Jesus as the Son of Man in the Gospels: An Interpretation
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Abstract
The expression " Son of Man " is Jesus " preferred title in the Gospels. The meaning of the phrase and Jesus " probable motive for using the title constitute the basis for this study. The work explores some instances in the Gospels where the phrase is used in relation to Jesus and identifies a common pattern; attempt an explanation of the meaning of the term as expressive of the mediatory role Jesus performs as the one who unites God and the world and therefore the heart and centre of human salvation. The concluding statements highlight the importance of the title in the light of Jesus " mission to save and the obligations it imposes consequently on Christians as imitators of Christ.
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The narrative worlds of the Gospels are related in various ways to both the world of Jesus and the social world of the evangelist (Culpepper 1984:472). 2.Chatman (1978:3) defines the plot as the 'story as discoursed' and Egan (1978:470) explains that 'a plot is a series of rules that determines and sequences events to cause affective response'. Genette defined the difference between a 'story' and a 'plot' in Discours du récit (1980). The 'story' [histoire] refers to the chronological sequence of events, and 'plot' refers to the way these events are presented in the narrative. When the events selected from the lives of people in certain times and places are combined into a series, a plot develops and the story becomes a narrative discourse [récit]. See Viljoen (2018) for a complete discussion on reading Matthew as a historical narrative. 3.A character is a paradigm of constructed traits that a reader attaches to a name (Burnett 1993:16; Powell 2009:49). This article uses a narrative analysis to contribute to the discourse on the characterisation of Jesus in the Matthean Gospel. Characterisation can be achieved in various ways. Much is revealed about characters through their actions and words, and how other role-players in the text respond to them. Sometimes there is a narrator who tells the reader about a character. The kind of character depends on the traits or personal qualities of that character and how that character performs during specific incidents. Along with God himself, Jesus forms the principal character in the First Gospel. His teachings and actions are central to the text and the actions of other characters are directed towards him. The article focuses on one aspect of characterisation, namely, on what characters say about Jesus. Such words can come from supporters or antagonists. The article concentrates on what God the Father says in support of Jesus. The Father's point of view is normative in this narrative. The evangelist utilises the utterances of God the Father as a narrative strategy to gradually assure the prominence and authority of the character of Jesus. Matthew's narrative clearly recounts Jesus' authority-an authority that comes from God and not only points towards him but also finally becomes his own. The Father attests that Jesus is greater and more authoritative than any previous messenger of God. It is Jesus who ultimately states that all authority has been bestowed upon him and therefore he can send out the disciples with his Great Commission. God's heavenly voice expresses the significant status of Jesus as the main character and exposes the malignity of his antagonists.
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