“I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.” Daniel 7:13-14

Daniel prophesied thousands of years ago a coming of “one like the Son of man” who would be given dominion, glory, and a kingdom that will never pass away. The time for the final fulfillment of this prophecy is coming soon. A day of righteous judgment will be rendered, and the Son of Man, our Jesus of Nazareth, will finally receive the honor and the glory due him! Oh, what a day that will be!

Now, you might personally hold Jesus in the highest esteem. Maybe he is literally first-place in your life. That’s good. That’s where he deserves to be, but you and I both know that he yet deserves more.

In Colossians 1:18 we read that in all things he should have the preeminence. That means he not only deserves to have first-place in our hearts, he deserves first-place in the universe. Of course, we don’t see that right now, do we? No. In fact, the world still mocks Jesus much like the Roman soldiers on the day of his crucifixion. He’s the object of Hollywood’s scorn and the “anti” that’s so effectively at work in this world today.

That won’t always be the case though brothers and sisters. Jesus will get his due, and we’ll be there to celebrate that day with him. What a privilege that will be. Talk about the ultimate party invite! And what makes us worthy for such an occasion? Only that Jesus, the Second of the Godhead, the Son of God, took upon himself the form of a servant, became a man, and died so that we could become sons and daughters of God!

So, Jesus makes us worthy to enjoy the Kingdom to come. It has nothing to do with our own deeds, skill, or intelligence. Man in all of his devices couldn’t have saved himself, so God sent His Son, as a man, in place of men, so that we could be transformed into the creation God always intended us to be. It’s a wonderful display of love for an oft unlovable creature.

With that said, something we often overlook in this grand story of redemption is the fact that Jesus became the “Son of man” to save us from our sin. Some would pass over this identification as a mere title, one of many elaborate ways to name our Jesus, but this identification is more than just a title. It speaks of a tremendous sacrifice. Philippians 2:6-8 describes the sacrifice this way: “Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and 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.”

Can you see it? Jesus disrobed himself of the power and majesty of God, and clothed himself with humanity so he could die for us. Friends, that is a humility never seen before or since, and was our only chance for eternal life.

Jesus’ identification in prophecy and in the pages of the Gospels as the Son of man means much more than we’ve acknowledged. It’s an essential doctrine, a foundation of our faith for a right relationship with God and a future in Heaven. If he had decided to refrain from that humiliation, and he had every right to, we would have been forever doomed to destruction. He didn’t refrain though, did he? No, he embraced humanity’s potential weaknesses, was tempted in all points as we are, suffered shame, and carried our pain and sins on the cross. Jesus, the Son of man, but only because he loved men and women, and it was the only way to give us a hopeful future.

Greg Crum is the pastor of Calvary Temple of Lovely.