WHO IS THE SON OF MAN?
Those who called out to Jesus from the crowd were correct to assume that Jesus’ preferred title, “Son of Man,” was in fact a Messianic title. Certainly, it was the title of the exalted figure that appeared before the throne of God in Daniel 7, so serious students of Scripture would recognize it. However, when Jesus spoke of the looming death of the Son of Man, the crowd questioned His use of the title. Was Jesus using “Son of Man” in some other context? Who is this Son of Man that would die?
The Jewish crowd was correct to recognize the Son of Man title as Messianic, but they were incorrect to forget the Scriptures that pointed to the Anointed One’s suffering. There are indeed two threads of Messianic prophecy in the Old Testament. One prophetic thread portrays Him as the Righteous King who sits on David’s throne forever, while the other thread describes Him as a Suffering Servant who is like a “man of sorrows” who is “wounded for our transgressions” (Isa. 53:3-5). The crowd looked for the first, but missed the second. For the second actually had to precede the first. Yet, the Suffering Servant they rejected will indeed come again as the Righteous King they anticipated. Their partial knowledge led them to a total error.
Who is this Son of Man? He is Jesus, the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of God and Son of Man. He is the fulfillment of every Messianic Scripture written. He is both Suffering Servant and Eternal King.