Whatever the expression “Son of God”
implies about Christ in relation to God, it follows that the comparable phrase
“son of man” implies something similar in relation to man. The biblical idiom
“son of man” is simply a roundabout way of saying “man” or “human being” (cf. Num.
23:19; Psa. 8:4),1 obviously connecting Jesus to the human race.
Irrespective of what else might be said about this expression, the Lord clearly
favored it as a self-designation. While the terminology itself does not intrinsically
convey any special sense of divinity or messianic identification,2
its application to Jesus and use in conjunction with the title “Son of God”
seems to give it a distinctive nuance.
The
Humanness of Jesus
Although we tend to place great stress on
the Lord’s role as God’s Son, it is interesting that the New Testament seems to
place even greater stress on his role as the son of man. Jesus is explicitly
referred to as “man” no less than thirty-six times in the New Testament, and as
“the son of man” an impressive eighty-two times (almost entirely as a
self-description).3 The humanity of our Lord is one of the most
significant yet often underappreciated doctrines of the Bible. While the
importance of Christ’s deity must never be downplayed, the fact remains that
“the Logos became flesh” (John 1:14),
and the overwhelming emphasis of scripture appears to be on this aspect of his
being.4 In fact, a critical tenet of the Christian faith is the
acknowledgement of “Jesus Christ having come in flesh” (1 John 4:2; cf. 2
John 7).
Oneness
with Humanity
The Hebrews epistle explains that Christ’s
brotherhood with humanity was necessary in order for him to suffer and die for
our sins, as well as to help in the human plight, to be a merciful and faithful
high priest, and to sympathize with our struggles, trials, and weaknesses
(2:9-18). But to what extent was he willing to take on our frail human form? The
writer of Hebrews uses the expression katà pánta
(2:17), “in all things” (NKJV) or “in every respect” (ESV); thus Jesus was
subject to the human experience from every conceivable angle (hunger, thirst,
pain, stress, grief, et al.).5 The implication is that he, as the result of his incarnation, had no undue advantage over the rest of mankind.
This is emphasized further in 4:15, which states: “for we do not have a high priest
unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but having been tempted in every way
[katà pánta] as we are …”
To be tempted is to be enticed to sin. If
it were not possible for Christ to have sinned, the word “tempted” is void of
all meaning. Although God cannot be tempted by evil (Jas. 1:13), Jesus apparently
emptied [kenóō] himself
(Phil. 2:7) of divine attributes like the inability to be tempted. Before we pursue
this further, let’s make sure we understand the fundamental difference between
“attributes” and “essence,” and what is and is not implied here.
The divine essence of Jesus has never
changed or ceased to exist. He has always been and always will be fully divine
(see Deity of Christ). While essence defines who one inherently is, attributes
are simply observable manifestations. For example, what is a human? An initial
response might be to list human attributes, like the ability to walk upright and
to think, reason, and communicate. But what about a person in a coma or an
unborn baby, unable to walk upright, think, reason, and communicate? Is this
person not human or perhaps less than human? One’s essence or nature is
unaffected by whether or not attributes are manifested.
In order to redeem lost humanity, the Lord
Jesus Christ had to become one of us in every way (katà pánta), which is the message of Heb. 2:9-18. While
maintaining his divine essence, he had to give up the rights, privileges, advantages,
prerogatives, and powers of deity. Note that (a) God cannot be tempted (Jas.
1:13), yet Jesus was tempted (Heb. 4:15); (b) God is self-sufficient (Psa.
115:3), yet Jesus was not (John 5:19); (c) God does not get weary (Isa. 40:28),
yet Jesus did (John 4:6); (d) God is omnipresent (Psa. 139), but Jesus was not
(John 4:3-4; 5:1; 7:1); (e) God is all-knowing (Psa. 147:5), yet Jesus was not
(Mark 13:32).6
This was the inevitable reality of taking
on human flesh. His inherent oneness with God never ended, but his assumed
oneness with humankind made him every bit as human as the rest of us. The fact
remains that “the Logos became flesh”
(John 1:14). “By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses
Jesus Christ having come in flesh is of God” (1 John 4:2). “Because many
deceivers have entered into the world, those not confessing Jesus Christ coming
in flesh; this is the deceiver and the antichrist” (2 John 7).
But
What About His Miracles?
The miraculous powers demonstrated by
Christ were no more innate than the miracles performed by anyone else.
According to scripture, these supernatural abilities were given to him by the
Father through the Spirit (Acts 10:38; cf. Matt. 9:8; 12:28; Luke 3:22; 4:1,
14-19; 11:20; John 3:2; 5:36; Acts 2:22). These gifts were necessary to confirm his
identity and his message, but in his daily living as a flesh-and-blood human
being, Jesus was like you and me in every way.
An
Example to Humanity
Even though Jesus was confronted with
every enticement known to man, Hebrews 4:15 goes on to affirm that he was
“without sin.” But how can this be? If Jesus were truly like all other human
beings, having absolutely no advantage, how was he able to combat temptation so
successfully when the rest of us are all too familiar with defeat? It had
nothing to do with his divine nature (since he was tempted) or with
supernatural intervention. Peter, for example, was filled with the Spirit and
had the ability to perform miracles, but this did not render him incapable of
sinning (cf. Gal. 2:11-14).
Christ’s sinless perfection was
attributable to nothing more than his complete submission to the Father’s will.
Man struggles with sin when he relies too much on his own strength and wisdom
and is determined to pursue selfish desires. Jesus, however, could honestly
say, “I can of myself do nothing … I do not seek my own will but the will of
the Father who sent me” (John 5:30; cf. 6:38; 8:29).
A key to overcoming temptation, as
practiced and taught by our Lord, is a consistent prayer life (cf. Luke 11:1-4;
22:39-46). Should we assume that Jesus had more time than we do to devote
to prayer? A casual reading of the Gospels illustrates how extraordinarily busy
he was (Mark 1:45; 2:1-2; 3:7-10, 20; 5:24; 6:30-34; et al.), yet he frequently
withdrew from his hectic schedule to commune with the heavenly Father (Luke
5:16). Although the Lord seldom had time to pray, he always made time to
pray, even if it meant getting up earlier in the morning (Mark 1:35) or staying
up through the night (Luke 6:12). One can always find time for things that are
really important. Perhaps we struggle so much with sin because we do not pray
as often or as fervently as Jesus did (cf. Heb. 5:7). We learn from his example
that if one is too busy to pray, he is too busy not to pray!
An
Everlasting Benefit to Humanity
Jesus has not only proven that temptation
can be conquered in the human life, he has clearly demonstrated how it can be
accomplished. If we are genuinely committed to walking just as he walked (1
John 2:6), we will gladly exchange the impediments of laziness, pride, and
selfishness for complete devotion to the will of God. The only reason for
allowing sin to be victorious in our lives is the foolish choice of neglecting
to utilize what is readily available in Christ. Temptation is admittedly a
constant threat that will plague us until our last breath is taken. But because
of the Lord’s victory over it, the dreadful throne of judgment now becomes the
approachable “throne of grace,” from which we may boldly “obtain mercy and find
grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16).7
Conclusion
Because Jesus is both God and man, he is
the perfect mediator between God and men (1 Tim. 2:5). While eternally divine, the
Father-Son relationship began when Jesus was conceived and born as a
flesh-and-blood human being,
and the Son has been subject to the Father since the incarnation (cf. 1 Cor.
15:28). In other words, Jesus became the Son of God when he became the
son of man. Though existing in the form of God, he humbled himself by taking on
human flesh (John 1:1, 14; Phil. 2:5-8). Jesus as “the Son of God” has a
twofold implication in relation to God: equality (of nature) and subordination
(of role). Jesus as “the son of man” implies his oneness with humanity; “for
even the son of man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life a
ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).
Endnotes:
1 See also Psa. 4:2; 8:4;
31:19; 33:13; 57:4; 58:1; 80:17; 144:3; 145:12; 146:3; Eccl. 1:13; 2:3, 8;
3:10, 18, 19; 8:11; 9:3, 12; Dan. 10:10, 18; Joel 1:12; Mic. 5:7. Daniel is
called “son of man” once (Dan. 8:17), while Ezekiel is so designated a whopping
ninety-three times (Ezek. 2:1, 3, 6; etc.). In the prophecy of Daniel 7:13-14,
this expression is not used as a messianic title but as a description of one
who is “like a son of man,” i.e., human-like in contrast to the beastly
creatures described earlier in the text (vv. 3-8). Cf. Rev. 1:13; 14:14.
2 There is no indication the
Jews equated the Messiah with this title. “There is little evidence to show
that in pre-Christian Judaism the term ‘Son of Man’ was used as a messianic
title” (C. H. Dodd, Interpreting the Fourth
Gospel 241, cf. 243).
3 Outside the Gospels the
phrase “son of man” occurs only in Acts 7:56; Heb. 2:6; Rev. 1:13; 14:14.
Combining all four Gospels, Jesus is explicitly called “the Son of God”
thirty-one times and “the son of man” eighty-three times (72.8%). In the Gospel
according to John, even though the stated purpose is to verify “that Jesus is
the Christ the Son of God” (20:31), the Lord is called “the son of man” twelve
times (1:51; 3:14; 5:27; 6:27, 53, 62; 8:28; 9:35; 12:23, 34; 13:31), more than
he is explicitly called “the Son of God,” and he is referred to simply as “a
man” no less than sixteen times (4:29; 5:12; 6:52; 7:15, 27; 8:40; 9:11, 16,
24; 10:33, 41; 11:47, 50; 18:17, 29; 19:5).
4 Unless otherwise noted,
scripture quotations are the author’s own translation. Raymond E. Brown
observes, “Those who have problems with the humanity of Jesus are often not
even aware of their bias. Theoretically it is just as serious a deviation from
Christian dogma to underplay the humanity of Jesus as to underplay his
divinity; but since opponents of Christianity deny the divinity, believing
Christians are far more sensitive about limitations placed on the divinity than
they are about limitations placed on the humanity. Realistically, it may well
be that most Christians tolerate only
as much humanity as they deem consonant with their view of the divinity” (An Introduction to New Testament Christology
27, emp. in the text).
5 Matt. 4:2; Mark 3:5; Luke 22:44; John 2:14-17; 4:6; 11:33, 35; 19:28; etc.
6
Jesus explicitly acknowledged that he didn’t know the timing of his return
(Matt. 24:36). It also appears that he didn’t immediately know who touched the
hem of his garment (Mark 5:30-33; Luke 8:45-47), and he didn’t automatically
know what was offered him to drink on the cross (Matt. 27:34).
7
K. L. Moore, “Tempted as We Are,” Gospel
Advocate 11 (Nov. 2005): 14-15.
Related Posts: Son of God, Everlasting Subservience
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