The Third Person Savior and implications for the local pastor

Scripture Passage that Caught My attention today: Luke 18:31-33 Then he took the twelve aside and said to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. 32 For he will be handed over to the Gentiles; and he will be mocked and insulted and spat upon. 33 After they have flogged him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise again.”

Observation: Jesus speaks of himself in the third person. I’ve noticed this before, but never really thought about it. Why does Jesus refer to himself/Son of Man in the third person? One would think that he would speak in terms of “I” and “me.” Why not say, “After they have flogged me, they will kill me, and on the third day I will rise again.”?

Application: It’s hard to know if Jesus is just being humble or whether he is drawing a distinction between himself as a person and the role he fills in the office (Son of Man). Or maybe it’s his way of reminding himself that, regardless of his personal feelings, he has a role to fulfill as the Son of Man.

We’ll probably never know the answer to these questions in our lifetime. And perhaps it’s not even that important. But it does perhaps serve as a reminder that, for those of us who are pastors, this is the primary way in which many people know us. We might at times think that people know us personally, and perhaps some people in our congregations do. But for the most part, if people are asked how they know us, most will respond that he or she ‘is my pastor.’ They know us first by our role and then, perhaps, as a person. Some of what we do or think will be evaluated, for better or for worse, in relation to preconceived notions of what’s appropriate for a pastor. Occasionally we might want to forget such realities. And in some ways society is perhaps less restrictive in this regard than in the past. But it would be naïve to think that the association is forgotten, even or perhaps especially among the pagan public.

Prayer: Lord, thanks for the reminder once again that your call is a pervasive one. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

(readings today included: Genesis 44-46 and Luke 18)