Son of Man

Key Texts in Mark

• The Paralysed Man - click for full text
• The Request of James and John - click for full text
• The Prediction of the Passion - click for full text

Jesus often uses the title 'son of man' when he wants to talk about himself (see Mark 2:10-11). Many suggestions have been put forward to the precise meaning of the title as used by Jesus. There is strong evidence from contemporary sources that the term was use to refer to ordinary human being (something akin to the English 'bloke'). In the original Aramaic which Jesus spoke it could simply mean "I".

However, there was another usage which denoted a being definitely not ordinary. Jesus' use of the title is generally held to come from the Old Testament. In the Book of Daniel, the prophet Daniel records how he had a vision of a mysterious heavenly being whom he describes as one like the son of man (Daniel 7:13). This mysterious figure is given...

'...authority, honour and royal power, so that the people of all nations, races and languages would serve him. His authority would last for ever, and his kingdom would never end.' (Daniel 7:14)

It is clear from the way in which Jesus refers to the son of man in his apocalyptic discourses in Mark (13:24-27) that he had Daniel's vision in mind. What is unique to the way in which Jesus uses the title is the way Jesus combines the idea of the son of man and the suffering servant of Isaiah. This is clearly seen in Jesus' prediction of his suffering and death (Mark 8:31). Later on Jesus makes it clear that the son of man came to give his life up in service to humanity (Mark 10:45). For Jesus the son of man would only attain his glory and kingship through suffering.

One suggestion is that Jesus preferred to refer to himself as the son of man because he did not want people to identify him as the Messiah. People had preconceived ideas about what the Messiah would be like. Many thought the Messiah would be a political leader who would finally over throw the Roman occupation. Since it was not a popular Messianic title, and because of its mysterious nature, Jesus could safely use it without making public claim to Messiahship, which would have brought his ministry to an abrupt end.

Even if Jesus did simply use it to mean an ordinary person we cannot get way from the fact that the title has a much deeper meaning by its reference to Scripture