Introduction
The Coronation of the Son of Man is the first essay in our Ascension Series for 2025. In it, we explore Christ’s Ascension to the right hand of the Father and the benefits and blessings that belong to us because He is now exalted to the Father’s right hand. Our Memory and Meditation Verses for Celebrating the Ascension this week are Daniel 7:13-14. The series aims to improve and guide our Christian meditation together.
Daniel 7:13-14
“I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him.14 And 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 one that shall not be destroyed.”
The Mystery Texts and the New Testament
“The new is in the old concealed, and the old is in the new revealed.” — Saint Augustine
Augustine’s axiom above is a favorite of mine. Earlier in our series in The Acts of the Apostles, I took a Lord’s Day to compare Paul’s Gospel sermons to Peter’s. One of the details we gleaned from that exercise was their use of what I like to call “Mystery Texts.”
What Are Mystery Texts?
Mystery texts are Scriptures from the Old Testament that left the Jews scratching their heads due to a lack of ability to interpret them. Christians often read them in December to commemorate the Incarnation of the Divine Son, Jesus Christ. An example is:
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” — Isaiah 9:6
There was no Rosetta Stone to divine the saying’s meaning. It was and is, to those who reject the Lord Jesus, a mystery text. The most used example in the New Testament of a Mystery Text is Psalm 110:1:
“The Lord (Jehovah) says to my Lord (Adonai): ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.’”
Who is God talking about? They had no idea. Is there someone over King David? A greater King seated at the Father’s right hand? Who is he? How did he get there? The prophets asked themselves what he did to deserve such an exalted position.
Apostolic Insight
Listen to the Apostle Peter:
“Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories.” — 1 Peter 1:10–11
He goes on to say that even the Angels had questions:
“It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.” — 1 Peter 1:12
Christ Reveals the Mystery
The New Testament reveals the old. The New Testament uses the word “mystery” to refer to something God reveals in Jesus Christ.
Listen to Paul in Ephesians:
“Making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ.” — Ephesians 1:9
“For this reason, I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles—assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the Gospel.” — Ephesians 3:1–6
Memory & Meditation Verses: The Son of Man
Our Memory & Meditation Verses for this week fit into the category of mystery text. These Scriptures flummoxed Jewish theologians. However, they indeed associated it with the Messiah, particularly because it uses the phrase “Son of Man.”
The phrase “Son of Man” appears in the Bible 195 times—93 times in Ezekiel alone and 88 times in the Gospels. In 82 of those, Jesus uses the designation “Son of Man” for Himself. It is Jesus’ favorite self-designation, used exclusively by Him and never by others when addressing Him in the Gospels.
Examples of “Son of Man” in the Gospels
Jesus Coming to Judge Jerusalem in 70 AD:
“Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” — Matthew 24:30
His Suffering:
“And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again.” — Mark 8:31
His Authority to Forgive:
“But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—”Rise, pick up your bed and go home.” — Matthew 9:6
Daniel 7 and the Ascension
Daniel 7:13–14 then plays a helpful role in defining what occurred at the Lord Jesus’ Ascension to the Father’s right hand. Once we understand what is going on—having solved the “mystery”—we recognize that the Father officially crowned Jesus at His Ascension as King of all Kings and Lord of all Lords. The Son of Man presented Himself as victor over the world, the flesh, and the Devil, and the Father gave Him what He desired.
“Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.” — Psalm 2:8
Daniel 7:14 records the moment God grants the request:
“And 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 one that shall not be destroyed.” — Daniel 7:14
Unlocking the Mystery
Jesus Christ is the key to unlocking the mystery texts of the Old Testament. The mystery texts themselves, however, once we use the key, make the signature events of the Gospel more clear. We find them jam-packed with meaning and import. Familiarizing ourselves with the mystery texts of the Old Testament allows us not only to marvel at God’s foretelling of events but also to learn more about the Lord Jesus. Meditating on them helps us to grasp “the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:18b–19).
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Additionally, if you enjoyed you may also enjoy some of our other series’.
Christ, His Church, & Marriage (February 2025)
Forsaken For Us (March-April 2025)
Putting on Immortality (April-June 2025)
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