Why Did Jesus Refer To Himself As The “Son of Man?”


Who Is The Son Of Man?
If Jesus was the Son of God, why did He call Himself the Son of Man (Matthew 20:18; 24:30)?
This sounds like some kind of contradiction at first glance, but in fact there is no contradiction. An examination of Scripture reveals that the phrase “Son of Man” carries broad significance.

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

Matthew 20:18 “Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death,”

Matthew 20:28 “Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

Matthew 16:13 “When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?”

When questioned by the high priest as to whether he was the Christ, Jesus again referred to himself as the Son of Man. A statement the priest instantly recognized as Jesus saying he was more than a man, he was the very Son of Man referred to in the Book of Daniel.

Mark 14: 60-65 “And the high priest stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus, saying, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee? But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest rent his clothes, and saith, What need we any further witnesses?  Ye have heard the blasphemy: what think ye? And they all condemned him to be guilty of death.  And some began to spit on him, and to cover his face, and to buffet him, and to say unto him, Prophesy: and the servants did strike him with the palms of their hands.”

Daniel 7:13-14  “I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.  I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

This Son of Man was to rule and be glorified. Jesus was saying he was this Son of Man. It actually is a claim to deity, since all these things given to the Son of Man belong only to God. Indeed, Jesus was saying he was equal with God. As Christians we understand this as part of the Trinity of God. The Jews were not Trinitarian, but they were binatarians. They saw the “Angel of God,,” in the Old Testament as God, incarnate. Such as when God visited Abraham, and in several other parts of the Bible. See: http://twopowersinheaven.com

This was blasphemy, in the eyes of the religious leaders who did not recognize Jesus was exactly who he said he was.

Enemies of the faith say that Jesus never claimed a special heavenly status or kingship for Himself. But, as we have seen, when Jesus calls Himself “Son of Man,” He is claiming to be sovereign over all things.

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LABELS: ,on of man, son of God

All scriptures from the KJV

Dennis Regling

Dennis Regling is an author and educator and an evangelist.

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