#22 - The Son Of Man?
<<< BIBLE CHAPTER SECTIONS >>>
(Referred to in this weeks "Come Follow Me")
Mt 25- Parable of Ten Virgins - Parable of Talents - The Final Judgment
Mk 12- Parable of Talents - Paying Taxes to Caesar - Sadducees ask about the Resurrection - The Great Commandment - Whose Son is the Christ? - Beware of the Scribes - Widow’s Offering
Mk 13- Jesus Foretells Destruction of The Temple - Signs of Close of the Age - Abomination of Desolation - Coming of the Son of Man - Lesson of the Fig Tree - No One Knows the Day or that Hour
Lk 21- Widow’s Offering - Jesus Foretells Destruction of the Temple - Nation will rise against Nation - Jesus Foretells Destruction of Jerusalem - The Coming of the Son of Man - lesson of the Fig Tree - Watch Yourselves
Read the chapters yourself then…
watch the Bible Project videos on Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John
Neil Evans COMENTS:
Jesus often referred to Himself as “The Son of Man.” It was a very common Old Testament title used primarily to emphasize someones humanity. Jesus used the phrase in this sense many times for He was a real man. Another Old Testament use of the title comes from the book of Daniel (7:13,14) where the Messiah is described as the “Son of Man” with dominion, glory and an everlasting Kingdom. Nearing the end of His life, Jesus describes in graphic terms the conditions on the earth when He is coming to Judge the earth and rule as King. It is a very sobering description and was meant to provoke serious reflection about how prepared a person was for facing God. Then as now, people were prone to not take seriously God’s warnings about their accountability to God. With parables about ten bridesmaids and loaned money Jesus challenged people to always be earnestly ready for His promised return to earth. Jesus said the consequences of not being prepared for God’s judgment was like careless bridesmaids being locked out of the wedding; like people who don’t use God’s gifts loosing them altogether; and like an unproductive fig tree condemned to death.
Similar to their response to Jesus’ declarations about His soon coming death and resurrection, the disciples seemed to generally ignore the warnings about coming judgement because they were topics and ideas that didn’t fit their immediate expectations of what The Messiah was to be and do. The disciples were captivated by the amazing good things Jesus said and did and the potential Kingdom of David in which they were in position to become key participants. The religious leaders on the other hand took every opportunity to oppose Jesus with the hope of turning the populace away from following Him. They challenged Jesus with questions about marriage, the resurrection, paying taxes to Caesar, and the Temple. With each encounter Jesus confounded them with answers that revealed they did not really know the Scriptures with which they claimed to be so familiar.
In these closing days of Jesus’ ministry, in this heated atmosphere of controversy, Jesus warned His followers to beware of the religious leaders who personified those who cling to their own impressions, attitudes, and expectations of earning God’s favor by their seemingly righteous behaviors. Sitting in the Temple with His followers, Jesus pointed out the dramatic difference between self-righteous people and people who were truly pleasing to God.
There were many who brought money to put in the offering pan who did so participating in the show of public generosity. But Jesus pointed out one unique woman who obviously was very poor and had no interest in putting on a show for the watchers. She had virtually nothing, but gave it all, simply and profoundly out of love for God.
From the beginning of time God has desired our heart not our hand, our faith not our works. God knows that our heart is revealed by our hand not produced by it. Adam and Eve, like we are all bent to do, tried to make themselves presentable to God by making their own clothes to cover their sin. It didn’t work then, it didn’t work for the Scribes and Pharisees, and it doesn’t work for me now. The only covering that is truly effective is the one that God made for Adam and Eve, He promised to give in the sacrifice of the Messiah, and He gives in the righteousness of Jesus.
All of these things Jesus said and did as He was concluding His physical time with His followers. He knew that most of what He said and did was confusing at best; that it would take time for them to begin to understand Who He really was and what He was really doing. He knew that people had strong feelings about all that He said and did. He knew that their feelings were fickle and misleading. He knew that people would continue to misrepresent what He said and did. He knew that the crucial thing was to have an accurate and reliable record that people could refer to over and over again as they sought to truly understand what God was doing with the world and the individuals He created. Jesus knew that like the Old Testament Scriptures there would be records made of the all that He said and did.
Knowing these things, Jesus made an astounding claim: “My words will never pass away.” The words Jesus said, the things Jesus did, were recorded by the breath of God working through the minds and pens of men who personally knew Him. Those words have never passed away; there is no evidence that they have ever been lost or stolen. Today, we have the awesome privilege of holding in our laps the very words that accurately present Who Jesus Christ is and what He did and is doing in our world and in our lives. There have been many people who claim to add to or to subtract from the words of Jesus, but their claims are simply claims without literary or historical evidence. If any of Jesus’ words have “passed away” He was mistaken. If Jesus was mistaken, He was not the Messiah, Savior, God He claimed to be. But, if Jesus told the truth, I have an accurate copy of His words in my lap which prompts and teaches me to love Him and serve Him, trusting that He is coming some day to take me to be with Him, to enjoy Him forever, not because of my faithfulness (which is sporadic at best) but because of His.
(Referred to in this weeks "Come Follow Me")
Mt 25- Parable of Ten Virgins - Parable of Talents - The Final Judgment
Mk 12- Parable of Talents - Paying Taxes to Caesar - Sadducees ask about the Resurrection - The Great Commandment - Whose Son is the Christ? - Beware of the Scribes - Widow’s Offering
Mk 13- Jesus Foretells Destruction of The Temple - Signs of Close of the Age - Abomination of Desolation - Coming of the Son of Man - Lesson of the Fig Tree - No One Knows the Day or that Hour
Lk 21- Widow’s Offering - Jesus Foretells Destruction of the Temple - Nation will rise against Nation - Jesus Foretells Destruction of Jerusalem - The Coming of the Son of Man - lesson of the Fig Tree - Watch Yourselves
Read the chapters yourself then…
watch the Bible Project videos on Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John
Neil Evans COMENTS:
Jesus often referred to Himself as “The Son of Man.” It was a very common Old Testament title used primarily to emphasize someones humanity. Jesus used the phrase in this sense many times for He was a real man. Another Old Testament use of the title comes from the book of Daniel (7:13,14) where the Messiah is described as the “Son of Man” with dominion, glory and an everlasting Kingdom. Nearing the end of His life, Jesus describes in graphic terms the conditions on the earth when He is coming to Judge the earth and rule as King. It is a very sobering description and was meant to provoke serious reflection about how prepared a person was for facing God. Then as now, people were prone to not take seriously God’s warnings about their accountability to God. With parables about ten bridesmaids and loaned money Jesus challenged people to always be earnestly ready for His promised return to earth. Jesus said the consequences of not being prepared for God’s judgment was like careless bridesmaids being locked out of the wedding; like people who don’t use God’s gifts loosing them altogether; and like an unproductive fig tree condemned to death.
Similar to their response to Jesus’ declarations about His soon coming death and resurrection, the disciples seemed to generally ignore the warnings about coming judgement because they were topics and ideas that didn’t fit their immediate expectations of what The Messiah was to be and do. The disciples were captivated by the amazing good things Jesus said and did and the potential Kingdom of David in which they were in position to become key participants. The religious leaders on the other hand took every opportunity to oppose Jesus with the hope of turning the populace away from following Him. They challenged Jesus with questions about marriage, the resurrection, paying taxes to Caesar, and the Temple. With each encounter Jesus confounded them with answers that revealed they did not really know the Scriptures with which they claimed to be so familiar.
In these closing days of Jesus’ ministry, in this heated atmosphere of controversy, Jesus warned His followers to beware of the religious leaders who personified those who cling to their own impressions, attitudes, and expectations of earning God’s favor by their seemingly righteous behaviors. Sitting in the Temple with His followers, Jesus pointed out the dramatic difference between self-righteous people and people who were truly pleasing to God.
There were many who brought money to put in the offering pan who did so participating in the show of public generosity. But Jesus pointed out one unique woman who obviously was very poor and had no interest in putting on a show for the watchers. She had virtually nothing, but gave it all, simply and profoundly out of love for God.
From the beginning of time God has desired our heart not our hand, our faith not our works. God knows that our heart is revealed by our hand not produced by it. Adam and Eve, like we are all bent to do, tried to make themselves presentable to God by making their own clothes to cover their sin. It didn’t work then, it didn’t work for the Scribes and Pharisees, and it doesn’t work for me now. The only covering that is truly effective is the one that God made for Adam and Eve, He promised to give in the sacrifice of the Messiah, and He gives in the righteousness of Jesus.
All of these things Jesus said and did as He was concluding His physical time with His followers. He knew that most of what He said and did was confusing at best; that it would take time for them to begin to understand Who He really was and what He was really doing. He knew that people had strong feelings about all that He said and did. He knew that their feelings were fickle and misleading. He knew that people would continue to misrepresent what He said and did. He knew that the crucial thing was to have an accurate and reliable record that people could refer to over and over again as they sought to truly understand what God was doing with the world and the individuals He created. Jesus knew that like the Old Testament Scriptures there would be records made of the all that He said and did.
Knowing these things, Jesus made an astounding claim: “My words will never pass away.” The words Jesus said, the things Jesus did, were recorded by the breath of God working through the minds and pens of men who personally knew Him. Those words have never passed away; there is no evidence that they have ever been lost or stolen. Today, we have the awesome privilege of holding in our laps the very words that accurately present Who Jesus Christ is and what He did and is doing in our world and in our lives. There have been many people who claim to add to or to subtract from the words of Jesus, but their claims are simply claims without literary or historical evidence. If any of Jesus’ words have “passed away” He was mistaken. If Jesus was mistaken, He was not the Messiah, Savior, God He claimed to be. But, if Jesus told the truth, I have an accurate copy of His words in my lap which prompts and teaches me to love Him and serve Him, trusting that He is coming some day to take me to be with Him, to enjoy Him forever, not because of my faithfulness (which is sporadic at best) but because of His.
Check out these LINKS:
Watch Bible Project video about Matthew
Watch Bible Project video about Mark
Watch Bible Project video about Luke
Watch Bible Project video about John
Read "Bible Words to Ponder" related to this week study
Read "The Gospel"