Sermon, 2009-09-06, Who Do You Say the Son of Man Is? 1 Show Seinfeld clip – Season 6 Episode 19, “The Jimmy.” DVD 4. **For 10:45 service, set subtitles ON English** Start at time: 00:00:36 Stop at time: 00:02:10 just after George says "All right Jimmy, good talking to ya." Absolutely, do not let it run past 00:02:12.

The New York Health Club. Jerry, Kramer and George are getting dressed George: " That guy was amazing, he could dunk & he was my height. What was his name again?" Jerry: "Jimmy" George: "Jimmy, right." Jerry: "I dunno how you could forget . He kept referring to himself in the third person. "Jimmy's under the boards. Jimmy's in the open. Jimmy makes the shot." George: "Ah! your just mad 'cause we beat ya." Kramer: "Jerry it's my fault. I couldn't make a shot. These losses they stay with me. They fester Jerry. Now this is gonna plague me." Jimmy walks in George: "HEY! JIMMY!!! Ha, ha, ha...... Great game." Jimmy: "OH yeah...... Jimmy played pretty good." George: "Hey you know , I felt we had like a synergy out there, you know, like we were really helping each other." Kramer: "What d' you got there?" Jimmy: "These?" Kramer: "Yeah" Jimmy: "These are Jimmy's training shoes." George: "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah! I've seen these...they sorta ...they make your legs...stronger." Jimmy: "Oh yeah! Jimmy couldn't jump at all before he got these. Jimmy was like you.” Kramer: "They're Plyometric." George: "Plyometric?" Kramer: "Yeah! They isolate the muscles. The muscle has to grow....or die." George: Where d' you get 'em?" Jimmy: "Jimmy sells 'em." George: "You sell them?" Jimmy: "Oh yeah! But Jimmy's all out right now. Moving to Manhattan set Jimmy back a bit." George: "Hey listen, let me give you my card. It's got my home number on it. I want to buy the first pair when the next shipment comes in." Jimmy: "All right" George: "All right Jimmy, good talking to ya."

Jimmy liked to talk about himself in the third person. Rather than saying I or me, he’d call himself Jimmy.

Did you ever know someone who did that? Sermon, 2009-09-06, Who Do You Say the Son of Man Is? 2 Actually Jesus did that? Kind of.

Jesus didn’t go around saying things like “Jesus doesn’t like hypocrites.” Or “Jesus is gonna rise again someday.”

But, when he would talk about himself, he often wouldn’t say “I,” He would refer to himself as the Son of Man. He said things like

Matthew 20:28 (All on the same slide) “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Who’s the Son of Man Jesus? You know.

Luke 5:24 “But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins....” He said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.”

Who can forgive sins Jesus? The one who makes people walk? Why that’s . you.

Luke 24:7 “The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.”

Is that gonna happen to you, Jesus? You are the Son of Man?

Actually Jesus refers to himself as the Son of Man 77 times in the New Testament Gospels. He uses Son of Man instead of saying “I.” He doesn’t say, “I must be delivered into the hands of sinful men.” He says “The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men”

And he doesn’t refer to himself by any other title or name more than a couple times. This is who Jesus says He is. By an overwhelming margin.

So what does He mean by it? Why does he call himself the Son of Man?

I had the question posed to me in an email by someone who attends our church, who had a friend who was curious and confused by it.

Sermon, 2009-09-06, Who Do You Say the Son of Man Is? 3 And I can understand how a thoughtful person reading the gospels and being introduced to the term and the fact that Jesus used it of himself, might wonder why and what does it mean – especially since it sounds like Jesus is calling himself a man But doesn’t He also call himself God too?

It’s like if someone kept calling themselves the yellow one, why would I believe you if you told me he was blue?

And here’s the clincher. In fact, Jesus asks his disciples if they know what it means.

Matthew 16:13 When Jesus came to Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"

Who are you? Jesus? Who is the Son of Man ?

Jesus wants us to ask the question.

And it turns out that the definition and explanation is fairly easy to understand. But the implications, what it means, and what it relates to is really profound and important.

So, today: Who do people say the Son of Man is?

1. It refers to humanity .

The term is used a few times in the Old Testament of just a son of a man, as in

Psalm 8:4 What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?

Numbers 23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man , that he should change his mind.

Sometimes in the Old Testament it was how God spoke about humanity in its entirety. Men and the sons of men, us all.

But then, at one point, God uses it soften when he speaks to the prophet Ezekiel that son of man came to 2. It refers to a prophet . Sermon, 2009-09-06, Who Do You Say the Son of Man Is? 4 In the book of Ezekiel in the Old Testament, which is one of the latest written books, Son of Man explodes in usage. He uses it over 90 times in Ezekiel.

God speaks to Ezekiel directly. And he calls Ezekiel “son of man.”

As in Ezekiel 2:1 He said to me, " Son of man , stand up on your feet and I will speak to you."

Ezekiel 3:4 He then said to me: " Son of man , go now to the house of Israel and speak my words to them.

God uses it constantly in Ezekiel; it’s in almost every chapter of the book. Sometimes it appears 5 or 6 times in a chapter.

It’s such a dominant feature of how God speaks to Ezekiel, who is a prophet, that by Jesus’ day “son of man” was associated with an expression for a prophet.

Son of Man was an expression for a prophet. God made it into that.

But then, the prophet Daniel used it in a special way .

In Daniel, which is another book in the Old Testament that’s really interesting, you should read it, Son of Man came to

3. It refers to The Messiah .

Look at what Daniel prophesied almost 600 years before Jesus.

Daniel 7:13-14 "In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man , coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.

This is a very important verse in the Old Testament. If you haven’t seen this before or don’t know where to find this, you ought to remember this. Sermon, 2009-09-06, Who Do You Say the Son of Man Is? 5 I think Daniel’s talking about Jesus here. But this is well before Jesus’ time.

Daniel, who is a visionary prophet has a vision at night, maybe a dream, and he sees one who he says was like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached God and who was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.

So, the Jews who studied the OT said, one day God is going to send us a man, a special man, who will be powerful and who will establish an eternal kingdom.

Daniel was a captive slave in the Babylonian kingdom at the time. And the Jews had suffered oppression by other nations all through their history.

So, they took this vision to mean, that one day God would send them a rescuer, a Savior, and that man would be worshipped by all people, all nations, and all men.

And that person would be a king.

And do you know what they did at a king’s coronation in Israel? When a king was crowned?

They would anoint Him. Anoint means to have oil poured on you.

Look up 1 Samuel 15 where Samuel said to Saul, "I am the one the LORD sent to anoint you king over his people Israel;

The king would be anointed, he would have oil poured over his head as a sign of God’s Spirit.

And the Hebrew word in that day for Anointed one was?

Messiah. The Greek was Christ.

Messiah is Hebrew for Anointed One Christ is Greek for Anointed One. Sermon, 2009-09-06, Who Do You Say the Son of Man Is? 6 Daniel says one day God will give us a king who will last forever and who will rule all people .

And the Jews said, Then we will look for this King to come, this anointed one, this Messiah.

Right here in Daniel is where the coming Messiah/Christ/King concept takes form. And Daniel calls him ... one like a son of man.

That’s why Peter says what Peter says.

When Jesus came to Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets." “But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus replied, ... And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven...."

Who do people say the son of Man is? Some say you’re just a prophet, Jesus – like Jeremiah or Elijah.

But Peter says, I know who the Son of Man is. You’re the anointed one, the eternal king, the Christ.

And Jesus says, well done Peter, you know what I mean by Son of Man. I am the king Daniel foresaw. I will have an eternal kingdom.

And that’s why Jesus say I will give you the keys to the what? The kingdom.

So, now quickly, I want to go back to the Daniel passage and tell you a few things I think this means for us today.

What else does Son of Man mean to us today?

1. It means Jesus is God .

"In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man , coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was Sermon, 2009-09-06, Who Do You Say the Son of Man Is? 7 given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.

Notice the one in Daniel’s vision is “like” a son of man. He is not exactly a son of man.

And He is given authority, glory, and sovereign power – all like God.

And most significantly – he is worshiped. All people worship him.

What does the Old Testament call it when you worship anyone or anything other than God? Idolatry. It’s forbidden.

The only one who is worshiped is? God. But this son of man is worshipped.

Therefore, this one like a son of man, has the attributes of God, and is worshiped. He must be God, too He is a God/man.

That’s why Peter says, you are the Christ . the Son of God.

So we have an Old Testament snapshot of the Messiah, who will have an eternal kingdom, who is like a man, but who is God – so He is God in human form, in the flesh.

John described like this:

John 1:1, 14 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.... The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.

How can Jesus be God and be with God. How can Jesus be God And the Father be God And the Holy Spirit be God

That’s the truth God reveals to us that we call the trinity. That God is one God in three persons. Sermon, 2009-09-06, Who Do You Say the Son of Man Is? 8 In the next coming weeks, we’re gonna look at the trinity. Title slide

We’re gonna look at the Trinity in a way that will help us understand God & what we believe. And that will also have a real impact in how we relate to each other.

We’re gonna look at how the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit relate to one another. And we will use the nature and qualities of their relationship to each other as examples for us.

We’re calling it “Relationships in the Image of God A Trinitarian Approach to Shaping Our Relationships”

And each week we’ll look at a concrete visible illustration that attempts to explain the trinity.

We will also use the illustrations of the egg, water, a tree, a rope, and others to engage the younger imagination

And while it will be a little theological, and I do not apologize for that, each week will also be very practical with insights for improving our relationships.

What else does Son of Man mean to us today? 2. It means that Jesus will return someday Daniel’s vision has the son of man coming with the clouds of heaven.

"In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man , coming with the clouds of heaven.

That image has yet to be fulfilled in Jesus.

In fact there’s a sense that all of this is yet to be fulfilled, that Jesus has ushered in his kingdom, we are in it, but it is not yet complete.

Jesus is yet to be worshiped by all people of all nations. But one day he will be.

He promised his disciples he would return. He even told the High Priest who arrested Him the night before He was crucified.

He said, Matthew 26:63-64 Sermon, 2009-09-06, Who Do You Say the Son of Man Is? 9 The high priest said to him, "I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God." "Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied. "But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven."

Do you see that? “Are you the Christ?”

“Yes, and in the future you will see the who?” The Son of Man – think of Daniel High Priest. The Son of Man will sit at the right hand of the Father – until the World has a chance to believe and receive what He did on the cross.

But then He will return, coming on the clouds of heaven.

Jesus is coming back someday, someday soon maybe. And he will set up his kingdom. And he will destroy the works of the devil and all those practice them.

Today there is grace, there is patience. God is patient not wanting anyone to perish for their sins against him, But wanting all of us to come to repentance, so that we would receive mercy and trust in his Son.

And then finally,

What else does Son of Man mean to us today? 3. It means that the choice is still yours.

In Matthew 16:13 Jesus said, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"

When Jesus asked this question 2000 years ago, He knew what people thought of when they heard it.

• He knew some people would hear that Jesus was saying he was a man. Maybe just a man.

When you ask people today who Jesus is, that’s what some people say. He was a man, just a man. A good man, but just a man.

• Jesus knew that some people would hear a prophet when he said son of man. Some say Jeremiah. Some say Elijah. Sermon, 2009-09-06, Who Do You Say the Son of Man Is? 10 And today, some people say that’s who the Son of Man is – He was a prophet. Not just a man, he was a prophet. Muslim’s say Jesus was a prophet. Buddhist’s say Jesus was a prophet. Many people say Jesus was a prophet. Just a prophet, though.

• And Jesus knew that some people would hear Son of Man and understand and believe. They would understand how He was the Son of God, the Christ, the savior of the world.

And they would believe that He had to die for them on the cross And they would believe that He rose again to be an eternal King who will return some day.

So when he used the expression Son of Man of himself, you could choose to hear it however you preferred.

You could hear it as Jesus calling himself just a son of a man – just human. Or you could hear it as Jesus calling himself a prophet – that was something, but just a prophet. Or you could hear him referring to himself in a subtle – let her who has an ear to hear, hear – reference that he was the Messiah, the saving king of an eternal kingdom, the Son of God, and you would worship Him.

How you hear it is of course the question for all people of all time. “Who do you say the Son of Man is?”

Jesus wasn’t just asking a small group of followers, 12 maybe, maybe more there that day, He was asking you and me too.

He knew this question would survive. He knew this question would be asked for all time. He knew you would be here today when He inspired me to ask it once again.

“Who do you say the Son of Man is?”

Please stand and pray with me.