Let's open our Bibles today to
John chapter 12. John chapter 12. Let me begin
our reading today in verse number 20. And there were certain Greeks
among them that came up to worship at the feast. The same came,
therefore, to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and
desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus. Philip cometh
and telleth Andrew, and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus. And Jesus answered them, saying,
The hour is come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Verily,
verily, I say unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into the
ground and die, it abideth alone. But if it die, it bringeth forth
much fruit. He that loveth his life shall
lose it, and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep
it unto life eternal. If any man serve me, let him
follow me. And where I am, there shall also
my servant be. If any man serve me, him will
my father honor. Now is my soul troubled, and
what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour,
but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy
name. Then came there a voice from
heaven saying, I have both glorified it and will glorify it again. The people, therefore, that stood
by and heard it said that it thundered. Others said, an angel
spake to him. Jesus answered and said, this
voice came not because of me, but for your sakes. Now is the
judgment of this world. Now shall the prince of this
world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from
the earth, will draw all unto me. This he said, signifying
what death he should die. The people answered him, we have
heard out of the law that Christ abideth forever. And how sayest
thou, the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of
Man? Then Jesus said unto them, Yet
a little while is the light with you. Walk while you have the
light, lest darkness come upon you. For he that walketh in darkness
knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have light, believe
in the light, that you may be the children of light. These
things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them. I'm taking my text this morning
from the question at the end of verse 34. Who is the Son of
Man? Who is the Son of Man? The Lord
Jesus Christ used this title, Son of Man, more than any other
of his titles when he referred to himself. In the Gospel of
John, this term is found 11 times. 10 times the Lord Jesus Christ
used it concerning himself, and that 11th time is our text this
morning. The people asked, who is the
Son of Man? In several Old Testament scriptures,
we have man and son of man in the same text. Probably the most
familiar is Psalm 8 and verse 4. What is man that thou art
mindful of him and the son of man that thou visiteth him. Now those familiar with Hebrew
writing and especially Hebrew poetry know that this is what
is called parallelism. Two different expressions, man
and son of man, which are equivalent. Who is the son of man or who
is this man? That was the question. Who is
the son of man? Who is this man? The people acknowledged that
they knew from the law, that is from the Old Testament, that
the Messiah abides forever. They knew that His kingdom would
be an everlasting kingdom, that He would sit upon the throne
of His father David and reign forever. They knew that. Then how can this Son of Man
be lifted up? And they recognized what our
Lord meant when He said, lifted up, that He was speaking of His
death. And I, if I be lifted up from
the earth, shall draw all unto me. They knew he was talking
about his death. How could he be the Messiah?
How could he be the promised Christ? Because Christ would
abide forever. Who is this son of man? Who is
this man? Well, I want to answer their
question with four passages of scripture. Now, there are many
more. There are many more. But I've
chosen these four. Keep that question in mind. Who
is the Son of Man? I pray that you will ask that
question. That that will resonate with
you this morning and with me. Who is this man? Who is the Son
of Man? Well, first of all, let's turn
to Philippians chapter 2. Philippians chapter 2, and we'll
read verses 5 through 8. And I will say, first of all,
this Son of Man is the only self-made man. He is the only self-made
man. Philippians chapter 2, and beginning
with verse 5, the Scripture says, Let this
mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in
the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God,
but made himself self-made man. Who is this Son of Man? He is
the self-made man. Now I realize that people use
that term in reference to other man. He's a self-made man. But let me tell you something.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the only self-made man. No other man had anything to
do with His making. His parents did, but He didn't. And I realize that people use
that term in reference to a person who has applied himself and done
well. Maybe he started off in meager
circumstances, but he has done well in this world. He's a self-made
man. But listen, the ability, the
ability even to think, to rationalize, to have the opportunity Who gave
him that ability? Yes, he used it. Yes, I understand
that. But again, I say unto us this
morning, there's only been one man, and that is the Son of Man,
who is a self-made man. He was in the form of God, the
scripture here says, who being in the form of God, made himself. Made himself. of no reputation. We are to understand by the word
form, being in the form of God, the essence of God. God is a
spirit. We understand that. God is a
spirit. And just as we are to understand
Him being made in the form of a servant, so we understand that
He was in the form of God. In Hebrews chapter 1, in verse
3, we read that the sun, being the brightness of God's glory,
the express image of His person. One of the oldest writers that
I've ever read that used this analogy, which I think is a wonderful
analogy. The physical sun, its brightness. the sun, the physical sun, its
brightness. How can you separate the brightness
from the sun? But yet they are distinct. There's
one God, just as there's one sun in our universe. There's one God and yet he exists
in a trinity of persons. And it is God the sun, Who made
himself, is that clear? Who made himself
in the form of a servant. Made himself of no reputation,
the scripture says. Who being in the form of God,
thought it not robbery to be equal with God. He didn't think
that something to grasp at, because it was his. He is God. But He made Himself of no reputation. He took upon Him the form of
a servant and was made in the likeness of men. And being found
in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto
death, even the death of the cross. Who is this Son of Man? Well, this Son of Man is the
only self-made man that ever has existed or ever will be. He made Himself of no reputation. He took upon Him the form of
a servant. It's stated in the first chapter
of John, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God. And then in verse 14 it says,
And the Word was made flesh, I love the Spanish translation
of that because it brings out He made Himself flesh. Se hizo carne. The verb, the word, who was in
the beginning with God, who is God. He made Himself. That's
the point I want. Who is this Son of Man? This
Son of Man is the only man who made Himself man. And when we read the Word was
made flesh, we're not to think of that as merely taking a body. All that makes up man, body,
soul, and spirit, He took into union with His deity so that
we call Him the God-Man. Who is this Son of Man? He's
the God-Man. No wonder the Apostle Paul said,
great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. When we worship the Lord Jesus
Christ, we're not guilty of idolatry. We would be if he's not God. Only God is to be worshipped.
But he is God. Who is this son of man? He is. the only self-made man. Now, my second answer is found
in Psalm 80, if you will. Go back to Psalm 80. Who is this
son of man? The son of man is the man that
God made strong for himself, the man of God's right hand. Psalm 80. Verse 17, Let thy hand be upon the man
of thy right hand, upon the son of man, whom thou madest strong
for thyself. He's not only the man of God's
right hand, but he is also the man that God made strong for
himself. This verse tells us at least
these two truths about the Son of Man. Who is this Son of Man?
Well, first of all, it tells us that the Son of Man is God's
beloved Son. How do we get that? Because the
name Benjamin, we've all heard the name Benjamin, Jacob, his
youngest son, who he loved, and had great affection for, what
did he call him? He called him Benjamin, which
literally means the son of the right hand. And this son of man
at God's right hand is God's beloved son. Remember at his
baptism, There was a voice from heaven which said, this is my
beloved son in whom I am well pleased. We have a beautiful
picture of this, I believe, in the case of Abraham, the father
of the faithful. When God commanded him to offer
up his son Isaac, but in the command that God gave him, we
see how precious and special Isaac was to Abraham. Remember, he had another son,
Ishmael, and he was a wealthy man, had many servants, and so
all of the servants' children which were born in his house
would naturally have called him father, father. But when the
Lord came to him with this command to offer up his son, listen to
how the Lord speaks to him. Take now thy son. Well, I have
a number of sons. Take now thy son. Thine only
son. Thine only son. The only son
of promise. The only son that God gave him
through his wife. Sarah, after both of them have
passed the age of childbearing, the son of promise, take now
thy son, thine only son, whom thou lovest." I would imagine
Abraham loved all of his children, all of his sons, don't you? He
was a godly man. But he had one son, one son that
he loved. God has many sons by adoption. Even the angels are referred
to as the sons of God. But He has only one, only begotten
Son, whom He loves. This is my beloved Son, in whom
I am well pleased. This verse tells us, being the
son of His right hand, of God's love, but it also reminds us
That this is the Son that God made strong, now look, for Himself. For Himself. Let me read that
verse again. Let this hand be upon the man
of thy right hand, upon the Son of man, whom thou, that is God,
made as strong for thyself. What can that mean? It means
that God purposed by this Son, this Son of Man to glorify Himself
in the saving of His covenant people. How many times have we
heard and how many times have I tried to bring this out in
a message. When you go to the cross, if
you'll ever go there and just sit for a few minutes, as the
hymn writer said, when I survey the wondrous cross upon which
the Prince of Glory died, don't run by. Don't hasten by, sit
there for a while and gaze upon the cross in your mind of God's
beloved Son hanging there on that cross. And what you will
see, you will see all of God's glorious attributes glorified. His holiness, His justice, His
wrath, His love, His mercy, all of the attributes of God center
there. in the cross of the Lord Jesus
Christ. God made this son of man strong
for himself. In him, he be the surety of the
everlasting covenant. This man, now think of this work. This takes some strength. This is not the work of a babe.
This is not the work of a man. This is not even the work of
all the angels put together. This work of making an end of
sin, of bringing in an everlasting righteousness. God made this
man strong for himself. This man in whom God has purposed
that all of his promises should be yes and amen. Most people, most people today
believe that the salvation of a sinner is a very easy matter. You say, how do you know that
preacher? I know that's true because no matter who dies, No
matter how they've lived, just as soon as they die, everyone
almost unanimously says, well, he's in a better place, or she's
in a better place. Why do they say that? When they
know that that person's life has obviously been the contradiction
of everything that is true of God, His holiness, His righteousness. Men and women say that because
for the most part people believe that this matter of being saved
is an easy thing. It's an easy work. I tell you,
it took God the Son to do it. What does it mean to be saved? Well, First of all, it means
to be delivered from the guilt of sin. Have you ever been convinced
that you're guilty before God? Has God the Holy Spirit convinced
you of your guilt? And has that guilt weighed upon
your conscience? To where there was no peace,
there was nothing but trouble, And then you heard the message
of Christ and you trusted, you believed in him and you were
given peace. The blood of Jesus Christ washes
away all my sin. It also means that when that
took place, God did a work of grace in your heart and you received
a new nature, which is created in righteousness and true holiness,
giving you the power to overcome sin. Not to live without sin,
I'm not saying that, but still, he shall save his people from
their sins, from the power of sin that had them gripped before
he gives strength and grace to live for his glory. And it also
means one day when you and I and all of God's creation are assembled
before the judge that he doesn't say to you and
he doesn't say to me, depart, you cursed into everlasting destruction. Come, come, inherit the kingdom
which my Father hath prepared for you from the foundation of
the world. That's what it means to be saved.
Now let's go to another verse, Romans chapter 5. Who is this
son of man? He's a self-made man. He's the
man that God made strong for himself. And here in Romans chapter
5, I'm going to say the Son of Man is a representative man. In this passage, and you're familiar
with it, most all of you here are familiar with this passage
beginning in verse 12 of chapter 5, but we're only going to read
verses 18 through 21, but we read of two men. Therefore, as by the offense
of one, one man, by his offense, his disobedience, judgment came
upon all men to condemnation. Even so, by the righteousness
of one man, by his obedience, the free gift came upon all men
unto justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience
many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one, who is
this one? The Son of Man. The Son of Man. By His obedience shall many be
made righteous. Moreover, the law entered that
the offense might abound And when the law comes to you and
it says thou shalt not, thou shalt not, and you know it's
not just speaking of outward acts. You've never murdered anyone,
but you've had hatred in your heart. Maybe you haven't been
guilty of all these other commandments. When the law comes, what does
it do? The offense may abound. We see
that we're not the nice little boys and girls that our mother
thought and always said that we were. No, no. The law came that the
offense might abound. But don't you thank God for these
next words, that where sin abounded, where sin abounded, oh, it abounds
in me. where sin abounded, grace, unmerited
favor might much more abound. That as sin hath reigned unto
death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal
life by Jesus Christ our Lord. In this passage we read of two
men, Adam and Christ. Who is the son of man? They're
both declared to be representative men. It was through Adam's sin,
through his disobedience as a representative man, that his posterity, all
of his descendants, that judgment came upon all men under condemnation. Even so, It is through the son
of man's obedience as a representative man that his righteousness, which
is called the righteousness of God, his righteousness comes
upon all men unto justification of life. Now immediately you
say, well, what does he mean or what is meant by all men? What is meant by the all men
that judgment came upon to condemnation? All men that Adam represented. All men that Adam represented,
which means everyone. No exceptions. The same is true of the all men
upon whom comes the justification of life. All those that the Son
of Man represented. Now let's go to one other place.
John chapter 3. Who is this Son of Man? He's the self-made man. He's
the man that God made strong for himself. He's the representative
man. And fourthly, The Son of Man
is the man lifted up as Moses lifted up the serpent in the
wilderness. This is what he says here in
John chapter 3 and verse 14. And as Moses lifted up the serpent
in the wilderness. You know the story. There were
fiery serpents biting the children of Israel. Poison. Poison. As sure as a person was
bitten. He may have gone to the drugstore,
bought the drugstore out. Tried everything they had. But
he would die. There was no remedy. None whatsoever. And so Moses sought the Lord
and the Lord told Moses, make a serpent of brass." Well, the
poison came from a serpent, yes. But you make a serpent of brass. You see, it was by man that sin
came, and it's going to be by the Son of Man that men are delivered
from sin. You make a serpent of brass and
put him on a pole, and we're talking about a million people.
Not all of them bitten. But in the camp, a large number
of people were bitten. But there was one serpent. They
didn't make one serpent for the tribe of Judah and another for
the tribe of Benjamin and so forth and so on. No, one serpent
in the middle of the camp. And then men would no doubt run
through the camp and they would go through it saying, look, look,
look. Look to the serpent and be healed. Live. As Moses lifted up the
serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man. Who is the Son of Man? He is
the one who was lifted up upon a cross, that whosoever believeth
in him should not perish but have eternal life. Let me ask this question. Who
is this Son of Man? He is the one that you, you,
listen to me now, don't go to sleep, look at me. I'm talking
to every person in here today. I'm talking to myself. Who is
this Son of Man? He is the one that you must trust,
that you must look to, or spend eternity in hell. That's who
He is. There's no option. There's no other place. You say,
well, I'm going to wait till I leave this world and then I'm
going to be judged and if my good works outweigh my... No,
no, my friends. You've already been judged. You've
already been condemned. And there's one remedy, one answer
for sinners, and that is the one, the Son of Man, who is the
God-man, the representative man, the man that God made strong
for Himself. You, I, we must look to Him or
be damned. There's no option. There's no in between. It's live, look and live, or
go on in rebellion and die eternally. Who is this Son of Man? Well,
let me close with one other thing. He's the one you're going to
meet one day. He's the one I'm going to meet. He's the judge
of all. The Father's committed all judgment
unto the Son. That's who He is. If you know
Him today, if you've looked and you trust in Him today, you rejoice,
don't you? You rejoice in knowing, who is
this Son of Man? I know who He is. He's my Savior. He's my Lord. He's the one who
loved me so much. that he came and gave himself
for me. I know this. I know who he is.
Do you? I trust the Lord will bless his
word to all of us here today. I'm going to ask David Leedis
in a hymn. I'm going to change