What does it mean that Jesus is the Son of Man? (2024)

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Jesus is referred to as the “Son of Man” 82 times in the New Testament (NIV and ESV). In fact, Son of Man is the primary title Jesus used when referring to Himself (e.g., Matthew 12:32; 13:37; Luke 12:8; John 1:51). The only use of Son of Man in a clear reference to Jesus, spoken by someone other than Jesus, came from the lips of Stephen as he was being martyred (Acts 7:56).


Son of Man is a title of humanity. Other titles for Christ, such as Son of God, are overt in their focus on His deity. Son of Man, in contrast, focuses on the humanity of Christ. God called the prophet Ezekiel “son of man” 93 times. In this way, God was simply calling Ezekiel a human being. Son of man is simply a periphrastic term for “human.” Jesus Christ was truly a human being. He came “in the flesh” (1 John 4:2).

Son of Man is a title of humility. The Second Person of the Trinity, eternal in nature, left heaven’s glory and took on human flesh, becoming the Son of Man, born in a manger and “despised and rejected by mankind” (Isaiah 53:3). The Son of Man had “no place to lay his head” (Luke 9:58). The Son of Man ate and drank with sinners (Matthew 11:19). The Son of Man suffered at the hands of men (Matthew 17:12). This intentional lowering of His status from King of Heaven to Son of Man is the epitome of humility (see Philippians 2:6–8).

Son of Man is a title of deity. Ezekiel may have been a son of man, but Jesus is the Son of Man. As such, Jesus is the supreme example of all that God intended mankind to be, the embodiment of truth and grace (John 1:14). In Him “all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form” (Colossians 2:9). For this reason, the Son of Man was able to forgive sins (Matthew 9:6). The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath (Mark 2:28). The Son of Man came to save lives (Luke 9:56; 19:10), rise from the dead (Mark 9:9), and execute judgment (John 5:27). At His trial before the high priest, Jesus said, “I say to all of you: From now on 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). This statement immediately ended the trial, as the court accused the Lord of blasphemy and condemned Him to death (verses 65–66).

Son of Man is a fulfillment of prophecy. Jesus’ claim before the high priest to be the Son of Man was a reference to the prophecy of Daniel 7:13–14, “I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him. Then 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 the one Which shall not be destroyed” (NKJV). Daniel saw glory, worship, and an everlasting kingdom given to the Messiah—here called the “Son of Man”—and Jesus applied this prophecy to Himself. Jesus also spoke of His coming kingdom on other occasions (Matthew 13:41; 16:28). The author of Hebrews used a reference to the “son of man” in the Psalms to teach that Jesus, the true Son of Man, will be the ruler of all things (Hebrews 2:5–9; cf. Psalm 8:4–6). The Son of Man, in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, will be the King.

Jesus was fully God (John 1:1), but He was also fully human (John 1:14). As the Son of God and the Son of Man, He is deserving of both titles.

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What does it mean that Jesus is the Son of Man? (2024)

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What does it mean that Jesus is the Son of Man? ›

The common understanding is that "Son of God

Son of God
In Christianity, the title "Son of God" refers to the status of Jesus as the divine son of God the Father. It derives from several uses in the New Testament and early Christian theology. The term is used in all four gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, and the Pauline and Johannine literature.
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Son_of_God
" implies his deity—which it does—and that "Son of Man" implies his humanity, which it does too. He was a son of man, that is, a human being. And he is the Son of God, in that he has always existed as the Eternally Begotten One who comes forth from the Father forever.

What does it mean when Jesus says he is the son of man? ›

The designation Son of Man means, for Jesus, both that he is human as we are, a son of Adam, and that he is the coming Messiah, who has been given authority by the Most High and reigns over his kingdom through his weakness, seen most clearly at the cross.

What does the Bible mean when it says enough is enough? ›

There is a point at which God says 'Enough is enough! ' A point where the sin, the evil, the suffering, has reached saturation point. A point where the judgement must and will fall.

What is the meaning of Jesus is enough? ›

Christ is enough. He is supreme and unique and completely unrivaled. Please see that. Trust Him and His work alone. We don't need to look to anyone or anything else for our salvation and standing before God.

What is the meaning of the son of a man? ›

In the Old Testament “Son of Man” means “human being.” We read in Psalm 8: What is mankind [Hebrew enosh] that you are mindful of them, human beings [Hebrew ben adam] that you care for them? ( Ps 8:4 NIV, emphasis mine)

Do we pray to God or Jesus? ›

This scriptural pattern calls attention to the Trinitarian nature of redemption (Eph. 1:1–14) and underscores key aspects of the believer's relationship with God. First, prayer should ordinarily be directed to God the Father. Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name” (Matt.

What does Jesus mean when he says the Son of Man is the Lord of the Sabbath? ›

Jesus reigns over the Sabbath.

That is, he's Christ the king, Lord of the Sabbath. And his kingship extends even over our day of rest as his disciples. Jesus' statement “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath” in Luke 6:5 means “The Sabbath is under my dominion as the Messiah.”

What does the Bible say about Jesus being enough? ›

Jesus is enough for you. You shall not want. And he is the one who is caring for your life. Colossians 1 says he is all-sufficient, the one who created the world and holds it all together, the one in whom wisdom and knowledge and the “hope of glory” are stored and in whom the fullness of deity dwells.

Why Jesus is more than enough? ›

Jesus can bring what no one else can provide and He is always more than enough! We can place ALL of our trust in God and believe with ALL of our heart that He will do above and beyond all that we could ask or imagine.

What is the Hebrew meaning of enough? ›

What is the Translation of Dai (דַּי) from Hebrew to English? “Dai” is a Hebrew word that means “enough,” “stop,” or “that's sufficient.” It is used to halt an action or request.

What does the Bible mean when it says you are enough? ›

Isn't it a relief to know that we can never be “good enough” apart from our Savior – and that He loves us anyway. God wants you just as you are! You are enough, because you were made in the image of God and carry His likeness in You!

What does it mean by God is enough? ›

And our sufficiency, the apostle says, is not of ourselves but of God. This, then, is what I mean by God being enough. It is that we find in Him, in the fact of His existence, and of His character, all that we can possibly want for everything. God is, must be our answer to every question and every cry of need.

What does it mean that Jesus is sufficient? ›

To say that Christ is sufficient is to say that the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has already blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, in Christ. To say that Christ is sufficient is to say that God has already given us everything we need for life and godliness through his own Son.

What did Jesus mean by Son of Man? ›

Sixty-nine times in the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus calls himself (the) "Son of man", a Greek expression which in its Aramaic (and Hebrew) background could be an oblique way of indicating the speaker's own self (e.g., Matt 8:20), or else simply mean "someone" or "a human being" (as in Ps 8:4, where it is a poetic variant ...

Why is Jesus called the Son of God if he is God? ›

Instead, “Jesus is designated as God's Son because he was conceived by the Holy Spirit instead of by a human father.”23 Then, at the end of Matthew's Gospel, the Son is identified with the Father and the Holy Spirit in the baptismal formula of Matthew 28:19.

What is the Son of Man known for? ›

It is used in three main ways: as a form of address (Ezekiel); to contrast the lowly status of humanity against the permanence and exalted dignity of God and the angels (Numbers 23:19, Psalm 8:4); and as a future eschatological figure whose coming will signal the end of history and the time of God's judgment (Daniel 7: ...

What do we mean by Jesus is the Son of God? ›

Jesus was the only person to be born of a mortal mother, Mary, and an immortal father, God the Father. That is why Jesus is called the Only Begotten Son of God. From His Father, He inherited divine powers (see John 10:17–18).

What is the meaning of the Son of Man in Hebrew? ›

As generally interpreted by Jews, "son of man" denotes mankind generally in contrast to deity or godhead, with special reference to their weakness and frailty.

What does it mean for the Son of Man to be glorified? ›

26 In 13:31, when we read 'Now is the Son of Man glorified, and in him God is glorified', we are to understand, at least in part, that, by returning to the Father by way of the cross, Jesus' divine qualities would in some way be revealed, and that in the process God's own divine qualities would shine forth.

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