AP

Mark 14:61-64   But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer.  Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?”  “I am,” said Jesus.  “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”  The high priest tore his clothes.  “Why do we need any more witnesses?” he asked.  “You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?”  They all condemned him as worthy of death.

The term ‘Son of Man’ occurs 78 times in the Gospels, and it is always in the context of a claim Jesus was making for himself.  The significance and impact of this claim was not lost on the Jewish religious leaders.  They had the promise from God in their Scriptures that when their Messiah came to rescue them and take up his everlasting, universal rule, it would be in fulfilment of the vision given to Daniel: “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven.  He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence.  He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshipped him.  His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.” (Daniel 7:13-14).

The high priest’s question at Jesus’ trial was therefore quite unambiguous: “Are you the Messiah [Christ]?”, and Jesus’ straightforward answer was also quite unambiguous, removing any possible doubt by adding the confirmation that he openly and unashamedly aligned himself fully with Daniel’s prophecy: “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

Liberal ‘theologians’, under whom I studied for my Divinity degree, and who try to make out that ‘Messiahship’ was only a role the Early Church assigned to Jesus after his death, seem to overlook the fact that, humanly speaking, it was just this very claim that led to his death!

Ironically, and by the grace of God, to whom belongs ALL the glory, it was the constant pressure of this shallow, erroneous teaching for more that three years, that opened my eyes to the wonder and truth of God’s infallible Word, and confirmed me in my commitment to Jesus as the Only Saviour and the Lord of Glory, as I wait expectantly for his Return in Power in final fulfilment of Daniel’s vision.  (It also reinforces my commitment to Jewish evangelism through the ministry of International Mission to Jewish People (IMJP)!).