Gerhard van Honthorst, Christ before the High Priest (c. 1617)
According to the gospels, the title that Jesus most frequently used to describe Himself was “the Son of Man”. Jesus took the title “Son of Man” from truly amazing prophecies in the Old Testament book of Daniel.
The prophet Daniel was a Jew who grew up in pagan Babylon after the Babylonians conquered Israel in 605BC. As a boy, Daniel was employed in the service of the Babylonian king. One day, the king was disturbed by a confusing dream. The king dreamt of a great statue (Dan 2:31-45). The head was made of gold, the chest of silver, the waist of bronze, the legs and feet of iron mixed with clay. As the king looked at this statue, he saw a stone come from heaven and strike the feet of the statue, destroying it. The stone then grew into a great mountain in place of the statue. By a gift of grace, God showed Daniel the meaning of the dream: each part of the statue referred to different future kingdoms. The golden head referred to the kingdom of Babylon. The silver chest referred to the kingdom of Media-Persia, which conquered Babylon. The bronze waist referred to the kingdom of Greece, which conquered Media-Persia. The iron and clay legs referred to the Empire of Rome, which conquered Greece. The stone (which comes from heaven, strikes the statue’s feet, destroys the statue, and grows into a mountain) refers to the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is the Church, which came from heaven in the person of Jesus during the Roman Empire, supplanted the Roman Empire, and spread across the whole world.
Later, Daniel has a vision of his own (Dan 7:1-28). In his vision, Daniel saw “four great beasts come up out of the sea, different from one another.” Then, Daniel sees “one that was ancient of days take his seat; his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool… A stream of fire issued from before him; a thousand thousands served him…” As Daniel watches, the beasts are slain and “their dominion was taken away.” Finally, Daniel sees “one like a son of man, coming on the clouds of heaven, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.” The four beasts refer to the monarchs of each of the four kingdoms of Babylon, Media-Persia, Greece, and Rome. The “ancient of days,” dressed in white and surrounded by fire, is none other than God the Father. The “one like a son of man” is Jesus, the Son of God, the monarch of the fifth kingdom, which is the Kingdom of God, the Church.
Finally, Daniel receives a message from the Archangel Gabriel (Dan 9:24-27). Gabriel declares that there will be “seventy weeks of years” (490 years) between the restoration of Jerusalem and the coming of the Messiah. Gabriel declares that, after the 490 years, the Messiah will be “cut off” (put to death) “to put an end to sin”. The restoration of Jerusalem began in 457BC. Fast-forward 490 years and we come to 33AD, the year of Our Lord’s death.
Jesus frequently describes Himself as the Son of Man because He is the King of the Kingdom of God (the Church) who will be killed to “put an end to sin.” In fact, Jesus was condemned to death by the Sanhedrin precisely because he described Himself as “the Son of Man, seated at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven” (Matt 26:64; Dan 7:13). Now we can understand what Jesus means in today’s Gospel when he says: “The Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of men; they will put him to death.”
To learn more, check out episode 5 of Brant Pitre’s The Case for Jesus on FORMED: https://watch.formed.org/lectio-the-case-for-jesus
Or you might like to try the book: https://veritatis.com.au/product/the-case-for-jesus/