WHY DID JESUS REFER HIMSELF AS THE SON OF MAN?
Matthew 9:6
So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins."
Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, "Stand up, pick up your
mat, and go home!"
In November 2019, Tesla CEO Elon Musk presented the
world with a new concept truck he called the cybertruck. The cybertruck’s
unveiling was an eventful one, will be hard to forget, and a dramatic shift
from conventional modern trucks. But the cybertruck is currently a prototype,
not just of the future production run, but of Mr. Musk’s design vision. When
you observe the cybertruck you could very well envision what’s going on in Mr.
Musk’s mind.
In the book of Ezekiel God continued to address
Ezekiel as ‘son of man’. God had anointed Ezekiel as a prophet, a point
of contact between God and Israel. About the people of Israel God kept
remarking, “They’re rebels” (see Ezekiel 1 and 2). Ezekiel, on the other hand,
was an obedient prophet of God, a prototype of what Israel and mankind could
be. This is why God addressed him as ‘son of man’. Ezekiel was a prototype of
God’s vision for humanity; custodians of His Spirit.
Jesus often addressed Himself with
that same title- son of man. I used to think Jesus identified Himself that way
to allude to His humanity, but I missed the point. Jesus may have come to the
world as a man but He was not conceived of human seed.
Matthew 1:18
This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His
mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took
place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of
the Holy Spirit.
Jesus would say, "You are from below; I am
from above. You belong to this world; I do not. John 8:23
When Jesus referred to Himself as the son of man, He was
indicating that He is the prototype, not just of the ‘production run’ of God’s
kingdom, but of the original vision of God concerning mankind. God’s design on
man may appear sabotaged by the enemy, but Jesus continuously indicated that it
isn’t over by pointing out He was, in fact, a living prototype of a future
‘production run’ of humanity. Hallelujah! Are you following me? Concerning men
in Ezekiel’s time God admitted, “They’re rebels.” But then the same God would
address Ezekiel as ‘son of man.’ Think about it; why would His own anointed
vessel be a product of rebels? The answer is that God was not talking about
biological hereditary. Faithful, anointed and obedient Ezekiel was a sample
prototype of what God has planned.
If you observe Jesus, you could very well look into
God’s head and see what He’s working on, what He’s going to build man into.
Yes, Jesus is the prototype of the production run of mankind; that’s what it
means that Jesus is the son of man.
1 John 3:2-3
Dear friends, we are already God's children, but He has
not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that
we will be like Him, for we will see him as He really is. And all who have this eager expectation will
keep themselves pure, just as He is pure.
Not every material in Tesla’s production plant actually
goes into the frame of the vehicles. There are plenty of waste materials,
discarded and useless for the making of Teslas. If the word of God is not in
you, He is not working in you- don’t expect to be part of His production.
However, to the glory of God, useless things can be made useful in God’s hands.
That’s why this message is still preached all over the world. That’s why you’re
reading this right now. The question is, what will you do about you?
