The Son of Man
Jesus has one favourite title for himself: the “Son of Man.” Why that title, and what does it mean?
The origin
The title comes from a vision in 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.”
The vision offers no direct explanation of who this figure is, so we have to dig a little — though not very far, since the explanation follows just a few verses later: “But the holy people of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will possess it for ever — yes, for ever and ever.”
The holy people of the Most High are the people of Israel, and the Son of Man stands for them: one figure who represents the whole people, so that what is given to him is given to them.1 That kind of representation has precedent: a group could be pictured through a single figure, as when daughter Zion stands for Israel, or Israel's story is told as the story of a woman, or the northern and southern kingdoms are pictured as two sisters.
The statement
So what is the calling and destiny of this Son of Man — that is, of Israel? Let’s read on.
“I also wanted to know about the ten horns on its head and about the other horn that came up, before which three of them fell — the horn that looked more imposing than the others and that had eyes and a mouth that spoke boastfully. As I watched, this horn was waging war against the holy people and defeating them, until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favour of the holy people of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed the kingdom.
‘He gave me this explanation: “The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it. The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings. He will speak against the Most High and oppress his holy people and try to change the set times and the laws. The holy people will be delivered into his hands for a time, times and half a time. ‘ “But the court will sit, and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed for ever. Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be handed over to the holy people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him.”
This describes the same kingdoms of the earth we discussed earlier: the first part gives the elements of the vision and their actions, and the second part interprets them.
Let’s line up the interpreted elements:
- 10 horns = 10 kings
- another horn = another king
- three of the horns fell = three kings were subdued
- Horn is more imposing and speaks boastfully = speaks against the Most High, oppresses His people, tries to change times and laws
- horn defeats them = holy people are delivered into his hands for 3½ times
- The Ancient of Days speaks judgment in favor of the holy people = the king’s power is taken away and he is completely destroyed forever
- Time comes they possess the kingdom = all kingdoms will be given over to the Holy People, will be everlasting and all rulers will worship and obey Him.
A few things stand out here. The boastful speech is really speech against God — oppressing his people and their law — so the attack on his people is an attack on him, and the judgment that follows is God’s own response. The defeat of the holy people is only temporary, lasting just “3.5 times,” with the defeat always coming before the victory. The judgment in favor of the holy people means the opposing kings are destroyed once and for all. And the possession of the kingdom is bound up with the fact that all rulers will worship him — this Son of Man who is also, somehow, Israel.
The problem
On the surface, this sounds like Israel will rule the world at some point. But there’s a problem: the Son of Man receives worship, and worship belongs to God alone.
So how do we resolve that? The prophets, when they speak of the Day of the Lord, say that only a remnant of Israel will remain. So perhaps “the holy people” here refers to that future remnant, not the nation as a whole.
Daniel’s own context doesn’t tell us exactly when this will happen, but the descriptions in chapters 2 and 7 show that it must be the Day of the Lord.
It’s worth noting that in the Old Testament, “son of man” is mostly the way God addresses the prophet Ezekiel (and once Daniel himself, 8:17) — there the Hebrew is “ben adam,” “son of Adam,” while Daniel 7:13 has the Aramaic “bar enash,” “son of man,” with the small word ke in front, “like”: “one like a son of man.” The two titles aren’t quite the same.
The solution
When Jesus refers to himself, he uses above all the title Son of Man — he is the fulfillment of the vision. And because he is God, he is worthy of receiving worship.
So how does the prophecy apply to him?
Jesus is the remnant of Israel — there is no one else left to fill that role. Like the holy people in the vision, he is handed over, defeated and killed, and then vindicated: the court sits, and the kingdom is given to him. Defeat comes before victory, for him as for them.
Who is the horn? Not Israel. In Daniel the horn is the last king of the fourth beast, and Revelation takes it up in its own beast, the power that makes war on the saints (13:5–7).2 That power was at work at the cross through everyone who took part: a Roman governor who gave the order, soldiers who carried it out, and leaders of his own people who conspired against him and pressed for his execution. His own did not receive him — and that is the grief of the story, not its verdict.
We should be very careful about judging them for it, since the church has done no better.
But what did Jesus do in response? He forgave them, because they did not know what they were doing. His calling was to restore Israel and call as many of them to himself as possible — it fell to the disciples to go to the nations, though even Jesus made exceptions along the way. He did not come as a judge but as a savior, though he will come again as one. And he did not reject Israel and replace it with the Church — he restarted Israel and folded the Church into it.
What he saved, in the end, was the remnant of Israel.
The heritage
Jesus is the Son of Man, and all things belong to him. In Daniel 2, the stone that destroys all the kingdoms grows to fill the whole earth — a picture of the New Israel, the Church included, reaching out to the whole world.
That same image resurfaces in the description of the two witnesses in the Book of Revelation, who represent the New Israel, Church and all. They prophesy for 3.5 years (in case you're curious what those 3.5 years are) and are killed for 3.5 days before being resurrected — “time, times, and half a time,” just as in the prophecy of the Son of Man.
The witnesses are identified with the Son of Man because they live out the pattern of Jesus’ own life:
- Living in simplicity and repentance
- filled with the Holy Spirit
- They carry no weapon; the fire that guards them is God's judgment, not their own force.
- They are witnesses with miracles.
- They are defeated by the enemy when their testimony is finished.
- But this is not their defeat because they will be resurrected like Jesus.
- They are exalted like Jesus.