Chapter 37 — The Coming of the Son of Man
The Incarnate Christ and His Critics (Komoszewski & Bowman, 2024)
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"Son of Man" is Jesus' most frequently used self-designation in the Gospels. He says it over eighty times, and it might still be the least understood of all his titles.
Some people hear it and assume it just means "human being," that Jesus is pointing to his own humanity. Others take it as a title of humility, almost self-deprecating. Both readings miss what Jesus was actually drawing on: a vision in the book of Daniel where a heavenly figure comes to receive universal dominion from the Ancient of Days.
Once you see what "Son of Man" meant in Daniel 7, it changes how you read everything Jesus claimed about himself.
Daniel's Vision
Daniel 7 records a vision Daniel had in a dream. Four terrifying beasts rise from the sea, each one representing a world empire. Then the scene shifts to the heavenly court. The Ancient of Days, clearly God, takes his seat on a fiery throne, and the court is convened.
Then Daniel sees something else: "And behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And 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 one that shall not be destroyed." (Dan. 7:13-14)
This "one like a son of man" comes on clouds, which in Old Testament imagery is typically the vehicle of God himself (Ps. 68:4; 104:3; Isa. 19:1; Nahum 1:3). He's presented before the Ancient of Days not as a petitioner or a subject, but as someone whose arrival is expected, someone who belongs in the heavenly court. And what he receives isn't a regional governorship or a temporary mandate. It's an everlasting, universal kingdom.
In Daniel's vision, this figure is distinct from the Ancient of Days, since he's presented before him, and yet he shares in divine authority as fully as it's possible to share it. He receives what only God can give and what only God properly holds: dominion over every people and every nation, without end.
Who Is This Figure?
The interpretation of Daniel 7:13-14 is one of the most debated questions in biblical scholarship. Some scholars read the "one like a son of man" as a collective symbol for the faithful people of Israel. Others see him as a heavenly being, an angel or divine figure in his own right.
What's certain is how Jesus' own audience heard it. When he used this title for himself in front of the Sanhedrin, quoting Daniel 7:13 alongside Psalm 110:1, they understood it as a claim to be this heavenly, transcendent figure. And they condemned him for blasphemy. That reaction only makes sense if they heard him claiming divine authority.
Jesus' Own Use of the Title
Jesus uses "Son of Man" in three main groups of sayings.
There are sayings about his present authority: "The Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins" (Mark 2:10). "The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath" (Mark 2:28). The Sabbath was a divine institution, so whoever is Lord of the Sabbath is claiming the authority of God.
There are sayings about his suffering: "The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45). "The Son of Man must suffer many things" (Mark 8:31). These sayings take the Daniel 7 title and run it through suffering, a deliberate inversion of what anyone would expect.
And there are sayings about his future coming: "They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory" (Matt. 24:30). That's a direct quote of Daniel 7:13. The one who will come on the clouds is Jesus.
The Clouds and the Divine Context
Coming "with the clouds of heaven" isn't neutral imagery. Throughout the Old Testament, riding or coming on clouds is something only God does. The Psalms describe God as the one "who makes the clouds his chariot" (Ps. 104:3). Isaiah 19:1 describes the LORD "riding on a swift cloud." Nahum 1:3 says "the clouds are the dust of his feet."
So when Jesus says he'll come on the clouds, he's reaching for imagery his audience would have recognized instantly. A ruler who simply planned to return one day wouldn't need language like that. Jesus is claiming the same cosmic, divine authority the Old Testament reserves for the appearance of YHWH himself.
The Riddle Resolved
Why did Jesus prefer "Son of Man" over more obvious titles like "Messiah" or "Son of God"? Partly because those titles carried political baggage he wanted to redefine. Partly because "Son of Man" let him reveal who he was gradually, a little at a time. To anyone with ears to hear, the Daniel 7 background was unmistakable.
But there's more to it than strategy. The title fits the incarnation itself. It's both human, since "son of man" in everyday Hebrew just means "human being," and transcendent, the heavenly figure of Daniel 7. Jesus, fully human and fully divine, took the one title that held both truths at once.
The Son of Man who suffered and died is the same Son of Man who will come on the clouds. The one Caiaphas condemned is the one before whom Caiaphas himself will one day stand.
That's either the most audacious lie ever told, or it's the truth that changes everything.