Who is the Son of Man in Mark? Part 2: Daniel’s Background

The ‘Son of Man’ title appears in the gospels several times, and it is especially important for us at EBC as we journey through the second half of Mark. We need a more biblical understanding of the term to determine what Jesus communicates when he refers to himself as such. The Son of Man brings in a context of a long-expected inaugurating kingdom when Jesus will meet the Ancient of Days (God). This happens at the crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension, and it will bring in the eternal priesthood that was promised to David and that Adam was charged to fulfill at the beginning. Jesus fulfills it all, and, following the timeline of Daniel concerning the triumph of the Son of Man, the kingdom has been inaugurated. 

Undeniably, the most helpful and illuminating passage to clarify Jesus’ self-title “son of man” comes from Daniel 7:13: “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.” Here is the needed antidote that follows the description of the terrible beasts of 7:1-12. Out of all the chaos and all the danger that the beasts will impose on the earth, the Son of Man will come forth at the right time to defeat the kings of evil and inaugurate his kingdom. Interestingly, this is the only time “Ancient of Days” appears in all of Scripture, but it is a reference to the eternal God. The coming one is the Son of Man, and, in the gospels, Jesus reveals himself to be this son of man who is coming to his kingdom. He is on his way to the Ancient of Days, God Almighty, to inaugurate his kingdom out of the terrible chaos of the controlling beasts. Jesus quotes Daniel 7:13 explicitly twice in Mark (“And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory” (13:26) 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’” (14:62)), and he implicitly alludes to Daniel’s Son of Man several times. He places the narrative of his life exactly in the storyline of Daniel’s vision. He is the long expected Son of Man who will come to inaugurate his kingdom by crushing the beasts of evil that plague this fallen world. In Mark 14:62 that is quoted above, Jesus combines Daniel 7:13 with Psalm 110:1, and this connection teaches us about Jesus’ interpretation of Daniel’s vision. He saw it as priestly and kingly. In Psalm 110, David sees a priest coming to “execute judgment on the nations” (king) and to inaugurate an everlasting kingdom. This is the connection that Jesus makes with Daniel 7:13. Furthermore, the second line of Daniel’s vision brings in contexts of priest and kingdom: “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.” In this passage, it is clear that the Son of Man will be given eternal dominion, glory, and kingship at the inauguration of his kingdom. When Jesus adds in the context of Psalm 110 in Mark 14:62, we know that the element of eternal priesthood is also connected with this vision. Jesus sees himself as the one who fulfills all of these expectations. 

With that summary of Danielic background to Jesus’ usage of the Son of Man title in the gospels, let’s combine this together and ask the question, So what? What’s the point? How does this Old Testament work add weight to Jesus as the Son of Man?

I think the most striking reference to this title in Mark is when Jesus is at trial with the high priest in Mark 14:60-62:

“And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, ‘Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?’ 61 But he remained silent and made no answer. Again the high priest asked him, ‘Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?’ 62 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.’ And the high priest tore his garments and said, ‘What further witnesses do we need? 64 You have heard his blasphemy. What is your decision?’ And they all condemned him as deserving death.” 

Any reader can deduce that Jesus is very pointed here with the high priest. His response to the priest’s question sparked some tremendous anger. It was enough that Jesus admitted to being the Christ, but he added so many coals to the fire when he quoted Daniel 7:13 to say that he is also the Son of Man and the fulfillment of Daniel’s vision. This is offensive to the high priest because of the priestly connotations to that passage that we discussed above. Remember that this Son of Man figure is one of eternal priesthood and kingdom. Even more, Jesus adds in the context of an eternal priesthood from Psalm 110 when he adds, “at the right hand of power.” The priests would think that these two passages are about the priesthood as they know it- to be about themselves. But, Jesus provides an alternative answer. Speaking directly to the high priest, Jesus confesses himself to be the fulfillment of everything priestly in the Old Testament and the fulfillment of the priesthood itself. Jesus implies that if he is the fulfillment of the priesthood, then this current priesthood, the one that this high priest is currently operating in, is only temporary and is about to end so that the new kingdom can be inaugurated as it comes with the clouds of heaven. This high priest knew what Jesus was doing, and this is what sparked his outrage. We can understand that Jesus is being direct with the high priest whether or not we know of the Danielic background, but knowing the Bible better brings so much more emphasis into this statement. We can understand why the high priest reacted so dramatically. It is a good reminder that we must interpret the Bible with the Bible. The New Testament is an interpretation of the Old Testament. We have to discipline ourselves and strive to be more familiar with the entire Bible because it is the key to its own interpretation.