The Son of Man Reality

INTRO

There are strange happenings going on in Luke 23. We’ve been talking about Jesus as the Son of Man and what that looks like. Today we will be looking at the humanity of Jesus. Jesus referred to Himself most often as the Son of Man. Read Hebrews 4:14–16 and notice the relatability of Jesus: He got hungry (Mark 11:12) and thirsty (John 19:28); He slept (Mark 4:38) and wept (John 11:35); He rejoiced and had fun (Luke 7:34); He got angry (Matthew 21:12–13); and Jesus suffered, was rejected, and was a man of sorrows (Isaiah 53:3). Today we’ll dive fully into this “Son of Man” reality.

TEACHING

Luke 23:1: The whole assembly was the Council of Elders (or the Sanhedrin, which means “sitting together” or “assembly”). There was a Lesser Sanhedrin of 23 judges appointed locally in each city. The great Sanhedrin had 71 judges, which among other roles acted as the Supreme Court. With a problem like Jesus, the great Sanhedrin would have been involved.

Luke 23:2: Right out of the gate in this chapter, Jesus was identified as man. That was the lens through which the Sanhedrin viewed Him. The word man is used eight times in relation to Jesus in this chapter. The accusative pretenses of the Sanhedrin were downright hilarious, really. The absurdity is astounding. In Luke 20:21, the Jewish leaders accused Jesus of “subverting the nation,” but they were the ones deceiving and manipulating the system. They falsely accused Him of “opposing taxes,” but Jesus was the One who hung out with tax collectors, loving people that were totally sold out to the cause of Roman taxation (Luke 20:24–26). They also accused Jesus of “claiming to be the Messiah,” while they were the ones claiming it and trying to drag it out of Him (Luke 22:71).

Luke 23:3–6: Jesus didn’t respond to Pilate’s question, and Pilate said he found no fault with this man (vv. 3–4). The Jews said Jesus had been causing trouble by stirring up the people. Pilate asked if this man was a Galilean (vv. 5–6).

Luke 23:7: Pilate did not want to deal with this inconvenience. He was caught in the middle of an awkward situation. If Pilate didn’t listen to the Sanhedrin, a riot could break out, but if he listened to them, then he feared a riot from Jesus’ followers. Since the accusations were falling flat, Pilate passed Jesus over to Herod Antipas.

Luke 23:8–9: Herod was happy to see Jesus. Herod’s dad was responsible for murdering hundreds of firstborn Jews because of major insecurity issues. Herod Antipas also had Jesus’ cousin, John the Baptist, beheaded because John blew the whistle on Antipas’s illegitimate divorce and remarriage to his half-brother’s wife. The Antipas families had the trait of being dysfunctional. Herod wanted a show, to see a miracle from Jesus Christ “Superstar”: “So, you are the Christ, the great Jesus Christ. Prove to me that you’re no fool, walk across my swimming pool.” Compare verse 9 to Isaiah 53:7 - “He did not open His mouth.”

Luke 23:10–14: In verse 10, “The chief priests and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing Him.” Satan means “accuser,” and the word “vehemently” in the Greek, (eutonos) means “in a well-strung manner, vigorously, powerfully.” The spirit of antichrist is full force, violently pressing the highest degree of opposition. Why did Herod and Pilate become friends? One idea is that, although Pilate didn’t know or didn’t care who Jesus was, and although Herod and his soldiers treated Jesus like a circus sideshow, both Herod Antipas and Pilate were mutually reluctant to execute Jesus. Throughout this account, Pilate is consistently the voice of reason. Although a pagan polytheist, Pilate must have had common sense (Proverbs 6:16–19).

Luke 23:15–21: Pilate had to release someone and planned to release Jesus, but the crowd wanted Barabbas, who was in prison because he had led a rebellion and committed murder. Jesus had agreed with the Sanhedrin that He was the Messiah. Isaiah 53:9 says, “He had done no violence, nor was there any deceit in His mouth.” Mark said that Barabbas was “imprisoned with rioters.” John called him a “bandit,” and Matthew said he was a “notorious prisoner.” It’s interesting to note his name means son (Bar) of the father (Abba). The Son of the Father took the place for the son of the father. Pilate tried again to release Jesus, and the crowd kept shouting for Him to be crucified. This, of course, is the fulfillment of prophecy (Deuteronomy 21:23).

Luke 23:22–25: Pilate tried a third time, asking, “What has this man done wrong?” Note the persistency of Pilate. More prophecy was fulfilled here as the Son of Man was whipped (Isaiah 53:5). Pilate finally caved in and granted their demand but said, “I am innocent of this man’s blood” (Matthew 27:24)

CLOSING

As we close this out, let’s look at three Scripture passages, which point to Jesus as the Son of Man:

First, these prophecies were all fulfilled by Jesus:

Psalm 22:14–19: “I am poured out like water, and all my bones are disjointed; my heart is like wax, melting within me. My strength is dried up like baked clay; my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You put me into the dust of death. For dogs have surrounded me; a gang of evildoers has closed in on me; they pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones; people look and stare at me. They divided my garments among themselves, and they cast lots for my clothing. But You, Lord, don’t be far away. My strength, come quickly to help me.”

Second, the Son of Man was bruised, He was hungry, and He thirsted on the cro.

Isaiah 53:5–6: “But He was pierced because of our transgressions, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on Him, and we are healed by His wounds. We all went astray like sheep; we all have turned to our own way; and the Lord has punished Him for the iniquity of us all.”

Third, even though He was God, He came as man.

Philippians 2:6–8: “Who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be used for His own advantage. Instead He emptied Himself by assuming the form of a slave, taking on the likeness of men. And when He had come as a man in His external form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death––even to death on a cross.”