The Coming Son of Man

     "And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in 

the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will

mourn, and they will see the Son of Man

coming on the clouds of the sky with power

and great glory."

(Matthew 24:30 NASB)

Jesus made this statement in the passage of scripture known as the Olivet discourse. Here He speaks of the things to come, the events leading up to and including His second coming. In this post I would like to examine this verse in light of a few other passages of scripture, to help us understand who Jesus is.

Jesus is drawing from the prophet Zachariah in this particular statement. This particular book deals quite extensively with the ultimate return of the LORD to deliver Israel, and to bring judgement upon her enemies, in what we would call the "last days." The particular verse quoted, is speaking of the day when Israel looks upon the LORD who has come to save them, and as a consequence repents in bitter mourning, and as a nation experiences the salvation of the LORD.

"I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, like the bitter weeping over a firstborn (Zechariah 12:10 NASB)."

This is the LORD speaking, telling of a day when He will be physically present in Israel (Zech 14:4), visible to the people. They will see Him, and they will repent and be saved (Zech 13:8-9). So who is this LORD who will one day be bodily present on the earth? 

Daniel speaks of a time when the saints of the Most High will be overpowered and wore down until the Ancient of Days comes and passes judgement in their favor (Daniel 7:21-22). This chapter is where we find the "Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven", the Son of Man, whom Jesus claimed to be throughout the gospels. So now we see two references to the coming of the Lord to this earth to save His people, who are under severe distress. This is foretelling of the time of tribulation where christian, and Jew alike will experience untold of suffering, ultimately ended by Christ's return.

Finally we read in Revelation 1:7, speaking of Jesus, 

Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.

So to sum this up, we see Jesus quoting Zechariah 12:10, and applying it to Himself, and John drawing from this same verse and also applying it to Jesus. So where we read of the LORD (Yehovah in Hebrew, the name of God) coming to save His people, we also see how it has been applied to Jesus. So we can draw the conclusion that not only John, the disciple of Jesus, but also Jesus Himself, makes the connection that Jesus is the divine LORD, who will return at the end, bringing judgement upon His enemies, and salvation to those who are His.