Part 5 - The Son of Man in Glory - Judgment, Ransom, and Return
Everything in the second half of the Son of Man material bends toward one scene: a figure coming on the clouds, seated on a throne of glory, with the nations gathered before Him. It is the scene Jesus quoted to the high priest when He was under oath and could have defused the charge with a word. He did not defuse it. He made it worse, and the court understood exactly what He had claimed.
Set alongside that are the two sayings where the same title explains why He came — to serve rather than be served, to give His life a ransom, to seek and save the lost. The Son of Man who receives universal dominion in Daniel is the Son of Man who dies for the people He will judge. Scripture holds those together without apology.
This post runs from Caesarea Philippi through Stephen's vision and John's, closing with the cloud-riding evidence — a prerogative the Old Testament reserves to God without exception. For the return itself, see The Second Coming; for the kingdom promised to David's line and inherited here, The Davidic Covenant.
Matthew 16:13 — Who Do People Say the Son of Man Is?
"Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, 'Who do people say that the Son of Man is?' And they said, 'Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.' He said to them, 'But who do you say that I am?' Simon Peter answered, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.'"
The structural genius of this exchange is that Jesus frames the question of His identity using the title "Son of Man," but Peter's God-revealed answer is "the Son of the living God." The question and the answer together demonstrate that neither title alone is sufficient — both are necessary to identify who Jesus truly is. The "Son of Man" is the "Son of God"; the two titles are not competing but complementary.
The popular answers — John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, a prophet — are all great figures of Israel's history, but they all share one thing in common: they are merely human. Even Elijah, who was taken up into heaven, was a created human being. None of these titles can contain who Jesus is. Only the God-revealed confession of Peter — "the Son of the living God" — is adequate. Yet Jesus had asked the question from within the framework of the "Son of Man" title, showing that the Son of Man exceeds every human category imaginable.
Matthew 24:27, 30 — The Coming of the Son of Man
"For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be... and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory."
The Second Coming is consistently described by Jesus using the "Son of Man" title, and consistently depicted with imagery drawn directly from Daniel 7:13–14. The Son of Man comes "on the clouds of the sky" — the same clouds upon which the figure in Daniel's vision arrived before the Ancient of Days. This is unmistakably intentional: Jesus is claiming to be the Daniel 7 Son of Man who will come in cosmic, divine power to establish His eternal kingdom.
"With power and great glory" (μετὰ δυνάμεως καὶ δόξης πολλῆς) — these are divine attributes. The coming is not the return of a human hero but the arrival of the cosmic, glorified Son of Man in the full display of divine power. This glory is the same pre-incarnate glory Jesus prayed to have restored in John 17:5: "Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was."
The comparison to lightning flashing across the entire sky (v. 27) emphasizes the universal, unmistakable, instantaneous nature of His coming. The Second Coming of the Son of Man will not be a private, local event but a cosmic phenomenon visible to all — the final and ultimate proof that the one who suffered and died as the Son of Man is the same one who reigns and returns as the glorified Son of God.
Matthew 25:31 — The Son of Man on His Glorious Throne
"But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne."
The scene described here — the Son of Man sitting on a throne of glory, attended by all the angels, judging all nations — is the fulfillment of Daniel 7:13–14. All nations are gathered before Him (v. 32), and He divides them as a shepherd separates sheep from goats. The scope is cosmic; the authority is absolute; the throne is glorious.
This passage also demonstrates that the "Son of Man" title carries inherently divine dimensions. In the Old Testament, sitting on the divine throne and judging all nations is exclusively God's prerogative (Ps. 9:7–8; Isa. 33:22; Joel 3:12). Jesus the Son of Man sits in judgment over all people of all nations and all of history — a function that cannot belong to a mere creature. Furthermore, in verse 40, the King identifies with "the least of these My brothers" — again asserting His human solidarity with suffering humanity, even from the throne of cosmic glory.
Matthew 26:63–64 — Before the Sanhedrin
Matthew 26:63–64 | Parallel: Mark 14:61–62
"But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest said to Him, 'I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God.' Jesus said to him, 'You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.'"
This is perhaps the most dramatic moment of convergence between the two titles in the entire New Testament. The high priest asks about one title ("Son of God"), and Jesus' answer employs the other ("Son of Man") — and both are affirmed simultaneously. The high priest's question is about divine identity; Jesus' answer is about eschatological authority. The two are inseparable.
The high priest's charge of blasphemy (Matt. 26:65) confirms that Jesus was understood to be claiming divine status. Jesus' response — "you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven" — combines Psalm 110:1 ("sitting at the right hand") with Daniel 7:13 ("coming on the clouds of heaven"). These two passages together constitute one of the highest claims to divine authority in all of Jewish Scripture. Psalm 110:1 was understood as a divine promise to the Messiah, and Daniel 7:13 described the one who received eternal dominion from God Himself.
The charge of blasphemy makes sense only if the authorities understood Jesus to be claiming to be the divine Son of God — a status exclusive to YHWH. The use of "Son of Man" here is not a deflection from the claim to divinity; it is an intensification of it. The "Son of Man" coming on clouds and sitting at the right hand of God is the same person as the "Son of God" addressed by the high priest.
Mark 10:45 — Came to Serve and Give His Life
"For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."
This verse is one of the clearest statements of the purpose of the Incarnation. The Son of Man — the one of Daniel's vision who receives universal worship and eternal dominion — came not to exercise that authority as a ruling king demanding service but to serve and to give His life as a λύτρον (lytron, BDAG 605) — a "ransom, redemption price." The term was used in the Greek world for the price paid to free a slave or a prisoner of war.
The preposition ἀντί (anti, BDAG 87) means "in place of, instead of." The Son of Man gives His life "instead of/in exchange for many" — a substitutionary sacrifice. The "many" (πολλῶν, pollōn) echoes Isaiah 53:11–12, the Suffering Servant who "bore the sins of many." Jesus is the fulfillment of the Servant — and the Servant's suffering is the Son of Man's mission.
This verse perfectly captures why both the "Son of Man" and "Son of God" titles are necessary: only the Son of Man could die (He had human, mortal flesh and blood); only the Son of God could make that death infinitely sufficient for "many." The ransom is eternally valid because the one who paid it is the eternal Son of God. The ransom was paid in blood because the one who paid it was the true Son of Man.
Luke 19:10 — To Seek and Save the Lost
"For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."
Following the conversion of Zacchaeus, Jesus summarizes His entire mission in one sentence using the "Son of Man" title. Three verbs define the mission: "has come" (ἦλθεν, ēlthen) — pointing to the Incarnation; "to seek" (ζητῆσαι, zētēsai) — an active, purposeful searching for the lost; and "to save" (σῶσαι, sōsai) — the ultimate goal of the seeking. The "lost" (τὸ ἀπολωλός, to apolōlos) echoes the imagery of the Lost Sheep, Lost Coin, and Lost Son of Luke 15.
The significance of the title here is that Jesus identifies Himself as the Son of Man precisely when declaring His mission to the marginalized and despised (Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector, socially ostracized). The heavenly figure of Daniel's vision — the one who will judge all nations — entered human history to search for the lost among them. The great dignity of the Son of Man's title is not diminished by His association with sinners; rather, the mission of seeking the lost is shown to be the very purpose for which the Son of Man descended into humanity.
This also aligns with the Shepherd imagery of Ezekiel 34, where YHWH Himself declares that He will seek out His lost sheep (Ezek. 34:16). Jesus doing what YHWH declared He would do is another implicit claim to divine identity.
Luke 22:69 — At the Right Hand of Power
"But from now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God."
Standing before the Sanhedrin at His trial, Jesus declares that after His death He will be "seated at the right hand of the power of God" — the fulfillment of Psalm 110:1. The "right hand" (dexia, BDAG 217) is the seat of supreme honor and authority in ancient Near Eastern culture. To sit at the right hand of God is to share in God's governing authority over creation.
The use of "the power of God" (τῆς δυνάμεως τοῦ θεοῦ) is a reverential circumlocution for "God" — a Jewish practice of avoiding the direct use of the divine name. Jesus is saying He will sit at the right hand of God Himself. This is what Hebrews 1:3 confirms: "He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high."
The same council that is judging the Son of Man will one day see the Son of Man as the cosmic king enthroned at God's right hand — the reversal is total. The condemned becomes the cosmic judge; the one sentenced becomes the one who sentences.
Acts 7:56 — Stephen's Vision of the Standing Son of Man
"...and he said, 'Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.'"
Stephen's vision just before his martyrdom is the only New Testament use of "Son of Man" outside the Gospels, and it is deeply significant. While all other heavenly enthronement passages describe Jesus as sitting at the right hand of God (cf. Ps. 110:1; Heb. 1:3; Col. 3:1), here the Son of Man is standing. This may indicate that He is rising in honor to receive His faithful servant Stephen, or that He is standing in the posture of a witness — the divine Son of Man bearing testimony on Stephen's behalf before the Father.
Notably, the Sanhedrin's reaction to Stephen's declaration is immediate violent rage (Acts 7:57–58). Why? Because Stephen is claiming to see Jesus — who they had crucified — enthroned in the divine realm, at the right hand of God Himself. This is the ultimate vindication of everything Jesus had said before the same council in Luke 22:69: the Son of Man who was condemned now stands in glory at the right hand of God. Stephen's vision is the first post-resurrection, post-ascension confirmation that Jesus occupies the divine throne.
Revelation 1:13; 14:14 — The Glorified Son of Man
Revelation 1:13 | Revelation 14:14
"...and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash."
"Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was one like a son of man, having a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand."
John's visions in Revelation deliberately echo Daniel 7:13–14. The glorified Christ is described as "one like a son of man" — the same language Daniel used — but now clothed in the full regalia of divine majesty: white robe, golden sash, hair white as snow, eyes like a flame of fire, voice like the sound of many waters, face like the sun shining in its strength (Rev. 1:13–16). John falls at His feet as though dead — the response reserved throughout Scripture for encounters with the divine (Rev. 1:17).
In Revelation 14:14, the Son of Man appears on a white cloud wielding a sickle of judgment — seated on the clouds in the posture of cosmic authority exactly as predicted in Matthew 24:30 and Daniel 7:13. The title "Son of Man" in Revelation is therefore not describing a humble human servant but the glorified, reigning, divine-human Lord at the consummation of history.
The Son of Man who had "nowhere to lay His head" (Matt. 8:20) now sits on a white cloud at the right hand of God, crowned, glorified, and executing the final harvest of history.
Additional Corroboration — Cloud-Riding as an Exclusively Divine Prerogative in the Old Testament
Beyond Daniel 7:13, the Old Testament consistently reserves the image of riding or being enthroned on the clouds for YHWH alone — a detail that sharpens the force of Jesus' self-application of "Son of Man" language:
- Isaiah 19:1 — "Behold, the LORD is riding on a swift cloud and is about to come to Egypt."
- Nahum 1:3 — "And clouds are the dust beneath His feet."
- Psalm 104:3 — "He makes the clouds His chariot."
- Psalm 68:4 — traditionally rendered "him who rides through the deserts," though the underlying Hebrew term (ʿărābôt) is better understood in this context as "clouds" — again, YHWH riding the clouds.
Ancient Near Eastern religious texts outside Israel likewise reserved cloud-riding imagery for high gods alone (most famously Baal in Ugaritic literature) — making cloud-riding a widely recognized mark of deity in the ancient world, not a neutral poetic flourish. When Daniel's "Son of Man" figure comes "with the clouds of heaven" (Daniel 7:13) and Jesus applies this vision directly to Himself before the Sanhedrin (Mark 14:61–62), the high priest's charge of blasphemy and act of tearing his garments (Mark 14:63–64) shows the religious authorities understood exactly what Jesus was claiming — not a title of mere humility, but a claim to divine identity that only YHWH holds elsewhere in Scripture.
The Series
Part 5 of six in the series Son of God vs Son of Man: The Two Titles of Christ.
- Part 1 - Two Titles, One Person
- Part 2 - The Son of God - From the Annunciation to the Throne
- Part 3 - The Son of God - Confessed, Contested, and Sent
- Part 4 - The Son of Man Among Us - The Title Jesus Chose for Himself
- Part 5 - The Son of Man in Glory - Judgment, Ransom, and Return (this post)
- Part 6 - One Person, Two Natures - And What Happens When That Is Denied
Author
Raised in a Christian home, I came to faith later in life. A family crisis in 2019 drove me to study Scripture deeply, and by 2021 I answered my calling to ministry and teaching God's Word.
