WHY DOES JESUS REFER TO HIMSELF AS THE SON OF MAN?
Sakkie Parsons
Someone wrote to me and would like to know why Jesus refers to Himself as “the Son of man.
To begin with, I would like to share with you the following statistics:
In the Bible that I read the most, the words “Son of man” appear 86 times in the New Testament.
Jesus practically throughout referred to Himself as “the Son of man” and to understand this we must go to the Old Testament and read the prophecy about Jesus “the Son of man” in Daniel. Because this prophecy is the one that refers to Jesus as “the Son of Man” and was spoken long before Jesus’ coming to earth – Like so many other prophecies that were also prophesied hundreds of years before Jesus’ coming to earth and which all are fulfilled.
This one has already been partially fulfilled.
Now let’s read the prophecy in Daniel 7.
You can read the preceding events yourself from Daniel 7:1, but I share with you what is now in question in this writing:
DAN 7:13-14
The Son of Man Presented
13“I kept looking in the night visions,
And behold, on the clouds of heaven
One like a Son of Man was coming,
And He came up to the Ancient of Days
And was presented before Him.
14“And to Him (the Messiah) was given dominion (supreme authority),
Glory and a kingdom,
That all the peoples, nations, and speakers of every language
Should serve and worship Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
Which will not pass away;
And His kingdom is one
Which will not be destroyed.
Jesus also points back to Himself again and again in this prophecy. So, remember Daniel 7 13-14 if you read the following:
MAT 26:63-64
63But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest said to Him, “I call on You to swear a binding oath by the living God, that you tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God.” 64Jesus said to him, “You have [in fact] said it (that I Am Jesus, the Son of God); but more than that I tell you [regardless of what you do with Me now], in the future you will see [Me revealed as] THE SON OF MAN SEATED AT THE RIGHT HAND OF POWER, and COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN.”
MAT 24:29-30
The Glorious Return
29“Immediately after the tribulation of those days THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT PROVIDE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL FALL from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30And at that time the sign of the Son of Man [coming in His glory] will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth [and especially Israel] will mourn [regretting their rebellion and rejection of the Messiah], and they will see the SON OF MAN (JESUS) COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN with power and great glory [in brilliance and splendor].
Jesus , the Son of man, also told us very clearly in advance; that the day when He comes, in fulfillment of, for example Daniel 7:13-14, it will be a mighty great event and every living person on this earth will know it:
LUKE 17:24-25
24For just like the lightning, when it flashes out of one part of the sky, gives light to the other part of the sky, so [visible] will the Son of Man be in His day. 25But first He must suffer many things and be repudiated and rejected and considered unfit [to be the Messiah] by this [unbelieving] generation.
Did you notice what we just read?
LUKE 17:25 But first He must suffer many things and be repudiated and rejected and considered unfit [to be the Messiah] by this [unbelieving] generation.
We must take very careful note of everything that Jesus said in the approximately 3 years that He established His gospel of loving grace and salvation.
He, that is Jesus, predicted that He would have to suffer first, and He did:
JOHN 19:16-18
The Crucifixion
16Then he handed Him (JESUS) over to them to be crucified.
17So they took Jesus, and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called the Place of the Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha. 18There they crucified Him, and with Him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them.
He, that is Jesus, said He would rise from the dead after 3 days and He did:
MARK 16:5-6
5Entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right, wearing a [long, stately] white robe; and they were amazed and bewildered. 6And he said to them, “Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He (Jesus) has risen; He is not here. See, [here is] the place where they laid Him.
He, that is Jesus, said, He will ascend to heaven again and He said:
ACTS 1:9
The Ascension
9And after He said these things, He was caught up as they looked on, and a cloud took Him up out of their sight. 10While they were looking intently into the sky as He was going, two men in white clothing suddenly stood beside them,
This Jesus, who is GOD who became man, and came to live among us:
JOHN 1:1-5
The Deity of Jesus Christ
1In the beginning [before all time] was the Word (Jesus Christ), and the Word (Jesus) was with God, and the Word (Jesus) was God Himself. 2He (Jesus) was [continually existing] in the beginning [co-eternally] with God. 3All things were made and came into existence through Him (Jesus); and without Him (Jesus) not even one thing was made that has come into being. 4In Him (Jesus) was life [and the power to bestow life], and the life was the Light of men. 5The Light (Jesus) shines on in the darkness, and the darkness did not understand it or overpower it or appropriate it or absorb it [and is unreceptive to it].
JOHN 1:14 The Word Made Flesh14And the Word (Jesus Christ) became flesh, and lived among us; and we [actually] saw His glory, glory as belongs to the [One and] only begotten Son of the Father, [the Son who is truly unique, the only One of His kind, who is] full of grace and truth (absolutely free of deception).
This Jesus, our LORD and Saviour, also said:
MARK 16:15-16
15And He (Jesus) said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16He who has believed [in Me] and has been baptized will be saved [from the penalty of God’s wrath and judgment]; but he who has not believed will be condemned.
No one who has ever heard of Jesus Christ can ever be neutral towards Him.
I am either for Him, or I am against Him and in this relation, Jesus, the Son of man, Himself is saying to us:
MAT 12:30 30He who is not with Me [once and for all on My side] is against Me; and he who does not [unequivocally] gather with Me scatters.
You, who are reading here today, are either a follower of Jesus, or you know about Him – and if you did not know about Him, well, praise the name of the Lord – Now you know about Him.
If you are a follower of Him, you are for Him.
If you only know about Him, you are not neutral. As you have just read, Jesus says that even if you are neutral towards Him, you are against Him.
How do you know that you are for Him?
JOHN 1:12-13
12But to as many as did receive and welcome Him (Jesus Christ), He gave the right [the authority, the privilege] to become children of God, that is, to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) His (Jesus’) name— 13who were born, not of blood [natural conception], nor of the will of the flesh [physical impulse], nor of the will of man [that of a natural father], but of God [that is, a divine and supernatural birth—they are born of God—spiritually transformed, renewed, sanctified].
If you are reading here and you know about Jesus, or who Jesus is – but you have not yet opened your heart to Him – well then today He is doing again in His great loving grace with you, what He, Jesus, also in His Word says what He does to save people after this life from the eternal terrible death in hell, where they are going to die and yet never die:
For that He hung on the cross on Calvary for you and me and every other person who want to accept Him as their personal LORD and Saviour:
REV 3:19-20
19‘Those whom I [dearly and tenderly] love, I rebuke and discipline [showing them their faults and instructing them]; so be enthusiastic and repent [change your inner self—your old way of thinking, your sinful behavior—seek God’s will]. 20‘Behold, I stand at the door [of the church] and continually knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him (restore him), and he with Me. (Making life in the afterlife eternal a feast)
So – What must you do on your part, to have this wonderful relationship with Jesus? As well as and certainty about your eternal future in the afterlife?
I would like to share with you, what for me is the best and simplest answer to this question:
ACTS 2:37
37Now when they heard this(the shortest and most powerful conversion message that I personally know of, which led such a large number of people to conversion, they were cut to the heart [with remorse and anxiety], and they said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what are we to do?”
38And Peter said to them, (first) “Repent [change your old way of thinking, turn from your sinful ways, accept, and follow Jesus as the Messiah] and (second) be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, (the Son of man) because of the forgiveness of your sins; and (praise the Name of the Lord) you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
ACTS 2:39 39“For the promise [of the Holy Spirit] is for you and your children and for all who are far away [including the Gentiles], as many as the Lord our God calls to Himself.” (As He is calling people to Him through this writing.)
If this is your desire to do so, you are looking for a Christian congregation that accept the entire Bible as the inerrant Word of God.
Attend one of their services. Preferably the first Sunday after reading this article.
Meet the pastor/leader of that congregation and make an appointment with him for further guidance.
He will, as is the custom, visit you at your residence.
I should just mention here, that according to my experience, it is usually much easier for a person to meet the pastor of a congregation in a Charismatic/Pentecostal denomination, because the custom is usually among the Charismatic/Pentecostal denominations,
that after a service at the main entrance the Minister/Pastor greets the people as they walk out.
If you have trouble finding such a congregation in your area, write to me and I will try to help.
Sakkie