The Son of Man is a title that appears often in the Bible. The Old Testament already writes about the Son of Man. Daniel describes how in a vision he sees the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven. In a later Jewish writing, Enoch, this vision is told again and again it concerns the Son of Man. The Gospels describe how Jesus repeatedly calls himself the Son of Man. The Son of Man is a divine person who judges people.
The Son of Man in the Bible book of Daniel
The term Son of Man appears in the Old Testament in the book of Daniel. That book describes the vision that Daniel sees. In that vision the shapes of four animals emerge. First a lion with eagle wings, then a bear, then a leopard and finally a nameless monster with ten horns. This is followed by a view of the throne room in heaven. God, who is represented as the Ancient of Days, sits on his judgment seat. Then one like the Son of Man will come with the clouds of heaven.
I [Daniel] looked in the night visions, and behold, there came with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of man. He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. To Him was given dominion, honor, and kingdom, and all peoples, nations, and tongues were to worship Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not be taken from Him, neither shall His kingdom be destroyed. (Daniel 7:13-14)
The Son of Man in the book of Enoch
In the book of Enoch the vision from Daniel 7 is outlined again. This indicates how important the vision of the Son of Man was in the time before Jesus. The book of Enoch belongs to ancient Israelite literature. The writing of Enoch is not included in the Bible. The book of Enoch also talks about the Son of Man. Enoch, in chapter 46 of his book, depicts the Son of Man as a ruler. He is the firstborn of God. He is appointed to be the prince of the Lord’s people. He is the light of all peoples on earth. When the final judgment comes, the Son of Man will judge and destroy all the evil powers, all the evil that is. Then He will reign forever as a king in paradise.
And I [Enoch] asked the angel who accompanied me and showed me all the secret things concerning that Son of Man, who he was, whence he came, and why he accompanied the Head of Days? And he answered and said unto me, This is the Son of Man which hath righteousness, in whom dwelleth righteousness, and which revealeth all the treasures of things which are hidden. For the Lord of Spirits has chosen him, and his portion is preferred before the Lord of Spirits in uprightness forever. And this Son of Man whom you have seen will raise up kings and rulers from their seats, and will destroy the governments of the mighty, and will break the teeth of sinners. (Enoch 46:2-4)
The divinity of the Son of Man
In the writings of Daniel and Enoch, the Son of Man does not appear as an ordinary human being. The things said about him give him a special position. He can be referred to as a divine person. There are various arguments for this. It is written of the Son of Man that he comes on the clouds of heaven. This description is used in the Bible only for God (for example Psalm 18:10, Psalm 104:3, Isaiah 19:1 and Nahum 1:3). Daniel 7 verse 14 states that all nations will worship the Son of Man. The Aramaic word ‘venerate’ is only used for worshiping God. And the dominion of the Son of Man is an everlasting dominion (Daniel 7:14,27). An eternal reign is something that belongs to God.
Son of man, the son of man
In Jesus’ native language, Aramaic, the Son of Man is actually a very common word, Barnasha . This word consists of two words: bar which means son and nasja which means human. Barnasja simply means a human child, just a man, a son of his parents. The word has been given a special meaning by the ancient writings of Israel.
Jesus as the Son of Man
The title Son of Man came from the Israelite scriptures. The Son of Man was mentioned in the Bible book of Daniel and in the extra-Biblical scripture Enoch. In both texts the Son of Man is described as a judge. He will separate the good from the evil. This Son of Man stands between God and man. Jesus called himself the Son of Man on several occasions.
The use of the title Son of Man in the Gospels
It is striking that in the Gospels Jesus calls himself Son of Man. He does not receive this title from others. No one calls Him that except Himself. The title Son of Man appears in all four Gospels . This term is most commonly found in Matthew and Luke . In the two other Gospels, Mark and John, the Son of Man features less prominently. Outside of the Gospels, the title Son of Man is barely used in the New Testament.
The appearance of the title Son of Man in the Gospels
|
Gospel |
Number of times the title Son of Man is used |
|
Matthew |
28 |
|
Marcus |
11 |
|
Lucas |
26 |
|
Johannes |
12 |
The context in which Jesus calls himself Son of Man
In a number of places in the Gospels it is said that Jesus calls himself the Son of Man. He does this, for example, when He is rejected by the religious authorities in his environment. This rejection would result in his suffering and death (Mark 8:31, Luke 9:22).
He [Jesus] began to teach them that the Son of Man would suffer many things and be rejected by the elders of the people, the chief priests, and the scribes, and that he would be killed, but would rise again three days later. (Mark 8:31)
The Son of Man and the Final Judgment
In Daniel and in Enoch the Son of Man was already described as a person who will pronounce judgment on people when the end times come. The doctrine of the last things, the judgment and the new heaven, is also called eschatology. The title Son of Man is often used eschatologically in the Gospels. Jesus, as the Son of Man, is then the person who determines who was good and who was bad. Jesus also tells that the Son of Man will come on the clouds of heaven when the end times have come.
Then the sign of the coming of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will be astonished to see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. Then he will send his angels, and with a loud trumpet sound they will gather together his chosen ones from the four winds, from one end of the dome of heaven to the other. (Matthew 24:30-31)
When will the Son of Man come in the clouds?
When will the end times come and will the Son of Man be seen by all as He descends to earth on the clouds of heaven? Jesus indicates that no one knows when exactly that is. The coming of the Son of Man in the clouds is known only to God the Father.
No one knows when that day and moment will arrive, not even the heavenly angels or the Son, only the Father knows. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be when the Son of Man comes. For as in the days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and as they did not know that the flood would come until it came and everyone took away, so shall it be also when the Son of Man comes. (Matthew 24:36-39)
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