Why Is Jesus Sometimes Called the Son of Man and Sometimes the Son of God?
It is held that Jesus, in applying to himself the title Son of Man, intended to emphasize his humanity and his representative character. The Jews were looking for a Messiah who would raise Israel to the head of the nations; Jesus wished to impress the disciples with the fact that he was representative of the whole human race and not of the Jews only. Then, too, to have spoken openly of himself as the Son of God would have been at once to exasperate the Jews and bring upon himself a charge of blasphemy, as in the end it did (see John 10:36). The title, Son of Man, was not open to that danger, as it was expressive of lowliness, humility and identification with humanity. In using it, however, Jesus did not withdraw his claim to be the Son of God. When the High Priest put him on his oath (see Matt. 26:63-65) he acknowledged that he was the Son of God.
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