In the Gospel of Mark at Jesus' trial before the Jewish leaders, we read the following:
"But he remained silent and made no answer. Again the high priest asked him, 'Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?' And Jesus said, 'I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.' (Mark 14:61-62 ESV, cf. Matt. 26:64)
Jesus here refers to Himself as being the "Son of Man". This title of Jesus has been a big subject of debate among scholarship and in discussing the deity of Christ. In particular, Daniel 7 is a key text since it is regarded as a direct allusion by Jesus:
"I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a 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." (Daniel 7:13-14)
I think there are good arguments to think that the "son of man" referred to here is a divine figure, none other than the Messiah Himself (Jesus).
In verse 14, it teaches that the entire world will serve the "son of man". The specific Hebrew verb that is used here is the word פְלַח. In the book of Daniel, this verb is used to denote service to God or worship in some sense (it is also used for the service of false gods):
"....These men, O king, pay no attention to you; they do not serve (פָלְחִ֔ין) your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up." (Daniel 3:12)
"Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, “Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve (פָּֽלְחִ֔ין) my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up?" (Daniel 3:14)
"If this be so, our God whom we serve (פָֽלְחִ֔ין) is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. " (Daniel 3:17)
"But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve (פָֽלְחִ֔ין) your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up. " (Daniel 3:18)
".....and yielded up their bodies rather than serve (יִפְלְח֤וּן) and worship any god except their own God. " (Daniel 3:28)
" Then the king commanded, and Daniel was brought and cast into the den of lions. The king declared to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve (פָּֽלַֽח) continually, deliver you!" (Daniel 6:16)
"The king declared to Daniel, 'O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve (פָּֽלַֽח) continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?' " (Daniel 6:20)
"And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve (יִפְלְח֑וּן) him" (Daniel 7:14)
Here is the Brown Driver Briggs entry for this verb:
Notice it cites Daniel 7:14 as an instance where the meaning "to serve God" is located.
Here are some commentaries on the verse:
John Calvin: "As it were the Son of man appeared in the clouds. Without doubt this is to be understood of Christ, and the Jews, perverse as they are, are ashamed to deny it, although they differ afterwards about Christ. But the object of the vision was to enable the faithful certainly to expect the promised Redeemer in his own time. He had been endued with heavenly power, and was seated at his Father’s right hand." (https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/cal/daniel-7.html)
John Gill: "and, behold one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven; not Judas Maccabaeus, as Porphyry; nor the Roman people, as Grotius; nor the people of Israel, as Aben Ezra; nor the people of the saints of the most High, as Cocceius; but the Messiah, as most Christian interpreters, and even the Jews themselves, both ancient and modern, allow.(https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/geb/daniel-7.html)
In fact, Rashi (a Jewish commentator) says the following:
"one like a man was coming That is the King Messiah." (source)
Notice also that Daniel 7:13 speaks of the "son of man" as being one who comes with the clouds of heaven. Such language is used of Yahweh elsewhere in the Bible:
"An oracle concerning Egypt. Behold, the LORD is riding on a swift cloud and comes to Egypt; and the idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence, and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them." (Isaiah 19:1)
"Sing to God, sing praises to his name; lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts; his name is the LORD; exult before him! " (Psalm 68:4)
"The LORD is slow to anger and great in power, and the LORD will by no means clear the guilty. His way is in whirlwind and storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. " (Nahum 1:3)
" He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters; he makes the clouds his chariot; he rides on the wings of the wind; " (Psalm 104:3)
This theophany is also used in the Qur'an to describe Allah:
"Will they wait until Allah comes to them in canopies of clouds, with angels (in His train) and the question is thus settled? But to Allah do all questions go back (for decision)" (Surah 2:210, Yusuf Ali Translation)
New Testament scholars have recognized the importance of this issue in regards to Jesus' use of the term "Son of Man":
"it can hardly be doubted that Dan. 7 was the source upon which Jesus based his own understanding and to which he pointed in his use of the term ["son of Man"]. (Richard Longnecker, The Christology of Early Jewish Christianity, pg. 90)
"The mention of clouds with the Son of man's coming in Mk. 13:26 and 14:62 deliberately recalls Dan 7:13." (Craig Keener, The Historical Jesus of the Gospels, pg. 202, source)
In the next article we will deal with what the Jewish writing 1 Enoch says about this issue, and also briefly touch on key aspects of the scholarly debate over 1 Enoch.
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