When we read the Gospels, we see that Jesus usually referred to Himself as the ‘Son of Man’. No one else in the entire four Gospels ever calls Him by that title. They call Him ‘Rabbi’; they call Him ‘Lord’; they call Him ‘Master’, but no one else ever calls Him ‘Son of Man’. What does this title mean? We should know. There are some who feel the focus of Jesus’ title, ‘Son of Man’ was exclusively on His humanity. But those who think this without a thorough study of the scriptures would be in error. The title ‘Son of Man’ is found 81 times in the four accounts of Jesus’ life and words, which we refer to as the gospels. Notably, this title is also found in the Old Testament. One such instance is Daniel 7:13 – 14: “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 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.”Here, in Daniel’s vision, he saw two individuals in particular. One is the Ancient of Days, a title which is given to God and mentioned three times in Daniel 7. The other person mentioned is One like a ‘Son of Man’ , referring to the fact that He was human in His appearance, but some additional facts about this personage in this passage bring a whole lot more to the description of Him:1) He was given sovereign power2) All nations worshiped Him3) He was the king of an eternal kingdomThis leaves us with only one conclusion; namely, that this one like a ‘Son of Man’ was MORE than just a man. This reference is just one in the Old Testament that points to the coming of a great king who would rescue God’s people from their sins and release them from slavery. This expected deliverer came to be called the Messiah, which means ‘anointed one’.Since the time that the book of Daniel was written in approximately 400 BC, the Jews rightly saw this person in Daniel 7:13 – 14 as the Messiah. Therefore, at the time of Jesus, they were expecting ‘the One like a Son of Man’. So in the gospels, when Jesus used the term ‘Son of Man’, He was not simply denoting His humanity, but was using a title that referred to this special person in the prophecy of Daniel. What else did Jesus reveal about the ‘Son of Man’?1) That He had the power to forgive sins:Matthew 9:5 – 6 – ‘Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…’ Then He said to the paralytic, ‘Get up, take your mat and go home.’2) That He is Lord of the Sabbath:Matthew 12:8 – ‘For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.’3) That He is the King of a Kingdom and the angels are His:Matthew 13:41 – ‘The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will weed out of His kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.’Matthew 16:27 – 28 — “For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works. Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”4) That He is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God:Matthew 16:13 – 17 – When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, ‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’ They replied, ‘Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’‘But what about you?’ He asked. ‘Who do you say I am?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ [Messiah], the Son of the Living God.’Jesus replied, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.’5) That He was to be killed and raised from the dead (resurrected):Luke 18:31 – 33 – Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, ‘We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. He will be handed over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him, spit on him, flog him and kill him. On the third day He will rise again.’Matthew 12:40 – “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” (ALSO: Matthew 17:9, 22, 23; 20:18 – 19; 26:2; Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:33 – 34; Luke 9:22)6) That He was to give His life as a ransom for many:Matthew 20:28 – ‘…the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.’7) That He was unique and came from heaven:John 3:13 – ‘No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven – the Son of Man.’ 8) That all who believe in Him are to have eternal life:John 3:14 – 15 – ‘Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.’9) That He accepted worship:John 9:35 – 38 – “Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when He found him, He said, ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?’ ‘Who is He sir?’ the man asked. ‘Tell me so that I may believe in Him.’Jesus said, ‘You have now seen Him; in fact, He is the one speaking with you.’Then the man said, ‘Lord, I believe,’ and he worshiped Him.”10) That He has authority to judge:John 5:26 – 27 – “For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man.”11) That He is going to come again:Luke 12:40 – ‘You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him.’12) That He will be seen in His divine glory:Luke 9:26 – “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels.”John 1:51 – “And He said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”Additionally, the following reference from Revelation 1:12 – 18 provides more information. John, in his vision from God, says: “I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw… someone ‘like a SON OF MAN’, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of rushing waters… His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. When I saw Him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then He placed His right hand on me and said: ‘Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.’It has been supposed by some that there is very little evidence in the Bible to substantiate the Christian belief that Jesus is God, but a thorough reading of the Bible can leave us with no option other than to conclude that Jesus is the SON OF MAN, and that this title means that He was more than a good man, more than a teacher, more than a prophet. He is indeed GOD.” . . . the high priest answered and said to Him, “I put You under oath by the Living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!”Jesus said to him, “It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the SON OF MAN sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.” (Matthew 26:63 – 64)So it is written: “Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9 – 11)”Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”(Luke 21:36)_____________________________________Dr. Jonathan David Sarfati sent me the following video which I am adding here, which is an excellent answer from an ex-Muslim to this question in which he proves that: the Son of Man was a MORE explicit claim to divinity than the Son of God in that context, agreeing with this article! Watch at this link- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zSldbDcNEUProblem: “Is Jesus God?” solved by Ex Muslim (Dr. Nabeel Qureshi speaking at Georgia Tech.) And I will add three more scripture studies on this topic. Here is the first link: “The Deity of Jesus Christ”, https://www.facebook.com/…/pb…/832347193487562/…Here is the second link. I will point out with this link that IF Jesus is to be worshiped as He is by the title, “Lamb of God”, He has to be God, for we are absolutely forbidden to worship anyone but God. https://www.facebook.com/…/pb…/824916560897292/…And the third: “Who can forgive sins but God alone? Good Question, right?” https://www.facebook.com/…/pb…/841715949217353/…
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