28th Week in Ordinary Time
Ignatius of Antioch

1st Reading: Rom 4:13, 16–18
Gospel: Lk 12:8–12
Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before people, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before the angels of God. But the one who denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God.
There will be pardon for the one who criticizes the Son of Man, but there will be no pardon for the one who slanders the Holy Spirit.
When you are brought before the synagogues, governors and rulers, don’t worry about how you will defend yourself or what to say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you have to say.”

Commentary
We see, in the New Testament, many instances when Jesus talked about God. And yet, the phrase ‘Son of Man’ is found around two hundred times in the bible and eighty-two times in the gospels. Who exactly is this ‘Son of Man’? The gospels make it crystal clear that the term can only refer to Jesus. The Son of Man has power to forgive sins; he is lord of the Sabbath; he is the messiah, the son of the living God; he was to be killed and raised from the dead; he gave his life as a ransom for many; all of us, who believe in him and worship him, are to have eternal life.
In light of this, the Christian position on the person of Christ has ample support from the bible. Far from being simply a human prophet of God, He is unique, far above all prophets. So in the gospels the term ‘son of man’ was not simply a way of denoting any old human being, but was used to refer to this special person, Jesus Christ. Those, who confess Christ now, shall be owned by Him on the great day, before the angels of God!

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