The Son of Man

“And he said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you.”

(Ezekiel 2:1 ESV)

The Son of Man. We are used to hearing Jesus call Himself this name. But did you know that the label “Son of Man” is used in many other books in the Old Testament? Why is this so?

In Ezekiel, God speaks to the prophet He has called into God’s service. It is a label for a human, a child of God who is man. God uses it 93 times when addressing Ezekiel. It is used in Jeremiah to describe places destroyed by God that no “son of man” shall dwell.

Jesus uses this name for Himself for a different reason.

Jesus uses the phrase "the Son of Man" to link Himself to Daniel 7:13-14. Daniel wrote, “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.” Obviously, it is a messianic prophecy to which Jesus used to profess His kingship.

Jesus also used the “the Son of Man” to refer to being human, the incarnation of God in the flesh. The Son of Man is different than Ezekiel, who was called the “Son of Man.” The use or lack of the word “the” is a critical difference often overlooked. Jesus was 100% man and 100% God. He emptied Himself by the addition of His humanity. Jesus is the only perfect, sinless human, which is why He could pay for our sins with His blood and satisfy the wrath of God.

Jesus always used “the Son of man” when He spoke of Himself, “The Son of Man must be lifted up,” “for the Son of man is coming with His angels in the glory of His Father,” “for the son of man goes as it is written about Him.” These are all examples of Jesus using “the Son of man” to describe Himself.

It is vital that we take great care when we read the Bible. Missing or ignoring a simple word like “the” changes the whole context of the verse. The Son of man came, He preached, He died, and He rose again in fulfillment of scripture that we may be saved through faith in Him alone and receive eternal life.

Peace and Grace!