Jesus of Nazareth: What He Wanted, Who He Was

In the apocalyptic secret literature of early Judaism, the Human One in Daniel 7 was regarded as a majestic figure who would hold judgment in God’s name at the end of time and establish salvation and justice. This is attested by the imagery in Ethiopian Enoch (1 En. 37-–71) and 4 Ezra.¹⁴ But the latter was created only after the destruction of Jerusalem, and there is dispute about when the image discourses in 1 Enoch were written. They come either from the first century before or the first century after Christ. It is also possible, however, that these image discourses have a history of redaction behind them, one that extended over a considerable period of time.

Even if these image discourses already existed in Jesus’ time there remains the question whether Jesus knew them or not. It is much more plausible that he drew the symbol of the Human One/Son of Man not from some esoteric sources but from Sacred Scripture itself, for it is certain that Jesus had access to the picture of history in Daniel 7; its whole force was familiar to him. When he spoke of the coming of the reign of God, the interpretation of history in Daniel 7 was part of it. Nevertheless, Jesus modified it at the same time. What was different with Jesus?

First of all, there was the time scheme! In Daniel 7 the five empires or five societies succeed one another: first Babylon, then the Medes, then the Persians, then the Seleucids—and only when the rule of all the world empires has expired does the true kingship, the true basileia, the true society of God come to pass. Only then begins the rule of the Human One who is so deeply connected to the reign of God. For Jesus, in contrast, the reign of God is already beginning, in the midst of this history, in the midst of the still ongoing power of the world empires, represented at that time in the brutal and violent rule of the Roman Empire.

And there was still more in the scheme of Daniel 7 that changed for Jesus: the new society of the reign of God not only begins in the midst of the still existing epoch of the world empires; it is indissolubly linked to a single one. While the Human One in Daniel 7 was still a collective person, Jesus now speaks of himself as the Son of Man. “Son of Man/Human One” is thus no longer a mere symbol of the true eschatological Israel; at the same time it is a mysterious name for Jesus himself. He is the Son of Man; he embodies in himself the new society of the eschatological Israel.

Finally, there is a third modification, and an especially important one: it is ordained of the Human One in Daniel 7 that “all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him,” as it says at the end of the vision. But Jesus says of himself, “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). On this point Jesus has again surpassed the historical projection of Daniel 7. Jesus’ rule is based on his service, his surrender even to death. So Jesus altered the statements made in Daniel 7, but those very changes—palpable especially in the motif of service—show that in speaking of the “Son of Man” he is referring directly to Daniel 7. For what one changes is already presupposed, and evidently the very symbol of the “Son of Man” was a welcome expression for what he had to say about himself. Why?

The concept of “Son of Man/Human One” could not be politically misinterpreted like that of “messiah.” It was not meant to arouse passions.

Already in Daniel 7 this concept was associated with a majesty equal to that of the hoped-for messianic king if not even surpassing it: “His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away” (Dan 7:14).

With this concept Jesus could simultaneously express his lowliness, his humility, for the Human One in Daniel 7 is also the end of all societies based on self-exaltation and violence. And a rule that abandons violence can only rely on God; it is helplessly delivered over to the powers and rulers of history. Thus the symbol of the “Son of Man/Human One” allows the linking of statements of majesty and those of lowliness.

In Daniel 7 the Human One is Israel’s representative. He embodies the “people of the holy ones of the Most High” (Dan 7:27). This reference to Israel touches on something that is essential about Jesus. His purpose was to gather the eschatological Israel, something that had already begun with him and his group of disciples.

But what is crucial is that what Jesus says about himself thus remains coded. Talk of the Son of Man preserves his reticence. It remains enigmatic to a certain extent, and thus it provokes its hearers, who must ask themselves who this Son of Man really is. We have already noted Jesus’ restraint in speaking of himself in a number of places.