Ho Huios tou Anthropou: The Son of Man

Word of the Week

January 17, 2026

Ho Huios tou Anthropou: The Son of Man

 

For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.

Luke 19:10 NASB

 

The doctor who delivered all our children was known as A. Paul Kehle.  He liked to be called Paul, and it wasn’t until I saw one of his diplomas on the wall that I discovered why: the “A” stood for Arwald – a name he evidently preferred not to advertise!

We all make similar choices.  Do you introduce yourself as Robert or Bob?  Margaret or Meg?  Our choices often reveal something about how we see ourselves or how we want others to see us.

When we read the Gospels, we discover that Jesus chose a preferred name for Himself. More than 80 times, He described Himself as “the Son of man.”

Why did He select that title?  Let’s examine the Greek terms and their echoes of Old Testament images.

The Greek words He used were common, simple terms.

“Son” was huios [HWEE-ahss].  It normally refers to a male child, but it could have a broader meaning.  It could include both genders and it might extend to a grandchild.

It could also function as a way to describe someone’s character qualities.  A person who welcomed Christ’s disciples was called “a son of peace” (Luke 10:6), and Jesus urged His hearers to believe in Him as the Light so that they could become “sons of light” John 12:36).  On the darker side, Paul speaks of Ephesians 2:2 mentions “sons of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:2) or “sons of destruction” (2 Thessalonians 2:3).

“Man” was anthrōpos [ahn-THROH-pahss], the generic term for a human being.  Unlike other words that specified male gender, anthrōpos could refer to either male or female.

What did Jesus mean to convey when He used them in combination to describe Himself?

The phrase would have sounded familiar to Jewish ears because of its use in the Old Testament.

Our first stop is the book of Ezekiel.  Ezekiel was a prophet to the Israelites who had been exiled in Babylon. When God talked to Ezekiel, He repeatedly called him “son of man” – nearly 90 times.  The Lord was reminding him again and again that he was human, not divine.  He was not the source of the message; he was a servant receiving God’s word and passing it on to his people.

When Jesus called Himself “Son of man,” He reflected this aspect of the name.  He was identifying himself as genuinely human, sharing our experiences.

This emphasis fits especially well with the Gospel of Luke.  Luke wrote for a largely Greek audience.  Greek thinkers majored on the quest for human perfection and would appreciate the truth that Jesus was the Perfect Man, the One who showed God’s original intent for humanity.

That, however, is not the whole story!

Any devout Jew would recognize that the book of Daniel also stands behind the name “Son of man.”  In Daniel 7, God gave the prophet a vision of the throne room in heaven.  God, the Ancient of Days, was sitting on a throne surrounded by innumerable angels.  Then a new figure approached the throne:

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.  And to Him was given dominion, honor, and a kingdom so that all the people, nations, and languages might serve Him.  His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which will not pass away (Daniel 7:13-14).

The Son of Man in Daniel is no ordinary human.  He is the One who is destined to rule the universe along with His Father.

Ezekiel emphasizes humanity.  Daniel depicts deity.  Both strands make sense when Jesus uses the term.

• The Son of man has authority. He can forgive sins (Luke 5:24).  And He is the one who makes the rules for the sabbath (Luke 6:5).
• The Son of man suffers. He would be rejected, die, and be raised (Luke 18:31-33; 22:69).
• The Son of man will return in glory. He will come again to rule (Luke 21:27).

The title appears again in the book of Revelation, where we once again see “a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was one like a son of man, with a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand,” ready to judge the world (Revelation 14:14).

What a wonderful title Jesus chose for Himself.  As the Son of man, he understands our weaknesses from the inside out.  And as the Son of man, He takes the throne as the Lord of the universe.  That’s Who meets us when we come to Him to pray.

 

Study Hint:

Luke uses this term for Jesus again and again (26 times).  But we find it in the other Gospels as well.  Matthew uses it 32 times, Mark mentions it 14 times, and John gives it 12 times.  Jesus used it so often that it was an inescapable part of the story.  On the other hand, no one else seems to have used it to describe Him..  It appears outside the Gospels only in Acts 7:56 and Revelation 1:13; 14:14.

 

Coming Up

What key word describes the Gospel of John?  Next week we will examine the Greek word for “believe.”  After all, that’s the word used at the heart of John 3:16!

 

©Ezra Project 2026