day eight: Christ, the Son of Man

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Readings: Daniel 7, John 8:22-29, John 9:35-38

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And set in beautiful near-paradox with yesterday’s devotion is a different title entirely. The grandeur and awe of the name “Ancient of Days” gives way to the limits of humanness implied by the phrase “Son of Man.”

But this, too, is important. It is one of the titles most often used by Christ to refer to Himself while on earth, and it has its roots in a profound image of anointing:

I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven one like a Son of Man was coming, and He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations and men of every language might serve Him.
Daniel 7:13-14a

The Jews, especially the Pharisees, knew these words. Daniel’s records and visions were canonized into the Ketuvim, or “the writings,” of the Hebrew Scriptures. They knew the account of this vision of the presentation of the Son of Man to the Ancient of Days, the passing of the scepter into the hand of the Christ. And yet they did not make the connection between the vision and Jesus’ consistent self-identification as the Son of Man. They missed Him as the God-commissioned Lord and saw Him only as a mortal, a blasphemer, a troublemaker. A son of man like them.

But He is not a son of man like us. He is the Son of Man equal to God. He didn’t come to earth on a rogue mission unsanctioned by the other two Persons of the Trinity, but by the initiative, blessing, and empowerment of the Father and Holy Spirit.