# 46 The Calling Card of Jesus

# 46 The Calling Card of Jesus!

Joh 3:13 "No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.

Jesus now moves back to address the original statement of Nicodemus in  verse 2. “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him."

For one thing, He clears up the misconception that He is ONLY a Rabbi. (A good teacher)

He uses the term “Son of Man,” to point Nicodemus toward Jesus’ true identity. The “Son of Man was actually the most common title that Jesus used for Himself in Scripture. He refers to Himself as the “Son of Man” a total of 81 times in the gospels!

Daniel referred to the title in  Da 7:13,14, "I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him. 14 Then 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 the one Which shall not be destroyed.”

Nicodemus, a teacher of the Law, would certainly know of this passage in Daniel. He would know the implications of this claim of Jesus. Jesus was saying, “I am the Son of Man that Daniel talked about!”

Further in  Pr 30:4, we have another telling passage in the form of a rhetorical question that used the same phraseology that Jesus used with Nicodemus: “Who has ascended into heaven, or descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has bound the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is  His name, and what is His Son's name, If you know?”

This conversation with Nicodemus is some of the most intense one on one witnessing recorded in all of Scripture! Jesus, knowing Nicodemus’ familiarity with these passages is really forcing Nicodemus’ hand.

“If you are willing to receive it Nicodemus, I am the One who has ascended to heaven and descended to earth. I am the Son, My name is Jesus. I am the One who has gathered the wind in My fists, the wind blows as I determine. The Holy Spirit is meted out by Me!” And we might add He has chosen to mete out the Spirit through His Word and Sacrament. It is as Peter stated in Ac 2:38, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”