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Daniel 7:13-14

The Son of Man (Part 2)

A sermon by Pastor Joe Haynes

Preached on April 2, 2017 at Beacon Church

Last Sunday was the first part of this sermon—about a vision the prophet Daniel had in which he saw a human—“a son of man” in that ancient language—do something no other human would ever dare to do, much less survive: he is brought right up to the throne of God, and instead of falling dead, He is rewarded with the kingship of the whole world, and even more incredible, right under God’s nose, He is given glory so that everybody serves Him forever.

13 "I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him.  14 And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.  (Dan. 7:13-14 ESV)

The vision doesn’t tell us much about the how and why. But Jesus did. 81 times in the four Gospels Jesus explained he is that Son of Man, that He is the Son of God, equal with God the Father; that His Kingdom is coming and when it does everybody will see Him sharing God’s power and God’s glory and God’s throne (Mar 14:60-64). When Jesus said that at His trial, the Jewish leaders judged Him as deserving to die for what He said. Our Lord’s enemies understood at least something of what he was claiming when said this prophecy is about Him. My aim this morning is to, in a way, give an exposition of this prophecy about the Son of Man in Daniel 7:13-14, by looking to the pages of the New Testament. And the first thing I want to show you is that the very first Christian to die for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as he died, saw what Daniel saw.

The first Christian martyr saw what Daniel saw

It was no more than a couple of years later when, after Jesus had gone to His Father, one of the first Christian evangelists—preachers of the Gospel—was arrested because he was becoming so effective at persuading people to follow Jesus. This man, Stephen, was dragged before the high priest where he was falsely accused and charged. And the whole council fell silent and they looked at Stephen—and Acts 6:15 says that everyone saw that his face “was like the face of an angel.” I don’t know if Stephen had ever before seen a vision. But I do know that he really believed Jesus was the Son of Man who Daniel had seen. The conviction in his heart about who Jesus is made him brave—and so full of passion for Christ that it sounds like he almost glowed as he launched into the longest sermon recorded in the Book of Acts. At the end of his sermon nobody shook his hand.

54 Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him.  55 But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.  56 And he said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God."  57 But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him.  58 Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. (Acts 7:54-58 ESV)

Stephen saw Christ enthroned and crowned as King, just as Daniel had seen in his vision 600 years earlier. But let me be clear about this: Stephen was filled with passion and courage to tell people about Jesus before he saw Him at the throne of God. But just before they killed him, when He saw Christ like that, it confirmed for him all that he already believed to be true about Jesus. If only we had that kind of courage, that kind of passion for Jesus, that kind of glow on our faces when we talk about our King! We might never see a vision like that, but we can know what Stephen and Daniel knew—that’s why their visions are written in the Bible for us to read. So we will be changed by knowing Jesus is that Son of Man.

The disciples saw Him ascend and look what happened next!

In Acts 1:6-11, when Jesus was still with his disciples after His resurrection, Luke writes that they were hoping it was time for Jesus to establish His Kingdom and overthrow the Romans. But God had bigger plans for Jesus:

6 So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?"  7 He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.  8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."  9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.  10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes,  11 and said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven."  (Acts 1:6-11 ESV)

Passages like Stephen’s vision of Christ at the right hand of God, passages all over the New Testament that teach what we call, “the ascension of Jesus”, reveal to us that when the disciples saw Jesus leave, Daniel’s vision showed where He went—with the clouds of heaven right into the presence of God—and what happened next! But again, they didn’t know all that yet when they saw Jesus disappear in the clouds. And still, what they knew about Jesus and were beginning to piece together, had a dramatic impact on those disciples:

12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away.  13 And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James.  14 All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers. (Acts 1:12-14 ESV)

21 So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,  22 beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us-- one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection." (Acts 1:21-22 ESV)

Do you want the courage of Stephen, the commitment to pray like the disciples? To be witnesses?

7 ways the crowning of Christ makes us effective witnesses

I’ve listed seven things the ascension and coronation of Jesus means for us that have the power to overcome the fear, the pride, the selfishness, and the laziness that keep us from becoming effective in telling people about Jesus. (These implications of Christ’s ascension were inspired by Wayne Grudem.)[i]

… [God] raised [Jesus] from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. (Eph. 1:18-23 ESV)

 That mysterious connection Daniel glimpsed (Dan 7:18) between the Son of Man and His people is a mystery made clear in the Gospel: everything that belongs to Jesus is shared with all believers because we are spiritually joined to Him. His happy future is our happy future; His victory is our victory; His inheritance is our inheritance. Because God has joined us to Jesus--the Bible pictures that by calling Christians "the Body" of Jesus. As goes the Head, so goes the Body!

Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died-- more than that, who was raised-- who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?  (Rom. 8:34-35 ESV)

The Lord over all loves you and me who depend on Him. Forever. Without fail. Maybe you remember a time in highschool when you threw a friend under the bus in order to win the approval of a more popular kid? The disciple Peter did that to his non-Jewish friends when some Jewish V.I.P.s came to town. And it’s that same fear of rejection that led Peter to deny Jesus 3 times; that same fear that so often shuts our mouths and defeats our good intentions. But if the King of the Universe is standing one one side, and the most popular kid in highschool is standing on the other, whose opinion will matter to you more? The more we realize and think about the permanent, unfailing love of Jesus for us, the more His opinion will free us from the approval of others.

For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf... And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. (Heb. 9:24, 27-28 ESV)

If you are counting on Jesus to save you, and not on yourself or anyone or anything else, then His ascension to God where He was then crowned with glory guarantees salvation to everyone who now waits for Jesus to come back!

"Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you." (Jn. 16:7 ESV)


 "Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing." (Acts 2:33 ESV)

 Therefore it says, "When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men." …And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ," (Eph. 4:8, 11-12 ESV).

There is a cross-reference for this verse that helps to understand what this means: Eph 2:20 says that what God is doing in the Church now is built "on the foundation of the apostles and prophets" who in turn are grounded upon Christ the Cornerstone. That is, the prophets who wrote the Old Testament, and the apostles who wrote the New Testament, were sent in the authority of Jesus, who also then gave us evangelists and pastors and teachers to teach us His Word in order to equip and strengthen us, His Body, for the mission He gave us!

 In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?

 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. (Jn. 14:2-3 ESV)

There is something of an orphan’s heart in every sinner who knows in his soul that she is separated from God. It’s incredible to me that the very same range of negative behaviours that affect earthly orphans—insecure attachment strategies, attention seeking, self-protection, ambivalence, escapism, promiscuity, defensiveness, fear of intimacy, etc.—are also typical ways that spiritual orphans try to survive. But through Jesus we are adopted into God’s family, and we He will never abandon us.

"But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet," (Heb. 10:12-13 ESV).

The very mission that God has undertaken is to bring the whole world’s history to an end-game, a strategic, decisive final event in which Jesus Christ receives the whole world as His Kingdom. No more war, or enemies. Just peace. The fact that Christ already rules in Heaven reminds us His work as our priest is finished and perfect. When we worry about our sin and how to make things right with God, there is literally nothing more that needs to be done than what Jesus has already done: it is finished. That's why He sat down on the throne of God. The verses just before this, Heb 10:11-12, show that whereas priests used to stand at their work because their job was never done, when Jesus’ sacrifice was finished, He sat down at the right hand of God because it is finished. Complete. Once for all.

The fact that Christ's rule on Earth is not yet a visible reality reminds us to pray and wait and long for the return of Jesus because so much in this world is so painfully wrong. But there is no doubt about the outcome. Our prayers will be answered. Our waiting will one day be over. Jesus has already won; His enemies just don’t know it yet.

Live for forever, not just for now.

The way Stephen’s face lit up, the way he bravely met his death, looked to Jesus, and prayed for the very ones who killed him, these apply to all of us in a bunch of ways, but I want to end with a focus on those of us who are closer to the end of this life than the beginning… It's a bit unusual for a church plant to have so many seniors. But my dear older brothers and sister, this is not an obstacle to our ministry in Victoria, this is an opportunity. Let me plead with you not to allow yourself to dwell on the past or let regret and bitterness take root in your heart. Let me encourage you this morning, in light of the fact Jesus is now sitting on the throne of God, as the end of your life in this body comes closer, devote yourselves to prayer, and to witnessing about Jesus. Set an example for those of us who are younger not by living for this world, but by preparing us for the next.

No wonder Stephen was ready to die--knowing his sins had been dealt with by Jesus. “And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." (Acts 7:59 ESV). And no wonder Stephen used his last breath to pray for the ones who killed him-- since Jesus is King, and His Kingdom is coming, there was no need for Stephen to save his own life. But it was urgent to try and save theirs. “And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." And when he had said this, he fell asleep,” (Acts 7:60 ESV).

 60 years later, Jesus' disciple named John saw another vision, written down as the Book of Revelation, in which He was shown a symbolic vision of the throne of God in Heaven, holding a scroll in His hand that, whatever else it also means, at least represents the authority to rule over Creation as King.

Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals.  2 And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?"  3 And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it,  4 and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it.  (Rev. 5:1-4 ESV)

John fell to pieces and wept because without a King to rule, there could be no Kingdom; because this meant that without a worthy king, God's will would never "be done on earth as it is in Heaven". Without a worthy king, he knew there was no hope! I don't know how long he was left to cry like that, but after some amount of time, we read in verse 5,

5 And one of the elders said to me, "Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals."  6 And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.  7 And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne.  8 And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.  9 And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation,  10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth."  11 Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands,  12 saying with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!"  13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!"  (Rev. 5:5-13 ESV)

Jesus deserves more than just our singing.

[i] Grudem, Wayne A.; Grudem, Wayne A.. Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Making Sense of Series) p. 618-20. Zondervan. Kindle Edition.