The Son of Man Problem and a Narratival Solution

Of all the designations of Jesus, “son of man” remains perhaps the most elusive and contentious. Various scholars have approached the question through a particular field of research addressing its history, its form, its inherent meaning, and its background. In doing so they have found multiple ways to answer the questions each point raises and have used results in one area to draw conclusions in another. Hence there seem to be as many answers to the problem as there are scholars.

After summarising the major points of discussion in relation to the Son of Man problem, this paper will compare and critique the main suggestions put forward by prominent scholars. Namely: those who argue the phrase was originally a non-titular idiom (e.g. Maurice Casey and Mogens Mueller); those that consider the phrase as titular but not referring to Jesus (e.g. Rudolf Bultmann and Bart Ehrman); those who consider the phrase as titular, Jesus’ referring, but largely invented by the church (e.g. Delbert Burkett); and those who see the phrase as titular, self-referring, and well preserved by the Gospels (e.g. Larry Hurtardo and Paul Owen).

…this paper will compare and critique the main suggestions put forward by prominent scholars. Namely: those who argue the phrase was originally a non-titular idiom (e.g. Maurice Casey and Mogens Mueller); those that consider the phrase as titular but not referring to Jesus (e.g. Rudolf Bultmann and Bart Ehrman); those who consider the phrase as titular, Jesus’ referring, but largely invented by the church (e.g. Delbert Burkett); and those who see the phrase as titular, self-referring, and well preserved by the Gospels (e.g. Larry Hurtardo and Paul Owen).

Finally, the paper will suggest a way forward for the Son of Man problem might be found if we are to consider the Gospels as a whole. It will defend the reasonableness of such an approach based around the coherence of the Gospel narratives, the antiquity of the texts, and what can be ascertained about the manner of their composition.