Jesus asked this question of his disciples. Their answer was:
"Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets." (Matt. 16:14)
Jesus' question has two components. The first component is naturally that Jesus had a concern regarding how the people perceived him. In other words, he wanted to make sure that the perception of who he was was correct. Why does this matter?
We can see by his disciples' answer that then, as is today, people were speculating about who Jesus was, despite his teachings about himself. It is important that people saw him as he was: God's servant. This is why Jesus said:
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." (Matt. 7:21)
So in other words, we could call Jesus "lord" yet miss the entire point of his teachings: To love and serve God. (As doing someone's will means caring for them and serving them.)
The second component of Jesus' question lies within his self-identification as “the son of man.” What is the meaning of this proclamation? Let us examine this.
As we discussed earlier, throughout the English translation of both the old and new testaments there is the use of the word “son” when that word is difficult to understand in the context. What is a “son of man” anyway? While a man can certainly have a son, does it make sense that Jesus is describing himself as a son of a man? Certainly not.
However, the use of "son" becomes clarified by the history of biblical translations. The early Aramic and Hebrew texts of the Bible were all translated first into Greek, and the Greek translations formed the basis for the English versions accepted by the ecclesiastical church officials in the fourth century forward.
The word "son" is translated from the Greek word υἱός (huios). This indicate a relationship of father/son only in the context of physical families. Within the context of spiritual life, we must use the definition, as taken from the Greek lexicon: "one who depends on another or is his follower."
With regard to the word "man" in "son of man", the Greek word ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos) can certainly refer to man, but it can also refer to “mankind,” or "humanity."
Using this, we find that the correct translation of υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου (τοῦ means "of"), would be:
"servant of humanity"
This meaning is consistent with the use of υἱός (huios) as "servant" in other verses. For example, here is a New King James Version translation of a verse from Acts:
"To you first, God, having raised up His servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning every one of you away from his iniquities." (Acts 3:26 NKJV)
whereas the old King James version says:
"Unto you first God, having raised up his son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities." (Acts 3:26 KJV)
Thus also means, from other verses, that Jesus is more appropriately described as the "loving servant of God" rather than the "son of God."
Now we can insert some intelligence into the equation. Simply put, the expression “a servant of humanity” would certainly make sense should someone be identifying their mission, when in fact they were trying to help others achieve the goal of spiritual perfection. This would be the only practical and logical conclusion of Jesus' self-identification: He considered himself to be a “servant of humanity.”
This usage and mistranslation to "son" instead of "servant" is not limited to Jesus. From Hebrew texts, we also find the words "Abel" and "Ben" used to describe special prophets. These two words can also have the double meaning of "son" and "servant."
Consider this text from Genesis:
When men began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. (Genesis 6:1-3)
So here we have many "sons of God" as well as "daughters of men." Who are the "sons of God" here? Did God give birth to a limited number of "sons"? The translation has simply been misconstrued. These were "servants of God." Consider this statement which uses the same Hebrew construed in other verses as "son":
All these now join their brothers the nobles, and bind themselves with a curse and an oath to follow the Law of God given through Moses the servant of God and to obey carefully all the commands, regulations and decrees of the LORD our Lord.
(Nehemiah 10:28-30)
Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses. (2 Corinthians 6:3-5)
Jesus was not the only servant of God to also be addressed as "son of man" when it came to their purpose of teaching people about God. This is confirmed when Ezekiel states:
Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around Him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking.
He said to me, "son of man, stand up on your feet and I will speak to you." As He spoke, the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet, and I heard him speaking to me. He said: "Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their fathers have been in revolt against me to this very day. The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says.' And whether they listen or fail to listen—for they are a rebellious house—they will know that a prophet has been among them. And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns are all around you and you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of what they say or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious house. You must speak My words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious. But you, son of man, listen to what I say to you. Do not rebel like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you." (Ezekiel 1:28-2:7)
If Jesus is the only “son of man,” then why is Ezekiel being addressed this way? It is because “son of man” actually means “servant of humanity:” One who serves all of humanity, just as God was asking Ezekiel to do.
Let's consider an analogy. Let's say that someone is locked up in jail. The judge sends a message via a courier to the jailhouse to release the prisoner. As the courier enters the jailhouse, the prisoner recognizes the courier. He remembers seeing the courier in the courtroom, carrying the messages from the judge to the jails. The courier is greeted with great respect and appreciation by the prisoner, because what the courier delivered, released the prisoner.
In the same way, God's messenger dutifully delivers God's message that He wants us back. As the messenger does this, he sees himself as not only God's messenger: He sees himself as the servant of all of humanity.
