When some want to confirm that Christ was not God but was merely a human being, you often see them resorting to verses that call Him “Son of Man” or “Son of Man.” These people are undoubtedly ignorant that this title includes an explicit acknowledgment that Christ is God, since this title refers in the Holy Bible, in its two Testaments, to a divine being with a human form. The title Son of Man is no less important than the title Son of God, because the attributes of the Son of Man are also divine attributes.
Daniel the Prophet was the first to give this title to a being who would come at the end of time to reign forever: “And I saw in the visions of the night, and behold, one like the Son of Man was coming on the clouds of heaven. They worship Him, and His authority is eternal and will not fade away, and His kingdom will not be destroyed (Daniel 7:13-14). The image of the Lord coming on the clouds is a familiar image in the Old Testament that indicates the powerful presence of God Himself.
Jesus Christ revealed to his disciples that he is the Son of Man mentioned in the Book of Daniel, and in his speech about the last times, he uses the same image found in Daniel, saying: “And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and at that time all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power.” And great majesty” (Matthew 24:30).
Talking about Christ being the Son of Man is linked to talking about the last day and judgment, as the Son of Man is the judge who will judge the living and the dead.
The talk about the Son of Man is also linked to the talk about the saving suffering of the Lord. Every time Jesus taught his disciples about his killing and resurrection, he used the title of the Son of Man. (Matthew 20:18-19).
In the Gospel of John, the hour of death on the cross is the hour of glory, and the Son of Man is the one who will die and be glorified in his death. On the night in which he was betrayed, Jesus said: “Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in him” (13:31).
But this death in which the Son of Man will glorify God is the same one that will give salvation to the world: “And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:14-15) Therefore, the Son of Man grants salvation to whoever believes in Him, crucified for him and for his salvation.
The reason why the Jews sentenced Christ to death was because he told them that he was the Son of Man. When Caiaphas, the high priest, asked him: Are you the Christ, the blessed Son of God? Jesus answered him, “I am he, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power and coming on the clouds of heaven” (Mark 14:61). Then the entire Jewish assembly accused him of blasphemy and sentenced him to death. The Jews understood that when Jesus considered himself the Son of Man, he equated himself with God, because this title refers to a divine being who would come from heaven on the clouds to restore the kingdom to Israel, but Christ disappointed their hopes and showed them a king different from what they imagined, so they killed him as the worst of murderers.
There is no doubt that the primary mission of the Son of Man is to grant salvation to all human beings, for “the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost” (Luke 19:10). The Son of Man came, died, and rose again, fulfilling all righteousness, and saved us with his blood, and he will come on the last day to judge the living and the dead. Let us prepare for that day with what Jesus Himself has drawn for our salvation, so that the surprise will not be a catastrophe that will not last forever.
Metropolitan Youhanna Mansour
From the bulletin of the Diocese of Latakia
