We often read the Lord Jesus Christ being called the "Son of God," and rightfully so because He is the only begotten Son of God. On the other hand, we also read that He loved to call Himself the "Son of Man." Why is this so? Why was Jesus called the Son of man?
God and man
The Bible clearly presents Jesus as having a divine nature and a human nature. He was fully God and fully man at the same time.
The Gospels present Jesus Christ as having been conceived by the Holy Spirit inside the womb of a woman, a virgin named Mary (see Matthew 1:18-25). From this simple account alone we find reasons why He was called the Son of God and the Son of Man.
- First, Christ Jesus is the only begotten Son of God. On that note, God never had another begotten child through another person. There wasn't and will never be another "begotten Son of God" (see Galatian2 1:6-9; 2 Corinthians 11:3-4). All Christians are adopted sons and daughters of God through Christ (see Ephesians 1:5).
- Second, Christ Jesus was a real human. Just like you and me, He was formed inside a womb, and was born after some time (although the Bible doesn't give specific dates when). He grew up in a family, grew in different areas, and eventually reached adulthood (see Luke 2:52).
Unlike you and me, however, Christ was God at the same time He was human. The Creator of the universe taking on the form of His creation made in His image and likeness (see John 1:1-3, 14).
The Messiah
That said, it would be easier for us to understand why Christ called Himself the "Son of Man." Pastor John Piper notes that this was Jesus' favorite self-designation, a title that no one else used to call Him.
Jesus' use of the phrase was probably a reference to the "Son of Man" mentioned in Daniel 7:13-14, the Messiah who would be exalted and would inherit God's eternal Kingdom, Don Stewart, writing for Blue Letter Bible, noted.
"I saw in the night visions, and there was one like a Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven. He came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. There was given to Him 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 that which shall not be destroyed." (Daniel 7:13-14 MEV)
Indeed, Jesus was and is the Son of Man who came to do the will of the Father, and the Son of Man who ascended into heaven and will come again (see John 6:38; Mark 16:19; Acts 1:11).
A very personal love
Perhaps, Christ also loved calling Himself that so that each and every person could understand that God wants to reach out to all of us, and what better way to do that than by being one of us: fragile beings that are limited to time, space, energy and nutrition (see Hebrews 4:15).
Perhaps, Christ loved to introduce Himself that way so that we would all realize that God came in the flesh to liberate us all from sin and show that He loves us truly, and is not counting our sins against Him (see John 3:16, 1:14, 14:9; 2 Corinthians 5:19).
Perhaps, Christ used that title so that He could show us that, by living in the Spirit and for God's pleasure, we humans who believe in Him can live a holy and victorious life with no need to obey what the flesh demands (see 1 John 3:2-3; Galatians 5:6).
Perhaps, Christ introduced Himself that way to reveal to us His very humble nature: that while Israel waited for a warlord of a Messiah, He would actually arrive without fanfare, without pomp, and truly without anything flashy to attract us to Him (see Matthew 21:1-11, Isaiah 53:2; Matthew 11:29).
We may not exactly know why Jesus called Himself that, but we do know that the Son of God became a Son of Man in order to save all humankind and bring all who would believe in Him to God (see 1 John 2:2; John 14:6).
