What does it mean that Jesus is the Son of Man?

The title that our blessed Lord often applied to himself is the title "the Son of Man", see ( Matthew 12; 8, Mark 9; 31, Luke 9; 56, John 5; 27). When God called Ezekiel "Son of Man", he was simply calling him a "human being" (Ezekiel 2; 1, 8, 8; 6, 11; 4). The term "Son of Man" emphasized the fact that the prophet was a human being. And when Jesus called himself "the Son of Man", he was simply saying that he is truly human as we are, only that he is without sin (1 John 3; 5). It is amazing that the eternal Son of God, who is of the same essence with God, voluntarily took on a human nature, and identified himself as the Son of Man. Jesus was not half human when he dwelt among us, but was fully human just as we are. He ate: The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds."  (Matthew 11; 19), he rejoiced in spirit: At that very time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and said, "I praise You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight. (Luke 10; 21), he was exhausted and thirsty: And Jacob's well was there. So Jesus, being wearied from His journey, was sitting thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give Me a drink" (John 4; 6-7), he slept: And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being covered with the waves; but Jesus Himself was asleep (Matthew 8; 24), he was grieved: Then He said to them, "My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me (Matthew 26; 38) and even died: Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit  (John 19; 30). Jesus on earth was one hundred percent human. The truth about the humanity of Christ is taught in the scriptures, and we must be willing to defend it when the need arises.

 The title "the Son of Man" is also a Messianic title. Let us look at the Messianic prophecy of Daniel: 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 (Daniel 7:13-14). When Jesus was summoned before the Sanhedrin, and was interrogated concerning his identity, he unhesitatingly quoted the prophecy of Daniel and directly applied it to himself: And the high priest arose, and said unto him, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee? But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven (Matthew 26: 62-64). So in the prophecy of Daniel, the awesome figure with the title "the Son of Man", that figure is the Messiah. He was given glory, a kingdom and an everlasting dominion. When Jesus stood before the council, he made it clear to them that he was "the Son of Man" their Messiah and King that Daniel implicitly spoke about. 

The title "the Son of Man" is also a divine title. Jesus said: For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day (Matthew 12: 8). We know from the old testament, that God instituted the Sabbath day for the children of Israel (Deuteronomy 5). Jesus made the claim that he is Lord of the Sabbath, which signifies that he was the one who instituted the Sabbath back in the old testament. In another place, the bible says; But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy (Mark 2; 10). As the Son of Man, he had the power on earth to forgive sin, a divine prerogative that only God wields, and the Son of Man exercised such authority. As the Son of Man he will judge the world, for the father will not judge anyone, but has committed all judgement to the Son of Man, see (John 5; 22). When you take a second look at the prophecy of Daniel, you will notice that the "Son of Man" that Daniel saw in the night vision was a ''divine figure''. Because he was given glory, a kingdom and an eternal dominion and that all nations and people of diverse languages shall serve him. The Hebrew meaning of "serve" is to "worship".

 This means that divine worship and obeisance will be ascribed to the Son of Man by all people on that day. The council understood this, and that was why they sentenced Jesus to death for blasphemy, in keeping with their law: Moreover, the one who blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death; all the congregation shall certainly stone him. The alien as well as the native, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death (Leviticus 24; 16). But Jesus wasn't blaspheming, he was declaring his identity to them, as the Son of Man. The title "the Son of Man" reveals the incomparable humility of our blessed Lord. For Jesus to leave heaven and set aside his glory as God for awhile, in order to take on flesh and die a shameful death on an accursed cross for our sake (Galatians 3; 13), truly reveals is humble nature. The title "the Son of Man" helps us to comprehend who Jesus is. God bless you
                       A thought to ponder
For Jesus to leave heaven and set aside his glory as God for awhile, in order to take on flesh and die on an accursed cross for our sake, truly reveals is humble nature

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