Son of Man/God

Titles have significance. Although my students call me Dr. Andrew, Dr. Spurgeon, or Professor Andrew, I don’t let my church members call me any of those titles. For them, I am “Andrew.” Dr. and Prof. are my professional titles. Lori, my children, or friends do not call me that.

Far removed from the first century, we have trouble understanding the meaning of the two titles in the Scriptures: Son of Man and Son of God.

You are correct if you assumed “son of man” meant a human. This phrase frequently occurs in the Old Testament Greek version. For example, in the story of the Babel tower, the Scriptures say, “God came down to see the city and the tower, what the sons of men were building” (Gen 11:5, LXX). David says, “The Lord is in his holy temple, and he is in his heavenly throne. His eyes pay attention to the day laborers, and his eyelids scrutinize the sons of men” (Ps 10:4). “Lord stoops down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if anyone understands or seeks after God” (Ps 13:2). Jeremiah says, “Lord, great are your will and power to do amazing works. God is great and almighty; the Lord is mighty in his name. Your eyes can examine the paths of the sons of men, each one’s path individually” (39:19, LXX).

You are also correct if you assumed “son of God” meant a king in David’s lineage (a Davidic king). In ancient days, kings were considered God’s representatives on earth. Similarly, YHWH God promised David that when he died, God would adopt David’s son to be his “son,” and God himself would be his “father” (2 Sam 7:12–15). Because of this promise, the Scriptures repeatedly refer to any Davidic kings as God’s son. David, for example, says, “Why do the kings of the earth rise against and the ruler band together against YHWH and his messiah? YHWH promised: ‘You are my son; I have become your father’” (Ps 2:2, 7). The nations’ plans and wars against the son, the Messiah, would fail because he is God’s son; God is his father.

The leaders of Jesus’s time knew the significance of these titles. So when the day broke, and they could legitimately question Jesus, they took him before “the elders of the people, high priests, and scribes” sitting in the Sanhedrin, the highest law court of the Israelites (Luke 22:66). There, they asked him,

“Are you the Messiah?” (22:67a)

He knew they knew he was, and they hadn’t believed for nearly three years of his ministry. So, he said,

“Even if I say ‘yes,’ you will not believe me. And if I ask you, ‘Do you think I am Messiah,’ you will not answer.” (22:67b–68)

Jesus knew they were stubborn to acknowledge him as their king because it had political ramifications. Herod’s son, Antipas, ruled Galilee, and Rome’s prefect, Pontius Pilate, ruled Judea. Would they set them aside for a Davidic king? Absolutely not.

Jesus wasn’t finished. He said,

“From now on, you’ll see the son of man seated at the right hand of God’s power.” (22:69)

They were speechless. Jesus’s words meant humanity would be exalted to God’s right hand, a reflection of Prophet Daniel’s prophecy, in which a human approached the Ancient of Days, God, and was given authority, glory, and sovereign power over all nations and people, whose kingdom lasted forever (Dan 7:13–14). Jesus, the human, would be at God’s right hand, just as the prophet predicted.

Sanhedrin didn’t want to explore this further. They asked him,

“Are you the Son of God?” (22:70a)

Jesus answered,

“As you say, yes, I am.” (22:70b)

With that statement, their inquiry was over. They concluded they didn’t need any further witnesses; by his mouth, he stood condemned (22:71). They didn’t want a Messiah, a Davidic king, to replace their Herodian king or Roman prefect. In the process, they didn’t want Daniel’s prophecy to be fulfilled—for humanity to be exalted to the right hand of God.

Even now, people struggle to see that in Christ and the Christian faith, people can be lifted from their lowly place and exalted to God’s right hand. That’s our message: in Christ, daughters and sons of mankind are exalted to God’s privileged place of honor.