PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT TODAY —> (remember, these are unedited/draft show notes, not a transcript — listening is always better…and if you listen AND follow along below, you’ll see why)
Focus Question:
What does “Son of Man” mean?
Intro:
Our primary objective here is to read through the Bible. The whole Bible. And to do so in a time slot that fits the average commute. Of course, there’s a lot less commuting going on these days, but you get why I shoot for about 22 minutes a day, six days a week, but this gets us through the NT in just over 10 months and the OT in about 15 months.
But you can go anywhere and just listen, so I also sprinkle in something that also, secondarily, helps us understand and connect with Jesus and the people in His world. It’s a balance between just reading and full-on study of something like, oh, Daniel 7 that we’ll read today where the short commentary is longer than the chapter. Which is why I often remind us that just sitting and listening to God’s word has value, primary value, in the life of the Christian. And secondarily, the focus question helps us learn some nugget, like today’s question, “What does “Son of Man” mean?”
NEW TESTAMENT SEGMENT:
For our NT segment, chs 14-16 don’t divide up nicely between chapters, so today we’ll hear about Jesus’ betrayal, tomorrow about His trial, and then get to the crucifixion, resurrection, and snake handling.
Passage: Mark 14:1-52
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 52
Words: ~1100
OLD TESTAMENT SEGMENT:
Daniel 7 is one of those chapters that’s a big deal in the Bible. The visions are “central in importance” to the whole of Daniel, and they “provide the basis for much of the eschatological and messianic hope in the remainder of the Bible.”(1)
Along the way you’ll hear the term “Son of Man,” which is
A well-known phrase in the OT that means “human being” (Ezek 2:1, 3, 6, 8 and throughout Ezekiel). However, this figure (in Daniel) is not a human being but is “like” a human being, and in the OT riding on clouds indicates divinity (Pss 68:4; 104:3–4; Isa 19:1; Nah 1:3).(2)
So stay tuned, in our Bottom Line segment we’ll get to how that relates to the gospel according to Mark.
Passage: Daniel 7
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 28
Words: ~880
Wisdom SEGMENT:
Passage: Proverbs 11:2-5
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 3
Words: ~48
The bottom line:
What does “Son of Man” mean, perhaps in a NT context (and particularly in Mark)? Hey, remember a couple weeks back my interview with Jeff Olson about his new book, The King Will Come and how you can trace the gospel back to the Pentateuch?
The imagery in Daniel 7 is itself taken from the Pentateuch and earlier historical books, including 2 Sa 7 which makes explicit the “promise of an eternal kingship in Jerusalem that god made to the house of David.”(3)
Well, in Daniel…
The description of this figure left no doubt in the minds of the NT authors that this refers to Jesus Christ. Indeed, many believe that this passage is the source of Jesus’ self-designation as the Son of Man (e.g., Matt 8:20). The NT also cites these verses when envisioning Christ’s future return at the end of history when he rides the clouds to defeat the forces of evil (e.g., Matt 24:30; Mark 13:26; 14:62; Luke 21:27; Rev 1:7).(4)
…and we heard Mark refer to Jesus as Son of Man yesterday and will again tomorrow. Which is useful to understanding Mark’s angle. Each of the four Gospels provides a different portrait: Matthew = Son of God/sovereign King; Luke = Savior of all people; John = perfectly divine I AM, and so interestingly in Mark, “Son of Man” shows this God-Man as the suffering servant, also fully human, willing to submit Himself to the Father’s will, even unto death, to carry out God’s redemptive rescue mission.
And that, my friends, is an important reason for reading the whole Bible…because a “theology” (or study of God) comes into clearer focus when we catch the whole story.
I love you. Amen? Amen!
ForTheHope is a daily audio Bible + apologetics podcast and blog. We’ve got a passion for just keepin’ it real, having conversations like normal people, and living out the love of Jesus better every single day.
Roger Courville, CSP is a globally-recognized expert in digitally-extended communication and connection, an award-winning speaker, award-winning author, and a passionately bad guitarist. Follow him on Twitter -- @RogerCourville and @JoinForTheHope – or his blog: www.forthehope.org.
Sources and resources:
(1) John H. Sailhamer, The NIV Compact Bible Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1994), 418.
(2) D. A. Carson, ed., NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2018), 1502–1503.
(3) Sailhamer, The NIV Compact Bible Commentary, 418.
(4) Carson, NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible, 1502-1503.