Presumption of Guilt

          “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live.  For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.  And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man. Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned. By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me. (John 5:24-30)

          “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. (Daniel 7:13-14)

          Sometimes in Scripture, the phrase the son of man refers to a normal human being. This is how it is used, for example, in Ezekiel. In today’s second passage, it is used to refer to someone who
1) could approach the Ancient of Days and be led into his presence,
2) would be given authority, glory and sovereign power,
3) would be worshipped by all nations and peoples, and
4) would have a dominion and kingdom that will not pass away or be destroyed.
         The Jews of the time considered it to be either a description of the Messiah, or a description of Israel, itself, in the same way that the suffering servant of Isaiah is interpreted as being the nation of Israel. For someone to use it in either manner is truly hubris unless it’s true because it puts that person or nation on the same level as God. For Jesus to refer to Himself as the son of man, and to claim to have authority given to him is not ambiguous. It is a claim that He is the Messiah.
          This brings us back to C. S. Lewis’s “Trilemma.” Either He is who He claims to be, or He is a liar, or He is a lunatic. Modernist scholars have skirted this by introducing a second level. They say that Jesus didn’t make these claims, but someone else did, later. It’s still the same trilemma. Either He is who they claim that He is, or they are liars, or they are lunatics.
          First, we need proof of who “they” are. Some claim they were the disciples. Some claim they were the Council of Nicaea under the direction of Constantine. There is no evidence that the Council wrote the book of John or any of the other books included in the Bible, so they aren’t guilty. We have no evidence that they were not written by those who claim to have written them. We have speculation, but that’s all it is. There is no proof of deceit or insanity, merely the presumption that because events are described that could not take place apart from divine intervention, that they could not have taken pace. This is a presumption of guilt without its proof.
          If Jesus told us what is not true, then what of the things He said can have any value at all? “Love one another” is only as true as “And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.”