Elizabeth, Queen of England. She represented the aspirations, hopes and dreams of her nation. What insight does this give us in knowing how the Son of Man represents Israel?
Jesus’ self-designated title of Son of Man is a mystery to many. What does Son of Man “represent”?
One of my favorite movies is Elizabeth, starring Cate Blanchett. What strikes me about the Virgin Queen was that she truly personified England as the up and coming European empire in the 16th century. As she matured over her long forty-four year reign, England grew along with her to become a decisive world power. Elizabeth never simply spoke nor acted on her own. She represented England as a nation. She was not just a queen. She was England.
To “represent” some entity has an interesting etymology. It is derived from a Latin phrase meaning “to present”, or “to symbolize, to be the embodiment of”.
Earlier on Veracity, we explored how Jesus as God’s “Son” lives out the same type of life that the nation of Israel was originally supposed to do as God’s “son” in the Old Testament. Israel was disobedient, but Jesus obediently fulfills what God intended Israel to do. Jesus somehow embodies all of what the nation of Israel is meant to be. How do we clarify what it means to say that Jesus represented Israel?
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