22. The title "Son of Man" had clear divine overtones for the first century Jews.
Ankerberg: Some of the people in the Jesus Seminar as well as other scholars would say that, Yeah, He did talk about Himself as Son of Man, but they take away the divine dimension of Son of Man. Can you do that?
Evans: No, I don’t think you can do that because of Daniel 7. Daniel 7 presents a "Son of Man," and that really just means "a human being," a person that looks like a human being, as Daniel puts it. But this person is invested with divine power and authority. So for this person to say it just means a mortal and nothing more underrates and, I think, misinterprets Daniel 7 and therefore does not fairly interpret Jesus’ appropriation of that image.
Ankerberg: Where did Jesus appropriate Daniel 7 to Himself?
Evans: Well, I think His baptismal experience where the heavens open up, I think that’s closely related to Daniel 7. This is the connection between earth and heaven and Jesus is the Son of Man invested with heavenly power and authority to proclaim the Kingdom and indeed to bring it about with God’s help.
Ankerberg: Talk about His trial and those words coming up there as well.
Evans: Well, this is one case where Jesus Himself affirms explicitly His messianic identity and that, in my opinion, points to the veracity of the Gospels. If the Gospels are fictions, they’re going to have Jesus walking around all the time saying and doing Messianic things. The Gospels don’t do that and I think that’s because the Gospels are restrained by what actually happened, what Jesus actually said. And the high priest, looking for a charge that could be brought against Jesus before the Roman authorities, asked Him, "Are you the Messiah, the Son of God?" And Jesus says, "I am." And then He defines that His way: "You will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of power coming with the clouds of Heaven." There He’s alluding to Daniel 7 and also to Psalm 110, which is a royal Psalm. So He is the Son of Man. That’s how He understands Messiah, One who’s actually greater than David. And that’s why David calls the Messiah his Lord.
Ankerberg: Did the Jewish leaders understand it that way?
Evans: Oh, I think they very clearly understood it that way. That’s why the high priest rips his robes, screams "Blasphemy! We don’t need any other witnesses." They all agree. They condemn Him to death and He’s handed over to the Roman governor for execution. |
