Why Did Jesus Call Himself the "Son of Man?"

Like other names of Jesus, we sometimes read them in Scripture and just move on. The words have become familiar. Often, we don’t think about the deep meaning each word can have to teach us ever deeper about who God is.

The Son of Man-meaning Jesus-is one of those names in the Word we sometimes breeze past. It is a powerful, deeply meaningful name. It speaks of Jesus in our past, present, and future.

God reveled a vision of the future to the prophet Daniel (the same Daniel who was thrown into the lion’s den). Some parts of what He revealed to Daniel is still future to us. Let’s look at one of those places from Daniel 7:13-14:

“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, Honor, and a kingdom, So that all the peoples, nations, and populations of all languages 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

There in the book of Daniel is the vision of the future. The Son of Man in this verse refers to Jesus, the second part of the trinity of God (Jesus was always there even though He had not yet come to earth born in Bethlehem).

How do we know the name “Son of Man” refers to Jesus? Because Jesus referred to Himself as the Son of Man over and over in the Bible. Jesus wanted all people to understand that He was The Son of Man. To do that, He called Himself the Son of Man many, many times during His earthly ministry.

Out of the many possible verses to use in this short blog post, I chose the following verses because in all of them, Jesus calls Himself the Son of Man:

^“No one has ascended into heaven, except He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that everyone who believes in Him have eternal life.” John 3:13-15.

“For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” Matthew 12:8.

“But in order that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins ….” Mark 2:10.

“For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Luke 19:10.

“Jesus heard that they had put him out; and finding him, He said, ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?’ He answered and said, ‘And who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?’ Jesus said to him, ‘You have both seen Him, and He is the one who is talking with you.’” John 9:35-37.

“For He was teaching His disciples and telling them, ‘The Son of Man is to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him; and when He has been killed, He will rise three days later.’” Mark 9:31.

“Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and will deliver Him to the Gentiles. And they will mock Him and spit upon Him, and scourge Him, and kill Him, and three days later He will rise again.” Mark 10:33-34.

When standing before the high priest after His arrest, Jesus referred to Himself as the Son of Man at His second coming:

“But He kept silent, and make no answer, Again the high priest was questioning Him, and saying to Him ‘Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?’ And Jesus said, ‘I am; and you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power and coming with the clouds of heaven.’” Mark 14:61-62.

Jesus was connecting the vision of Daniel to Himself. The book of Revelation shows Jesus as the Son of Man. Jesus, the Son of Man, is the one who will return on the clouds in the future.

When will the Son of Man return in the clouds? At His second coming, when time as we know it is over. After the events of Revelation have happened:

“Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.” Revelation 1:7.

The best way to end this blog is to use the last two verses of the Bible:

“He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming quickly.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.” Revelation 22:20-21.

Come, Lord Jesus.

Carla Killough McClafferty