Now, switching gears again, in addition to using figurative language, Jesus had another pattern of speech that is important to recognize, and that is His penchant for referring to Himself with a third-person title. That is, He frequently used the title “Son of Man.” For example, in Mark 8:38, Jesus says, “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words . . . of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father . . . .”
If we only had that verse, it would sound like the Son of Man was separate from Christ. But we know from other places that the Son of Man is a reference to Himself in the third person. He just uses a title, or a description of a role. We might wonder why He didn’t use the word “I,” but He didn’t, and He had His reasons. In fact, He refers to Himself with that one title some 80 times. So, when He says He will send the Helper, yet He is the Helper, it is not so unusual after all. There is no need to invent another being to make it fit.
The state of mind of being embarrassed or ashamed of God's way of life manifests itself in a feeling of inferiority and unworthiness. We are restrained by shame in a way that interferes with our commitment to Jesus Christ and His teachings.
When Christ used the phrase ashamed of Me and My words, He was contrasting the willingness to lose one's life for His sake. But the truth about us is this we are the light of the world. Jesus Christ said that about us. This dark evil world knows no light and has no spiritual light apart from the light from Christ that we are reflecting.
Considering our dignity, what Christ is and what He makes us, is inevitable because of our relationship with Him. Now hear what Christ reveals to the Laodiceans and the rest of the church in the book of Revelation. I am going to just read this to you very quickly.
