Son of Man - Word Foundations

The term Son of Man is found in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. In the Old Testament it appears as a reference to humanity (as in Num. 23:19; Ps. 8:4) and as a designation used by God to address Ezekiel (as in Ezek. 2:1-3; 3:2-4, and many other places in Ezekiel’s prophecy). In Daniel 8:17 it refers to Daniel, but in Daniel 7:13-14 it clearly designates someone with divine qualities.

Even where Son of Man unmistakably points to members of the human race, the meaning can be deeper. In Psalm 8:4-6, David wrote,

What is man that You are mindful of him,
And the son of man that You visit him?
For You have made him a little lower than the angels,
And You have crowned him with glory and honor.
You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet” (NKJV).

Clearly, David was writing here about people, God’s highest creation. But these words have another meaning; they are messianic. In Hebrews 2:5-6, the writer of Hebrews said, “For He [God] has not put the world to come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels. But one testified in a certain place, saying:”—and then he quoted Psalm 8:4-6, which we have just quoted above.¹ Then the writer of Hebrews continued: “For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him. But now we do not yet see all things put under him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone” (Heb. 2:8b-9, NKJV).

In the New Testament, Son of Man appears a total of 88 times. It appears 84 times in the Gospels, with John 12:34 representing the only time it didn’t come from Jesus’ own lips.² Thus—significantly—Jesus used this title often to refer to Himself.

Jesus “looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, hurry and come down because today I must stay at your house.’ So he quickly came down and welcomed Him joyfully.” Zacchaeus’s encounter with Jesus changed him from the inside out, and Jesus said, “Today salvation has come to this house,…because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:5-6,9-10).

Uses of the title by Jesus can be grouped into three broad classifications: (1) those pointing to His glorious future return, as in Matthew 24:27; (2) those foretelling the suffering He would endure, as well as His execution by crucifixion and His resurrection, as in Mark 10:33-34; and (3) those highlighting Jesus’ current ministry, as in Mark 2:10-12 and Luke 19:10.³

While the term Son of Man had messianic overtones (as is clear from Daniel 7:13-14), in another sense it was intentionally vague, giving people the opportunity to respond to Jesus and His ministry in faith. Thus, those open to Jesus would have the opportunity to grow in their understanding of Him and their reliance on Him, and those closed to Him wouldn’t “get it.” This dynamic reminds us of the explanation Jesus gave His disciples about why He taught in parables (see Matt. 13:10-17).

Notes:

¹In Hebrews 2:5-8, the quotation of Psalm 8:4-6 reads,

What is man that You are mindful of him,
Or the son of man that You take care of him?
You have made him a little lower than the angels;
You have crowned him with glory and honor,
And set him over the works of Your hands.
You have put all things in subjection under his feet.

²“SON OF MAN” in the Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, (Nashville: Holman, 2003), 1517.

³Ibid., 1517-1518.

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations in this article are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.