The Son of Man

Jesus uses the title “The Son of Man” to refer to himself more than any other title. In the Gospel of Mark, it is used fourteen times. For comparison, the title “Son of God” is only used three times in Mark’s Gospel, and Jesus never uses it; it is always other people speaking about him. So, why was this Jesus’ favorite self-designation? To answer that, we must first understand who the Son of Man is.

Who is the Son of Man?

This title is not something new that Jesus came up with and started using. The phrase “son of man” occurs 107 times in the Old Testament. Over ninety of those occurrences are in Ezekiel, and the rest are kind of scattered around, with one really important use of it happening in Daniel.

Strangely enough, most of the time “son of man” is used to highlight humanity. Sometimes it is another way of saying another person (Numbers 23:19, Job 25:6, Psalm 146:3). In Ezekiel, God refers to the prophet as a “son of man” to emphasize his humanity. To borrow a phrase from Francis Schaeffer, the idea we should get when we read son of man in the Old Testament is “the mannishness of man.” There are no special qualities it should bring to mind; if anything, it is contrasting human nature with God’s divine nature.

In Daniel, however, there is one use of this title that changes everything.

Daniel 7:13–14

[13] “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven

there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days

and was presented before him.

[14] And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom,

that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him;

his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away,

and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.

These verses are Daniel’s record of a vision he received from God. In light of how son of man is used in the rest of the Old Testament, it seems like Daniel is saying that a normal-looking man comes before God and is given dominion over everything! This is not just some guy. Whoever this is has the appearance of an average man but is given the power and authority from God to establish an everlasting kingdom.

Jesus, The Son of Man

We know, looking back on all that Jesus did, that he is the one whom Daniel saw in that prophetic vision. It is so clear, he could only be talking about Jesus. But let’s put ourselves in the shoes (or sandals) of the people Jesus was speaking with. They had heard this son of man language before, but it typically referred to a normal guy. This is part of the genius of our Lord.

Was Jesus a man? Yes. His appearance was nothing special, like that of an average construction worker of that day. He was an ordinary son of man, so when he used that title, it didn’t really raise suspicion. One thing that is important to note is the different way Jesus used the term. In the Old Testament, the term is almost always “a son of man,” but when Jesus refers to himself, he says, “the Son of Man.” A son of man is just a man; the Son of Man is the God-Man.

Have you ever wondered why Jesus often told people not to talk about him or share what he did (Matthew 16:20; Mark 8:29-30; Luke 9:20-21)? It was because his time had not yet come (John 7:6, 8). When Jesus calls himself the Son of Man, he is proclaiming that he is the one in the vision from Daniel 7, while also claiming that he is fully man, just like those around him.

This title is a beautiful testimony to Jesus being fully God and fully man. He became like us so he could save us, but he is also set apart from us so that he can bring us into his glory—the same glory that was promised him in Daniel 7. So, when we read that the Son of Man has authority (Mark 2:10) or that he came to serve us (Mark 10:45), it should reveal to us the brilliance of God’s plan and Christ’s work for our salvation.