CHRIST'S INCREASING KINGDOM The term by which Daniel refers to the Messiah – "one like unto the son of man" – is delineated more fully by both Jesus and the apostles. It will be profitable to consider the way in which they referred to the One to which Daniel was introduced – the Messiah. -- Tomorrow:
"For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. OF THE INCREASE OF HIS GOVERNMENT AND PEACE THERE SHALL BE NO END, upon the throne of David, and upon His kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this!" (Isaiah 9:6-7)
Devotion 8 of 36
THE WORD WAS MADE FLESH
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God . . . And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. (John 1:1,14).
Jesus entered the world, coming from the eternal realm. Micah said His goings forth were "from everlasting" (5:2). Notwithstanding, He entered the world as a Man, being "made flesh." His humanity is the Divinely appointed agency through which we are saved. That salvation consists of two parts. First, His atoning death Col 1:22; Heb 2:14). Second, His effective intercession (Heb 7:25). His resurrection links these indispensable accomplishments. Both of these required the humanity of Jesus – the Word becoming "flesh," and dwelling among us.
SON OF MAN
"The Son of man shall send forth His angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity" (Mat 13:41). "And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God" (Acts 7:56). "And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle" (Rev 1:13). "And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle" (Rev 14:14).
The term "Son of man" not only accents the humanity of the Savior, but His preeminence among men. He is the premier Man, the ultimate Offspring of woman, and the appointed Representative of our race. He is, in fact, the ONLY Man God has accepted upon the basis of His person. All others are accepted by virtue of their identity with Him.
MADE OF A WOMAN, MADE UNDER THE LAW
"But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons" (Gal 4:4-5).
The woman, who was deceived by the devil (1 Tim 2:14), became the vehicle through which humanity is rescued from the fall! This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes.
Having been brought into the world, the manhood of the Savior was confirmed by Him being subject to the Law of God. This is said of no angel, seraph, or cherub. Such holy personages obey God's commandments, but are not subject to "the Law," which is made for the lawless and disobedient.
The "Son of man," however was "made under the Law," not because He was disobedient, but because under it He would "learn obedience by the things that He suffered" (Heb 5:8). Although He did not sin, yet He "suffered being tempted" (Heb 2:18). All of that is involved in Jesus being called "the Son of man." Incidentally, Jesus referred to Himself as "the Son of Man" no less than eighty-four times.
IN THE LIKENESS OF SINFUL FLESH
"For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh" (Rom 8:3).
By saying "the likeness," the Spirit is not suggesting the body of Jesus was not real. His was a very real body of flesh and blood: one in which He grew in wisdom, and stature, and favor with God and man (Luke 2:52). It was a body in which He was not only "tempted in all points like as we are" (Heb 4:15), but "suffered being tempted" (Heb 2:18). Yet, because Jesus was "undefiled" and "separate from sinners" (Heb 7:26), He is said to have come "in the likeness of sinful flesh."
MADE LIKE UNTO HIS BRETHREN
"Wherefore in all things it behooved Him to be made like unto His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself hath suffered being tempted, He is able to succor them that are tempted" (Heb 2:17-18).
In order for Jesus to save us, He had to be made like unto us. He had to meet the enemy of humanity on his own turf, so to speak. He had to pass through the same waters that had overflowed our race, and triumph over death as a Man. In particular, this qualified Him to be a merciful and faithful High Priest. He could now be touched with the feeling of human weakness. Because He Himself survived the assaults of the devil and the lure of the flesh, He is able to succor, or minister to, those who "are tempted."
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus, I thank You for an effective and empathetic Savior.