I just read somewhere that Jesus refers to himself as The Son of Man 47 times in the New Testament. It got me wondering what that means.
I put this in GD because:
A: It is about religion and
B: I’m not sure there is a definitive answer (I may be wrong) and guess it will spark debate. Mods, please forgive me if I’m wrong and move it at your will.
Because he was human.
In hebrew/Aramaic idiom, “Son of Man” (or “Son of Adam”) was just a generic term for human beings. All human beings were “sons of Man.”
Because Daniel describes the Messiah as a “Son of Adam.” (i.e a human), the phrase was used in a titular sense for Jesus by the gospel writers (although there is some evidence that the Essenes may have used it as an elliptical reference to the Messiah as well).
As far as what Jesus meant, it’s hard to know what Jesus actually said or didn’t say but some of the Q sayings could be read as referring to humans in general (e.g. “…the Son of Adam has nowhere to lay his head.”) Other sayings have clear Messianic intent but it’s debatable whether those sayings are authentic to Jesus,
In any case, the writers of the gospels read it as a title for the Messiah but it’s common usage during Jesus’ time was for all human beings.
The cite I provided claims that “Son Of Man” was always (and only, with one exception) spoken by (attributed to) Jesus, and was not used by the disciples or by the Gospel writers in their third-person references to Jesus.
When I say that writers of the gospels used the phrase, I mean that they put it into Jesus’ mouth. NT scholars regard each individual book as being the words of the author, including whatever quotations they decide to attribute to Jesus. It is true enough that the character of “Jesus” in these books is quoted as using the phrase in a self-referential, titular manner. It is doubtful at best, however, that Jesus actually said everything that’s attributed to him in the gospels or what he did say is quoted accurately.
What I’m saying is that, in the time and place that Jesus lived (and before). the phrase was a generic reference to all human beings. If Jesus actually used the phrase himself, he most probably used it in the ordinary manner. The NT authors (who did not know Aramaic or Hebrew and were not eyewitnesses or contemporaries of Jesus) chose to interpret the phrase as a titular reference to the Messiah and accordingly made Jesus use it that way too.
Dio, you write with understanding as well as knowledge about Judeo-Christian matters. Are you in fact a Christian or a Jew? I guess the old timers know this, but I don’t.
I call myself an agnostic. I was raised pretty much as a Catholic but quit practicing many years ago (my wife is still RCC and is raising our daughter as a Catholic).
Even though I’m personally agnostic, I have a fascination with religion and especially with early Christian history and Biblical criticism. I pursued this interest in college and got a BA in Religious Studies with an emphasis on Biblical Studies.
I have continued to pursue the subject quite avidly after college as well. I may be a Godless heathen but I’m an educated one.
The preponderance of times Ezekiel is referred to as “Son of Man” and Daniel’s use of that term in referring to a Messianic person/company had been linked by James B. Jordan of Biblical Horizons Ministries.
“Ezekiel” is set around the 580’s BC destruction of Jerusalem by Babylon, the same time “Daniel” is set. Ezekiel makes a reference to a Dan’el, which we conservative Biblicists hold may well by that Daniel. Liberal Biblicists tend to believe Daniel was written much later, around 160s BC, and that Ezekiel was referring to some other personage, historic or legendary. Either way, the writer of Daniel may well have been referencing Ezekiel in Dan 7 as the “Son of Man” approaches the Ancient of Days Who is enthroned among Wheels of Fire (“Ezekiel saw da Wheel!” 
) to receive the Kingdom. Ezekiel is a 30-yr old priest who has visions of the Throne-Chariot of God, complete with Cherubim & Wheel-Angels (Ophannim), and is given a Scroll to consume, which foretells Destroying Judgment & eventual Restoration upon Judea under a Davidic Prince.
When Jesus assumed his Messianic ID (whether or not one holds he was really Messiah), he seems to have taken on himself Daniel’s Son of Man imagery in Ch 7 & Messiah Prince whose death will herald the coming Destroying Abomination in Ch 9, combining that with Israel’s Suffering Servant. Jesus was around 30 at His Baptism by his kinsman John, also 30, who operated as an extra-Temple “rogue” priest conducting Mikvahs. and then took on John’s ministry after his execution by Herod, thus making JC himself a kinda proxy-priest, especially when JC referenced Psalm 110 to himself, making himself a Melkizedekian priest. His Baptism was regarded a Coronation (“This is My Beloved Son…”) & his teachings did included an element, which grew as his ministry neared its end, of Judgement against the Establishment, especially the Priesthood & Temple. So it’s not improbably that JC saw himself as the “Son of Man” being a latter-day Ezekiel
Are you referencing Lord Summerisle (Christopher Lee) in THE WICKER MAN? :dubious: