this son of man shares qualities that only God has and therefore is God. This is the title that Jesus uses on himself. Jesus is claiming that the role of the son of man is his to fulfill. And this was exactly what he said to Caiaphas the high priest when he was on trial.

The temptation of Jesus

As I studied Matthew 4 this morning, I was struck with fresh insight from God. Verse 1 is already very interesting: Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.

The event prior to this was Jesus being baptised and then filled with the Holy Spirit. Now the Spirit was driving (not by force but compelling) Jesus to go into the wilderness, into the area where there was no one around so he could focus. On what? On God, on preparing for the start of his ministry and also, to be tempted by the devil. Why did God the Father allow this or in fact, to be more precise, arrange for this? Well, after forty days of fasting, Jesus would be at his weakest physically. And God wanted him to learn and feel first-hand what humans face. Thus the devil was allowed to come and tempt him.

By being tempted thus, Jesus would feel as we do. He would have been tempted as we are. He can therefore understand us completely and be better able to aid those who are tempted. Also, in this encounter, Satan would learn of Jesus' power and expect that before too long, he and his kingdom would be completely destroyed by Jesus.

Two things I learnt this morning: 1) the defence against temptation is a firm grounding in the Word of God. The way Jesus handled the temptations that the devil repent is a textbook case for us to emulate when we ourselves face temptation. Be shielded by the Word of God! 2) It is often after a mountaintop experience with God (in this case, the in-flow of the Holy Spirit) that we are led into a trial or temptation. The mountaintop experience is God equipping us for a trial ahead. So when we feel especially close to God or feel that God has blessed us and strengthen us, do not then be surprised when at the next turn, disaster strikes. It is not that God is being random with our lives, but more of that he was arming us for the battle we now face.