Matthew 20:17-19 (NIVUK)
17 Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them, 18 ‘We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death 19 and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!’
I mentioned on Sunday how this passage is littered with references to Jesus being the Messiah or the Christ, God’s chosen King. In the centre of this passage is one of them. ‘Son of man’ could simply mean a gentleman – a bit like in the Narnia books the boys are referred to as Sons of Adam. But it has a second meaning. Daniel 7:13-14 talks about the coming of one like a son of man who will become an everlasting king of the world, the ultimate leader. This is who Jesus is claiming to be. The paradox is that to achieve this, he does not march with armies in a show of strength, but gives up his life on the cross.
Jesus, the Son of Man who brings us life through his death, and reigns through serving others, we worship you!
Original photo by Evan Dennis on Unsplash
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