I recently had a conversation with a guy who wanted to know why Jesus constantly called himself “Son of Man”. The reason is because he is the True Adam; pure human. Jesus is what “man” (read “humanity”) was always intended to be by God. Everything that you and I aren’t, Jesus is. We can trace the origins of this back to Genesis.
When God created humanity, the Bible says that he created them in his own image (Genesis 1:27). He made them like himself. But what does this mean, exactly? Well, it means a lot of things, but the primary thing it means is that humanity was intended to represent God in the creation.
By giving Adam and Eve special authority to reign over the created world, they were like God in the sense that he reigns in goodness, mercy, grace, and ultimately self-giving love. By being like God in the creation, all of the creation would know what God is like and who God is when encountering humanity. The creation was always intended to celebrate God and give him glory because of the righteousness of humanity. Humanity was to reflect God into the world.
I have three daughters, and thankfully, they all look exactly like their mom. They are her little clones. If you look at our girls, you’re looking at Stacey. If you want to know what Stacey is like, just get to know our girls. They could very easily represent her, or stand in for her.
This is what Adam and Eve were supposed to do for God.
The problem was that Adam and Eve, in being exactly opposed to the nature of God, rebelled. God is not rebellious. Humans are rebellious. There’s no one for God to rebel against! He’s perfectly loving, kind, and powerful! Through their rebellion, Adam and Even not only brought the disease of sin into the creation, but they distorted the testimony of who God is. The image of God in humanity has become bent. It’s a perverted image. It’s marred. God is not like us (here is where the idea of “holy” comes in).
Now, rather than the creation and humanity celebrating God and giving him honor and glory, they curse his name. Things are broken, corrupt, diseased, and ultimately run by the great enemy: Death.
Jesus turns this all on its head. Jesus, as the Son of Man, does what Adam and Eve (and Israel) were always supposed to do: give a clear image of God. If you want to know what God looks like, look at Jesus. He is self-giving love. He dies for his friends and his enemies. He cares for others. He is compassionate. He is powerful. He is a healer. He is a forgiver.
Jesus says, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). Hebrews 1 says, “He [Jesus] is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word” (Hebrews 1:3).
This is why Jesus calls himself, “Son of Man”.
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