Matthew
Son of Man
Adam was the son of God, the earthly man and we bear his likeness
Adam was taken from the dust of the earth and returned just like us
To most, Jesus was another man, a descendant of Adam
Although some thought His father was Joseph, His Father is God
Jesus is the second Adam, but not from earth, but Heaven
All the efforts of the first man, Adam, will pass away, they are temporary
But the second Son of Man is eternal
Who has a Kingdom in Heaven that will never be destroyed
All of us born of the flesh, the first son of God, Adam, have been offered the opportunity to become sons of God through the second Son of man, Jesus Christ, the Son of God
Jesus became a “life giving Spirit” allowing us to be born again
Not by the will of man, but by the Spirit of God
Those of us who, like Peter, have the revelation that Jesus is the Son of the Living God
Still need to be careful we don’t become a stumbling block
By continuing to think like men, sons of Adam
Let us continue to have in mind the things of God
Let us seek first the Kingdom of God
Son of Man
Jesus ends His conversation with the disciples at Caesarea Philippi
with some very interesting words.
We find in the last 2 verses the term Son of Man…
For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.
I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom."
Matthew 16:27-28
You may not have caught it…
But the question Jesus asked that
started this amazing conversation
at Caesarea Philippi started with…
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples,
"Who do people say the Son of Man is?"
Matthew 16:13
Who is the Son of Man?
The term “son of man” is used often
in the Bible, some 186 times in the NIV.
When we see “son of man” in the Old Testament,
the word “man” in Hebrew is adam
meaning human being.
From this word we get the word
Adam, the first man.
The first place we see son of man
in the Bible is in Numbers 23:19.
God is not a man,
(this word in Hebrew is eesh meaning
a man as an individual of male person)
that he should lie,
nor a son of man, (In Hebrew adam)
that he should change his mind.
Luke tells us the son of Adam was Seth
and Adam was the son of God.
Luke 3:38
Adam being the son of God makes us
all sons and daughters of God.
It is interesting how Luke ties
Jesus into the genealogy of Adam.
Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry.
He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph,
the son of Heli,…the son of Enosh,
the son of Seth, the son of Adam,
the son of God.
Luke 3:23-38
It was thought that Jesus was the son of Joseph
with lineage going back to his father, Adam.
But Jesus was born of a virgin
conceived by the Holy Spirit.
"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"
The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.
Luke 1:34-36
Yet, Jesus did not go by the name Son of God…
But by the Son of Man, in His earthly ministry.
Jesus did not go by the name Son of God
even though He was and is the Son of God.
At Jesus’ baptism, the Father from heaven announces
with a voice from heaven said,
"This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."
Matthew 3:17
Although Jesus did not use the term Son of God
He did declare to be the Great “I Am”.
"I tell you the truth," Jesus answered,
"before Abraham was born, I am!"
John 8:58
God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM.
Exodus 3:14
Other passages where Jesus applied
the “I am” statements to Himself include…
John 6:35 (I am the Bread of Life); John 8:12 (I am the Light of the world); John 10:7 (I am the Door of the sheep); John 10:11 (I am the good Shepherd); John 11:25 (I am the Resurrection and the Life); John 14:6 (I am the Way, the Truth and the Life) and John 15:5 (I am the Vine).
Jesus claims God as His Father and says they are one…
Jesus answered, "I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. 30 I and the Father are one."
John 10:25-30
Many recognize Jesus as the Son of God.
Matthew 8:29; 14:33; 27:54; Luke 22:70
When Jesus asked His disciples…
"Who do people say the Son of Man is?"
and "Who do you say I am?"
Peter says…
“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
It is surprising Jesus would respond…
Then he warned his disciples
not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.
Matthew 16:20
In the Book of Matthew,
Jesus refers to Himself as “The Son of Man” 30 times.
The other gospels Mark, Luke, and John
record Jesus saying He was the Son of Man 52 times.
We should ask ourselves why did Jesus consider
it so important we understand He is the Son of Man?
Maybe much of the answer is found in Paul’s words…
So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven.
And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven.
1 Corinthians 15:45-49
All of us who are sons and daughters of Adam
are made from the dust of the earth
and our minds are on earthly things.
Jesus being the second Adam is not
from the dust of the earth, but heaven.
The second Adam is a life given Spirit,
by the Spirit we can be born again.
Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying,
'You must be born again.'
The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound,
but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going.
So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."
John 3:5-8
Those born of the Spirit, have their minds on Heaven
and their citizenship in heaven.
Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.
Philippians 3:17-21
John tells us we are the children of God,
unlike the children of Adam.
The children of God will become like Christ
and will purify themselves.
Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.
1 John 3:2-3
Daniel saw a vision of the Son of Man
coming in the clouds of heaven
with a kingdom that will never be destroyed.
"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.
Daniel 7:13-14
Peter, with the revelation that Jesus was the Son of the Living God,
still had to deal with being the son of Adam.
You do not have in mind the things of God,
but the things of men.
Matthew 16:23
Jesus was the Son of the Living God…
But wanted us to know Him as the Son of Man
so we would see we, too, can live as children of God.
In so many ways you and I cannot relate to God.
Yet, because Jesus was the Son of God
come in the flesh the Son of Man...
We not only have a God who can tell us how to live
but modeled it in every way without sin.
the earthly man and we bear his likeness.
Adam was taken from the dust of the earth
and returned just like us.
To most, Jesus was another man,
a descendant of Adam.
Although some thought his father was Joseph,
His Father is God.
Jesus is the second Adam,
but not from earth, but Heaven.
All the efforts of the first man Adam will pass away,
they are temporary.
But the second Son of Man is eternal,
who has a Kingdom in Heaven
that will never be destroyed.
All of us born of the flesh, the first son of God, Adam,
have been offered the opportunity to become sons of God
through the second Son of Man, Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Jesus became a “life giving Spirit”…
Allowing us to be born again,
not by the will of man,
but by the Spirit of God.
Those of us who, like Peter, have the revelation
that Jesus is the Son of the Living God…
Still need to be careful.
We don’t become a stumbling block by
continuing to think like men, sons of Adam.
Let us continue to have in mind the things of God.
Let us seek first the Kingdom of God.
Scripture Reading
Matthew 16:13-28 NIV
13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"
14 They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
15 "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"
16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
17 Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18 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. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." 20 Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.
21 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. "Never, Lord!" he said. "This shall never happen to you!"
23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."
24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. 26 What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. 28 I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom."
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