THE SON OF MAN GLORIFIED
[p. 449] THE SON OF MAN GLORIFIED
I wish to speak at this time about our Lord Jesus Christ as Son of man, not in a general way, for He is so designated in many parts of Scripture, but to confine my remarks to John’s presentation of Him in that character. The other evangelists, as you will be aware, refer to the Lord under this designation more frequently than John, particularly the official gospels, as I may call them, Matthew and Luke. But in order to understand their references, and indeed, the references of the prophet Ezekiel, in whose book the designation is found more frequently than in all other parts of Scripture combined, we have to understand John.
One is impressed, the more one considers John, that we have to understand everything now from his standpoint, and particularly this subject that I propose to dwell upon. For whilst he refers to the Lord in this way less frequently than do those other two evangelists, yet he refers to Him in peculiar connections, in connections that are intended to emphasise in our minds the Person of our Lord Jesus Christ under this title. I hope that in what I have to say, we shall each afford Him in this connection more place in our affections, because I apprehend that these verses in chapter 13 have reference to the place that He now has. God has glorified Him in Himself, and He has done so immediately; and the immediate glory that has come to the Lord according to this passage, involves the place that the Father has given Him in the saints, that is, in ourselves, who form the assembly. The assembly, or the circle of the saints, as seen in John, is the sphere in which God operates now, and in which He glorifies His Son, the Son of man. The world is not yet the sphere in [p. 450] which to glorify the Son of man; and, as yet, Israel He has not, but He has the assembly. The Lord as He rose from the dead said, “I will declare thy name unto my brethren; in the midst of the congregation [assembly] will I praise thee” (Psalm 22:22). The assembly was that which God secured immediately, and which is thus available for any display which He may make; and as He glorifies the Son of man immediately, it is obviously in that sphere, which He has immediately secured. So I hope the Lord may use what I have to say to enhance His own place in our affections as the Son of man.
Now the first reference to Christ as Son of man in John’s gospel is in chapter 1:47 - 49; it is the Lord’s own statement, made to Nathanael, whom He Himself describes as “an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!” He had said to the Lord, “Thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel”. Nathanael had come into the light of the second psalm, and as moving to Christ, the Lord describes him as an Israelite indeed. Nathanael says, “Whence knowest thou me?” Jesus says, “Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee”. To Nathanael’s mind the Son of God was present; the King of Israel was present. What a moment for an Israelite, to be brought thus face to face with the Son of God and the King of Israel! And what that suggests to my mind is that the opening part of John introduces to us certain persons who apprehended Christ. The opening chapter is not so much occupied with direct divine statements, as it is with giving an account of what certain persons apprehended. It is a question, therefore, since John applies to our own time, of what we apprehend, and what is apprehended is the result of contemplation. The evangelist says, “We have contemplated his glory, a glory as of an only-begotten with a father, full of grace and truth” (chapter 1:14). They contemplated His glory as with the [p. 451] Father; He was apprehended as an only-begotten with a father. You see, the present moment is the outcome of God having wrought in certain individuals, who through contemplation came into the apprehension of Christ.
To enforce this great principle, John the baptist tells us that in being sent to baptise with water, he was told how to locate Him who should baptise with the Spirit. For of what value is water baptism save there be Spirit baptism? Water baptism in itself can avail nothing unless there is One to baptise with the Spirit. We must couple these two things together. John says, “He that sent me to baptise with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptiseth with the Holy Ghost. And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God” (John 1:33,34). Thus we see that this gospel introduces to us those who by contemplation acquired a knowledge of the Son of God, and John the baptist bears record. Now in the evangelist and those with him, and in John the baptist, we have a nucleus which became the witness; the light of the knowledge of the Son of God was in their hearts and in their minds. Then we find that John the baptist, looking on Jesus as He walked, says, “Behold the Lamb of God!” (verse 36). He bore testimony to Him as an object of attraction; and may I say that scarcely any one is too young to be attracted by a lamb! We read here, that the two disciples heard him speaking, and they followed Jesus. Now there is a movement; we have a nucleus of light, as I said, of persons illuminated with the light of the knowledge of the Son of God, and I believe this corresponds exactly to our own times. There have been those who came into the apprehension of the Son of God, and they bare record. John represents the type of testimony that affects people at the present time. He says, “Behold the Lamb of God!” He himself was affected; he was moved, and two of his disciples heard him and they followed Jesus. You will observe, that I am speaking of the Son of God, because it is the Son of God who gives character to our dispensation; but I wish to show that as He is apprehended thus, His place as Son of man is to be fully recognised in our minds and hearts. John the baptist is, as I may say, a characteristic witness; he seems to be in the mind of the evangelist a model witness; he is moved by the testimony, by the light that has come into his soul, and his testimony draws others to Jesus.
Now in speaking of the Son of God, I may add another word, and that is that the Son of God is Christ on the divine side. John shows that it is, as it were, God approaching men with His beloved Son in His hand, you will understand me. Luke presents the other side; he shows you Simeon in the temple with the Babe in his arms. If God approaches us with His beloved Son, as He does, He is contemplated as with the Father, full of grace and truth. It is God approaching us with His Son, as it were, in His bosom, and His Son is full of grace and truth. He has in Him the means of meeting men as they are, and setting them up suitably to Himself. That is what the Son of God means. God has His answer by Him. His Son is the adequate witness to His love. “God so loved ... that he gave his only begotten Son”. But when you come to the Son of man, He is seen in the arms of Simeon. It is not through the Son of man that God approaches us, but it is through the Son of man that we approach God. You will note that Simeon had Him in his arms. What a spectacle, beloved! Simeon is our representative; he is a man who came by the Spirit into the temple, and as he was there by the Spirit, Joseph and Mary came in with the Babe, and he took up the Babe in his arms. I stand behind him, as it were, and I see [p. 453] that Babe as He is there in the temple, and I say, How enriched the race is, how graced it is! He has come in on our side; and he who by the Spirit understands the position, takes Him in his arms. If God comes in on His own side to meet us, to make known His love to us, He comes in with His Son, but if I am to draw near to God, it is with the Son of man. It is not, I may remark by way of guarding these thoughts, that He intended to adorn man in the flesh, it was far otherwise, but nevertheless, coming into this world as a babe He came in in connection with humanity, and Luke presents Him to us in that light; and Simeon, who is in the mind of heaven by the Spirit, takes Him in his arms. I do not know that I can commend anything greater to you than that you should understand how to take Christ, viewed as Son of man, in your arms. You are then before God as belonging to the race of men according to all that Christ is.
Having said that much about Luke, I intend now to show how the Lord would bring in the thought of the Son of man to the mind of an Israelite; I refer to Nathanael. Whilst he is called an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile, he is nevertheless marked by those limitations that always mark a nationalist. Nationalism is one of the most potent elements there are even amongst the people of God, but the Son of man is not in relation to nations as such; He is in relation to men. Hence the Lord would emphasise to the mind of an Israelite the place that the Son of man has in heaven. He was an Israelite in all that the term signifies; but he was to see “greater things”. That is a word that should come home to us. It is the “greater things” that deliver us from the lesser. The lesser is the national, the greater is the universal. It is obvious that what Adam represented must be greater than what Abraham represented. Adam was a primary thought; Abraham represented the provisional [p. 454] thought. Very great indeed in its development is the idea of a nation and a kingdom, and God will develop these two features to their completion. We shall see a nation such as earth has never seen, and we shall see a kingdom such as earth has never seen; but those who are to have part in these things, great as they are, are to understand that there are greater things. And the greater has reference to Adam, and so Adam’s son, the Son of man, inherits all the glory that attaches to the race; and the “Israelite indeed” has to understand that these are greater things. So the Lord says, in that well-known strengthened affirmative of John, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter [or henceforth] ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man” (chapter 1:51). The Israelite is to know that heaven, instead of for the moment being occupied with Jacob, or with Christ as descended from Jacob, is occupied with Him as descended from Adam: “which was of Adam”, Luke says, “which was of God”. Man has a wonderful place with God; He had him in His mind from eternity.
Now the evangelist John in chapter 3:11 quotes the Lord as saying, “We speak that we do know”. How great a thing it is to have One who can speak, who knows; One on our side too. Then He goes on to say, “No man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven”. What we find there is that we have on our side One who ascends up to heaven, who came down from heaven, and who is, wonderful to say, in heaven. We are brought face to face with the mystery of His Person, and yet such a One as He is, is on our side; One who, although speaking on earth, could say, “the Son of man which is in heaven”. Then further we read, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up”. I was saying there was no thought [p. 455] of His coming among men, as a man, to adorn man after the flesh, but to remove him. He is not going to take up the race as we know it; He is to bring in a race of men according to Himself, but ere He does that, He glorifies God in respect of the race in connection with whom He came, for becoming man, He must deal with that. Personally He was immune from all that belonged to man in his sinful state, but as taking up His place in relation to man, He must deal to the glory of God with what lay upon man, and so He says, “Even so must the Son of man be lifted up” (John 3:14). What for? “That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life”. You see what we have on our side in the Son of man. He removes, as “lifted up”, all that lay upon us, to the glory of God, and those who believe have everlasting life. In chapter 5 He says He has authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of man. We see how, as on our side, God, as it were, would place in Him the power to execute judgment. It is God’s gracious consideration for us, for He who died for us and is on our side will surely judge righteously. He executes judgment also because He is the Son of man. Thus we see how clearly and instructively the subject is opened up by this great evangelist, so that the Son of man should have His place in the hearts of those who know Him as the Son of God.
Then in chapter 6 as Son of man He is sealed by God the Father to give us food that endures unto everlasting life. It is as if God were to say, I am placing everything in His hands; the Son of man is sealed by Me to provide you food; all is in His hands and He is on your side. How it should shut out every bit of legal fear from our hearts, in regard of God. Then He goes on to say, “Unless ye shall have eaten the flesh of the Son of man, and drunk his blood, ye have no life in yourselves” (verse 53). Later on, when many who had heard murmured, He said, “Doth this [p. 456] offend you? (verse 61). What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?” It is not here a question of the mystery of His Person as in chapter 3, but that He has title as Son of man to ascend up where He was before. He has lost nothing in the descent; His place on high is as great as ever; He ascends to where He was before. He was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, but He is crowned with glory and honour. “Where he was before” was the place and glory that belong to Deity. “The Word was with God, and the Word was God” (chapter 1:1). How marvellous, therefore, is His word, “What, and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?” (chapter 6:62). He has gone up as man in all the dignity of His Person to where He was before, and He is there on our side. The Jews are referred to again in this connection in chapter 8:28. He says, “When ye shall have lifted up the Son of man”. That is their side; they lifted Him up and in consequence He is known. “Ye shall know”, He says, “that I am he”. The Spirit of God in this evangelist would lead us on to the apprehension of Him as Son of man, so that whilst we claim Him, and rightly according to God, as on our side, He is nevertheless One who ascends up where He was before, and He is to be “known” thus as lifted up. “When ye shall have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he”. The remarkable passage in chapter 13 affords a beautiful climax to this great subject, for it is the last mention of it in this gospel so far as I know. We have in chapter 12 the coming up of the Greeks who desired to see Jesus.
What I am aiming at is that we might have this blessed Man in our minds so that we should be universal, that we should have men before us and not nations or favoured districts. There is nothing more destructive than to attach undue importance to a favoured nation or district. That has reference [p. 457] to the government of God, not to the revelation of God. Christianity is not based on the government of God, but on the revelation of God, and the revelation of God has reference to all men. Light shines on all: “The true light was that which, coming into the world, lightens every man” (John 1:9). Hence this great subject I am dealing with, rightly apprehended, delivers us from nationalism; it enables us to be with God in all that He is doing, and to have the mind of God for the moment. So when the Greeks come up, the Lord says, “The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified”. But He adds, “Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit” (John 12:23,24). Now we have arrived at the thought of God as regards the kind of race of which Christ is to be Head, and this kind of race has taken form in the assembly. The “much fruit” no doubt includes the whole race which is the result of His death. It all looks on to the time when the tabernacle of God shall be with men. It was as if He said, If I am to have the Greeks, if I am to have the race, I am to have them as the product of My death, not as they are now. There are on every hand those who aspire to rule over men, to be great among men, but the Lord would disdain to head a race with such shame attached to it as the race of men now. He removes all the stain through His death; He removes all the shame attached to man. He brings in, through dying, a race according to Himself the “much fruit”. What joy must have filled His heart as He contemplated the “much fruit”, the universal results of His death! And so He said, “The hour is come”. That hour is still deferred, but it is hastening, when He shall be set over the habitable earth.
In chapter 13 it is not said, “the hour is come that the Son of man should be glorified”, but “Now is the Son of man glorified”. It is not an hour; in the ways of God the hour refers to millennial glory. There [p. 458] is an hour fixed for the glory of the Son of man; it is on the calendar, so to speak. That hour had struck; it was His due, but He would only take up the race as having died; He would take up a race which is the fruit of His death. And so the whole race of men that will inherit the habitable earth which is to come shall be of such, and His delights shall be with them. Are we not in sympathy with our Lord in view of what He shall have in that day as the fruit of His death on this earth? Think of the change that will have come about! As one moves about the world one is depressed at times, as one sees the awful misery of men, the awful degradation of men, morally and physically, but what relief as one thinks of the day that is now nearing, in which the Lord will be set over the habitable earth, an earth filled with men like Himself, men who are the fruit of His death. The hour had come for that, but it is deferred; so in chapter 13 there is nothing said about an hour, but now: “Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him”.
I desire that we should apprehend the Lord in this light, that He has glorified God in respect of sin. In John 13 the betrayer had just gone out to betray Him into the hands of sinners that He might be put to death. “Now”, Jesus says, “is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him”. The glory that He refers to is the moral glory that He acquired by dying in obedience to the will of God. He submitted to death, having the right and power to escape it. He allowed Himself to be betrayed into the hands of sinners by one of His disciples. He did not move a finger to influence Judas against his course. It was the will of God; and when Judas went out He said, “Now is the Son of man glorified”. A halo of moral glory shone there, discerned and well-known in heaven, beloved, and it is for us to see it now. He laid down His life. He did not interfere in the least [p. 459] degree to dissuade Judas from his purpose. “That thou doest”, He says, “do quickly” (verse 27). He was absolutely subject to His Father’s will.
A halo of moral glory, as I have said, shone round about Him at that moment when Judas went out. Then He says, “and God is glorified in him”. As never before, God was glorified in respect of sin in the death of Jesus. So He says, “If God be glorified in him, God also shall glorify him in himself, and shall glorify him immediately”. Thus, as I suggested at the beginning, the immediate glory has reference to what God has now. The assembly is the sphere in which He displays His glory; and He glorifies Christ as the Son of man in the presence of His beloved people at the present time. Stephen says, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man” (Acts 7:56). He was in heaven; He was glorified in the eyes of Stephen and in the eyes of every Stephen since. Every one of them sees Jesus and He is glorified. That is what God is doing; He would glorify the Son of man in our minds and hearts; He would have the Lord in His place with us in His universal relation; He would have us to understand that the Son of man has reference to the whole race of men, and as He is glorified in us, we shall be sympathetic with God in regard to the whole race of men. That is something to be taken to heart. What I am contending for now is to hold to a right principle; it is principles that deliver us from error, from any narrowing influences such as that of any favoured nation. All these, severally or collectively, tend to shut out the place of the Son of man from our minds and our hearts; whereas John, in unfolding this great subject of the Son of God and eternal life, makes abundant room for the rights of the Son of man, that we may see that what God is doing is universal, and so he says at the very outset, “In him was life, and the life was the light of men” (chapter 1:4).