Ben Hadam, Bar Enasha

Mark 14:53-63

"And they led Jesus away to the high priest; and with him were assembled all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes. But Peter followed Him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. And he sat with the servants and warmed himself at the fire. Now the chief priests and all the council sought testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but found none. For many bore false witness against Him, but their testimonies did not agree. Then some rose up and bore false witness against Him, saying, “We heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with hands, and within  three days I will build another made without hands.’ ” But not even then did their testimony agree. And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, saying, “Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?” But He kept silent and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked Him, saying to Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” Jesus said, “I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “What further need do we have of witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy! What do you think?” And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death."

This is the culmination of the events that lead to the consequences of our Lord Jesus' claims. Here in one fell swoop He affirms that He is the Messiah, the Son of God, and the coming Son of Man. He compounds his crime by adding that He is to be seated at God’s right hand, a claim that is said to be truly blasphemous in Jewish ears. The trial scene beautifully illustrates how in Jesus’ self-understanding all the diverse claims blend together, thereby taking on connotations that outstrip any single term taken out of context. These words of Jesus served as the basis for his condemnation by 

the Sanhedrin and for his delivery to the Roman authorities on charges of treason. I am quite fascinated by the title "The Son of Man". It is also used in some parts of the bible in different ways, like as a human/mortal being as how God referred to the prophet Ezekiel and as an elevated divine title for the Christophanies in the writings of the prophet Daniel. Our Lord's usage of the title does indicate that He is not only "a son of man" but rather also uniquely "The Son of Man". This is a Messianic title. Our Lord Jesus is the One who was given dominion and glory and a kingdom. When Jesus used this phrase, He was assigning the Son of Man prophecy to Himself. The Jews of that era would have been intimately familiar with the phrase and to whom it referred. Jesus was proclaiming Himself as the Messiah. Historical Jesus scholars attest this claim as authentic, and specifically our Lord's reply to the high priest's question, via several lines of evidence: "[1] the combination of sitting at God's right hand 

and coming with the clouds of heaven appears nowhere in New Testament material except on Jesus’ lips; [2] the Son of Man is nowhere else associated with the notion of sitting at God’s right hand; [3] the saying exhibits the same blend of oblique self-reference and personally high claims that characterizes other Son of Man sayings (Mark 2:10, 28; 8:38; 13:26); [4] even though Psalm 110:1 concerning 'sitting at the right hand of God' is alluded to frequently in the New Testament, the substitution of "the Power" for "God," though typical for Jewish reverential usage, occurs nowhere else in the New Testament; and [5] Mark is unlikely to have created 

a prediction to the Sanhedrin which they did not, in fact, see fulfilled." (Gundry). Also that the words of the high priest "Son of the Blessed (One)" are likely authentic because "this use of a circumlocution for “God,” though common among Jews, was not characteristic of Christians." So, how did Jesus dishonor God in this way to have been condemned 'deserving of death'? We may best think that the high priest and the rest of the Sanhedrin judge Jesus to have "verbally robbed God of incommensurateness and unity by escalating himself to a superhuman level, by portraying himself as destined to sit at God's right hand and come with the clouds of heaven." For our Lord Jesus, then, titles like "Messiah" and "Son of God," which need carry no connotation of divinity, become infused with such a connotation in His self-understanding and usage, by His conviction that He is the Danielic Son of Man who is to be seated at God's right hand. Finally as a very important side note, I like how the Living Life commentator takes an interpretation to the apostle Peter's actions during this trial and asks us honestly are we "merely a fan" or are we "really a follower" of this Divine Messiah, The Son of Man? I pray that we continuously discover what a true disciple entails for our lives and follow through – Holy Spirit guide us all, in Jesus Name, amen.

Daniel 7:13-14

"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 worshiped Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is one that will never be destroyed."

~19.08.2014

resources: William Lane Craig, Reasonable Faith