Jesus as son of man

• in the Old Testament, this was a very ambiguous term:

  • it could mean 'I', a human being, a representative of humanity or a supernatural figure bringing god's judgement
• it was Jesus' preferred title for himself- its ambiguity made it less likely that he would be thought of as a power figure and potential revolutionary
• he used it to describe his role as the 'suffering servant' spoken of in the Old Testament and to his god-given authority both in the present and the future
• it also humanises him, making him seem to christians that he is the same of them, sharing their suffering