Whether at work or elsewhere, have you ever done something wrong and been blamed for your actions?
If you are like most people, you probably did not admit your mistake while blaming someone or something else for it.
Shifting blame comes naturally for us because we find it hard to admit things that we know are very wrong. It is hard enough just to admit to ourselves that something we did was evil.
Instead of confessing our sin, we quickly cry out that someone or something else made us do it.
We avoid confessing that we intentionally did a bad thing.
Instead, we may say that we did it, but it was not our fault. This is because we want others to think well of us and we hope to avoid punishment for what we did.
Few people are willing to take blame for their bad actions. Few are willing to take responsibility for the mistakes of others.
It is unusual for anyone to shoulder mistakes that have not yet been committed. That is what Jesus did. That’s why Jesus is our Savior.
Long before we commit sin, forgiveness has already been offered. Before blame can be given, pardon has already been provided.
Before we turn our backs on God, God has already provided a means for us to return to Him.
Jesus called Himself the “Son of Man.”
He could have used other titles like, “King of Kings” or “The Great I Am” or “The Beginning and the End” or “the Lord of
All.”
All these and many others would have been appropriate. But Jesus did not use them.
Instead, Jesus called Himself the “Son of Man.”
This title appears 82 times in the New Testament – 81 of which are in the Gospels, 80 of which came from Jesus’ lips.
Why did Jesus use this term for Himself?
Perhaps it was because the Jews in Jesus’ time understood the “Son of Man” in the seventh chapter of the Book of Daniel to be a messianic figure.
To the Jews, the “Son of Man” was a symbol of triumph – the equalizer, the conqueror, the score settler.
To the Jews, the “Son of Man” was understood as someone who would come down from the heavens in a fiery chariot to smash those who opposed God’s people.
That was why when Jesus spoke about the “Son of Man” in terms of power, the people cheered. A powerful Jesus was what the people expected.
They understood when Jesus spoke about the “Son of Man” being seated on his glorious throne. They did not have problems envisioning a “Son of Man” who would come with great power and authority.
When Jesus said that the “Son of Man” would suffer, the people became silent. That was not what they wanted to hear.
The idea of the “Son of Man” suffering did not fit their image of a Messiah.
The Jews were oppressed by the Roman government for many years.
They were taught that the “Son of Man” would come to deliver them.
Then Jesus came. He proved that He was the “Son of Man” by raising people from the dead and calming storms.
The crowd that followed Jesus grew.
But the people were greatly disturbed when they heard that the “Son of Man” did not come to rule the world, but to serve others.
They were disturbed when they heard that the “Son of Man” would be handed over to people who would kill him and that after three days, He would rise from the dead (Luke 18:33).
To the Jews, what Jesus was talking about was an impossibility – a contradiction in terms.
They did not understand what He was talking about. But they were afraid to ask him.
They could not comprehend a Messiah who would come to serve and then be killed.
This is the irony of the cross.
God’s lofty status and God’s devotion to man mingled. God’s sovereignty and God’s love collided. God’s justice and God’s mercy intersected.
On the cross, Jesus paid the price for our sins.
Jesus became the ransom for many, a king who suffered for his peasants, a master who suffered for his servants. Jesus is the “Son of Man” who came to serve and gave his life as ransom for you and me.