24-0901a Transcript

Preacher: Jim Lokenbauer

(1:11) Good morning, everybody. (1:14) Well, this morning, I have a goal.

(1:18) And I hope to increase our love and faith and appreciation of our Savior, Jesus, (1:24) by increasing our knowledge of him, of who he is. (1:29) And we’re going to do this by examining some of the different names that he refers to himself as. (1:37) And over the past quite a few years, actually, by now, (1:42) I’ve been presenting to you the different names of the second person of the Godhead (1:48) and how he presents himself to man.

(1:51) And it’s always been Jesus, the second person of the Godhead, (1:56) who has direct face-to-face interactions with man. (2:02) He walked with Adam and Eve in the garden. (2:04) He spoke to Moses out of the burning bush.

(2:08) He appeared to Balaam in the hedgerow as the captain of the Lord’s army. (2:16) He appeared to Joshua as the captain of the heavenly host and said, (2:24) Take off your sandals, for the ground you are standing on is holy. (2:29) So it’s always been Jesus.

(2:32) And so I’ve been showing you over time all his different faces as he explained to Moses. (2:44) He said, I will always be with you, and my face will go with you. (2:50) And that Hebrew word for face is plural, meaning faces.

(2:55) And it means the different forms that he appears as. (2:59) And considering Moses, he appeared as the angel of the Lord. (3:03) He appeared as Yahweh on the mountain where he let Moses see the back of him (3:10) as he covered him with his hand.

(3:13) And he also was the rock that followed them through the desert, (3:18) giving them life-sustaining water. (3:22) And so we know that’s true because Paul confirmed that for us (3:27) in the first Corinthian letter, chapter 10, (3:31) where he mentioned that the rock that followed them in the desert is Jesus Christ. (3:38) So today I’m going to be presenting you with the title that Jesus referred to himself (3:47) most often as in the Gospels.

(3:52) And he calls himself Son of Man. (3:58) And in Matthew, he uses that term 30 times. (4:03) Luke records it 25 times, Mark 15 times, and John 12 times.

(4:09) It’s a descriptive name that emphasizes his humanity. (4:15) Jesus wanted the people then, and he wants us all to know today, (4:21) that he was one of us. (4:23) He was a human being.

(4:26) This phrase was commonly used in the Old Testament times as well. (4:31) Ezekiel, one of God’s prophets, while Israel and Judah were (4:38) mooring after false gods, Ezekiel recorded this phrase 93 times (4:47) when Yahweh emphasized the prophet’s humanity while addressing him. (4:53) Ezekiel said, Yahweh said to me, Son of Man, stand on your feet, (4:58) and I will speak to you.

(5:00) So Yahweh God was getting his attention and letting him know, (5:08) you’re a human, I’m God, listen to what I have to say. (5:12) And looking at the phrase itself, we’re going to zero in on the Hebrew words (5:17) Son and Man. (5:21) As when any words translated from one language to another, (5:25) especially an ancient language like Hebrew, a lot can be lost in the translation.

(5:36) It can start to lose impact if it’s not translated correctly. (5:42) And so that’s always a challenge for the godly group of men who seek (5:47) to make an ancient language into our language, English. (5:54) And that’s why they often use transliteration, (5:59) which is a method of taking an idea or a thought, (6:04) rather than using word for word translation of words.

(6:11) And the NIV uses transliteration. (6:14) That’s what makes it so easy to understand when you read it. (6:19) But it’s not the best Bible to use if you want to use it as a study aid.

(6:26) Then you have to reach for the most reliable translation, (6:31) which was the ASV, American Standard Version of 1901. (6:36) And also there was the English Revised Version of 1895. (6:41) They were like sister works where godly people decided, (6:46) let’s get away from the King James.

(6:48) We don’t speak that way anymore. (6:51) And take that and tweak it and make it understandable. (6:57) And so we have to understand that.

(7:04) So there’s several different Hebrew words translated as man. (7:09) The most common Hebrew word for man, as you could imagine, is Adam. (7:15) Or in Hebrew they call it Adam.

(7:19) Potato, potato. (7:21) Anyhow, it’s the most often used word for man in Scripture. (7:29) It’s sort of a generic for man, (7:31) and it can also mean an individual man or a nation of humans.

(7:37) And the next word is gibber, (7:40) which means a man of good, noble, or valiant character. (7:46) And the Hebrew word enosh means man in a fallen state or in a miserable condition. (7:55) A couple of examples of these different words for man are used in the Old Testament (8:02) in the book of Job.

(8:05) And we know that those around him, his wife, his three closest friends, (8:11) they were of no comfort to Job, gave him no encouragement. (8:15) And there was a fourth friend, Elihu, who was younger, (8:20) and he gave an excellent argument for a just and gracious God. (8:26) And he was angry at Job for justifying himself before God rather than justifying God.

(8:34) So Elihu was more godly and wise than the three older friends of Job’s. (8:41) And in Job chapter 16 we see, or we read, Job defending himself (8:47) from the accusations of his three older friends. (8:52) In Job 16, 19 through 21, Job says, (8:56) Even now, behold, my witness is in heaven, and he that vouches for me is on high.

(9:03) My friends scoff at me, my eyes pour out tears to God, (9:08) that he would maintain the right of a man with God, of a son of man with his neighbor. (9:15) And in these verses that we just read, (9:19) the first use of the word man is the Hebrew word gibber, (9:23) meaning a valiant, noble, or honorable man. (9:29) And that’s what Job infers what he is as he’s defending himself.

(9:37) And the second use of the word man in the reference is ben adam, (9:43) and that means son of Adam, son of man. (9:47) And so this is the sense of the verses and the usage of these words. (9:55) Job’s friends are scoffing him, and he, being an honorable man, (10:00) feels he should be able to appeal to his advocate before God (10:05) as a common man speaks with his neighbor.

(10:09) That’s the essence of what that says. (10:11) And you see in our translation, you really don’t get that sense, (10:17) especially the usage of man. (10:20) It’s not just man, but honorable man.

(10:23) Job’s saying, I’m an honorable guy. (10:25) I haven’t done anything to deserve this, whatever was inflicted upon him. (10:31) As a side note pertaining to these verses, (10:34) did you notice also that Job was appealing to an advocate in heaven? (10:41) Job’s fourth friend, Elihu, he speaks of the angel mediator as well (10:50) when he speaks to Job.

(10:52) And so those were little foreshadows of the work of Jesus, (10:57) the son of man, who is our advocate, who speaks on our behalf (11:04) for us in heaven to God. (11:07) Now let’s drop down a little bit, Job 25 verses 1 through 6, (11:12) and we’ll see also how the word man is used here. (11:18) And this is his good buddy, Bildad.

(11:22) Then Bildad the Shuhite said, (11:25) Dominion and fear are with him. (11:27) He makes peace in his high places. (11:30) Is there any number of his enemies? (11:32) And upon him does not his light arise? (11:36) How then can a man be justified with God? (11:40) Or how can he be clean that is born of woman? (11:43) Behold, even to the moon it does not shine.

(11:46) Yes, the stars are not pure in his sight. (11:49) How much less man that is a worm or son of man, which is a worm. (11:56) And we’re going to look at the word men there.

(11:59) I mean, you kind of just figure out the generic sense of the word man, (12:04) any one of us, humankind, men or women for that matter. (12:08) And then also worm, believe it or not, is different, (12:12) and it kind of gets lost in the translation (12:15) unless you know the actual Hebrew word for that. (12:19) So in Jim’s translation, (12:23) only because I opened up the Hebrew thesaurus and looked these words up, (12:30) the first Hebrew word for man in Bildad’s statement is enosh.

(12:35) So that’s a mortal man in a fallen, lowly estate. (12:39) He looks upon Job, and I don’t know if he had elephantitis or leprosy, (12:44) whatever inflicted him. (12:49) He considered him a man in miserable state, and he was.

(12:53) So in a sense, that’s an honest assessment. (12:56) Physically, he was in a miserable state, (13:00) but Bildad was accusing him here that he had to have done something (13:07) in order to get in the state that he was in, (13:10) the miserable state that he was in. (13:13) And then enosh there is compared to a worm, (13:20) which is the Hebrew word rimah, (13:23) which actually means a maggot bred in putrid meat or something, (13:30) meaning something really ghastly and repulsive.

(13:35) And that’s what he’s calling for Job here. (13:39) And the last use of the Hebrew word for man in Bildad’s statement is adam, (13:45) meaning a common man, compared to a worm. (13:49) And in this case, it’s tola, which is just the common wiggly worm.

(13:53) So you can see there’s a different degree of worms (13:56) and a different degree of men there that the translators just don’t push across (14:02) so you really get a sense of what Bildad’s saying here. (14:07) So notice the weakness of the translator’s ability (14:12) to get that thought across properly. (14:15) They are considerably different in their degree of repulsiveness.

(14:20) Instead, they use the same English word worm, (14:23) which to us is something you put on a hook and go fishing with, (14:28) which means, yeah, that’s about as low, calling a human invertebrate, (14:33) you know, no backbone, just this low creature. (14:38) But Bildad was insulting Job. (14:42) So his point was that no matter what state man is in, (14:47) he’s nothing when compared to God most high, which is true.

(14:52) He was trying to nullify Job’s argument for himself earlier about being a geber, (14:59) a good and honorable man. (15:01) So he was calling Job, who was an honorable man, who at the time was an enosh, (15:07) he was in a miserable state, a man who by no fault of his own was a maggot. (15:16) What a friend.

(15:21) Thanks, Bildad. (15:23) I really feel encouraged after that poor Job. (15:27) So that was a long way to go to show the different meanings of the Hebrew word man, (15:32) worm was a bonus for you.

(15:33) In case it comes up on Jeopardy, you’ll be right there with it. (15:37) I know that. (15:40) Isaiah also foretold that the Messiah would come in human form (15:48) and start out like every human, Adam, as an infant.

(15:54) And Matthew confirms that point for us in Matthew 1, 18 through 23. (15:59) It says, this is how the birth of Jesus came about. (16:04) His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph.

(16:08) Or if you’re from Tennessee, more. (16:13) Little story, anecdote that Chris was relaying to us this morning. (16:18) Sorry, shouldn’t do that when I read this holy text.

(16:23) Don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, (16:26) because what is conceived in her is from Holy Spirit. (16:30) She will give birth to a son. (16:31) You are to give him the name Yeshua.

(16:34) And we Westerners say Jesus. (16:37) Because he will save his people from their sins. (16:41) All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said.

(16:45) Through the prophet Isaiah, the virgin will be with child (16:47) and will give birth to a son and will call him Emmanuel, (16:51) which means God’s with us. (16:55) So from the first prophecy made about him in the Garden of Eden, (17:00) all through the millennia, through all the people and events necessary (17:05) that lined up perfectly at the right time for the fulfillment of this prophecy (17:11) from Isaiah 7, 14, the Son of Man was born into the world. (17:17) The words of the angel came through and Jesus was born in Bethlehem (17:21) in the most humble of circumstances.

(17:25) He was born in a manger. (17:28) That’s a feeding trough for an animal. (17:30) You can’t get a more humble circumstance of birth than that.

(17:36) Jesus was born both Christ, the Son of God, Emmanuel, God with us, (17:41) and the Son of Man. (17:44) Being of the flesh, Mary. (17:48) The apostle John in his writings stressed the point that Jesus was both man (17:54) and Yahweh God.

(17:57) And that Yahweh, understand, is I Am. (18:04) The name that he said he was in the burning bush. (18:09) So every time you see Yahweh in the Old Testament, (18:12) know that it’s the I Am character.

(18:16) The second person of the Godhead. (18:22) So John records for us in John 1, 1, and then dropping down to John 1, 14, (18:27) in the beginning was the Word. (18:29) And the Word was with God and the Word was God.

(18:34) The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. (18:39) And that word dwelling is that word for tabernacle last time I spoke. (18:45) Jesus being the tabernacle.

(18:48) We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only who came from the Father, (18:53) full of grace and truth. (18:57) Also in John’s first letter to the church, (19:00) he starts it off with the same idea that Jesus was from the beginning, (19:06) alluding to that he preexisted creation. (19:11) In 1 John 1, 1 through 3, he says, (19:15) That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, (19:18) which we have seen with our eyes, (19:20) which we have looked at and our hands have touched, (19:23) this we proclaim concerning the word of life.

(19:26) The life appeared. We have seen it and testified to it. (19:31) And we proclaim to you the eternal life, (19:34) which was with the Father and has appeared to us.

(19:38) We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, (19:41) so that you also may have fellowship with us. (19:45) And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. (19:51) There is a definite urgency in John’s messages to us, (19:56) in his gospel and in his letters, (19:59) that he wants his readers to make certain that they understand (20:04) that Jesus, the Son of Man, is also none other than the great I Am.

(20:13) God Yahweh. (20:15) The Creator. (20:18) God with us.

(20:21) The apostles and many of the Jews witnessed both his humanity and his Godship. (20:28) God wanted us all to know that the man that they had fellowship, (20:33) ate with, worshipped with, traveled with, learned from, (20:38) clasped hands with, worked with, witnessed miracles by, (20:42) laughed and cried with, and witnessed dying on the cross, (20:48) and rose again three days later, is real. (20:52) And he is the Savior from God that we all should know and accept and owe our hearts, (20:58) and confess him as the Son of God, (21:01) and then faithfully obey all of his commands, (21:05) such as repent and be baptized.

(21:08) Jesus deliberately chose for himself this very humble moniker, (21:14) Son of Man. (21:16) And part of Jesus' mission was to get the people to believe in the Son of Man (21:21) so that they may be saved. (21:23) And part of his mission was also to destroy the work of the devil.

(21:29) And part of his mission was to reveal to the world the true nature of God. (21:37) When you see me, you see God, Jesus told his disciples. (21:43) And by examining Jesus, the Son of Man’s statements in the gospel, (21:48) we get a clearer picture of who our Savior is.

(21:53) So let’s look at Matthew 9-6. (21:56) I travel quick, so if you just want to sit and listen (21:59) rather than try and keep up with me flipping through pages, it’s okay. (22:05) It’s recorded.

(22:06) But that you may know, that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. (22:13) Then he said to the paralytic, (22:15) Get up and take your mat and go to your house. (22:20) God, Jesus, the Father, gave him authority, (22:26) gave the Son of Man the power to forgive sins.

(22:32) Who, when the law is broken, is really offended? (22:37) Isn’t it the lawgiver? (22:41) So when you break any law, when you sin, it’s always against God. (22:48) And here, God the Father is giving the Son of Man the power to forgive sins. (22:58) What does that make him? (23:00) A simple deduction.

(23:03) It makes him God. (23:05) Okay. (23:07) So the Jews would argue with him that only God could forgive sins (23:13) and took offense at Jesus for equating himself with God.

(23:19) Ignoring, deliberately ignoring, or deliberately and ignorantly ignoring, (23:25) the fact that the miracles screamed, (23:29) I am God. (23:31) I have God in me to be able to do these miracles, (23:35) to make that man get up and pick up his mat and walk. (23:42) They screamed, I am God.

(23:46) But that was Jesus' whole point in performing the miracle on the Sabbath, too. (23:51) He was showing that he and his Father were one, (23:55) and therefore, being God himself, had the authority to do so. (24:01) And it seemed that Jesus almost went out of his way to do many of his miracles on the Sabbath, (24:10) which led to many confrontations with the religious leaders.

(24:15) And there was a particular Sabbath that Jesus' disciples were in a wheat field, (24:20) and they were eating the grains of heads of the wheat. (24:26) And so they were observed by some of the religious leaders (24:29) who condemned them for foraging for food on the Sabbath. (24:34) So Jesus had to set the record straight, (24:37) and he said in Matthew 12, 8, (24:40) For the Son of Man is the Lord of the Sabbath.

(24:46) What exactly does that mean? (24:50) Who created the Sabbath day, the seventh day, where God rested? (24:58) It was none other than the second figure of the Godhead, John 1. (25:03) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (25:07) Through him all things were made. (25:11) This is the God.

(25:13) He also made the day sacred. (25:19) That’s the day he chose to rest, but he made it for his creation, (25:24) that they would get a day off, a day of rest, (25:28) from their work to reflect upon their God. (25:34) This is Jesus equating himself, (25:37) I’m God, I’m the rule maker.

(25:43) That’s why he didn’t rebuke his disciples when they were hungry (25:49) and needed something to eat, (25:52) and just picking some heads of grain, (25:55) blowing off the chain from popping them up. (25:58) That’s not breaking the Sabbath, Jesus said. (26:02) Jesus went through a whole list of things.

(26:04) Wouldn’t you, talking to the religious leaders, (26:08) wouldn’t you rescue your animal if it fell in a ditch on the Sabbath? (26:12) Of course they would. (26:14) Then why wouldn’t you aid a human who was so much more worth than an animal? (26:22) Help them on the Sabbath. (26:24) And then he said, is it okay to heal on the Sabbath? (26:30) And there was a man there with a paralyzed hand.

(26:35) He said, you, stretch out your hand, (26:38) so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority. (26:42) Stretch out your hand. (26:45) And that man’s hand was restored.

(26:49) And what did the religious leaders do? (26:52) Rather than praise God and see that Jesus, the Son of Man, (26:58) was the Messiah, the Son of God, (27:04) they plotted how they might kill him. (27:07) Wow! (27:11) How based must you be? (27:14) How evil must your character be to want to kill the Son of Man? (27:22) To kill God? (27:24) Isn’t that arrogant? (27:26) The arrogance. (27:28) Wow! (27:30) Jesus must have been so frustrated with them.

(27:34) He was declaring he was God, Lord, over a divine institution that he made. (27:41) By the Son of Man’s authority, he removed the Sabbath regulations. (27:46) When he died on the cross, he removed the whole old law to be followed.

(27:52) He was the lawgiver. (27:55) He was the one on the mountain writing with his finger the law to Moses. (28:02) He is the malech sabbath, the angel of the covenant that Malachi talks about.

(28:10) He’s the one who gave Moses the law. (28:15) He and God are one. (28:17) It’s his law as much as it is the Father’s law.

(28:23) So he could take it away. (28:24) It was taken away upon his death on the cross. (28:28) He was the testator of a new covenant.

(28:33) And upon his death, his new law went into effect. (28:38) And so the Lord of the Sabbath arranged for a new day in which we worship God. (28:49) It’s not a Sabbath.

(28:52) The Sabbath is gone. (28:55) But it’s the Lord’s day. (28:59) Let me see if I can slaughter the Greek.

(29:02) I believe is what is said in the book of Revelation where John said, (29:08) I was in the spirit on the Lord’s day. (29:12) This was a brand new made-up Greek word. (29:15) Thank you, John, to represent the day in which we devote ourselves to God.

(29:24) We worship our Father. (29:27) We practice a newly instituted rite, the Lord’s Supper, (29:34) which Joe led us this morning, and we all partook of, (29:39) and had holy fellowship with the Father and the Son and the Spirit. (29:46) So this is a new divine institution, the Lord’s Church, (29:51) who does a new rite, the Lord’s Supper.

(29:57) The old law is gone, the new has come. (30:00) And there’s so much more to say, so if you want to hear the rest of the story, (30:04) you’ve got to come back this evening. (30:06) This is a two-part lesson.

(30:09) So at this time, I’ll offer the invitation. (30:14) If there’s any need, a prayer request, or any desire to put Christ on in baptism, (30:20) we will help facilitate whatever your needs are. (30:23) We’ll be happy to pray with and for you. (30:27) So come as we stand and sing.