Jesus: One Like a Son of Man

Terms for Jesus

What do we do with the different terms used to explain the identity of Jesus? One obvious thing we do is we use them all the time. We often talk about Jesus as “savior,” “redeemer,” or “sacrifice.” We use these terms assuming our hearers know what we mean by them and we use them because we’re comfortable that they each explain at least a part of who Jesus is. In that, they’re good terms and we can be helped and help others by using them. 

“Savior,” “redeemer,” and “sacrifice” aren’t the only terms out there that describe who Jesus is, though. In fact, they’re not even the most common terms used of him in the Gospels. “Savior” is only used three times in the Gospels (twice in Luke and once in John) and, of those three times, only two are explicitly about Jesus. “Redeemer” and “sacrifice” are never used about Jesus in Gospels. Am I suggesting that we should stop using these words? No. I am, however, suggesting that we might benefit from using more Gospel familiar terms when we want to talk about Jesus. 

The Big Three

From what I can tell, there are three (or four, depending on how you count them) main terms used in explicit reference to Jesus (either by him directly or by others) throughout the Gospels. Those are—in order of least to most common: “Son of God,” “Messiah”/“Christ,” and “Son of Man.” “Son of God” occurs 22 times throughout the Gospels in explicit reference to Jesus but only one of those occurrences comes from Jesus himself. “Messiah”/“Christ” occurs 56 times throughout the Gospels in explicit reference to Jesus with only 11 of those occurrences coming directly from Jesus. “Son of Man” occurs 82 times throughout the Gospels in explicit reference to Jesus with 79 of those occurrences coming directly from Jesus.

As you consider those numbers you may be shocked at the usage of “Son of God.” The term that we (everyday Christians) probably use more than any other term available to us to describe who Jesus is, is the least used of the big three terms we have in the Gospels. It seems the question for us to consider is why are we most comfortable using the least utilized term for Jesus? It could be because we aren’t sure what the most often used term means.

Son of God and Son of Man

If Jesus really is God, why in the world wouldn’t he use a term that seems to point out that fact in the clearest way possible? “Son of God” has it right in the name—God! It’s precisely here, with a question like this one, where our misunderstanding becomes the clearest. We assume that, because a term for Jesus has the word “God” in it, it must be the best one to use in order to identity him as who he truly is. The remedy for this misunderstanding is to take a closer look at the term used most often by Jesus—“Son of Man”.

At first glance the term “Son of Man” seems to be doing nothing more than identifying Jesus as a man like the rest of mankind. And this, of course, is not a bad thing to do. You see, in the early days of the church, Christians were up against a type of teaching that didn’t deny Jesus’s divinity but denied his humanity. These people were completely fine with Jesus being God but they were positive he couldn’t be a man at the same time. Hence the usefulness of a term that focused on his humanity. Today, however, we have the exact opposite problem. People all over the world seem to bend in some sense to the teaching of the church when they say that Jesus was a real person. Those same people, though, will not concede the fact that Jesus was (at the same time) divine—God-incarnate. Hence the usefulness (for us) of a term that focused on his divinity—“Son of God.” Why then did Jesus, of all people, use a term that seemed to focus on only one aspect of his existence?

One Like a Son of Man

Unfortunately, Daniel has turned out to be one of those apocalyptic writings (Revelation included) that seem to offer more questions than it does answers. Because of this, we don’t always benefit from the ways in which the New Testament writers (and Jesus himself) reached back to connect Daniel with their worldview. When we do follow their reaching back lights get turned on that have been turned off for a while; specifically, lights shining on the term “Son of Man.”

There comes a point in the Book of Daniel where Daniel has a dream that includes four beasts. The first looked like a lion, the second looked like a bear, the third looked like a leopard, and the fourth was “terrifying and frightening and powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left” (Dan. 7:7). After dreaming of the four beasts Daniel dreamed that a horn on the fourth beast began to talk (Dan. 7:8). As the horn spoke boastful words Daniel saw that thrones were set in place and the Ancient of Days—God—sat down (Dan 7:9-10). Daniel then watched in his dream as the fourth beast was slain and destroyed in a blazing fire (Dan. 7:11).

The next scene in Daniel’s dream is the one that helps us out the most as we consider the “Son of Man” term for Jesus.

“ ‘In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshipped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.’ ” (Dan. 7:13-14)           

In this stage of the dream Daniel sees one like a son of man (i.e. a human being) coming with the clouds of heaven. This last phrase is often understood to mean that this son of man was coming down to Earth but that’s not the picture the text seems to paint. This son of man is coming with the clouds of heaven to the Ancient of Days. The son of man coming with the clouds of heaven is not a journey to Earth; it’s a journey to God. Next, the son of man is given authority, glory, and sovereign power. In other words, this son of man is given what belongs only to God. Lastly, everyone worships the son of man and his kingdom will be one that remains forever. Only God is worshipped and only God has a kingdom that remains forever.

What we’re left with is a puzzle. A human being is brought into the presence of God, given what belongs to God, and worshipped by everyone. As puzzling as it may seem, it’s quite clear that this one like a son of man is much more than just a man; he’s God.

Why Do We Need Any More Witnesses?

After Jesus got arrested he was brought before quite a few people to determine what he was going to be charged with and how they were going to handle this person who seemed to be starting a revolution.

In Mark 14 we’re told that Jesus was brought to the high priest and the whole Sanhedrin as they were looking for evidence against him so they could put him to death (Mk. 14:53-55). The problem for them is that they couldn’t find any. There were plenty of people who stood up to testify falsely against Jesus but they couldn’t get their stories straight (Mk. 14:56). In a last ditch effort some said they heard Jesus say he was going to destroy the temple and rebuild it within three days (Mk. 14:57-59). The high priest seemed to have enough of what was going on and asked Jesus plainly if he was going to respond to anything that had been said about him (Mk. 14:60-61). Jesus did not answer the high priest (Mk. 15:61a). Finally, the high priest asked Jesus himself if he was the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One (Mk. 15:61b). Jesus’s response proved to be the last straw.

“ ‘I am,’ said Jesus. ‘And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming with the clouds of heaven.’ ” (Mk. 14:62).

This was it for high priest. He tore his robes and cried out, “Why do we need any more witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?” (Mk. 14:63-64). Crucify him is what they thought. When the words “you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the mighty one and coming with clouds of heaven” went into the ears of the high priest, he knew exactly what Jesus had said. This was no mere revolutionary he was questioning. This was no mere troublemaker. This was no mere miracle-worker. This was a man proclaiming to be God. If it wasn’t true this was blasphemy and, for the high priest, it couldn’t be true. They were going to show the world just how untrue it was by staking him to a cross to die. 

Jesus Believed He was the Son of Man

What did Jesus believe to be true? Why was his favorite term for himself “Son of Man?” It was because Jesus knew exactly who he was. He saw himself as the fulfillment of the son of man in Daniel 7. He saw himself as the one who has all authority, dominion, and sovereign power. He saw himself as the one who is rightly worshipped by everyone. He saw himself as God in the flesh. Jesus was no mere man but he was one like a son of man. Jesus was and is God in the flesh.

Considering all this we then have a chance to reorder some of what we thought to be true about Jesus. We certainly believe him to be the “Son of God” for he is. We certainly believe him to be the “Messiah” or the “Christ” for he is. And, as with the other two terms, we can certainly believe him to be the exalted, righteous, one worthy of worship that belongs to God, the “Son of Man” for he is.

The Deity of Jesus (Part 1)

The fact that Jesus is God is paramount and foundational to orthodox Christian belief. If Jesus is understood to be something other than God then one no longer has Christianity. As a result, this is one of the main doctrines that are attacked when the authority of the Bible and thus the claims of Christianity are being questioned. If it can be proven that Jesus never claimed to be God or that the New Testament writers never understood him to be God then with that goes Christianity. It is my hope through this series of articles, which all focused on the deity of Jesus, that they would help strengthen your belief that Jesus is God in the flesh and that they would also give you solid footings within the Scriptures that confirm this truth. If you are reading these as one who does not believe that Jesus is God it is my hope that God would be pleased to use these articles to open your eyes to the truth of Jesus as the incarnate God-man.

ONLY GOD CAN FORGIVE SIN

“And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’ 6 Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, 7 ‘Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?’” (Mark 2:5-7, ESV)

Imagine a scenario for a moment: A small group of people break into your house while you are away and steal whatever it is that they want. Not only do they take what is yours but they also set fire to your house on their way out. Now imagine that I visit the people in prison that did this and I tell all of them, “Don’t worry, I forgive you for what you did.” How would you respond to this? You would rightfully call me out on my tremendous misstep in forgiving them on your behalf. Why? Because they did not break into and burn down my house, they broke into and burned down your house. How in the world can I forgive someone of sin that they did not commit against me? I cannot do that. Only the offended person or persons have the capability to forgive their offenders.

In 2 Samuel 12 we read of the prophet Nathan confronting King David about his adultery with Bathsheba, his killing of Uriah and other members of the military, and his responsibility for the death of his baby. These are the people whom King David has offended with his sin and yet we read this coming from the mouth of David, “I have sinned against the LORD” (2 Samuel 12:13). At this point in the story we should rightly be wondering to ourselves about how this can be. We know that David has ruined the lives of many people (including the death of several) and yet David sees his sin as offending one person most of all—God. Next, maybe even more surprising, is what Nathan tells David on behalf of God as he says, “The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die” (2 Samuel 12:13). What! How can God do this? God can do this because, the one whom David has offended most of all with his sin is God. Therefore, God is ultimately the one who is most able to forgive David.

Now, we come to Mark 2 and we are confronted with a story featuring Jesus as he is preaching the word to a group of people in a home all the while a paralyzed man is lowered through the roof to get to Jesus. As the man is being lowered, Mark tells us that Jesus sees their faith and then says, “Son, your sins are forgiven” (Mark 2:5). Jesus sees the collective faith of the people (including the one being lowered through the roof) and tells the one lowered through that his sins are forgiven. This causes a major problem inside some of those who see what is going on and they voice their disagreement with what has just happened. In verse 7 they say, “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

They ask the right question: Who can forgive sins but God alone? They rightly understand the truth that God is the most offended party with sin and thus the only one that is able to forgive sins. It may be even that the story of David and Nathan is in the back of their heads as they think through what is happening before them. Whatever the case is, they see that this man Jesus is claiming to forgive the sins of the man being lowered down through the roof and they conclude that this is wrong because only God can forgive sins.

Jesus hears this complaint and responds not by telling them that they are wrong but by explaining to them what is happening. Jesus says, “But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home” (Mark 2:10-11). What has Jesus just said here? He has not corrected those who voiced their disapproval with the situation. He could have easily corrected them by explaining that it wasn’t actually him that was forgiving sins, he was simply speaking of the forgiveness that God has given. Instead, he explains that he has the authority to pronounce this forgiveness. Because of this he is called a blasphemer, which is the right assignment for this act of forgiveness of Jesus unless he is God. If Jesus is God then what he has done is correct and right and loving. Jesus, the incarnate God, has looked into the situation before him, witnessed the faith of the man and his friends, and pronounced forgiveness upon the man.

This is not blasphemy. This is a righteous act. This is God—Jesus—forgiving sin.