In the Revelation also it appears twice: the son of man is standing in the midst of the lampstands, and is … The common understanding is that "Son of God" implies his deity—which it does—and that "Son of Man" implies his humanity, which it does too. On both occasions there is interaction between God the Father and his Son. He was subtle. There is no particular gospel in which the title dominates. In what seems a rather cumbersome self-reference, Jesus often calls himself “the son of man.” In my experience of popular preaching and teaching, a vague impression is often conveyed, if not explicitly stated, that “son of man” is a way of emphasizing Jesus’ humanity, highlighting the fact that Jesus is a real flesh and blood human. Question 148: Why did Jesus favour the title, "THE SON OF MAN"? It did not pass into normal Christian usage or worship. There are many stunning titles that Jesus might have used to refer to himself. The second son who receives the inheritance in preference to the first son – like Isaac, like Jacob. In the Book of Daniel it stands for a mysterious figure who represents all God's holy ones in a … C.S. In Psalm 8:4-8 as well, even though the psalmist marvels that the God who made the heavens has regard for the “son of man,” he recognizes that God has crowned the son of man with glory and honor, and set him over all God’s works. the ‘man’ in question is Adam, all humans are children of Adam, all men are sons of Adam and all women are daughters of Eve. “Son of Man” is a title used almost entirely by Jesus himself to refer to himself. “Son of Man” is a title used almost entirely by Jesus himself to refer to himself. I have always wondered about this. "Son of man", "son of Adam", or "like a man", are phrases used in the Hebrew Bible, various apocalyptic works of the intertestamental period, and in the Greek New Testament. Jesus did not become the Son of God at the moment of his earthly birth. It did not pass into normal Christian usage or worship. The only use of Son of Man in a clear reference to Jesus, spoken by someone other than Jesus, came from the lips of Stephen as he was being martyred (Acts 7:56). The more sophisticated and important historical insight is that the term "Son of Man" doesn't merely align him with humanity. That is to say, there is no passage where Jesus says He used this phrase for a certain reason. Why is Jesus called "Son of Man"? He was a son of man, that is, a human being. Well, I don’t think that’s the point. But now this post waxeth long. "Be Fruitful and Multiply": A Biblical Theology of Offspring. Jesus possesses divine authority—authority over the Sabbath, authority to heal, and even authority to forgive sin—for he is Son of Man. Biblical scholars have differing views as to why Jesus would have made this statement. In the Gospels, the “Son of Man” is the title which is most commonly used by Jesus in referring to himself. Q. In other words, "Son of man" was used to say what Jesus did rather than what he was. . And he is the Son of God, in that he has always existed as the Eternally Begotten One who comes forth from the Father forever. The reference here is most likely to the king of Judah. This was especially true of the class (3) sayings. This reflects the Gospels’ respective lengths more than anything else. Hopefully this is a pointer and prod to further reflection. If you do a study of the term "Son of Man" in the Gospels you'll see that he didn't refer to himself most often as Son of God but as Son of Man. So the 'Son of Man' is a title that was used exclusively by Jesus to describe Himself - the disciples never addressed Him by this term. Why did Jesus call Himself 'The Son of Man'? Let’s explore this powerful name. It’s just what he calls himself. The Purpose of Names. Again, we tend to think that Jesus’ calling Himself the Son of Man was an expression of humility, when, in fact, it was a claim to divine authority. That’s what it means for Jesus to be the son of man. Jesus may have used the title Son of Man as a secret name for the Messiah. By Dave Holdt. Like it’s use in Ezekiel, ‘son of man’ can simply mean, ‘human being.’ But of course, Jesus also was speaking to his identity as the Messiah. They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day . He is born of a virgin. When Jesus used the title He was assigning the Son of Man prophecy to Himself. Yet in the epistles, it is never used of Jesus. Let me give a common understanding and then a more sophisticated historical understanding. He is the divine-human partner that we all need to overcome the animal inside our nature and raise humanity back to the glorious destiny that God created us to experience. So he calls himself Son of Man very often. Liberal scholars have often thought that Jesus’ words in the gospels are simply early church theology put into Jesus’ mouth. God’s creation is good, and “son of man” in the Bible doesn’t seem to have anything to do with man as a sinner, just with man as man. Were men like the apostle Peter wrong to question the inclusion of the Gentiles in God’s people? It was Jesus' favorite self-designation. If that thought and that faith don’t spur us to the kind of maturity and righteousness befitting kings, I don’t know what will. Of course, Psalm 8 itself clearly alludes to the original Adam when it sings of how the “son of man” is entrusted with dominion over creation. He was alluding … Jesus’ use of this title links Him to Daniel 7:13–14, a passage describing the coming Messiah: “There before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. What Does "Son of Man" Mean"? By the way, this is important evidence that the Gospels (including the supposedly late and mythologized John) record Jesus as he actually spoke. Jesus used the title Son of Man to describe himself. So that's the common understanding: he is both divine and he is human—two natures, one person. The “son of man” here was early interpreted of the Messias, in the Book of Henoch, where the expression is used almost as a Messianic title, though there is a good deal in Drummond’s argument that even here it was not used as a Messianic title notwithstanding the fact that it was understood of the Messias. The Jews of that era would have been intimately familiar with the phrase and to whom it referred. He used the title at Jesus’ baptism and his transfiguration. The common understanding is that "Son of God" implies his deity—which it does—and that "Son of Man" implies his humanity, which it does too. The title goes back to the Book of Daniel where the Son of Man would inherit the everlasting kingdom of God. Here is his commission: Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. First, in Ezekiel it is used tons. That’s why I want you to notice this. We’re on a mission to change that. The use of the term “Son of Man” emphasized Jesus’ true humanity. I would suggest, in light of all this background, that Jesus’ self-reference as “son of man” is owing primarily to two considerations: Ezekiel, the son of man, was appointed as a prophet to Israel, at thirty years old, by a river, like Jesus. Ezekiel, too, was a speaker of parables (17:2). These three categories of use leave us with the understanding that “son of man” as a generic title can highlight the frailty of mankind in contrast with God, but it can also be used to conjure up the recollection of humanity’s high status as the image of God and ruler of creation. Is there something about the specific context of Jesus’ ministry that makes the title uniquely appropriate for that time period? So here are some basic observations about how the title is used: (1) The title “son of man” appears several times in the Old Testament as a way of highlighting weakness. The other 82 times He uses it to speak of Himself. Second, it doesn’t make much biblical sense to construe the contrast between “son of man” and “son of God” as equivalent to that between “human” and “divine.” This is because plenty of regular old humans (not to mention angels) are called “sons of God”: Adam, kings of Judah, Christians, the Sethites or fallen angels (take your pick) of Genesis 6, etc. Other titles for Christ, such as Son of God, are overt in their focus on His deity. He was born of a man. This fact has to be significant. Jesus’ own use of the term is often connected with statements about his “coming with the clouds of heaven,” so Daniel serves as the most promising immediate background. One other point before looking at the gospels. "Son of Man" has the double meaning of human being and, according to Daniel 7, exalted heavenly one. He said things like, in Mark 10:45, "The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many." There are more similarities than these. It appears 29x in Matthew, 14x in Mark, 26x in Luke, and 13x in John. But the shear volume of usage in Ezekiel suggests that we shouldn’t ignore that either, especially considering that Ezekiel and Daniel were near contemporaries, with Daniel being a bit younger and in all likelihood perfectly familiar with the fact that Ezekiel had been known as “son of man.” When Daniel saw “one like a son of man,” perhaps he meant “one like Ezekiel.” Worth considering. He is the Second Person of the Trinity with all of the divine nature fully in him. As noted above, it’s possible that Daniel alludes here to Ezekiel. If so, it would be to Ezekiel as representative of a faithful remnant, because in Daniel’s vision the “son of man” is later equated with “the saints of the most high” (7:27). He didn't talk like that. 1. Son of Man. As I pointed out above, during his earthly ministry, Jesus was not having to combat unduly lofty perceptions of himself by others. In Ezekiel 8:6, the prophet saw abominations in the temple: Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations that the house of Israel are committing here, to drive me far from my sanctuary? Daniel’s son of man is one who is fulfilling the commission to Adam to “rule” as the image of God. In Job 16:21; 25:6; and 35:8 it appears to have that connotation, and also in Isaiah 51:12. After the gospels, it disappears completely. He is the son of Adam in the fullest sense. He was conceived of the Holy Spirit in the virgin Mary. It’s also noteworthy that the “son of man” receives dominion specifically over the kingdoms which were shown to Daniel as beasts: a lion, a bear, a leopard, and a dragon. But that’s it. In fact, Ezekiel is called “son of man” more frequently than Jesus is in all four gospels combined (93x for Ezekiel vs. 82x for Jesus). Ezekiel announced the destruction of Jerusalem (9:1-11), as did Jesus in the Olivet Discourse. Through imprisonment, loss, and torture, God built his church in Myanmar. Tim’s Answer Thanks for your question. He had to steer a very narrow course in disclosing his identity, not just openly saying, "I'm the Messiah, I'm the King of the World. Lewis even uses that terminology in his Narnia books. Ironically, Jesus also used the title “Son of Man” in connection with his rejection, sufferings, death, and resurrection: . The term ‘Son of Man,’ on the other hand, was ambiguous. . He was quiet. The scene recalls Adam’s original mandate to rule over the beasts of the earth. The Bible wants to emphasize that he is fully human. And only when the time was right—mainly when he was on trial for his life, and they said, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the living God? Second, Daniel has an apocalyptic vision in which he sees “one like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven” and receiving a kingdom which will never pass away. Jesus used it to emphasize His humanity. This may have originated with Schweitzer. So, why would he call himself that? It is clear in this passage that the title Son of Man was used in reference to the coming Jewish Messiah. Like Aslan told Prince Caspian before crowning him king of Narnia: to be a son of Adam is “both honor enough to erect the head of the poorest beggar, and shame enough to bow the shoulders of the greatest emperor on earth.”[1]. In the same way, we shouldn’t think that “son of man” is simply or primarily a way of speaking about Jesus’ humanity. The Son of Man In the gospels Jesus often refers to himself as the "Son of Man". This is an interesting title, and one that is used of Jesus over 80 times in the New Testament; but only 3 times is it used by someone other than Jesus. For 33 years, he served as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. Was it hinted in the Old Testament? The Son of Man can also be a term of glory. Jesus also saw abominations in the temple, and drove them out with a whip of cords. At His trial Jesus acknowledged that He indeed was the Son of Man - the one who would bring in God's everlasting … It is probably taken from Daniel 7. . The most ascribed explanation of Jesus’ use of the “Son of Man” title is that it refers to a vision presented to Daniel about who will come from heaven to reign over the earth. Come and acknowledge me as King." After all, first, “son of man” is what Jesus called himself during his earthly ministry, during which time no one had trouble believing that he was human. How do we reckon with the persistence of indwelling sin? So I hope that helps. Jesus as the fulfillment of Daniel’s vision, as the one who receives and rules over the kingdom of God. So “son of man” can refer to a powerful or at least an honored person. The only reason why the Gospels would record Jesus calling himself something that the church did not go on to call him is that he really called himself that. He is the man at God’s right hand. He is author of. 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