Son of Man

This week is another two-fer, Son of God and Son of Man. Why do these two go together?

Together the titles of Son of Man and Son of God express the incredible mystery of the incarnation–that the second person of the Trinity came down from heaven to become one of us so that we could be one with him. – Ann Spangler in Praying the Names of God for 52 Weeks

Just as with the concept of the Trinity-God in three persons, I have a hard time wrapping my brain around Jesus being fully God and fully Man. But that’s okay – I don’t have to understand it to accept that God can do it.

I’ll focus on Son of Man in this post and look at Son of God in the next.

We catch a glimpse of this Son of Man in the Old Testament. In the first year of Belshazzar’s reign, Daniel has a vision. The Ancient of Days (the First Person of the Trinity) is seated on a wheeled throne – that’s on fire! Countless heavenly beings are attending Him, and he is passing judgment.

Side note: the fire and the wheels on the throne in Daniel 7 are consistent with Ezekiel’s vision in Ezekiel 1. They saw the same throne.

Daniel and Ezekiel were real people. They saw visions of actual things. I can’t wait to see that throne for myself.

Then:

“I kept looking in the night visions,

And behold, with 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.

“And to Him was given dominion,

Glory and a kingdom,

That all the peoples, nations and men of every language

Might serve Him.

His dominion is an everlasting dominion

Which will not pass away;

And His kingdom is one

Which will not be destroyed.” – Daniel 7:13-14

This gives me chills.

In this vision, Daniel sees dominion conferred on “one like a son of man.” With 20/20 hindsight, we know that’s Jesus. But was Daniel shocked that a man would have authority over an everlasting kingdom?

Chuck Missler used an analogy that helped me understand, in some small way, the sacrifice Jesus made in becoming man. His story is as profound as it is entertaining –there are chihuahuas in it. You can find it here.

Jesus humbled Himself to become man, and he used the term Son of Man more than 80 times to refer to himself. In so doing, He demonstrates both authority and fulfillment of prophecy.

The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath – Matthew 12:8
The Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth for 3 days just as Jonah was in the belly of the fish. – Matthew 12:40
The Son of Man sows the good seed. – Matthew 13:37
The Son of Man has authority over angels. – Matthew 13:41
In the future, the Son of Man will come in glory with His angels to judge the people. – Matthew 16:27-28
The Son of Man came to serve and to give his life as a ransom. – Matthew 24:27
The Son of Man will be betrayed. – Matthew 26:45
The Son of Man will be sitting at the right hand of power, coming on the clouds – Matthew 26:64

He’ll always be the Son of God, and He’ll always be the Son of Man. How can this Son of Man command such authority? Because He’s the Son of God, too. And that’s next.

This year long series is based on Ann Spangler’s Praying the Names of God for 52 Weeks