The Son of Man

The figure of the Son of Man from the Book of Daniel is the source of Christ’s self-designation, ‘the Son of Man’.

The term ‘son of man’ is the self-designation found most often on the lips of Jesus in the gospel accounts. The term is from Daniel’s vision of the one “like a son of man” who received the “dominion and kingdom” from the “the ancient of days.” According to Christ, all the tribes of the Earth will mourn when “they see the son of man coming on the clouds of Heaven.”

With each instance of this clause in the New Testament, the Greek text reads “the son of man.” The Greek definite article or “the” is present and retains its original demonstrative force (“this, that”). Translated idiomatically, Jesus claims to be “that son of man.” He was referring to a specific and known figure, “the one like a son of man” described in the seventh chapter of the Book of Daniel.

[Cosmos - Photo by Greg Rakozy (Bozeman, MT) on Unsplash]

Daniel saw a malevolent figure that he named “the little horn.” He had “a mouth speaking great things,” and he persecuted the people of God; that is, until the Son of Man received judgment, authority, and a kingdom from the Divine Throne:

• “I continued looking in the visions of the night, when, behold, with the clouds of the heavens, one like a son of man was coming, and to the ancient of days he approached, and before him they brought him near. And to him were given dominion and dignity and kingship, that all peoples, races and tongues should render homage to him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which will not pass away, and his kingdom that which will not be destroyed”- (Daniel 7:13-14).

Features from this vision are found in references to the Son of Man by Jesus as well as in related passages of the New Testament. For example:

• His “coming on clouds.”

• He approached “the ancient of days” for judgment.

• He received dominion over “peoples, races, and tongues,” and an everlasting kingdom.

• The rendering of judgment for the saints.

• His sufferings and his sacrificial death for his people.

Jesus is the Messiah of Israel, the Son of Man who preaches the Gospel and dies for his people. But death does not have the final word, for God raised the Son of Man from the dead. Therefore, he is also the king and deliverer who will return in glory to gather and vindicate his saints, and to judge all men:

• “And he answered and said, He that sows the good seed is the son of man” – (Matthew 13:37).

• “Jesus said to them, The son of man will be delivered up into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and the third day he will be raised up” – (Matthew 17:22-23).

• “The son of man will send forth his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all things that cause stumbling, and those who do iniquity” – (Matthew 13:41).

• “For the son of man will come in the glory of his Father with his angels. And then he will render to every man according to his deeds” – (Matthew 16:27).

• “Truly, I say to you, that you who have followed me, in the regeneration when the son of man will sit on the throne of his glory, you also will sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” – (Matthew 19:28).

Jesus also connected the Son of Man with his death on behalf of his people. and to the suffering ‘Servant of Yahweh’ of the Book of Isaiah. Thus, the Son of Man suffers and sacrifices his life to ransom sinners:

• “And he began to teach them, that the son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders, and the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again” – (Mark 8:31).

• “For the son of man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many” – (Mark 10:45).

• “Therefore, I will divide him a portion with the great, and he will divide the spoil with the strong. Because he poured out his soul unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors, yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors” – (Isaiah 53:12).

The judgment rendered by the Son of Man will include punitive sentences on the members of Israel who condemned him to death, and this will occur when Jesus returns at the end of the age. This understanding is confirmed by Christ’s response to the High Priest during his examination before the Council of Priests:

• “I am he. And you will see the son of man sitting on the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven” – (Matthew 26:64).

• “I saw in the night visions, and behold, there came with the clouds of heaven one like unto a son of man…” – (Daniel 7:13).

• “Yahweh declared to my Lord: Sit at my right hand until I make your foes your footstool” - (Psalm 110:1).

In his testimony before the High Priest, Jesus combined the phrase from the Book of Daniel with a clause found in the Psalms, leaving no doubt that he is the Davidic Messiah appointed by God to reign over the nations and judge his enemies.

AUTHORITY, KINGDOM, RETURN

When Jesus explains his messianic authority to Jewish audiences, he also refers to himself as the Son of Man. Thus, for example:

• “But that you may know that the son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins (he says to the sick of the palsy), I say to you, Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house” – (Mark 2:10-11).

• “The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath, so that the son of man is lord even of the sabbath” – (Mark 2:27-28).

A key subject of the New Testament is ‘the Kingdom of God’, and this is the summary phrase found most often on the lips of Jesus in the gospel accounts. New Testament statements about this kingdom rely heavily on the passages from the Book of Daniel concerning the Son of Man and his dominion. For example:

• “He will be great, and he will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David. And he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom, there will be no end” – (Luke 1:32-33).

• “And Jesus came to them and spoke to them, saying, All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth” – (Matthew 28:18).

• “And the seventh angel sounded; and there followed great voices in heaven, and they said, The kingdom of the world is become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever” – (Revelation 11:15).

• “His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which will not pass away, and his kingdom that which will not be destroyed” – (Daniel 7:14).

• “And in the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, nor will its sovereignty be left to another people" – (Daniel 2:44).

And once again, language from the seventh chapter of Daniel is prominent in passages that describe the future return of Jesus. He is the glorious figure who will appear “on the clouds of heaven”:

• “Then will appear the sign of the son of man in heaven. And then will all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they will see the son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” – (Matthew 24:30-31).

• “Then we who are alive, who are left, will together with them be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” – (1 Thessalonians 4:16).

• “Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, such also, as pierced him. And all the tribes of the land will smite themselves for him. Yea! Amen” – (Revelation 1:7).

• “And I saw, and behold, a white cloud; and on the cloud I saw one sitting like unto a son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle” – (Revelation 14:14).

Jesus of Nazareth is that same Son of Man. He is the suffering ‘Servant of Yahweh’ who ransoms his people, and the glorious Son of Man who will appear on the clouds to gather his elect. He received the Kingdom from God, and therefore, his authority is absolute, and his sovereignty is everlasting.

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SEE ALSO:

• The Priestly Son of Man - (The first vision presents the image of Jesus as one like a Son of Man, a priestly figure who walks among the Assemblies of Asia – Revelation 1:9-20)

• The Ruler of Kings - (The Faithful Witness now reigns supreme over the Kings of the Earth, and he is shepherding the nations)

• Worthy is the Lamb! - (The reign of Jesus on the Divine Throne is based on his sacrificial death and resurrection, the unshakable basis of his universal authority)

• Le Fils de l'Homme - (La figure du Fils de l'Homme du Livre de Daniel est la source de l'auto-désignation du Christ, ‘le Fils de l'Homme’)