The Names and Nature of Messiah, Part 3: Son of Man

An important prophecy about the Messiah was recorded over 500 years before the time of Jesus by the prophet Daniel:

“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed” (Daniel 7:13-14).

An important part of this prophecy is the term “son of man.” Literally, it simply means what one would guess: “human being.” But in this vision this human being is showing signs of being more than human. He was coming with the clouds, approaching God Himself, taking on authority, glory, and power, being worshiped, and ruling forever! This was no ordinary son of man. One massive question arises: How could this human being in the presence of God be worshiped by every nation and language unless He too was divine? Could this be the Son of God who will reign forever—the promised Messiah?

Of course, the scene described in Daniel has not yet taken place. It is linked to events prophesied in the book of Revelation which describe future events. But it is very significant to us now in understanding Who Jesus was claiming to be when He called Himself the “Son of Man” in the New Testament gospels. For instance, let’s look at Mark 2:1-12:

A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”

On this occasion, Jesus was claiming to be the “Son of Man” and acting like it. First, He forgave the man of his sin. As the teachers of the Mosaic law rightly pointed out, only God could forgive sins. But the Father had given Him authority as the Son of Man to forgive sins. Second, to show His authority in a tangible way He healed the man. This pointed to sovereign power the Father gave Him as the Son of Man. Note that, though Jesus was also God, He set aside His own authority, glory and power as God when He took on a human nature. From the time of His birth to the moment He died He used only the power and authority given to Him as Messiah by the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

While on earth Jesus lived a model life for us. The same Holy Spirit that was available to Him is living in us as Christians. Not only that, but Christ shares His authority, glory and power with us as His ambassadors in this world. Too often we forget that Jesus does not just offer us forgiveness but also eternal life. That means both that we get to live together in fellowship with Him forever and that He now shares the qualities of His life with us. His righteousness, His peace, His holiness, His power, His love, His wisdom, and so much more—God shares Himself with us in Christ through the indwelling of His Spirit! That means that no matter what the situation or temptation may be we are more than conquerors through Christ! So let’s add to our daily prayers a plea for God to teach us how to walk in the fullness of His eternal life every day.