“For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost. (Matthew 18:11).

A favorite way Jesus referred to Himself was as “Son of Man” in contrast to “Son of David,” which He was reticent to use. Used primarily in the gospel accounts in the NT, it finds common use in the OT as a simple reference to an individual as a human being or an offspring of a human being. For example, “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent” (Num 23:19). This could be seen in contrast to the phrase “sons of God” used in Job 6:1-3, where many commentators see a reference to angels, or super-humans, as opposed to the offspring of humans, in that case, “daughters of men.” Essentially, the phrase emphasizes the humanness of the individual(s).

The writer of Hebrews, though, quotes Psalm 8:4 and applies it to Jesus:

But one has testified somewhere, saying, “What is man, that You remember him? Or the son of man, that You are concerned about him? You have made him for a little while lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor, and have appointed him over the works of Your hands; You have put all things in subjection under his feet.” (Heb 2:6–8a)

Jesus was made human, and indeed, in referring to Himself as the Son of Man identified with His fellow human beings.

Most poignant is the Messianic background of the phrase, found in Daniel’s prophecy: “I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, and He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him” (Dan 7:13). Obscure in Daniel, yet clearly seen in Jesus, the Son of Man came from heaven and would return to the Father’s presence (“the Ancient of Days”) at His ascension. As Daniel goes on to say, “And to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations and men of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed” (Dan 7:14).

Jesus, as Son of Man, presented Himself as fully human, yet also as the promised Messiah who would one day rule the world. To use Mark Twain’s novel “The Prince and the Pauper” as an analogy, the second person of the Trinity, “the Prince,” became a human being, “the Pauper,” and dwelt among fellow human beings, only to reassume His royal position in the end. But in the process, as we stray from Twain’s novel, this Pauper became the Savior.

Lord, I praise You for becoming human like me so that You could be my Savior.