27. That the Lord is called "the Son of man" when Redemption, Salvation, Reformation, and Regeneration are treated of, is evident from these passages:
The Son of man came to give His life a redemption for many (Matt. 20:28; Mark 10:5).
The Son of man is come to save, and not to destroy (Matt. 18:11; Luke 9:56).
The Son of man is come to seek and save that which was lost (Luke 19:10).
The Son of man is come that the world through Him may be saved (John 3:17).
He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man (Matt. 13:37).
Redemption and salvation are here treated of, and as the Lord effects these by means of the Word, He here calls Himself "the Son of man." The Lord says,
That the Son of man has power [potestas]* to forgive sins (Mark 2:10; Luke 5:24) (that is, to save). And also,
That He is the Lord of the Sabbath, because He is the Son of man (Matt. 12:8; Mark 2:28; Luke 6:5) (i.e. because He is the Word, which He is Himself then teaching).
He says, further, in John:
Labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you (John 6:27).
By "meat" is meant all truth and good of doctrine from the Word, thus from the Lord; and this is also meant there by the manna, and by the bread which came down from heaven; and also by the following in the same chapter:
Except ye shall eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you (John 6:53).
"Flesh," or "bread," is the good of love from the Word; "blood," or "wine," is the good of faith from the Word, both from the Lord.
[2] The like is signified by "the son of man" in other passages where He is mentioned, as in the following:
The foxes have holes, and the birds nests, but the Son of man hath not where to lay His head (Matt. 8:20; Luke 9:58).
By this is meant that the Word would have no place among the Jews, as also the Lord said in John 8:37; and also that they had it not abiding in them, because they had not acknowledged Him (John 5:38). In Revelation also "the Son of man" means the Lord in respect to the Word:
In the midst of the seven lamp stands I saw one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle (Rev. 1:13, etc.).
Here, in various ways, the Lord is represented as the Word, and He is therefore called "the Son of man." In David:
Let Thy hand he upon the man of Thy right hand, upon the Son of man whom Thou hast made strong for Thyself: so will not we go back from Thee; quicken us (Ps. 80:17-18).
"The man of Thy right hand," also means the Lord in respect to the Word; and so does "the Son of man." He is called "the man of the right hand," because the Lord has power from the Divine truth, which also the Word is, and He had Divine power when He had fulfilled the whole Word: and therefore He had said
That they should see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of the Father, with power (Mark 14:62).
* Potestas, Greek is the authority, command, and power that is exercised by a ruler. [Tr.]