Son of Man (Part 2)
In my first “Son of Man” post I showed that when Jesus
refers to himself as the Son of Man he is doing more than recognizing his
humanity. He is appealing to an image in Daniel 7. He is claiming that he is
the one who comes with all authority to rule over ever tribe and nation.
Over several more posts I want to show how when we pair
Jesus’s actions with the use of his authoritative claim as the Son of Man we
can learn what it means for our own lives to exhibit Godly leadership. To do
this I am going to look at passages in Mark where Jesus calls himself the Son
of Man.
Mark 2:10-12 – So I will prove to you that the Son of Man
has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed
man and said, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home.
These verses come at the end of the famous story about a
group of friends who cut a hole in the roof of a house to bring their paralyzed
friend to Jesus. (Read Mark 2:1-12) I think Mark uses this story as a signpost
to point to the larger narrative of the gospel story. Jesus teaches and heals,
he is condemned of blasphemy, and he is vindicated. The paralyzed man is pointed forward to a new kind of resurrected life in Christ.
Jesus’s use of “Son of Man” is extremely significant for us
in this passage. Remember when everyone there hears Son of Man used they think
of Jesus as the guy who is going to set up his rule and reign across the world.
And he is, but here we are beginning to see how Jesus is going to reshape our
ideas about his leadership methods.
Ever seen the movie “The Sixth Sense” or “Shutter Island”?
In those movies you think you have a grasp on what going on the whole time
until the end of the story. Then a plot twist is revealed at the end that makes
you say, “Wait a minute.” It causes you to go back a rethink everything you
have scene from a renewed perceptive.
That is a lot like what Jesus is doing when he says, “the
Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” In one sense Jesus is
extending his claim of authority by saying he can forgive sins. No one but God
was allowed to do that. But in another sense is redefining the type of
leadership his followers are expecting from him.
Jesus’s followers want him to take over the world. That is
not going to be easy with the Roman government in the way. But Jesus is saying
as chief ruler I am going to rule with forgiveness of sins at the center of my
leadership.
Jesus knew that forgiveness changes things. In this case it
brought healing to what seemed impossible.
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