If you've read through the gospel books of the New Testament, you've read about how Jesus refered to himself as the "Son of Man." For instance, Matthew 17:22 says "When they came together in Galilee, he [Jesus] said to them, 'The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men.'"Often times, we can certainly see how Jesus was a man, while seeing him as God can be a lot harder. The verses in scripture when he calls himself the Son of Man don't seem to help either. It makes you think, So, Jesus, are you just a man?
Mark Strauss, professor of New Testament at Bethel Seminary, shows the beauty of that title and why Jesus would call himself that if He was fully God. Take a Bible out and underline this verse:
"In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of haeaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence." ~ Daniel 7:13
Wow, what a picture! When Jesus calls himself the Son of Man, he's got this Old Testament verse in mind. He obviously knew it because the Old Testament was more memorized and internalized by the Jewish nation than by any other group of people. He, of course, was acknowledging his humanity by the very conotations that came with that title, but at the same time, he also was referring to the autority and divinity that talked about in Daniel 7:13. And isn't that picture so true of who we believe Jesus is? The next verse in Daniel goes on to say:
"He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men 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."
Now that's God! That passage was written a long time ago. If you fast forward from when that verse was penned up to the life of Jesus, you'll hear Jesus say stuff like this: "But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven." ~ Matthew 26:64.
Now that's God: Jesus, the Son of God and the Son of Man.
