Babylon - December 18

…Into Exile in Babylon…

Sunday December 18 – Babylon

We were about an hour down the road on a rare summer trip to Colorado from Oklahoma to visit my aunt and uncle, my dad’s brother. That is when my brother realized that he had forgotten a toy that mattered a lot to him. He loved it. It was a comforting presence, like Linus’s security blanket from the Peanuts comic strips. 

My dad didn’t hesitate. He immediately turned around and we backtracked to get the to for my brother. It added another two hours to the total time of the trip and drank up some gas, but my brother got the toy. The rest of us thought it was silly to go back, but whatever. It wasn’t our decision. Dad chose.

When we told my uncle about the back-and-forth nature of the beginning of the trip, he was reminded of my dad losing a treasured toy when they moved across the country from Iowa to Denver when my dad was around my brother’s age at the time. Dad never got that toy back – it was some horrifying stuffed spider-monkey that my dad cherished. That made it all make sense. My dad had been through that loss before and didn’t want my brother to experience that same feeling. So, he decided and planned in the moment to adjust for it. 

Truth In Babylon: The Messiah would be the Son of Man

Daniel 7:13-14 I continued watching in the night visions, and suddenly one like a son of man was coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was escorted before him. He was given dominion, and glory, and a kingdom; so that those of every people, nation, and language should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will not be destroyed. 

The title “Son of Man” occurs in the Old Testament and can be a synonym for “man,” such as when God refers to Ezekiel as a “son of man.” He is reminding Ezekiel of his identity as a human. However, in Daniel the title “Son of Man” is used to refer to a promised divine ruler who will come and be given authority and a kingdom by God. Jesus will refer to both of these distinctions when He refers to himself as “Son of Man.” 

Jesus as the Son of Man will reign over his kingdom. And as the Son of Man, Jesus takes up the authority rule, which was bestowed to him by God in Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection on our behalf. 

This promised Son of Man in Daniel directs us to the One who will conquer the evil systems of this world. The Son of Man will also receive authority to rule over the Kingdom of God. And according to the exilic prophet, the Son of Man will be a man. God’s power, God’s kingdom will be placed in the hands of a man. But not any ordinary man. It will be the Son of God in flesh, the visible image of the invisible God.

The incarnation of God in flesh as Jesus was the fulfillment of the promise of Immanuel, God with us. Jesus came here and his humanity plays a significant role in our salvation. He was like us in each way but one in that Christ never sinned. But Jesus experienced the same run of pain, emotion, exhaustion, stress, anger – those things that make us human. Jesus was human and that promise means that He understands what it feels like to be rejected, to experience loss, to deal with family conflict, to be on the receiving end of hostility, to be lied about and wrongfully accused, to be betrayed, to be abandoned, to be denied by His closest friends. Jesus endured all of that, so we have a Savior who understands what we need because He was human. 

Jesus made this journey here previously, and He knows what unique issues people have. He understands the frailties and weaknesses that mark us as people. He made a difficult journey of sacrifice so we wouldn’t have to. Because of His grace and love, He provides us a life full of exactly what we need. And then he provides a forever life with God. 

“But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” – then he told the paralytic, “Get up, take your stretcher, and go home.” Matthew 9:6

Lord, thank you for the humanity of our Savior, Jesus. Thank you that Jesus understands what we deal with and can encourage, strengthen, and equip us through all of these difficulties that expose the frailty of being human. Thank you for your strength that helps us in our weakness. Amen