The Son of Man1

Some suppose that the Lord Christ’s use of the title “Son of Man” contradicts His divinity, and before these we place important rules which are:

1- That the Lord Christ, as He was called Son of Man, was also called “Son of God”; this divine sonship was attested to by His followers and His apostles and the evangelists, and even His enemies witnessed to this, yes, the demons bore witness to this on many occasions, even though their testimony was hesitant and we do not reckon it. The announcing angel also testified to Him, and the Father Himself testified.

2- That the Sonship of Christ to the Father carried the meaning of His divinity and differed essentially from the title “sons of God” which is applied to humans in the sense of “those who believe in His name” (John 1:12).

3- That the Lord Christ, while He called Himself Son of Man, at the same time said that He was the Son of God, and He accepted this testimony from others before that, as He accepted to be called Lord and God, and He said that He is the only-begotten Son of the Father. Indeed He said more than this: “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30) “I am in the Father and the Father is in Me… he who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:10, 9).

4- That the title “Son of Man” He attached to Himself on many occasions proves His divinity. He had a special wisdom in the use of this title…

1- Christ was called “Son of God” by everyone

A- Those who followed Him testified that He was the Son of God:

John the Baptist said, “And I have seen and borne witness that this is the Son of God” (John 1:34). So also Nathanael — after the Lord Christ called him from under the fig tree he answered, “And he said to him: Rabbi, you are the Son of God” (John 1:49). Those who were in the boat, after they saw the Lord Christ walking on the water, “came and worshiped Him, saying, Truly You are the Son of God” (Matt 14:33). Martha, sister of Lazarus, also testified saying, “I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world” (John 11:27). The Ethiopian eunuch before he was baptized declared his faith saying, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God” (Acts 8:37). And Saul of Tarsus, after he believed and was baptized, “immediately began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God” (Acts 9:20).

B- And the evangelists and the apostles also testified:

Peter testified saying, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt 16:16). Mark began his Gospel saying, “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (Mark 1:1). John testified saying, “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him and he in God” (1 John 4:15).

C- And angels and demons bore witness to this:

The angel who announced to the virgin said, “And the angel answered and said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore also that Holy One who is to be born of you will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35). As for the demons which Christ cast out, they often cried out and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of God!” (Matt 8:29; Mark 3:11; Luke 4:41).

D- And His enemies also testified to this:

When nature was troubled at His crucifixion, the scripture says, “Now when the centurion and those with him, guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that were done, they feared greatly and said, Truly this was the Son of God” (Matt 27:54).

E- And the Father Himself testified to Him:

The Father testified at the baptism with a voice from heaven saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matt 3:17; Luke 3:22). He also testified on the Mount of Transfiguration saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him” (Matt 17:5; Mark 9:7). Concerning this event Peter the apostle said, “For he received from God the Father honor and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the Majestic Glory, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain” (2 Peter 1:17, 18). And our Lord Jesus Christ mentioned the Father’s testimony about Him in the story of the flight to Egypt when He said of Him, “Out of Egypt I called My Son” (Matt 2:15).

2- The Book called Him “the Son” and “the only-begotten Son”
To distinguish Him from the general sonship which we have by adoption

When the Book mentions the title “the Son” in the abstract, it was intended to mean Christ and no other. Our sonship is a kind of adoption and honor, whereas His sonship is of the essence of God; therefore He was also called “the only-begotten Son.”

Regarding this distinctive meaning of Christ’s sonship the teacher John the apostle says, “Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father also; and he who confesses the Son has the Father also” (1 John 2:22, 23). He also says, “And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him and he in God” (1 John 4:14, 15). And our teacher Paul the apostle calls Christ by this title “the Son” explaining His divinity when he says, “And concerning the angels he says: Who makes His angels spirits and His ministers a flame of fire. But concerning the Son he says: Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom” (Hebrews 1:7, 8).

Because of this meaning which distinguished the prophecy concerning Christ, the Book calls Him the only-begotten Son; regarding this John the evangelist says, “No one has seen God at any time. The only-begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him” (John 1:18). He also says, “By this the love of God was manifested in us: that God has sent His only-begotten Son into the world that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:9, 10).

3- Is this only what the apostles said, or did Christ also say this about Himself? And did Christ limit Himself to the title “Son of Man” or did He explain His sonship to God!…

Some writers — like Dr. Nazmi Luka — thought that the Lord Christ did not call Himself the Son of God, limiting Himself to the title Son of Man; this is an error.

One of the most famous testimonies of the Lord Christ about Himself as Son of God is what is mentioned in the miracle of the man born blind: Saint John in his Gospel says, “So Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, Do you believe in the Son of God? He answered and said, Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him? Jesus said to him, You have both seen Him and it is He who talks with you. Then he said, Lord, I believe! And he worshiped Him” (John 9:35-38). It is clear that the sonship here bears the meaning of divinity as proven by the blind man’s worship of Him and by the specificity and faith; for if it were a normal sonship like the sonship of all humans who pray saying “Our Father who art in heaven” it would not be a title reserved for the Lord Himself and the blind man would not have needed to ask, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him…”

Therefore the Lord Christ called Himself “the Son,” and mentioned this on occasions that bear His divinity; He said, “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:36). He also says, “For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom He will. For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him” (John 5:21-23). This verse clearly indicates His divinity because the Lord Christ requires of His person the honor given to the Father. He also says, “And no one knows the Son except the Father, nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and he to whom the Son wills to reveal Him” (Luke 10:22). Is it conceivable that this is an ordinary sonship?

He also said, “If the Son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed” (John 8:36).

And as the Lord Christ testified of Himself that He is the “Son of God,” He also accepted this testimony from others and blessed them for it; when He asked His disciples, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!” And Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven” (Matt 16:15-18).

4- The title Son of Man and its divine occasions

The Lord Christ spoke of Himself as Son of Man in a manner that bears divine meaning, as is evident from the following texts:

(a) He said, “And no one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, even the Son of Man who is in heaven” (John 3:13). Here He made clear His presence in heaven at the same time He was present on earth speaking to Nicodemus, and this is a clear proof of His divinity.

(b) When He spoke of His crucifixion He mentioned the worship of the Son of Man in a sense that corresponds exactly to the title of the only-begotten Son of God. He said, “And 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. For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:14-16). Here faith in the Son of Man gives eternal life and saves from perishing; this very work is the work of the only-begotten Son.

(c) The Lord’s use of the phrase Son of Man about Himself in a divine way when speaking of His second coming He said, “…and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, and He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (Matt 24:29-31); and He also said, “The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness” (Matt 13:41).

These expressions cannot be used except with a divine meaning. The Son of Man here comes on the clouds in power and glory. The angels of God are His angels, and the kingdom of God is His kingdom, and the chosen whom God chose are His chosen…

The chief priests who judged Him to death understood this meaning of divinity when they adjured Him to tell them if He was the Christ, the Son of God; He answered them, “From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming on the clouds of heaven” (Matt 26:64, 65). Then the chief priest tore his clothes and said, “He has spoken blasphemy! What further need do we have of witnesses? Behold, you have heard the blasphemy.” There is no doubt that what the chief priest meant by blasphemy was what the Lord intended by showing His divinity using the expression Son of Man.

(d) And in this second coming He explained His work as judge of all the earth, saying, “For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works” (Matt 16:27). This Son of Man, who at the same time is the Son of God, comes in the glory of His Father. He also says of His coming, “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last” (Rev 22:12, 13). Here the expression Son of Man is applied to the Lord who called Himself the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. This corresponds to John’s words in Revelation, “And in the midst of the seven lampstands one like the Son of Man… then He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last, and the Living One. And I was dead, and behold I am alive forevermore! Amen” (Rev 1:13-18).

This judgment which is for the Son He said, “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. And before Him will be gathered all the nations, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides the sheep from the goats, and He will set the sheep on His right hand and the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right, Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in… Then the righteous will answer Him, Lord, when did we see You hungry…” (Matt 25:31-44). Here we find that the Son of Man describes Himself as the Son of God when He says, Come you blessed of My Father. The people also address Him saying, “Lord,” and He accepts this address.

(e) We note that the Holy Scripture uses the phrase Son of Man in matters specific to God Himself. The Lord says, “Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Matt 25:13). “Watch therefore, for you do not know the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming” (Matt 24:44). In this sense He also says, “Watch therefore, for you do not know in what hour your Lord is coming” (Matt 24:42). These two expressions indicate the same meaning: the Son of Man is coming, or your Lord is coming.

In this way the Lord also says, “Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom” (Matt 16:28)… This meaning is given by Mark the apostle thus, “Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power” (Mark 9:1). The kingdom of God is the kingdom of the Son of Man. Two expressions for one meaning.

(f) And among the strong expressions in which He used the title Son of Man is the Lord’s saying, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man” (John 1:51). And Stephen the martyr said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God” (Acts 7:56); and Christ said to His disciples, “Then if you see the Son of Man ascend where He was before!” (John 6:62). This latter verse repeats what He meant earlier about His descent from heaven.

(g) The Lord also used the expression Son of Man in a wondrous authority: He said, “For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath” (Matt 12:8). And when He forgave the paralytic his sins before curing him, and the scribes thought within themselves that He blasphemed, the Lord replied concerning their thoughts by saying, “But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins” — then He said to the paralytic, “Arise, take up your bed and go to your house!” (Matt 9:6).

(h) Even the prophet Daniel in the Old Testament calls the Lord Christ the title Son of Man in a divine sense saying, “I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. Then 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 the one which shall not be destroyed” (Dan 7:13-14).

Conclusion:
The Lord Christ spoke of Himself as Son of Man with divine attributes:

1- He came down from heaven, and He is present in heaven while present on earth.
2- The angels of heaven ascend and descend upon Him.
3- He sits at the right hand of power and comes on the clouds of heaven.
4- The angels are His angels, the kingdom is His kingdom, and the elect are His elect.
5- He is the Judge, and He rewards each according to his works, and they call Him “Lord”.
6- Whoever believes in Him does not perish but has eternal life.
7- He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.
8- He is the Son of God and the Son of Man at the same time.
9- He is Lord of the Sabbath.
10- He has authority to forgive sins on earth.
11- All peoples, nations and tongues worship Him.
12- His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom will not be destroyed.

5- Why He called Himself the Son of Man

Man sinned and was sentenced to death. Man needed to die so that God might be true and also so that God might be just. On the other hand it was fitting that man should live, for this accords with God’s mercy and wisdom…

But this man was unable to satisfy God’s right of justice, for he is finite and cannot pay the infinite penalty, and also because he is sinful…

Therefore the Lord took the form of a servant, and became in the likeness of man, and willed to be born of that very man, so that he might substitute for him; thus He called Himself “the Son of Man,” and He did not call Himself the son of a certain man, because He was in the position of substitute for all mankind, for humanity in general…

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1. Article by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III — in Al-Keraza Magazine — Year One — Issue Five June 1965.

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