God created man in his image, giving him dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the beasts, and everything that creeps on the earth. The man was ordained to rule the beasts.
The serpent was wiser than any other beast of the field, but he was one of the beasts of the field. The man was to rule the serpent. Instead, the man submits to the serpent, allowing the serpent to have dominion over him. When Yahweh God comes for his inspection, discovering what the man has done, he clothes the man in the skin of a beast. Clothing the man in beast skin is a grace that covers the man’s sin, but there is another dimension to it. The man has become beastly. He is under the dominion of the beast. The world is upside down. Adam needs a son to set things right, a man who will do what he failed to do and take dominion over the beast.
God promised that a son of Adam or son of man would come to take dominion over the beast. The son of man would be the seed of the woman who would crush the serpent’s head (Gen 3:15), regaining man’s kingly authority over the creation.
Daniel’s prophecy fills out this destiny when he sees a vision that involves the Ancient of Days, the Son of Man, and four beasts (see Dan 7). The four beasts represent four kingdoms of the world. Historically, these kingdoms were Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. Being four kingdoms stirred up from the great sea by the four winds of heaven, these kingdoms represent all the kingdoms within the four corners of the earth. That means all nations. The nations are beastly, under the dominion of the serpent. The fourth beast persecutes the Son of Man, devouring him. However, the Ancient of Days, the Judge of all, rules in favor of the Son of Man and grants him dominion over the beasts, which are the nations.
When Jesus speaks of himself as “the Son of Man” throughout the Gospels, this is why. He is the son of Adam, who is destined to crush the head of the beast and take back kingly rule over all the nations, putting the world back in proper order. When Matthew records the Passion of Christ (Mt 26–27), he begins by recording Jesus saying that the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified (Mt 26:2). Jesus continues to refer to himself as the Son of Man throughout Matthew 26. He knows who he is and where he is in the divine drama. He’s about to be devoured by the beast (see Ps 22:12-13).
But Jesus also knows how the story ends.
After the Sabbath, as it began to dawn on the first day of the week, the Ancient of Days ruled, vindicated the Son of Man, and began his exaltation to rule over the beasts, taking dominion from the beast (Dan 7:12). Jesus’ resurrection is the Father’s declaration that the world is being put back in order with a man as king of creation. All authority in heaven and on earth is being given to the Son of Man. Here is how Daniel describes it:
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. 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.” (Dan 7:13-14)
At the end of Matthew 28, Jesus makes it clear that he is the Son of Man when he tells his disciples, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Mt 28:18). He is the second and last Adam, the Son of Man, the King of creation. Dominion has been taken from the beasts.
The beastly nations must now learn what it means to submit to the authority of their king. The nations must be discipled. This discipleship begins with baptism. To be baptized into Christ is to put on Christ (Gal 3:27). In this act, the beastly skin is replaced with the body of Christ, who is true humanity. In baptism, we are transformed from beasts to men. As re-created men, we are then taught to obey everything that our King has commanded us so that we can fulfill the mission of making the earth all that God intended it to be from the beginning.
Easter is the Father’s declaration that the world once again has a man as king. Jesus is that King.
