“And the reason the Father gives his Son the authority to
judge is because he is the Son of Man.” John 5:27 EFP
The term “Son of Man” is not foreign to
the religious leaders of Jesus’ day. The
prophet Daniel uses it a couple of times; once to refer to a heavenly being
(7:13) and the other as the term a heavenly being used to refer to Daniel
himself (8:17). The prophet Ezekiel uses
it many times as the term used by the heavenly messenger to refer to him. In all cases the “Son of Man” is a messenger
used by God to pass on an important message to his audience.
In this case Jesus applies this term to
himself. He already has stated he is the
Son of God, when he refers to God as his Father. Now he adds that his Father
has bestowed all judgment to him because he is the Son of Man. Sent by the Father and one with the
Father…the concept is consistent with everything said previously by John about
Jesus. It is scandalously inconceivable
to the Jewish establishment of his time, but to me it is good news beyond
measure. He is Almighty God garbed in
human flesh carrying good news to sinners like me. He knows my condition. He shares in my experience. He experiences the penalty of my sinful
condition and many sins. And in the end, he judges me as righteous and invites
me to enter his kingdom of grace as I await the kingdom of glory. How can I not share that?
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