Ultimately, we are at a loss about the concepts both of the humans and of God without help from above that is available through revelation coming from God. This kind of revelation is about both God and the humans and their relationship communicated to us through the Word of God. In this context, the importance and relevance of the concept of Son of Man cannot be exaggerated. Here we have a bridge between God and the humans that should be a reflection of the reality of both God and the humans. The title ' Son of Man ' applied to Jesus Christ to himself aptly describes the interpenetrating nature of both God and the humans in his own person, being both the Son of God as His Word and being a full human being through incarnation.
Jesus referred to himself as Son of Man whenever he wanted to reveal this complex mystery of the relationship between the humans and God. The tendency of the humans is to be tied down by their worldly cares to an extent that an appeal to the higher things very often falls on deaf ears. In order to fundamentally cure this basic malady permeating the very existence of the humans like fault lines in the recesses of the earth inviting sudden earthquakes, Jesus presented himself as the guarantor of human dignity by taking over the role of the Son of Man. He achieved it by becoming the mediator between God and the humans as a bridge connecting the two shores, which are actually two sides of the same water body. This is possible for Jesus Christ in his very being, apart from what he said and did, because of his very nature as God and man. The identification of Jesus Christ with God came through very forcefully, apart from his death and resurrection, from the seemingly desperate cry of Jesus from the cross identifying himself with every human being ever born into this world. The cry itself " My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Mark, 15: 35) is an eloquent testimony to the representative character of all sorts of torture and suffering in this world.
Let us now look at certain important moments in the earthly life of Jesus when he called himself the Son of Man intending to reveal truths ordinarily inaccessible to us. We may say that in all of those instances Jesus revealed directly or indirectly that he is in fact both God and man standing for all humanity, which was incapable of facing God out of its own inadequacy. It is very clear from the references in his public ministry to his second coming as judge of the world and as the mediator between God and even angels that he was one sent by God (Matthew, 24, 30; 25: 31; 26: 64; John, 1: 49). Here we see the meaning of the expression "God's angels ascending and descending upon the Son of Man" (John, 1: 49) in his role as the mediator between God and the entire creation. The constant reference of Jesus to the need of his suffering clearly indicated his human nature, whereas his rising from the dead after his death proclaimed his divinity (Mark, 10: 33-34). It might seem that the answer of Jesus to the one who wanted to follow him wherever he went clearly confirmed his humanity without any reference to his divinity. "Jesus answered, 'Foxes have their holes, the birds their roosts; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head' " ( Luke, 9: 58). A closer reading, however, of this text reveals the implied meaning that the ultimate reason for the inability of Jesus to find a fitting abode for his person is his divinity. This world could not contain him as he was from above, whereas even foxes and birds were able to easily find their abodes here below. This means that those who want to follow Jesus should not be ruled by false hopes dictated by the rationality of this world, ignoring the demands and logic of the Kingdom of God. In the passage about the necessity of eating the flesh and drinking the blood of the Son of Man for eternal life, both the humanity and divinity of Jesus were expressed (John. 6: 53). Jesus himself corroborated the truth of his divinity by reference to the Son of Man ascending to the place where he was before, stressing the priority of the spirit over the flesh in giving life and saying that the words he spoke were both spirit and life (John, 6: 62-63).
Jesus referred to himself as Son of Man whenever he wanted to reveal this complex mystery of the relationship between the humans and God. The tendency of the humans is to be tied down by their worldly cares to an extent that an appeal to the higher things very often falls on deaf ears. In order to fundamentally cure this basic malady permeating the very existence of the humans like fault lines in the recesses of the earth inviting sudden earthquakes, Jesus presented himself as the guarantor of human dignity by taking over the role of the Son of Man. He achieved it by becoming the mediator between God and the humans as a bridge connecting the two shores, which are actually two sides of the same water body. This is possible for Jesus Christ in his very being, apart from what he said and did, because of his very nature as God and man. The identification of Jesus Christ with God came through very forcefully, apart from his death and resurrection, from the seemingly desperate cry of Jesus from the cross identifying himself with every human being ever born into this world. The cry itself " My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Mark, 15: 35) is an eloquent testimony to the representative character of all sorts of torture and suffering in this world.
Let us now look at certain important moments in the earthly life of Jesus when he called himself the Son of Man intending to reveal truths ordinarily inaccessible to us. We may say that in all of those instances Jesus revealed directly or indirectly that he is in fact both God and man standing for all humanity, which was incapable of facing God out of its own inadequacy. It is very clear from the references in his public ministry to his second coming as judge of the world and as the mediator between God and even angels that he was one sent by God (Matthew, 24, 30; 25: 31; 26: 64; John, 1: 49). Here we see the meaning of the expression "God's angels ascending and descending upon the Son of Man" (John, 1: 49) in his role as the mediator between God and the entire creation. The constant reference of Jesus to the need of his suffering clearly indicated his human nature, whereas his rising from the dead after his death proclaimed his divinity (Mark, 10: 33-34). It might seem that the answer of Jesus to the one who wanted to follow him wherever he went clearly confirmed his humanity without any reference to his divinity. "Jesus answered, 'Foxes have their holes, the birds their roosts; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head' " ( Luke, 9: 58). A closer reading, however, of this text reveals the implied meaning that the ultimate reason for the inability of Jesus to find a fitting abode for his person is his divinity. This world could not contain him as he was from above, whereas even foxes and birds were able to easily find their abodes here below. This means that those who want to follow Jesus should not be ruled by false hopes dictated by the rationality of this world, ignoring the demands and logic of the Kingdom of God. In the passage about the necessity of eating the flesh and drinking the blood of the Son of Man for eternal life, both the humanity and divinity of Jesus were expressed (John. 6: 53). Jesus himself corroborated the truth of his divinity by reference to the Son of Man ascending to the place where he was before, stressing the priority of the spirit over the flesh in giving life and saying that the words he spoke were both spirit and life (John, 6: 62-63).
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