Some theories about the Son of Man have gained less popularity than others. Some of the less widely held theories are those that derive the New Testament expression from Ezekiel, the Psalms, or Primal Man speculation. One theory equates the titles “Son of Man” and “Son of God.” While most scholars have focused on the expression in the Synoptics, others have examined the expression in the Fourth Gospel.

Son of man in Ezekiel

In the book of Ezekiel, God addresses the prophet on numerous occasions as “son of man” (ben adam). Since the Reformation, some scholars have argued that Jesus employed this term (or its Aramaic equivalent) in the same way that it is employed in Ezekiel. But how is it used in Ezekiel? Depending upon the interpreter, it expresses prophetic office, human lowliness, or ideal humanity.

Ezekiel's son of man as prophet

One of the earliest interpreters to appeal to Ezekiel as a source for the Gospel expression “Son of Man” was Martin Chemnitz (d. 1586). According to Chemnitz, Ezekiel was called “son of man” by God “because he had been sent by God into public office and ministry in the congregation” (Chemnitz 1600: 2.150 at John 3.13). Thus Jesus used “Son of Man” (among other reasons) because it expressed his office as a prophet. This interpretation reappears occasionally in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

In the nineteenth century, Maurice Vernes (1874: 186–88) gave the same explanation: when Jesus called himself “the Son of Man,” it signified “the prophet,” as in Ezekiel. Like John the Baptist, Jesus was a prophet charged to announce the imminent coming of Yahweh.