THE SON OF MAN

When Jesus was on earth, those who knew Him called Him many things. They gave Him names, titles, and distinctive epithets. They called Him Jesus, Rabbi, Teacher (Master), Lord, Christ (Messiah), Son of David, the Son of Abraham, The Lamb of God, Immanuel, Jesus, King of the Jews, King of Israel, a Nazarine, The Son of God: we could, perhaps, add many more.

BUT: no-one ever called Jesus by the title, “The Son of Man”!

We repeat: when Jesus was on earth, no-one, not the disciples nor any of them, not the priests or chief priests of the Jewish people, not the scribes, not the teachers of the law, not the Pharisees nor the Sadducees, not the Herodians, not the crowds, the multitudes: no-one ever called Jesus or referred to Him as “The Son of Man.”

On the other hand, Jesus Himself almost always associated with Himself the title, “The Son of Man.” There are only two exceptions to this “always”: (1) when Jesus sent for the ass’s colt upon which to ride into Jerusalem, His disciples were to state, “The Lord hath need.” (Matthew 21:3; Mark 11:3; Luke 19:31.) Evidently Jesus knew that those who would object thought of Him as “The Lord”; and, (2) when Jesus sent His two disciples to a certain house to prepare for His last passover feast, He instructed them to say to the householder, “The Master (Teacher) saith, ‘Where is the guestchamber for us to prepare the Passover?’” (Mathew 26:18; Mark 14:14; Luke 22:11.) No doubt the householder knew Jesus as “The Teacher.” (These two exceptions were not an occasion for a discourse on self-delineation by Jesus.)

So we say that when Jesus was on earth, He Himself almost always associated Himself with the title, “The Son of Man”; but on the other hand, no one else ever used the title about Jesus.

To complete the use of the term, “The Son of Man,” about Jesus, we must refer to the death of Stephen, the first recorded Christian Martyr. This death occurred some days, weeks, or months after the Day of Pentecost, following the occasion when the Resurrected Jesus had returned to Heaven.

After completing his defense, Stephen declared that he saw into an open heaven and observed “The Son of Man” (i.e. Jesus) “standing at the right hand of God.” (Acts 7:56). A “standing ovation” by Jesus Himself for Stephen’s brilliant speech of defense! This statement by Stephen was the catalyst for his subsequent martyrdom.

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The question then arises: “Why did Jesus use the term in association with Himself, and why did no-one else so use it?

Although we ourselves may not perhaps have the full and correct answer, it would seem to behoove us to consider the issue. Thus the term, “the Son of Man,” and the use Jesus made of it, is the subject of this essay.

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I. MEANING OF THE EXPRESSION “SON OF.”

And so, first of all, we must consider the meaning of, and some implications of, the term, “The Son of Man.” For this, let us look into the use of the expression in the Old Testament.

To begin, let us learn the Hebrew use, and therefore the meaning, of the expression: “son of.” We in modern America generally consider “son of” to refer to an human male offspring: i.e., a boy as related to his parent. But in the ancient language of the Jews, “son of” rather meant the complete embodiment of the being, the character, the essence of, the sire.

For example, were we to approach an Hebrew in Old Testament times and inquire of him his age, instead of replying as we would do, “I am fifty years old,” the Old Testament Jew would reply, “I am the son of fifty years.”
What is he really saying in his reply? Expanding and interpreting his thought process, it would be something like this:

“Picture in your mind what a typical fifty-year-old man would be like. His hair would be starting to turn grey. Wrinkles of experience would begin to crease his brow. Although still very vigorous in his actions, the boundless exuberance of youth would have passed. His speech would now begin to combine with his confident optimism the caution wrought from life’s adventures. In short,” our Hebrew friend would conclude, “when you will have mentally pictured and described such a man, you would be describing me, for I have lived and experienced fifty years of life. Yes, I am fifty years old, the ‘son of fifty years.’”

So, when we find the expression “son of,” we must needs think in terms of quality rather than identity. “Son of” typifies rather than relates to, the sire. Relationship may well be there, it is true, but character and characteristics should be the primary emphasis.

Thus, when it is written that Jesus is “the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15); and when the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews wrote that He is “the effulgence of His (God’s) glory, and the very image of His substance” (Hebrews 1:3); and when John wrote, “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, Who is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him” (John 1:18): are these all not ways of expressing and interpreting the term “The Son of God”?

And just as Colossians 1:15, Hebrews 1:3, and John 1:18 interpret the term “The Son of God,” so also the term, “The Son of Man,” embodies that which constitutes the essence of what is, or is meant to be, a complete human being.

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II. “SON OF MAN” IN THE OLD TESTAMENT.

In the Old Testament this writer has found the following references: Numbers 23:19; Job 16:21; 25:6; 35:8; Psalm 8:4; 80:170; 144:3; 146:3-4; Isaiah 51:12; 56:2; Jeremiah 49:18; 49:33; 50:40; 51:43; Ezekiel, some 93 times; and Daniel 7:13 and 8:17.

In many of these references, we find “son of man” placed in parallel with “man,” according to the parallelism which characterizes Hebrew poetry. Whereas modern poetry makes extensive use of rhyme (although often we have “blank verse,” which does not rhyme but rather depends upon metered rhythm, and other uses of verbal sounds,) in Biblical poetry parallelism of thought seems to have been a predominant characteristic. This parallelism may be two expressions of the same major thought; it may be the statement of opposites; yet again the parallelism lies in the expansion and interpretation of the first statement by the second statement; or the second statement may convey the result of the first statement.

Thus we may read that both “man” and “son of man”, unlike God, may and do change their mind (Numbers 23:19); both “man” and “son of man” may justifiably enter into dispute with their neighbour (Job 16.21); both “man” and “son of man” in God’s sight are no more than worms (Job 25:6); etc. So “man” may die; and “son of man” will perish like summer grass (Psalm 146:3-4; Isaiah 51:12). But on the other hand, God may and does, extend his help and mercy to both “man” and “son of man” (Psalm 8:4; 80:17; 144:3.)

Jeremiah uses the term several times to characterize the utter barrenness and desertedness of certain lands which result from God’s judgment of their people’s sins. Not only are no men longer living in those areas, but the expression, “son of man” seems to imply that no person can live or exist in those lands. They are condemned to be “desert.”

The book of Ezekiel is characterized by the constant use of the term, “son of man,” which seems to be directed in vocative form to the prophet himself. This writer has counted 93 times when the term is used in this book. Ezekiel was commissioned by God to minister to, and to represent before God, the mass of Jewish exiles in the days of the Babylonian captivity. His experiences and his actions as ordered by God were to teach the people that by looking at him the people could see, as acted out by him, their own experiences as perceived by God Who was really looking after them. Therefore the term, “son of man,” was to typify in the prophet’s actions and experiences and teaching, that which constituted God’s discipline. He was “son of man” in their behalf.

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It remains to consider in greater detail the term, “son of man” as used in the Eighth Psalm and the two references in Daniel.

The eighth Psalm, written by David, seems to equate the two expressions: “man” and “son of man.” The shepherd lad, night-watching his flock, looks at and studies the night sky, illuminated by moonlight, and resplendent with the glow of the countless stars. He contemplates their creation by God, not with God’s hands, but with His fingers. Their vast creation was mere “busiwork” by Him. By contrast, David contemplates the puniness of man. Then he praises God for the grand destiny God plans for man, the “son of man.”

The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews, (see Hebrews 2:5-9) in quoting this Psalm, referred “son of man” to Jesus, and saw in the three statements in the Psalm three stages in the career of Jesus: “little lower than the angels for the suffering of death” referring to the crucifixion; “crowned with glory and honour” setting forth the present high honour of Jesus at the right hand of the Father in heaven; and “all things put under His feet” as referring to the Second Coming in power and glory.

Thus the expression “the son of man,” once descriptive only, now is becoming personified.

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In Daniel 7:13, we have reference to One appearing to the prophet as “like a son of man,” and being brought before an enthroned “Ancient of Days,” then being given “dominion and glory and a kingdom.” This appears to be a prophecy of an event to transpire in the future. Some will interpret it to characterize the commission of Jesus to return to earth in His “Second Coming.”

It is to be noted that this “like a son of man” does not come alone. Rather the Scripture says He came “with the clouds of heaven.” Do the plural words of this passage (7:13-14) hint (only an hint here) of those who will constitute members of His “new creation”? (See also Daniel 7:18).

Finally, there is Daniel 8:17, wherein Daniel (himself here as prophet-representative of mankind called “son of man”) was told that his visions were of events to occur “at the time of the end.”

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III. INCARNATION: JESUS AS MAN.

With this brief recital of the Old Testament uses before us, when we come to the New Testament and the earthly career of Jesus, we find Him appropriating with Himself (note: “with”; not “to”) the term “The Son of Man.”

How does Jesus use the expression, and in what way does He relate it to Himself?

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First of all, let us note two or three significant observations to be made. They may be of importance.

Initially it was God Himself from heaven, not Jesus Himself, Who made identification of Jesus. Despite the protest of John the Baptist, Jesus had insisted on being baptized (an identification of Himself, sinless, with sinful human beings who were acting out their repentance). And as He came up out of the water, Luke tells us that Jesus was praying (again identifying Himself with dependent mankind). Then, as the Holy Spirit came upon Him, a voice from heaven declared, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (See Matthew 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-23.) But this identification was as “Son of God.”

Next Jesus went to the desert. Matthew and Luke say that Jesus was thus “led by the Spirit,” (Matthew 4:1: Luke 4:1); but Mark says the Holy Spirit “drove Him” (Mark 1:12). And in the wilderness, when Satan tempted Him to exert His authority as Son of God, Jesus insisted on obeying three commands of God as simply “Man.” Note that Jesus did not use the term “The Son of Man.”

Finally, when Jesus began to assemble His first disciples, He told Nathaniel, “You shall see the heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon” (not Jacob’s dream-ladder - see Genesis 28:12, but) “the Son of Man.” (John 1:51).

But note one special point here. Jesus was not clearly identifying Himself as “The Son of Man.”

IV. THE IDEAL SON OF MAN.

In the opinion of this writer, it would appear that, at least in the early part of the public ministry of Jesus, he was not saying, “I am the Son of Man.” Rather, He seemed to be taking the term, “The Son of Man,” to be an expression of what an ideal man ought to be, and then secondarily, saying, “It is to be my goal perfectly to fill out this ideal.” How well did He fill out this goal? It was to be for His disciples, and in fact all others, to determine how well He succeeded.

Jesus Himself knew Who He was, and what was His destiny. It was an important purpose of His ministry to get His disciples, His enemies, and in fact, all who saw Him, to make such identification of both His identity and His destiny.

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When God first created the couple we call “Adam” and “Eve” in the third creative act set forth in the first chapter of Genesis, He created them in “the image of Elohim,” the Omnipotent One. When Adam and Eve sinned, they effectively, completely, and permanently marred that image, both for themselves and for all their posterity.

When Jesus came, virgin-born and therefore uncorrupted by Adam’s sin, it was His objective, as ideal Man, to demonstrate the fulfillment of that “image of Elohim.” He had to become the second, the “last Adam.” (I Corinthians 15:45.) He had to live up to that ideal “Son of Man,” perfectly, before He could go to the Cross to be the Redeemer. Did He succeed? What do YOU think? And on your answer may hang your eternal destiny.

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Next, it may be in order to set forth the emphases which Jesus seemed to be making when He used the term “The Son of Man.” Thus we may ascertain the purpose to be accomplished, the means to completing that purpose, and other broad implications.

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First of all, of course, there is the prediction, made over and over by Jesus, that it is The Son of Man Who is to experience betrayal, suffering, death, and ultimately resurrection. And this was always stated in the abstract. Jesus was not saying, “I am going to be betrayed, crucified, put to death, and raised.” Rather, He was insisting that it was the destiny of the one called “The Son of Man.” Then he was implying (not saying but implying) that insofar as His goal was to fulfill that destiny, it was to flesh out in Himself that future.

When, far to the north near Caesarea Philippi, He asked the disciples about the public’s, and then the disciples’, assessment of Himself, He gave them a clue as to how to answer. Whereas Mark and Luke declare that Jesus asked, “Who do men, the multitudes, say that I am?” Matthew is more specific, asking, “Who do men say that The Son of Man is?” But in answer, Peter seems to have missed that point. He said nothing about “The Son of Man.” He simply replied, “Thou art the Christ (Messiah), the Son of the Living God.”

Although Jesus seems to have congratulated Peter for his having mastered rudimentary lesson one, (taught him by the Father in heaven), and also Himself, Jesus, having taught Peter about His own power (“the gates of hades shall not prevail”) and authority (“give unto you the keys”), He then promptly silenced Peter and the others about His Messiahship. In fact, both Mark and Luke, omitting the appreciation by Jesus that Peter had advanced thus far to knowing His Messiahship, immediately recount the silencing of the disciples by Jesus. Mark and Luke both state that at was at that point that Jesus began to teach the destiny, not of Himself, but of “The Son of Man.”

And finally, at this point Jesus began to emphasize that the destiny of The Son of Man was not only the accepted destiny of Jesus, but also was to be the accepted destiny of all who would follow Him. (Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23.) The ideal was to be carried out, not only by Jesus, but by His followers as well.

Furthermore, Jesus from this point on continually taught this destiny of The Son of Man, which therefore was to be His own destiny. See Matthew 17:22-23 - Mark 9:3-32 - Luke 9:43-45; Luke 17:25; Matthew 20:18-19 - Mark 10:32-34 - Luke 18:31-34; John 12:23-36; and Matthew 26:2.

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V. THE GROWING USE BY JESUS OF THE TERM “THE SON OF MAN.”

But we are perhaps getting a little ahead of ourselves here. We must needs trace out the steps by which Jesus came to the use of the term, “The Son of Man.”

Jesus, perhaps impelled by the Spirit and maybe not knowing exactly why, had left Nazareth for the Jordan river, and submitted Himself to be baptized by John: an action clearly in keeping with His role as a man, and identifying Himself with repentant man (or men) at that. And God in Heaven, by His statement of approbation, had affirmed the correctness of the action.

Next, the Spirit “drove” Jesus into the wilderness. There Jesus, even without a “temptation,” was perhaps struggling to ascertain just how to begin His public ministry. The Father had so recently publicly announced Him as the divine Son (perhaps i.e. as “Son of God.”) How should Jesus reconcile this with His accepted role as “Man”?

And in the midst of that problem came Satan, challenging Him to exercise His authority as “Son of God.” Inadvertently, Satan by his temptation gave Jesus the answer. He must conduct Himself solely as “man.” And the further temptations clarified for Him in experience the parameters of His responsibility as Man: He must not presume upon Divine protection by testing its limits; and He must remember His duty, and not any illusion of “success.”

And so, as Man, Jesus would remember His role. He must succeed where Adam had failed. He must demonstrate that Man was created to be the very image of the Creator-God. (See Genesis 1:27.) And He must do this, not as Son of God, but as Man: for only thus could he prove Himself, both to all mankind and to heaven itself, to be truly the “Son of” God. (See our previous discussion of the meaning of the term “son of.”)

Next came an opportunity to demonstrate publicly His proper role. By His prescience of Nathaniel’s character, (see John 1:43-51), He had called for the testimony of Nathaniel (so strangely parallel to Peter’s later “great confession” – see Matthew 16:16, Mark 8:29, Luke 9:20.) And just as Jesus later directed Peter’s and the other disciples’ thoughts to a more precise definition of Himself and of His role (See Matthew 16:20-27; Mark 8:30-31ff; Luke 9:21-22), so now He directed Nathaniel to think beyond “messiah” and “son of God” to another role, that of “The Son of Man,” the ladder of Jacob’s dream (see Genesis 28:12.) And just as a ladder is a “vertical bridge” between God and man, so Jesus was teaching that He, as The Son of Man,” was the bridge, The Word of God, to mankind. (See this author’s book, “He Called Himself the Son of Man,” page XIV:6, Old Rugged Cross Press, Roswell, Georgia, 1993.)

This would seem to be the first use by Jesus of the term, “The Son of Man.” And yet this was simply a prophecy of the future. As a future event, it remained a goal, an ideal, a model which Jesus, at this point, must still work out, accomplish in His own life and death.

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It is well established that the public ministry of Jesus divides itself into two parts. The first section, which continued to the time of the so-called Great Confession by Peter (Matthew 16:13), seemed to consist of many miracles, actions, speeches (e.g., “The Sermon on the Mount,”) and deeds, all seemingly designed to demonstrate to the Jewish nation, to its leaders, to the public at large, and to His disciples, who Jesus was. (“Who do you say that I am?” Matthew 16:15.) Finally, at Caesarea Philippi, with at least the disciples beginning to see something of the Person Jesus really was, Jesus could lead them to the second part of His ministry, with the next question, “What is the destiny of The Son of Man?”

It is during this first section that the term, “The Son of Man,” seems to be set forth by Jesus as defining the role He has set before Himself to try to fulfill. In a sense we may say, “The Son of Man is ‘ideal Man.’” Jesus does not use the term very often, and when He does, He seems to be “reaching forth to things which are before” Him.

Matthew’s Gospel lists ten instances during this first section wherein Jesus uses the term “The Son of Man.” They are: Matthew 8:20; 9:6; 10:23; 11:19; 12:8; 12:32; 12:40; 13:37; and 13:41. Finally there was the question put by Jesus to His disciples at Caesarea Philippi: Matthew 16:13. Of these, it would seem that Jesus looks ahead to the unveiling of The Son of Man at the Second Coming in the following: Matthew 10:23; 12:32; 12:40; and 13:41. In the remainder, Jesus speaks of The Son of Man’s (his own) absolute lack of material security (8:20); the authority to forgive sins (9:6); the lack of submission to human mores (11:19); lordship over the sabbath (12:8); and planting seeds (13:37).

Mark’s gospel lists only two: 2:10 and 2:28, which parallel Matthew 9:6 and 12:8 respectively. Luke lists four, three of which parallel Matthew, as follows: Luke 5:24 = Mathew 9:6; Luke 6:5 = Matthew 12:8; and Luke 7:34 = Matthew 11:19. The only other case in Luke, which is in his version of the Beatitudes, is 6:22 (roughly paralleling Matthew 5:11), and this recounts reproaches cast on those whose future conduct will be compared to that of The Son of Man.

Thus it would seem that there were only five instances wherein Jesus spoke of The Son of Man in reference to present conduct, and in each of these cases it is easy to see the term (The Son of Man) used by Jesus as a role-model, which He was striving to fulfill.

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VI. “THE SON OF MAN” AND SUFFERING.

Having established, at least in the minds of His disciples, by the end of the first section of the career of Jesus on earth, Jesus then went on to teach His disciples about His coming death. And this teaching was not just a one-time lesson. Over and over, time and again, Jesus emphasized the imminent crucifixion; and this was consistently in terms of the fate of The Son of Man.

Following Luke’s version (Luke 9:21-23; but parallel versions are found in Matthew 16:21-24 and Mark 8:31-34), we find that, after warning His disciples to tell no one about Peter’s confession of Him as the Messiah (Christ), Jesus began to talk about the future of The Son of Man: the suffering, rejection, death, and resurrection. Notice that Jesus spoke in the third person. He did not say, “I” but “The Son of Man.” This was the ideal program for this “human ideal,” which He, Jesus, was committing Himself to carry out, to fulfill.

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And immediately following this statement of program came the warning that any who would “follow” must expect similar treatment. In other words, this fate awaiting a “Son of Man” was to be the future not only of Jesus as He lived to fulfill the “Son of Man” ideal, but was to be expected by any who would undertake to follow Him. (Luke 9:23-24.)

And to this must be added a further statement by Jesus, strange because of its change from the personal pronoun “me and of my words” to the future “the Son of Man be ashamed.” (Luke 9:26, and also see Luke 12;8; Matthew 10:32.) Again, this seems to suggest that Jesus was not yet ready to identify Himself clearly with “The Son of Man.” That title was still the ideal to which Jesus must attain.

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Now let us quickly cite the various references by Jesus to the coming suffering of The Son of Man. They include:

(1) Mark 8:31 (Matthew 16:21; Luke 9:22): “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”:

(2) Luke 9:44 (cf Matthew 17:22, Mark 9:26): “The Son of Man shall be delivered up into the hands of men”;

(3) Matthew 17:9-12 (Mark 9:12-13): “Tell the vision to no man, until The Son of Man be risen from the dead”;

(4) Luke 11:30 (Matthew 12:38-40): “For even as Jonah became a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also The Son of Man be to this generation”;

(5) Luke 18:31 (Matthew 20:18; Mark 10:33): “We go up to Jerusalem, and all the things that are written through the prophets shall be accomplished unto The Son of Man”;

(6) Luke 19:10 (wrongly quoted in Matthew 18:11): “For The Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost”;

(7) Matthew 20:28 (Mark 10:45): “The Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many.”;

(8) Matthew 26:2: “Ye know that after two days the passover cometh, and The Son of Man is delivered up to be crucified”;

(9) Matthew 26:45 (Mark 14:41): “Behold, the hour is at hand, and The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners”;

(10) Luke 22:22 (Matthew 26:24; Mark 14:21): “For The Son of Man indeed goeth, as it hath been determined: but woe unto that man through whom He is betrayed”;

(11) Luke 22:48 (see Matthew 26:49; Mark 14:45): “Judas, betrayest thou The Son of Man with a kiss?”;

(12) and Luke 24:7: “Saying that The Son of Man must be delivered up into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.”

In addition, we must list certain references in the Gospel according to John, (but the writer finds great difficulty in reconciling John’s chronology with that of the Synoptic Gospels.) “John’s” references seem to be:

(1) John 3:13: “And no one hath ascended into heaven, but He that descended out of heaven, even The Son of Man, who is in heaven”;

(2) John 3:14: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must The Son of Man be lifted up”;

(3) John 6:27: “Work not for the food which perisheth, but for the food which abideth unto eternal life, which The Son of Man shall give unto you: for Him the Father, even God, hath sealed”; and,

(4) John 6:53: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of The Son of Man and drink His blood, ye have not life in yourselves.”

(NOTE: John 6:27 and 6:53 receive their interpretation and meaning at the institution of the so-called “Last Supper);

(5) John 8:28: “When ye have lifted up The Son of Man, then shall ye know that I am He”;

(6) John 12:23: “The hour is come, that The Son of Man should be glorified”; and,

(7) John 12:34: “How sayest Thou, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this ‘Son of Man’?”

It is not this writer’s intention to examine in complete detail each of these references. To do so would include both redundancy and excessive micro-exegesis by the writer and increasing boredom for the reader. But there are two emphases to be set forth. (1) Jesus both knew and faced a coming destiny of suffering; and (2) as He approached the hours of His supreme crisis He was increasingly identifying Himself with the ideal “Son of Man.” It was as though He was realizing in experience that He would measure up to the ideal and thus could more and more openly refer the expression “The Son of Man” to Himself. Thus He could declare (in John 8:28) that “when ye have lifted up The Son of Man” (i.e., on the Cross), “then shall ye know that I am He (i.e., The Son of Man.)”

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And when, in His trial before Caiaphas the High Priest, Jesus was put under oath and required to answer the question, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of God?” Jesus gave an affirmative answer, but immediately added the statement, “Nevertheless . . ., henceforth ye shall see The Son of Man sitting. . .and coming. . . ” (Matthew 26:63-64.) It is as though Jesus was saying, “yes, I am your Messiah; but you did not ask the right question: you did not think big enough. I am not just a Jewish Messiah, but I am the ideal Son of Man, which will be revealed for all to see when I come back again in all the Majesty of Power.”

Furthermore the Jewish leaders did not learn even after Jesus was crucified and rose from the dead. The only case in the New Testament when someone other than Jesus identified Him as “The Son of Man,” was when Stephen was himself on trial before this same Sanhedrin. Turning the tables he, with the face of an avenging angel (Acts 6:15), accused them of being “the betrayers and murderers” of “The Righteous One,” and so aroused their latent guilt and their anger. At this point Stephen, receiving a vision of heaven, declared, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and The Son of Man standing on the right hand of God.” Note that these are practically the same words of Jesus to Caiaphas. It was this final testimony of Stephen which evoked his own fatal stoning. (See Acts 7:52-60.)

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We are told that Jesus, even “though He was a Son, yet learned” (by experience the meaning of) “obedience by the things which He suffered.” (Hebrews 5:8.) Likewise, we may say that, whereas at the beginning of His public ministry, Jesus seems to have taken the title “The Son of Man” as an ideal which He was setting out to fulfill; He learned by His own experience of “the things which He suffered” the full meaning of the ideal “The Son of Man.”

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VII. THE SON OF MAN AND THE GREATER TASK.

But all of the foregoing analysis has missed a fundamental point. All of the idealism of an expression “Son”; all of the dedication of Jesus to attain to the ideal set before Him; all of the commitment to achieve the standard of excellence implied in that ideal: all of this tends to empty glitter and braggadocio unless it be committed to the accomplishment of an even greater assignment.

Many years ago this writer heard a definition of true success in life. He has long since forgotten who said it, or the exact words of the statement. But the expression was about as follows: every person must set before himself a goal, an ambition, an accomplishment bigger than he is. Then he must commit himself, even to the exclusion of all other desires, to the achievement of that accomplishment.

Certain comments about that ambition:

(1) We may not ascertain what such a goal should be, and so may never realize that which should truly challenge us;

(2) We may not comprehend the degree of commitment needed, and so fail to reach that ultimate level;

(3) We may think we attain that goal, only to find that it was not greater than ourselves, and so we find that it was not the ultimate to which we might have aspired; and,

(4) A lesser goal and/or an incomplete dedication will ultimately result in frustration and perhaps even emotional and spiritual “suicide” of the soul.

Jesus set Himself the goal of becoming “The” true and complete “Son of Man,” and as we saw, He fully accomplished that goal. But He had a yet bigger goal. This was touched upon by the Apostle Paul in his words to the Philippian congregation (2:6-8): (1) Jesus did not grasp at achievement (“thought it not robbery to be equal with God”); (2) He drained Himself of all He might have valued (“He emptied Himself”); and, (3) He indentured Himself to slavery (“taking the form of a servant”), (4) putting on the attire of one whose rank is lower than that of the lowest angel in heaven (“being made in the likeness of men”: {See Hebrews 2:9: “made a little lower than the angels”}). This was to become “The Son of Man.”

But this was not enough. He had an assignment: He was given a task to perform, an obligation given Him by God His Father, and a task He willingly undertook. It was to redeem a world. Yes, a world of enemies. And it cost Him the ultimate in humility. It cost Him the debasement of disgrace. It cost Him His life!

“Being found in fashion as a Man, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.”

It was not the pinnacle of human achievement. It was rather the nadir of human debasement. But it was dedication to the task of obedience. He Himself had said, “I do nothing of Myself, but as The Father taught Me.” (John 8:28.) This, then, is the character of The Omnipotent One (“Elohim”), of Whom Jesus said, “I do always the things that are pleasing to Him.” (John 8:29.) And it was this dedication to His assignment, even to ultimate shame and self-abnegation, which puts to shame all other human achievement. This was and always will be, the ultimate embodiment of that ideal called “The Son of Man.”

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VIII. THE SON OF MAN IN RESURRECTION LIFE.

To continue the delineation of Jesus as The Son of Man, we must consider His role following His resurrection. This involves His occupation, both in heaven and as exerting His influence on earth, during this present era; and ultimately during the time of His ultimate glory.

In each of these following references, the emphasis is always upon Jesus in His humanity: that is, His role as The Son of Man. There are, of course, other titles and honours bestowed upon Him, but we are here considering the conclusion of His commitment to the role of The Son of Man.

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First of all, then, let us consider briefly the situation of the Ascension, which occurred almost six weeks after the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus.

Jesus Himself had once asked, “What then if ye should behold The Son of Man ascending where he was before?” (John 6:62.) And on the Mount of Olives, after Jesus gave some final words to His disciples, “as they were looking, He was taken up; and a cloud received Him out of their sight.” (Acts 1:9.)

Now Jesus, before His incarnation as the Babe of Bethlehem, had existed with His Father from all eternity in heaven. When Jerusalem had been stirred by the coming of the Magi (the so-called “wise men”), and the Chief Priests and scribes were queried by Herod, they replied by quoting from Micah 5:2: “And thou Bethlehem, land of Judah, art in no wise least among the princes of Judah: For out of thee shall come forth a governor, Who shall be shepherd of my people Israel…” (Matthew 2:6). But they failed to finish the quotation, which reads, “whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.” So Jesus did not begin His existence in an animal’s feeding trough in Bethlehem, but had been living from all eternity.

Now the question arises, at His ascension did Jesus return to heaven to resume His old status at His Father’s side? No! For with His ascension, something new was brought into heaven. Jesus took His humanity back with Him! Man had now entered the royal assembly-hall of Paradise.

As evidence of this (if evidence be needed), when Stephen was later on trial before the Jewish Sanhedrin, he “saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said, ‘Behold, I see the heavens opened, and The Son of Man standing on the right hand of God.” (Acts 7:55-56.) And later on, the Apostle Paul wrote as follows: “For there is one God, one Mediator also between God and men, Himself Man, Christ Jesus.” (I Timothy 2:5.)

Can we then mentally imagine the scene above Olivet’s cloud as Jesus returned to His heavenly estate? Knowing Himself now to be Man, He was prepared to take a stool near the entrance, in rank below any of the angels (Psalm 8:5). But as He entered the golden portals, His Father came rushing up to Him, embraced Him, and said, “Oh, no: You must come with Me, for I have reserved a throne for You next to Myself.” (See Phil. 2:9.)

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And when He was thus enthroned, did Jesus commence to sit in idleness until the time of His Second Coming? For it is written that He “sat down on the right hand of God; henceforth expecting till His enemies be made the footstool of His feet.” (Hebrews 10:12-13.)

No, for in the meantime He has been engaged in many and various activities, and these activities are all related to His manhood. He is, and remains, in addition to any and all other titles and ranks, The Son of Man.

It is this writer’s opinion that much, most, of the present-age activity of Jesus can be subsumed under the title of Mediator. As previously cited, we have the words of the Apostle Paul, in I Timothy 2:5. Let us quote it again for emphasis: “For there is one God, one mediator also between God and men, Himself Man, Christ Jesus.”

He is Mediator, representing us to God and before God. He is also Mediator, teaching, guiding, and inspiring us in our responsibilities before and to God. He is Man, “The Son of Man,” and only in that role is He qualified to be such a Mediator.

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As Mediator representing us to God and before God, much of this activity is set forth in the early chapters of The Epistle to the Hebrews. Perhaps the climax came in the Tenth Chapter of Hebrews, when Jesus as High Priest, offered His own body and blood on the heavenly altar in eternal, complete, and full sacrifice for our sins: for all of our sins, past, present, and future, and never needing a new atonement. (See Hebrews 10:10-18.) And this He did as High Priest, and therefore as “man,” even The Son of Man.

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As evidence of His Mediatorship as toward us, let us again look to the Book of Hebrews. In Hebrews 4:14-16, we find that Jesus, again in His role as High Priest, ministers to our needs as follows:

(1) While on earth, He endured every possible kind of temptation that can possibly beset us. “One that hath been in all points tempted like as we are.” This clearly refers to the earthly life of Jesus, when he was proving Himself to be The Son of Man.

(2) He never once failed to overcome His temptations. (“yet without sin.”)

(3) He thus learned by experience, His own experiences, exactly what kind and degree of divine Grace was required successfully to overcome every one of those myriad kinds and degrees of temptation which beset Him.

(4) He thus has left us a command. When we are tempted, whatever the kind, whatever the degree, we are to pray for divine help. (“Let us therefore draw near with boldness unto the throne of grace.”)

(5) That prayer for help will be answered. (“That we may receive mercy.”)

(6) That help will be exactly the form, kind, and amount which we need in that particular circumstance of life. It will take consideration of our weakness (“infirmities”); it will provide the specific kind of “grace” to meet the particular temptation (“find grace to help us”); and the right amount of Divine help (to strengthen us, and enable us to do what we should, yet without taking from us our responsibility to do what we should in battling evil) in the time of pending crisis (“in time of need.”) We need to be taught this lesson and learn to apply it at all times. (This writer can state from experience that this six-step procedure when properly applied really works.)

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Now let us consider several statements of Jesus pertaining to His ongoing activity as “The Son of Man.”

In the first place, Jesus claimed that The Son of Man has authority to forgive sins. “That ye may know that The Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” (Mark 2:10; Matthew 9:6; Luke 5:24.) His hearers thought that, although God in heaven might grant forgiveness, we cannot know about it here on earth. But The Son of Man can so forgive sin that we may experience the knowledge that our sins are forgiven.

Jesus spoke these words while He was here on earth; but untold thousands have known the satisfaction that The Son of Man has forgiven their sin(s), even though He is currently in heaven. Forgiveness comes via The Son of Man.

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Jesus also said that “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; see also Matthew 12:8; Luke 6:5.)

In their strict observance of every technicality of the Torah (the Law as given through Moses), the Jewish people of the day of Jesus were binding themselves to a literal code of conduct. Legalism has ever been the curse of freedom. Not only the sabbath, but also all other restraints of legalism are subject to revision by One Who composed the Torah; which He did for the benefit of mankind and not for its enslavement.

The Lordship of The Son of Man is timeless, and continues even to this day and age.

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Jesus also said that The Son of Man does not needlessly hold a grudge. He is ready to pardon and forgive, whenever pardon and forgiveness are called for. “And every one who shall speak a word against The Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him.” (Luke 12:10; Matthew 12.32.)

At the same time, The Son of Man is chivalrous of the rights of others. “But unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Spirit it shall not be forgiven.” (also Luke 12:10.)

Many years ago it was suggested to the writer that the Holy Spirit may represent the feminine side of the Godhead. Whether or not this be true, the writer does not know and sees no way of knowing. But if so, it clearly expresses the indignation of Jesus toward calumnies against the lesser known (and perhaps feminine) Member of the Trinity.

In any case, the double statement in Luke 12:10 stands in opposition to the natural attitude of most of us. When we feel we have been insulted, we are quick to take umbrage; but when another is thus “put down,” we are so slow to defend one weaker than ourselves. The word of Jesus here stands in condemnation of us. Let us learn to ignore personal calumnies, but rather act to defend others who may be mistreated.

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Again, Jesus declared that The Son of Man is engaged in spreading abroad the good. It is written in Matthew 13:37: “He that soweth the good seed is The Son of Man.”

AS we read this statement we are apt to try to look at the broader picture of the parable: that there is bad seed (tares) also sown; but we cannot make proper separation until the final judgment, when the tares will be separated and burned; while the good wheat will be preserved.

But rather let us note that it is The Son of Man who is engaged in sowing; and the seed being sown is people. “And the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom.” (Matthew 13:38.) The Son of Man is the true Farmer of men. We ourselves can not convert anyone. All we can do is testify to our own experience. It is The Son of Man Who is The Evangelist. This then must be His primary activity during this age.

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At the same time, the Person and the activity, the work, of Jesus is hidden in this present age. Only those who have eyes to understand can see, and this sight is only of the footprints He leaves behind.

In Luke 17:22 it is written that, “And He said unto the disciples, ‘The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of The Son of Man, and ye shall not see it.’”

In the prophecy of Isaiah it is written, “Go, and tell this people, ‘Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.’” (Isaiah 6:9.)

Those who “desire to see one of the days of The Son of Man” are those who “see…but perceive not.” Those who wish The Son of Man would act as they suppose He ought are those not seeing (or rather not perceiving.) Instead, His agenda is a spiritual agenda, and is therefore not visible to the physical or material eye.

He is growing a “new,” a “fourth creation,” “a special people,” “an holy city,” even a “bride” for Himself. It is a select “remnant,” and its goals, its aims, its ideals, and its methods are directly opposed to the standards and ambitions of all the Adam-descendants, corrupted by sin as they are, and hypnotized by the tinsel-glitter of the false world-view blandished before their eyes by the great Deceiver. And even the disciples themselves, to whom Jesus spoke, are in danger of being deceived as well. (Matthew 24:24.)

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There is one more aspect of the present activity of “The Son of Man” in the present era. It is His role as judge.

In the Gospel according to John, Chapter Five, and verse 22, it is written how Jesus said that “Neither doth the Father judge any man, but He hath given all judgment unto the Son.” And again in verse 27, it is written as spoken by Jesus that “He” (that is, God the Father) “gave Him” (i.e., Jesus) “authority to execute judgment, because He is Son of Man.”

This judgment power of “The Son of Man,” evidently exercisable by Jesus while He was on earth, is surely available to Him in this present age as well, and will undoubtedly be exercised by Him the great Day to come. We shall therefore defer discussion of it until that time.

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IX. THE COMING REVELATION OF “THE SON OF MAN.”

Jesus the Prophet said, “The Son of Man shall come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then shall He render unto every man according to his deeds .” (Matthew 16:27; see also Mark 8:38; Luke 9:26.)

And He went on to say, “Verily I say unto you, There are some of them that stand here, who shall in no wise taste of death, till they see The Son of Man coming in His kingdom.” (Matthew 16:28; Mark 9:1; Luke 9:26.)

Jesus had much to say about the return in triumph to this earth of The Son of Man. Let us look at some of these statements.

(NOTE: Of course the Second Coming, frequently prophesied in the Old Testament, occupies much of the teaching of the New Testament. We are in no wise trying to muddy the waters of this subject by our comments. Rather, we shall merely be trying to take the words of Jesus in His role as The Son of Man in reference to that Day.)

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(1) Certain conditions existing when The Son of Man will come.

Apparently there will be a time of persecution preceding the coming. So Jesus spoke of trouble. He said, “When they persecute you in this city, flee unto the next: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone through the cities of Israel, till The Son of Man be come.”

The followers of The Son of Man may suffer hatred, reproach, and ostracism, for again Jesus said, “Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for The Son of Man’s sake.” (Luke 6:22; see also Matthew 5:11.)

Jesus, calling the time that of an “adulterous and sinful generation, (Mark 8:38), also implied that persecution and hatred may cause some to be ashamed of Him. He said, “For whosoever shall be ashamed of Me and of My words, of him shall The Son of Man be ashamed, when He cometh in His own glory, and the glory of His Father, and of the holy angels.” (Luke 9:26; Matthew 16:27; Mark 16:38.)

On the other hand, said Jesus, “I say unto you, every one who shall confess Me before men, him shall The Son of Man also confess before the angels of God.” (Luke 12:8; see Matthew 10:32, saying “will I also confess before My Father Who is in heaven.”)

Therefore, said Jesus, it will be a time when continual watchfulness and prayer are commanded. He declared, “Watch ye at every season, making supplication, that ye may prevail to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before The Son of Man.” (Luke 21:36.) Note here that prayer will be needed in order to be ready.

(2) The coming of The Son of Man will be sudden and without advance notice.

First of all, it will come at an unexpected time. Jesus warned his disciples, “Be ye also ready: for in an hour that ye think not The Son of Man cometh.” (Luke 12:40; Matthew 24:44.) Mark (13:33) quotes Jesus as saying, “Ye know not when the time is.”

In fact, it will come like a bolt of lightning. “For as the lightning cometh forth from the east, and is seen even unto the west; so shall be the coming of The Son of Man.” (Matthew 24:27; Luke 17:24.)

At that time, few will be believing and therefore watching. Jesus put it this way, “When The Son of Man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8.) And the implication is that it will be a time when there will be but few who are still keeping the true faith. The question is in the form which expects a negative answer.

The unexpectedness of the event was likened by Jesus to the days of Noah, before the flood. First of all, He said, “As were the days of Noah, so shall be the coming of The Son of Man.” (Matthew 24:37; Luke 17:26.) In those days, the masses of people “knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall be the coming of The Son of Man.” (Matthew 24:39.) And according to Luke, Jesus added, “After the same manner shall it be in the day that The Son of Man is revealed.” (Luke 17:30.)

And the concluding statement on this issue is found in Matthew 25:13, wherein Jesus warned, “Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour (wherein the Son of Man cometh.)” (The parenthetical portion of the preceding sentence does not appear in the American Standard Version, but only in the King James version of the Bible.)

(3) The certainty of His appearance.

When He comes, it is written that The Son of Man will be visible to all. Hear Jesus say again, “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 on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” (Matthew 24:30; see also Mark 3:26; Luke 21:27.)

Note herein the following points: (1) The “sign” will appear in heaven; (2) He will be visible to all as He descends; (3) His coming will be with power and great glory; and, (4) it will cause great mourning all over the earth.

The certainty of this event was guaranteed by Jesus at the time of His trial before the High Priest of Isreal. Jesus had been placed under oath by the Priest (“I adjure thee by the living God” Matthew 26:63); and being under oath He said, “Henceforth ye shall see The Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.” (Matthew 26: 64; Mark 14:62; see also Luke 22:69.)

(4) What will be accomplished by His coming.

First of all, The Son of Man will be seated on His own throne, a throne of glory. It is written that “When the Son of Man shall come in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then shall He sit on the throne of His glory.” (Matthew 25:31.)

Previously Jesus, The Son of Man, had been seated at the right hand of the Power of God. Now He is being seated on His own throne, a throne of glory.

When He comes, He will be surrounded by angels. Next, He will direct His angels to gather trouble-makers and crooked evil-doers. It is written in Matthew 13:41, in further words of Jesus, that “The Son of Man shall send forth His angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all things that cause stumbling, and them that do iniquity.”

And with all thus assembled, there will come a universal judgment upon all mankind. It will be “unto every man.” So Jesus predicted, “For The Son of Man shall come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and then shall He render unto every man according to his deeds.”

Thus the Second Coming will be a time of judgment upon all, and the trial will be conducted by The Son of Man.

Now it is to be noted that it is The Son of Man Who is the judge. Jesus Himself had said (in John 5:22-23) that “Neither doth the Father judge any man, but He hath given all judgment unto the Son; that all men honor the Son, even as they honor the Father.” And again in verse 27 Jesus went on to declare, “He” (i.e., the Father) “gave Him” (i.e., Jesus) “authority to execute judgment, because He is a Son of Man.”

From this we must conclude that in the great Day of Judgment, it will not be God the Father Who will be our judge. Rather, it will be Jesus, Who has proved Himself to be The Son of Man. The writer is convinced that the One seated on the so-called “great white throne” (see Revelation 20:11-15) will be The Son of Man, even Jesus. He has qualified Himself for judgeship by demonstrating that He Himself is The Son of Man.

[There are some who have claimed that those appearing before The Great White Throne will be only those who are destined to be condemned to the Lake of Fire. But this writer would call attention to the little word “if” in the 15th verse of Revelation 20. That word “if” strongly suggests that some appearing before that Throne do have their names in The Book of Life and some do not. Some will have put their trust in the “Slain Lamb,” and so their names are written in “The Book of the Life of the Slain Lamb” (Revelation 13:8.) Others, like the Jews of Antioch of Pisidia, who “judge” (d) themselves “unworthy of eternal life,” (Acts 13:46) will be the ones whose names are not found written in that “Book of the Life of the Slain Lamb.”]

X. THOSE WHO FOLLOW THE SON OF MAN.

Jesus also suggested that there are to be some persons who will be assigned to a role as judges. When talking to His disciples, and answering a query of Peter, He said, “Verily I say unto you, that ye who have followed Me, in the regeneration when The Son of Man shall sit on the throne of His glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” (Matthew 19:28.)

Notice carefully the condition. It is “ye who have followed Me.” Jesus had previously warned His disciples of the cost of following “The Son of Man.” When He had first predicted the suffering awaiting The Son of Man, in addition He went on: “And He said unto all, ‘If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever would save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for My sake, the same shall save it.’” (Luke 9:23-24.)

When Jesus undertook to become The Son of Man, it was to fulfill the plan God had in the third act of creation. Because Jesus fulfilled where Adam failed, He was called “The Last Adam.” (I Corinthians 15:45) And the assignment given to Adam was “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” (Genesis 1:28.)

To bring forth fruit, one must die. (See John 12:24.) The Son of Man died, and thus there was brought into existence a “Fourth Creation.” In our studies in Ephesians we found out that in Christ Jesus there came forth a new creation, even a new race of mankind. (See especially Ephesians 2:10, 15.) In fact, we developed that this Fourth Creation became the central theme of the Epistle to the Ephesians.

Again in our studies in Luke, which especially stressed that Jesus was “The Son of Man,” we found a long passage, from the tenth through the first half of chapter eighteen, devoted to the teachings of Jesus specifically to His disciples (and through them to us). He was laying the groundwork to establish the principles governing this Fourth Creation, in Himself.

Thus our study of The Son of Man is not that of spectators of the drama. Rather, we who put our faith in Him have a responsibility as His children, His people, the new spiritual race of mankind, the Fourth Creation, to follow this Son of Man as our first spiritual forebear, our new original and spiritual ancestor, our new Adam. We learn to follow, first of all, by studying and meditating upon His character, and His character as expressed by His actions. May this essay help to point us in that direction; and may The Son of Man Himself gives us the inspiration and the will to follow.

And one additional thought. When Jesus, as The Son of Man, proved out the career assigned Him, He was proving out as well the original plan of God for man by demonstrating the living “image of Elohim” (Genesis 1:27), which Adam had failed to do. And so He who lived out the role of Son of Man, now has given the evidence that in that role He is as well truly Son of God.

If we, as children of His new creation, are to become His spiritual descendants by faith, what a character responsibility lies before us! He has pioneered the route, and His blood-drops on the trail show us The Way. We have no excuse. For “a highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called, ‘The way of holiness’; the unclean shall not pass over it: but it shall be for the redeemed: the wayfaring men, yea fools, shall not err therein.” (Isaiah 35:8.) It is the Way of The Son of Man, and of those who would follow Him.

Norman L. MacLeod, Jr.

June, 2004