Let me explain why Jesus calls himself Son of man. Son of man is an Aramaic expression meaning a man, a human being. So Jesus Christ calls himself Son of man because he’s truly human, he’s a man by nature. But he also calls himself Son of man for another reason. Daniel 7:13-14. I saw in the night visions and behold one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven and came to the ancient of days and they brought him near before him. Daniel the prophet, over 600 years before the birth of Christ, sees someone who looks like a human being, a Son of man, and he’s riding the clouds of heaven and he comes to the ancient of days and there was given him dominion, the power to rule, and glory, and a kingdom that all people, nations and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass and his kingdom shall not be destroyed. Daniel sees a human figure who’s more than human, a Son of man coming on the clouds. This human figure approaches the ancient of days, which in the New Testament would be God the Father. And when he approaches God the Father, he’s given a kingdom that’s indestructible. He’s an eternal king who rules forever over an indestructible kingdom and all nations and languages and peoples must worship, serve him. In other words, this Son of man is not an ordinary human being. Though human, he’s more than human. He’s fully divine. He’s God in human appearance, God in human form, God in human flesh. How do I know he’s God in human flesh? Because all nations worship him the way they worship God. He rides the clouds, which is something only God does. And he rules forever over all nations.
So that’s two divine persons – the ancient of days who’s God the Father, the Son of man who’s also God, one with the Father but personally distinct. Jesus claims to be the Son of man that Daniel saw, not just an ordinary son of man. That Son of man that Daniel saw, that’s God in the flesh, that’s who Jesus claimed to be. There was given him dominion, glory and kingdom that all people, nations, language should serve him. The aramaic verb “pelach” is “worship” given to God alone. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom, which shall not be destroyed. He is served (Aramaic “Pelach” because this portion is in aramaic) worshiped by all peoples and nations forever and he reigns forever. In Daniel 7:27, that same verb “served” is used for the Most High. Daniel 7:27 And the kingdom and dominion and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High (i.e. us believers) whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and all dominion shall serve and obey him. The Most High is God almighty. All dominions shall serve and obey the most high. All dominions shall worship the Most High (it’s the same verb). How can the Son of man be served, worshiped by all nations in the same way that all dominions serve, worship the Most High, if the Son of man is not God? Because it’s the same verb. All dominions will serve the Most High, all nations will serve the Son of man forever. How can the Son of man be served by all nations forever in the same way that the Most High is served, when that kind of service can only be given to God? What does this tell us about the Son of man? So if the Son of man is receiving the same service by all nations forever, that the Most High receives and only the Most High can be served in that manner, not a creature (that will be idolatry), what does this tell us about the Son of man
Daniel 7:13 I saw in the night visions and behold one like the Son of man come with the clouds of heave. The Son of man rides the clouds of heaven. No one but God almighty in the Old Testament rides the clouds of heaven. Did you know that even in the ancient near eastern peoples, the pagan nations surrounding Israel, they too believed and affirmed that only gods ride clouds. They too viewed riding the clouds as a divine function, something that only divine beings did. According to the Old Testament, the Hebrew Bible, Jehovah and Jehovah alone rides the clouds of heaven but Daniel 7:13 says that the Son of man rides the clouds of heaven.
Nahum 1:3 The Lord is slow to anger and great in power and will not at all acquit the wicked. The Lord hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm and the clouds are the dust of his feet. Jehovah rides the clouds, the clouds are the dust of his feet.
Isaiah 19:1 The burden of Egypt. Behold, Jehovah the Lord rideth upon a swift cloud and shall come into Egypt and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it.
Psalm 104:3 Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters, who maketh the clouds his chariot? (Jehovah makes the clouds his chariot) Who walketh upon the wings of the wind? So the clouds are the chariot of Jehovah. Jehovah comes in a swift cloud the clouds are the dust of Jehovah’s feet.
Psalm 68:4 Sing unto God, sing praises to his name, extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name Jah and rejoice before him. He rides the heavens, he rides the clouds, the clouds are the dust of his feet, he comes in a cloud.
Daniel saw another divine figure, the ancient of days, and the Son of man came to the ancient of days. Daniel, by revelation of the Holy Spirit, saw two divine persons – the ancient of days whom the New Testament says is God the Father and the Son of man whom the New Testament identifies as Jesus Christ.
So why did Jesus Christ claim to be the Son of man? To show that he’s truly human, he’s one of us, became part of us but he’s also God in human flesh, the one that Daniel saw.
Mark 14:61-62 But he held this peace and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him and said unto him “art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? Jesus said “I am. And you shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power and coming in the clouds of heaven.” Jesus just took Daniel 7:13-14 and applied it to himself. He just identified himself as the Son of man that Daniel saw.
Matthew 25:31-34 When the Son of man shall come in his glory (remember the Son of man Daniel was given glory) and all the holy angels with him then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory. Jesus claims to be a Son of man who comes in glory with the angels and has a glorious throne that he sits upon and before him the Son of man shall be gathered all nations and he shall separate them one from another as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats and he shall set the sheep on his right hand but the goats on the left. Then shall the king say unto them on his right hand “Come ye blessed of my Father” Jesus just said he’s the Son of man who sits on a throne of glory, a glorious throne, when he comes with the angels to gather all the nations before him and he will judge all the nations and then he claims that he is the king who will say to the righteous on his right “enter into the kingdom, you blessed of my Father.”
Matthew 26:1-2 And it came to pass when Jesus had finished all these saying he said unto his disciples “Ye know that after two days is the passover and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified. He’s the Son of man who will be crucified and yet he’s also the Son of man who will come in his glory with the holy angels to sit on his glorious throne, throne of glory to gather all the nations separating the righteous from the wicked, the righteous on his right the wicked on his left, who calls himself the king and calls God “My Father”.
Luke 17:24-25 For as the lightning that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven, so shall also the Son of man be in his day. He’s talking about his coming. But first must he suffer many things and be rejected of this generation. Jesus Christ our Lord claims to be that Son of man of Daniel who comes in glory on the clouds of heaven.
Matthew 16:21-27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels (the angels belong to him)…