'Man' in the Bible

"Come," she said, "and see a man who has told me everything I have ever done. Can this be the Christ, do you think?"

and they said to the woman, "We no longer believe in Him simply because of your statements; for we have now heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Saviour of the world."

And there was one man there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.

Instantly the man was restored to perfect health, and he took up his mat and began to walk.

That day was a Sabbath. So the Jews said to the man who had been cured, "It is the Sabbath: you must not carry your mat."

But the man who had been cured did not know who it was; for Jesus had passed out unnoticed, there being a crowd in the place.

The man went and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had restored him to health;

that all may honour the Son even as they honour the Father. The man who withholds honour from the Son withholds honour from the Father who sent Him.

And He has conferred on Him authority to act as Judge, because He is the Son of Man.

But the testimony on my behalf which I accept is not from man; though I say all this in order that you may be saved.

"I do not accept glory from man,

They kept asking, "Is not this man Joseph's son? Is he not Jesus, whose father and mother we know? What does he mean by now saying, 'I have come down out of Heaven'?"

Here is the bread that comes down out of Heaven that a man may eat it and not die.

I am the living bread come down out of Heaven. If a man eats this bread, he shall live for ever. Moreover the bread which I will give is my flesh given for the life of the world."

This led to an angry debate among the Jews. "How can this man," they argued, "give us his flesh to eat?"

"In most solemn truth I tell you," said Jesus, "that unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no Life in you.

"Does this seem incredible to you? What then if you were to see the Son of Man ascending again where He was before?

Among the mass of the people there was much muttered debate about Him. Some said, "He is a good man." Others said, "Not so: he is imposing on the people."

The Jews were astonished. "How does this man know anything of books," they said, "although he has never been at any of the schools?"

The man whose teaching originates with himself aims at his own glory. He who aims at the glory of Him who sent him teaches the truth, and there is no deception in him.

Did not Moses give you the Law? And yet not a man of you obeys the Law. Why do you want to kill me?"

If a child is circumcised even on a Sabbath day, are you bitter against me because I have restored a man to perfect health on a Sabbath day?

Some however of the people of Jerusalem said, "Is not this the man they are wanting to kill?

But here he is, speaking openly and boldly, and they say nothing to him! Can the Rulers really have ascertained that this man is the Christ?

And yet we know this man, and we know where he is from; but as for the Christ, when He comes, no one can tell where He is from."

"No mere man has ever spoken as this man speaks," said the officers.

"Does our Law," he asked, "judge a man without first hearing what he has to say and ascertaining what his conduct is?"

When however they persisted with their question, He raised His head and said to them, "Let the sinless man among you be the first to throw a stone at her."

Once more Jesus addressed them. "I am the Light of the world," He said; "the man who follows me shall certainly not walk in the dark, but shall have the light of Life."

So Jesus added, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He. Of myself I do nothing; but as the Father has taught me, so I speak.

But, in fact, you are longing to kill me, a man who has spoken to you the truth which I have heard from God. Abraham did not do that.

As He passed by, He saw a man who had been blind from his birth.

So His disciples asked Him, "Rabbi, who sinned--this man or his parents--that he was born blind?"

His neighbours, therefore, and the other people to whom he had been a familiar object because he was a beggar, began asking, "Is not this the man who used to sit and beg?"

"Yes it is," replied some of them. "No it is not," said others, "but he is like him." His own statement was, "I am the man."

"Where is he?" they inquired, but the man did not know.

They brought him to the Pharisees--the man who had been blind.

This led some of the Pharisees to say, "That man has not come from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath." "How is it possible for a bad man to do such miracles?" argued others.

And there was a division among them. So again they asked the once blind man, "What is your account of him? --for he opened your eyes." "He is a Prophet," he replied.

A second time therefore they called the man who had been blind, and said, "Give God the praise: we know that that man is a sinner."

"Why, this is marvellous!" the man replied; "you do not know where he comes from, and yet he has opened my eyes!

We know that God does not listen to bad people, but that if any one is a God-fearing man and obeys Him, to him He listens.

From the beginning of the world such a thing was never heard of as that any one should open the eyes of a man blind from his birth.

Had that man not come from God, he could have done nothing."

"Who is He, Sir?" replied the man. "Tell me, so that I may believe in Him."

"In most solemn truth I tell you that the man who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs over some other way, is a thief and a robber.

"For no good deed," the Jews replied, "are we going to stone you, but for blasphemy, and because you, who are only a man, are making yourself out to be God."

Now a certain man, named Lazarus, of Bethany, was lying ill-- Bethany being the village of Mary and her sister Martha.

But if a man walks by night, he does stumble, because the light is not in him."

But others of them asked, "Was this man who opened the blind man's eyes unable to prevent this man from dying?"

"Take away the stone," said Jesus. Martha, the sister of the dead man, exclaimed, "Master, by this time there is a foul smell; for it is three days since he died."

The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped in cloths, and his face wrapped round with a towel. "Untie him," said Jesus, "and let him go free."

Therefore the High Priests and the Pharisees held a meeting of the Sanhedrin. "What steps are we taking?" they asked one another; "for this man is performing a great number of miracles.

You do not reflect that it is to your interest that one man should die for the people rather than the whole nation perish."

It was not as a mere man that he thus spoke. But being High Priest that year he was inspired to declare that Jesus was to die for the nation,

His answer was, "The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.

If a man wishes to be my servant, let him follow me; and where I am, there too shall my servant be. If a man wishes to be my servant, the Father will honour him.

The crowd answered Him, "We have heard out of the Law that the Christ remains for ever. In what sense do you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is that Son of Man?"

"Yet a little while," He replied, "the light is among you. Be faithful to the light that you have, for fear darkness should overtake you; for a man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going.

So when he was gone out, Jesus said, "Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him.

No one has greater love than this--a man laying down his life for his friends.

(It was this Caiaphas who had advised the Jews, saying, "It is to your interest that one man should die for the People.")

One of the High Priest's servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, said, "Did I not see you in the garden with him?"

Accordingly Pilate came out to them and inquired, "What accusation have you to bring against this man?"

"If the man were not a criminal," they replied, "we would not have handed him over to you."

"Take him yourselves," said Pilate, "and judge him by your Law." "We have no power," replied the Jews, "to put any man to death."

With a roar of voices they again cried out, saying, "Not this man, but Barabbas!" Now Barabbas was a robber.

So Jesus came out, wearing the wreath of thorns and the crimson cloak. And Pilate said to them, "See, there is the man."

Upon receiving this answer, Pilate was for releasing Him. But the Jews kept shouting, "If you release this man, you are no friend of Caesar's. Every one who sets himself up as king declares himself a rebel against Caesar."

Accordingly the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man and also of the other who had been crucified with Jesus.

"Listen, Israelites, to what I say. Jesus, the Nazarene, a man accredited to you from God by miracles and marvels and signs which God did among you through Him, as you yourselves know, Him--

and recognizing him as the man who used to sit at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple asking for alms, they were filled with awe and amazement at what had happened to him.

Peter, seeing this, spoke to the people. "Israelites," he said, "why do you wonder at this man? Or why gaze at us, as though by any power or piety of our own we had enabled him to walk?

It is His name-- faith in that name being the condition--which has strengthened this man whom you behold and know; and the faith which He has given has made this man sound and strong again, as you can all see.

if we to-day are under examination concerning the benefit conferred on a man helplessly lame, as to how this man has been cured;

be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that through the name of Jesus the Anointed, the Nazarene, whom *you* crucified, but whom *God* has raised from among the dead-- through that name this man stands here before you in perfect health.

And seeing the man standing with them--the man who had been cured--they had no reply to make.

For the man was over forty years of age on whom this miracle of restoration to health had been performed.

And, in fact, there was not a needy man among them, for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the money which they realised,

There was a man of the name of Ananias who, with his wife Sapphira, sold some property but,

Peter and the other Apostles replied, "We must obey God rather than man.

The suggestion met with general approval, and they selected Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte of Antioch.

Seeing one of them wrongfully treated he took his part, and secured justice for the ill-treated man by striking down the Egyptian.

"But the man who was doing the wrong resented his interference, and asked, "'Who appointed you magistrate and judge over us?

"I can see Heaven wide open," he said, "and the Son of Man standing at God's right hand."

dragged him out of the city, and stoned him, the witnesses throwing off their outer garments and giving them into the care of a young man called Saul.

Now for some time past there had been a man named Simon living there, who had been practising magic and astonishing the Samaritans, pretending that he was more than human.

To him people of all classes paid attention, declaring, "This man is the Power of God, known as the great Power."

"Rise," said the Lord, "and go to Straight Street, and inquire at the house of Judas for a man called Saul, from Tarsus, for he is actually praying.

He has seen a man called Ananias come and lay his hands upon him so that he may recover his sight."

"Lord," answered Ananias, "I have heard about that man from many, and I have heard of the great mischief he has done to Thy people in Jerusalem;

and his hearers were all amazed, and began to ask one another, "Is not this the man who in Jerusalem tried to exterminate those who called upon that Name, and came here on purpose to carry them off in chains to the High Priests?"

There he found a man of the name of Aeneas, who for eight years had kept his bed, through being paralysed.

and Peter remained for a considerable time at Jaffa, staying at the house of a man called Simon, a tanner.

Their reply was, "Cornelius, a Captain, an upright and God-fearing man, of whom the whole Jewish nation speaks well, has been divinely instructed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and listen to what you have to say."

But Peter lifted him up. "Stand up," he said; "I myself also am but a man."

"Just at this hour, three days ago," replied Cornelius, "I was offering afternoon prayer in my house, when suddenly a man in shining raiment stood in front of me,

Then Peter began to speak. "I clearly see," he said, "that God makes no distinctions between one man and another;

For he was a good man, and was full of the Holy Spirit and of faith; and the number of believers in the Lord greatly increased.

and the assembled people kept shouting, "It is the voice of a god, and not of a man!"