Jesus Autobiography

All discourse that is ethnic, theological and philosophical problems from a presuppositional matrix. The communicator’s thoughts embraced truth, or affected, are distinguished, and motivated by a preexisting corpus of antecedent thoughts. I start with the presupposition that Jesus knew perfectly and clearly who he was.His auto-noetic framework was precise and complete. His ipssissima verba would proceed. Filtered through an Occidental mindset, in particular, a philosophy, Jesus’ words are denuded of their ability and regenerative energy. The context in which we read the words of Christ has to change, techno-centric, from a late Twentieth Century, hedonistic, materialistic, democratic state. When the words of Christ are heard in the context of his day, also understood against the backdrop of Rabbinic Judaism, his words collide with unsurpassed authority and cut like a two-edged sword (Isa. 49:2). He talked with an authority unprecedented inside the background of Israel (Ps. of Sol. 17:36, 43, Matt. 7:29, Mk, 24:35. 1:22, 27, Lk. 4:36).

Using a designation in a name along with the Old Testament full of colour that is apocalyptic, Jesus would differentiate himself to his entire world. Jesus'”autobiographical designation”, utilized 81 times in the gospels, has been the name”Son of Man.” Through this prism that is Messianic we shall observe that the dimension of Jesus’ character as described by him. “Jesus picked it [name”Son of Man”] as the perfect expression for , to some extent, retrospectively, showing the essence of his person and work.” (D. A. Carson, professor of New Testament, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 8, p. 213) Jesus embraced and repeatedly alluded to the figure”Son of Man” from Daniel 7:13-14,”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 people of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that won’t pass away; and His kingdom is one that won’t be destroyed.” Daniel in vision sees four empires in series as bestial, verses 1-12, characterizing the savage, rapacious character of their rule, portrayed. But another figure comes on the scene, he is conducted on the”Ancient of Days”, the”Son of the Man.” In Hebrew, the term”Son of Man” is bar enosh. “Enosh” emphasizes the mortal, delicate, creaturely, incurable character of man in the Battle of corruption, in stark contrast to the four previous images depicting the arrogant brutality of totalitarian power. Power worked at continuance and the establishment of the reign of an empire. Violence which stamps out any residue of immunity. But this figure (Son of Man) has obtained a kingdom not by military might or dictatorial tyranny, however during distress and humiliation. In the name”Son of Man” there is a unitive exegetic presented, the multi-faceted Importance of the humiliation and glorification of the Messiah is revealed.” . . .while Daniel 7:13 speaks of the glorification of the Son of Man, it is in context vindication and a glorification by way of anguish. The two elements of 1) humiliation and distress, on the 1 hand, and also 2) vindication and glory on the contrary, are indicated by the expression’Son of Man’…” (Richard N. Longenecker, professor of New Testament, Wycliffe College, University of Toronto, The Christology of Early Jewish Christianity, p. 87-88)

In Rabbinical literature much is said as describing the Messiah, concerning the passage from Daniel 7:13. In the Talmud of Babylon Sanh. fol. 98.1, Daniel 7:13-14 is reconciled with Zechariah 9:9. Joshua ben Levy said,”If Israel are worthy, the Messiah has the clouds of paradise but if they are not worthy, he comes poor, and riding on an ass.” Samuel ben Nachman (270 C.E.) said that based on Daniel 7:13, the natives follow the Messiah as far as their precincts let, while God subsequently conducts him to Himself, according to Jeremiah 30:21 (Midrash on Ps. 21:7). In Zohar,” Gen. folio 85.4, reference is made to Daniel 7:13 as referring to the Messiah. The Hebrew title”Anani” significance”clouds” is a title for the Messiah (alluding to Daniel 7:13) in the Targum translation of that Chron. 3:24. Mention is made of the title of a individual, Anani, it is added,”Who’s the Messiah which is to be disclosed,”-a direct reference to Daniel 7:13. In the Talmud of Babylon Sanh. 96b that the Messiah is called Bar-Naphle, the cloud-man. Rabbis Jarchi, Saadiah, Gaon, Aben Ezra, along with R. Joshua expounded the text of Daniel 7:13 as referring to the Messiah. Outside of Rabbinical literature, Justin in his Dialogue 32.1 reports that the”one like a son of man” of Daniel 7:13 was identified with the King Messiah at mid-Second Century Judaism.

“For the Son of Man has come to save that which was missing.” (Matt. 18:11)

Jesus said unequivocally that he had the authority to forgive sins because he was the Son of Man (Matt. 9:2, Mk, 5-6. 2:5, 9-10, Lk. 5:23-24, 7:47-48). The term”authority” is the Greek word exousia, its root meaning is literally”out of substance or nature,” signaling an inborn power and right of implementation. The exousia was his because he identified himself as the”Son of Man.” As the long-awaited Savior of Israel, Jesus would Celebrate the saving character of God, forgiving sins to the merit of their own inborn nature.” . . .All the good that I will do unto you I really do all those years during the merit of the Messiah who was retained back. He’s righteous and full of salvation.” (Zech. 9:9) (Pes. R. 146b, 159b.) In forgiving sins redemptively an ability was exercised by jesus, a act believed exclusively Divine. The Jews unwaveringly thought that”God retains Salvation in his power.” (Talmud of Babylon Sanh. 113a)”But there is forgiveness with Thee, that Thou mayest be feared.” (Ps. 130:4)”Forgiveness is completely with the Lord; He alone is capable of forgiving. The sinner can not be, pronounced by the mouth of a fatal who, after all, is himself in need of forgiveness pure render. Only He, Who is as omnipotent as He’s gracious, at the abundance of his grace and almighty power, could perform for guy which wonder of miracles, even the blotting out of the aftermath of the past mistakes.” (Samson Raphael Hirsch, The Hirsch Psalms, pg. 396)

“And they were bringing to Him a paralytic, lying on a mattress; and Jesus seeing their faith said to the paralytic,’Take courage, My child, your sins are forgiven.'” “That is easier, to say,’Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say,’Rise, and walk’? ‘But in order that you might know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins’-He then said to the paralytic-‘Rise, take up your bed, and go home.'” (Matt. 9:2, Mk, 5-6. 2:5, 9-10, Luke 5:20, 23, 24, 7:47-48). No mortal free of sin’s consequences and can declare a condemned sinner. A sinner can share his knowledge of a savior but the action of forgiveness and pardon is completely Divine. A act no Rabbi, priest, or prophet could have dared imitate for fear of committing blasphemy to forgive sins is only a Divine prerogative which Jesus unhesitatingly claimed. (Luke 5:21, Matt. 9:3. 2:6-7) “. . .the term used in Hebrew for’forgiven’ is that the Hebrew salach, literally, nislechu lecha chatoteicha (forgiven are your sins). Todayin Hebrew, a person may say to another,’Ani soleach lecha’ (I forgive you), however at the time of Jesus this expression for forgiveness has been just being used of God’s forgiving someone (cf. Leviticus 4:26, 31, 35).” . . .in the recovery of a paralyzed person he used words of citizenship allowed strictly in the Legislation to God.” (Dr. Robert Lindsey, Hebrew scholar, from 1945-1990 Pastor of the Narkis Street Baptist Congregation, Jerusalem, Israel, Jesus Rabbi and Lord, p. 48, 50.) The notion that the redemptive action of forgiving sins is within the human domain,”is alien into the brain of Judaism and of early Christianity.” (Vincent Taylor, The Gospel According to Saint Mark, p. 199) Jesus understood His own saving job as summed up in his words at the home of Zaccheus,”Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham to the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was missing.” (Lk. 19:9-10)

To exercise the authority to forgive sins, as exemplified in the healing of the paralytic (Matt. 9:2, Mk, 5-6. 2:5, 9-10, Lk. 5:20, 23, 24, 7:47-48), wasn’t a salvific work overseas to his character as the Son of Man. Every Jew, confronted with all the ministry of Jesus, recognized that the consequence of the salvational acts of forgiveness that he singularly offered,”. . .the early Jewish believers in Jesus appreciated the fact that as the Messiah, he was the person who had embodied and effected the salvation promised of old…” (Richard N. Longenecker, The Christology of Early Jewish Christianity, p. 103). The redemptive and curing function of forgiving sins was an act of jurisdiction over the spiritual and physical realm of malady preadumbrating that the Son of Man’s role as the eschatological estimate of states and men. “This expression [Son of Man] goes past self-reference and, seen in the light of the post-resurrection period, surely indicates that the eschatological judge had already come on earth with the ability to forgive sin.” (D. A. Carson, Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 8, p. 222) As the holder of the intrinsic power and right of implementation as the Universal Judge (Matt. 16:27, 25:31-46), to cure a human body and forgive sins didn’t tax his jurisdiction.

“The one like a guy [that the Son of Man] who sits on the throne of God’s glory, the sublime eschatological judge, is the highest conception of the Redeemer ever produced by early Judaism.” -p. 103, David Flusser, Jesus

In the Jewish Apocalyptic book, The Parables of Enoch, the date of authorship is thought of as pre-70 C.E. (watch James Charlesworth, Jesus Within Judaism, p. 40, ff), the”Son of Man” is presented as pre-existent from all eternity, he is specially related to God, he shares the heavenly glory of God and will be God’s preferred representative of vengeance and ruling. The greatness and authority’s picture is overwhelming to behold. “And there I saw One who had a head , and His head was white like wool, and with Him there was an alternative whose countenance had the appearance of a guy, and his face was full of graciousness, like one of those holy angels. And I asked concerning that Son of Man, who he was, and whence he was, and he went with the Head of Days? He answered and said unto me:’This is the Son of Man who hath righteousness, together with whom dwelleth righteousness, and who revealeth all the treasures of that which is concealed, as the Lord of Spirits hath chosen him, and whose lot hath the pre-eminence before the Lord of Spirits in uprightness eternally. And this Son of Man whom thou hast seen shall loosen the reins of this robust, and shall put down the kings and mighty from their chairs, and also the powerful from their thrones and break the teeth of sinners. And he shall put down the kings from their thrones and kingdoms because they do not extol and praise Him, nor humbly admit when the kingdom was bestowed upon them. And he shall fill them, and shall put down the countenance of the powerful. And darkness shall be their dwelling, and worms shall be their bed, and they shall not have any hope of rising from their beds, because they do not extol the name of the Lord of Spirits.'” (I Enoch 46:1-6)”And the kings and the mighty and all who possess the earth shall bless and glorify and extol him who rules over all, who had been buried. For at the beginning the Son of Man was hidden, and also the Most High preserved him and revealed him. And the congregation of the elect and holy shall be sown, and all the elect shall stand before him on that day. And the kings and the mighty and the exalted and those who rule the world shall fall down before him on their facesand worship and set their hope upon that Son of Man, and petition him and supplicate him for mercy at his hands.” (I Enoch 62:3-8)”And he sat on the throne of his glory, and also the sum of judgment was given unto the Son of Man, and he caused the sinners to pass away and he destroyed from the surface of the earth, and people who have led the world astray. With chains shall they be bound, and at their own assemblage-place of destruction shall they be imprisoned, along with all of their works vanish from the surface of the earth. And from henceforth there shall be nothing corruptible; so for that Son of Man has appeared, and has put himself on the throne of his glory, and all evil shall pass away before his face, along with the term of that Son of Man shall go forth and be strong before the Lord of Spirits.” (I Enoch 69:26-29) In the aforementioned passages that the Son of Man is revealed seated on the Throne of Glory, existing before the stars and sun were made, implementing universal decision, also bringing salvation at the conclusion of ages, when he will be enthroned as king of the world. “The son of man using a superhuman, heavenly, sublimity. He’s the cosmic judge at the conclusion of time; seated upon the throne of God, he will judge the entire human race with the aid of the heavenly host, consigning the only to blessedness and sinners into the pit of hell; also he will perform the sentence he passes.” (Encyclopedia Judaica, Vol. 15, p. 160) The authority of this figure”Son of Man” far exceeds any anointed office at the Old Testament or the entire angelic purchase. He stands alone in all Judaism as the last arbiter of the fate of all men and nations. “The image of this Bar-Enosh is intriguing and unique. It is the amount of a almost super-human estimate, who’s to sit on the throne of God and to distinguish the righteous. He’s to send the righteous to everlasting life and the wicked to everlasting punishment.” (David Flusser, professor of early Christianity, Hebrew University, Jewish Sources in Early Christianity, p. 56) In attempting to define the essence of this One, the Gordian Knot, which consists only of a human evaluation, looms large in Judaism. Could he be and be a judge of such ability, or is this description a trivialization of the character that is true?

The jurisdiction which the Son of Man is depicted as being spent with, as cited in the above mentioned passages, much exceeds any assigned authority to interpret the Torah to wage war, or to adjudicate legal disputes. For the Son of Man’s judicial practice encompasses the entire ground, and in its implementation God’s full justice. The Father has vested all judiciary forces at the Son of Man (see Targum on Genesis 49:11, Targum on Isa. 11:4, 10:27, 14:29, Targum on Ps. 72:1-2, Psalms of Solomon 17:21-30, II Baruch 72:2-6, John 5:22-24, 27-30). “Thus it seems that the concept [that the eschatological figure Son of Man] preceded the last identification of the Son of Man together with the Messiah, that became common at the conclusion of the next temple. It was so applied at the time of Jesus, who was able to speak of the Son of Man as the heavenly judge also it seems that eventually he identified himself with this specific figure.” (Encyclopedia Judaica, Vol. 15, p. 160)

Jesus states that he has an ability. “For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son. So that all will honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes Him who sent Mehas eternal life, and does not come into judgement, but has passed out of death into life.”” . . .and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this; for one hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs shall hear His voiceand shall come forth; individuals who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, individuals who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.” (John 5:22-24, 27-30) The aforementioned passages are startling in their import. Jesus asserts that he has universal judicial jurisdiction as the Judge of all, because he is the”Son of Man.” Rabbi, priest, scribe, or no prophet has executed such a judicial jurisdiction. No person or being works in such a realm. In the Old Testament, the prerogative of decision goes exclusively to God (Gen. 18:25, Judges 11:27, Ps. 9:8, 50:60, 82:8, 94:2, Isa, 98:9, 110:6. 33:22I Chron. 16:33, Aboth 4:29).

Jesus’ use of the Messianic title Son of Man encompasses the entire width of his character: anguish, exaltation, preexistent , atoning death, glorification, enthronement King and Judge. Thus, no category that is devised can include Jesus. He pops and declares that he is illimitable. He affirms prerogatives which are completely Divine. A trilemma confronts anybody who hates a serious evaluation of Jesus’ Person. Either he was a fraud, self-deceived, i.e., nut he was who he says he was. There may be no other choices. The”good moral teacher” category, utilized to dismiss Jesus, needs by definition truthfulness and sanity, and that, in case his declarations are untrue, could nullify this type of spell. “The concept of a terrific moral teacher saying what Christ said is out of the matter. In my view, the only person who can say that sort of thing is either God or a complete lunatic suffering from that form of delusion which undermines the entire mind of the man. If you think you are a poached egg, when you are searching for a piece of toast to suit you, you might be sane, but should you believe you are God, there’s not any chance for you.” (C. S. Lewis, essay:”What Are We to Be Christ?” God in the Dock, p. 158) A rubicon choice is demanded by him,”But who do you say that I am?” (Matt. 16:15) He leaves no person at a moral no-man’s land. May his soul grace us in the Father with a fantasy of his character, a Divine unveiling. “And Simon Peter answered and said, ‘Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God.’ And Jesus answered and said to him,’Blessed are youSimon bar Jona, because flesh and blood didn’t reveal this to you, but My Father who’s in paradise'” (Matt. 16:16-17)

“For the Son of Man has come to save that which was missing.” (Matt. 18:11)