Who is the Son of Man in Mark? Part One: Ezekiel’s Background

In Mark 2:10, Jesus refers to himself as the Son of Man for the first time in the story: “The Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” This is a title that we can easily rush over without too much consideration. We might read it as a unique title for Jesus alone but usually nothing more than that. Mark 2:10 and 2:28 are the only times that Jesus uses this title in the first half of the book (the book of power). In the book of suffering (Mark 8:31-16:8), he describes himself in this way 12 times. This theme then is heavily emphasized as Jesus approaches the cross. The title, even biblically, is indeed obscure. It is used as a priestly and messianic person only in Ezekiel and Daniel in the Old Testament. (We do see the term used in this specific way elsewhere but more generally to humanity (i.e., Psalm 8:4)). In Daniel and Ezekiel, this title is vastly important. But we do not know this great significance until the New Testament when Jesus picks it up and interprets it to be about himself. What is curious then is that as much as Jesus makes of the title, the Old Testament is fairly silent and definitely ambiguous on the meaning of the Son of Man. Ezekiel uses the title 93 times- more than any other book of the Bible. Ezekiel does play an important background to the Son of Man mission in Jesus, but Daniel’s passages about the Son of Man seem to be more weighty as Jesus alludes to them more. These passages concern the latter days (what we now know to be the time after the resurrection), and these are the primary texts of background for when Jesus uses the title. For all that Daniel contributes to the conversation, he amazingly only uses the title two times. Then, the term goes silent through the rest of the prophets. We do not see it again in the Bible until the gospels. Jesus then resurrects the title and uses it a total of 82 times to describe himself. With that many references, I think it is clear that we should seek to understand what Jesus is teaching as he refers to himself in the third person as the Son of Man. Our study will zoom in on Jesus’ use of this title in the gospel according to Mark. When Jesus refers to himself as the Son of Man, he is assuming the eschatological role of the Son of Man that is detailed in Ezekiel in Daniel. He is the fulfillment of these passages. This article will survey Ezekiel’s use of this title and then bring those conclusions to help us interpret Jesus’ proclamation that he himself is the Son of Man. 

Ezekiel uses the title son of man more than any other book of the Bible, so it should naturally be where we get the most clues for the right interpretation of the term. Unlike Jesus, Ezekiel does not call himself the Son of Man, but it is rather how God addresses him: “And God said to me, ‘Son of Man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you’’” (Ez. 2:1). This begins the pattern for God addressing Ezekiel as the Son of Man. This passage in Ezekiel 2 is a great place to begin analyzing the meaning of this title. Here is the full quote:

2:1 “And he said to me, ‘Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you.’ 2 And as he spoke to me, the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me. 3 And he said to me, ‘Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. 4 The descendants also are impudent and stubborn: I send you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ 5 And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that a prophet has been among them. 6 And you, son of man, be not afraid of them, nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions. Be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house. 7 And you shall speak my words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house. 8 But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Be not rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you.’”

The first thing we learn is that God speaks to the Son of Man. This voice comes to this Israelite at a time when God has been silent as Israel suffers in exile. In this moment of silence, God raises up a prophet, the Son of Man, through whom he would speak to his people. As God spoke, the Son of Man needed the Spirit to empower him to hear the voice of God. Without the Spirit, Ezekiel would have been in one of the camps of the bad soils of Mark 4. Anyone can hear the voice of God (today by reading Scripture), but only those with the Spirit are able to understand/perceive it. God speaks to the Son of Man, and he gives him the Spirit for understanding. Next, the son of man is sent to Israel who is rebellious against God. This person is sent to a people to speak God’s voice to them. 2:5 teaches that some will hear and others will not, but, the Son of Man is charged to speak to the rebellious house regardless of their response. Next, in 2:6, God commands the Son of Man to speak even though he will experience suffering because of his words. He tells Ezekiel that he will sit on scorpions and experience briers and thorns. Even through the suffering, the Son of Man is charged to not be afraid but to continue speaking as God directs him. 2:8 brings the passage to it's climax as the Son of Man is to be distinct from the people around him by way of listening to the voice of God. When everyone else is sleeping and rejecting the voice, the Son of Man is to persevere and continually listen. Whatever God speaks to the Son of Man, he is to share with Israel. The Son of Man then is a prophet. God calls him a prophet in 2:5, and he gives him the prophetic voice of authority in 2:4: “Thus says the Lord.” 

There are several parallels between this charge to this Son of Man and the role of Jesus in the gospels. His mission on earth fits and fulfills the typological pattern of this charge to the Son of Man in Ezekiel. Jesus only speaks what God commands him (John 12:50). He speaks continually to the rebellious house of Israel (Mark 6:4-6). God sent him to speak, and he has a specific mission to complete (John 12:27). At the beginning of his ministry, the Spirit descends on him (Mark 1:10). He is the prophet for Israel and the world (John 6:14). 

Obviously, the Son of Man is used dozens of more times in Ezekiel outside of this passage. I lean on the work of Jim Hamilton and Chrys Caragounis to summarize the meaning of the role throughout the whole book: a representative (of the exiled people), intercessor, and substitute (he is the one who takes on the punishment in 3:25) (Hamilton quotes Caragounis in With the Clouds of Heaven: The Book of Daniel in Biblical Theology, James M. Hamilton, Jr., 2014). This summary also serves as the summary of the mission of Jesus. We should see Jesus’ self-referral as the Son of Man to be along the same lines and as a completion of what Ezekiel was charged to do and what he completed. This background work from Ezekiel is helpful for us in Mark because we can see that Jesus is fulfilling the Son of Man’s roles to represent his people, interceded for his people, and to suffer on behalf of them.