Jesus: The Son of Man
COLE CUMMISKEY | MAY 03, 2026
There is a story about Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German pastor, during one of the darkest times in history. He had the opportunity to remain safe in America, far from the horrors unfolding in Nazi Germany. Yet while he was there, he sensed God calling him back. Back to danger. Back to uncertainty. Back to a place where following Jesus could cost him everything, even his life.
Bonhoeffer’s decision confronts us with a question that refuses to stay quiet: Are we willing to follow Jesus and risk everything for Him?
That question leads to another. What kind of relationship must someone have with Jesus to endure persecution, suffering, or even death?
Even today, there are believers around the world who are arrested, threatened, and killed simply for gathering in worship, speaking the name of Jesus, or owning a Bible. This century has already seen immense suffering among Christians. Yet many continue to stand firm.
Who is Jesus to them?
Interestingly, Jesus once asked that very question. In Matthew 16:13-15, He asked His disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” and then made it personal, “But who do you say I am?”
That question echoes through time and lands on us today. Who do you say He is?
Many would answer with familiar titles. Jesus Christ. Savior. Lord. All true. Yet the title Jesus used for Himself more than any other was the Son of Man. It appears over eighty times in the Gospels. That choice was not accidental.
To understand it, we need to walk through the story Scripture tells:
In Mark 2:9-11, when Jesus heals the paralyzed man, He declares that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.
In Luke 19:8-10, in the story of Zacchaeus, He explains that the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost.
In Mark 2:27-28, He teaches that the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.
In John 1:50-51, He tells Nathanael that he will see heaven open and angels ascending and descending on the Son of Man.
These are bold claims. Authority to forgive sins. Authority over sacred law. A bridge between heaven and earth. No wonder this title stirred both hope and anger.
So where does it come from?
The Context of The Son of Man
The answer takes us to Daniel 7:9-14. Daniel describes a dream filled with strange and powerful imagery. Four beasts rise from the sea, each more terrifying than the last. They represent kingdoms shaped by violence, pride, and rebellion against God. Then the scene shifts. The Ancient of Days takes His seat on a throne. Books are opened. Judgment begins.
The beasts lose their power.
And then Daniel sees “one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven.” This figure approaches God and is given authority, glory, and a kingdom that will never end. All nations worship Him.
The phrase Son of Man means son of humanity, or son of Adam. Yet this is no ordinary human. He comes with the clouds, imagery associated with God Himself. In Exodus 19, God appears in a cloud. In Psalm 68, He rides on the clouds. Daniel’s vision presents a human figure sharing in divine authority.
When Jesus calls Himself the Son of Man, He is directly connecting Himself to this vision.
That is why it caused such a reaction. He was not just claiming to be a teacher or prophet. He was identifying Himself as the one who would receive eternal dominion.
Humans and Beasts Biblical Narrative
In the beginning, humanity was created in God’s image to rule over creation. But in Genesis 3:15, after the fall, everything changes. A snake deceives Adam and Eve. Sin enters the world. Instead of ruling over the beasts, humanity is overcome by them.
God promises that one day, a descendant of the woman will crush the snake.
From that moment on, the Bible shows a pattern. When humans reject God, they become like beasts. Cain is warned that sin is crouching at his door, yet he gives in and kills his brother. Pharaoh acts with cunning behavior like the snake and oppresses God’s people. Babylon is described like a lion hunting prey. Nebuchadnezzar, in his pride, becomes like an animal, living in the fields. Even Jesus calls the religious leaders a brood of vipers.
Daniel’s beasts are not just political empires. They are a picture of what humanity becomes when consumed by sin.
So the story builds tension. Humanity is waiting for the true human. The one who will not give in to sin. The one who will defeat the serpent and restore what was lost.
By the time of Jesus, many believed the Son of Man would be a divine figure who would establish God’s kingdom once and for all.
Then Jesus arrives.
But what happens next is unexpected.
Jesus’s Death and Resurrection
In Mark 14:60-65, Jesus stands before the high priest. He is accused, mocked, and questioned. When asked if He is the Messiah, He responds in Mark 14:62, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power and coming with the clouds of heaven.”
In that moment, Jesus brings together Exodus 3:14, Psalm 110, and Daniel 7:13. He is unmistakably claiming divine identity and authority.
The reaction is immediate. Anger. Accusation. Violence. He is condemned and sent to be crucified.
Here is the shock. In Daniel’s vision, the Son of Man is exalted. But nowhere does it say He will suffer or die.
Yet Jesus had already prepared His disciples. In Mark 8:31, He teaches that the Son of Man must suffer, be rejected, be killed, and rise again. In Mark 10, He says the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and give His life as a ransom for many.
This turns everything upside down. The judge steps down from the throne and takes the judgment upon Himself.
Isaiah 53:3-9, written centuries before, describes a suffering servant, rejected, pierced, and bearing the sins of many. On the cross, Jesus fulfills this. When He says, “It is finished,” the work is complete. Sin is paid for. The barrier between God and humanity is broken.
As Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:21: “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."
And in John 3:16-17, we are reminded why. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
This is the greatest rescue story ever told. The greatest love story.
What does this mean for us?
Jesus has all authority. The Son of Man in Daniel’s vision now reigns. That means we do not have to live in fear. No situation, no power stands above Him. When we pray, we are not speaking into emptiness. We are speaking to the One who rules heaven and earth.
We are a New Creation in Christ: Everything Jesus accomplished on the cross was for us. Our sin, our shame, our failures, all of it was carried by Him. Scripture calls Him the last Adam because He succeeds where the first Adam failed. Through Him, we are invited into a new identity.
We are called to follow Jesus: We are always as close to God as we choose to be. The invitation is open. Turn away or draw near. But the call of Jesus is clear. Follow Me.
In Acts 7:55-56, as Stephen is about to be killed for his faith, he looks up and says, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” Even in the face of death, his confidence is unshaken.
Why? Because he knows who Jesus is.
The Son of Man is not just a title. It is the declaration that Jesus is the true human, the divine King, the suffering Savior, and the risen Lord. The one who has all authority. The one before whom every nation will one day bow.
So the question remains.
Who do you say He is?
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