Who is the son of man in Matthew 9:6?

Question

"And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.

And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth. (Mark says, "Who can forgive sins but God only"- the Scriptures do not say this)

And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?

For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk?

But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.

And he arose, and departed to his house.

But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men". Matthew 9:2

Yeshua says that the son of man has authority to forgive sins, and the people rejoice because such authority had been given to men (plural). I have two questions...

Is any of this relevant to Matthew 6:14 and John 20:23?

Who is the son of man in Matthew 9:6?

Thank you.

Answer 1

The "Son of Man" in Matthew 9:6 was a common Greek phrase ("ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου") to refer to the Messiah. The "Son of Man" in Matthew 9:6 is Jesus Himself; Jesus refers to Himself as "the Son of Man" as a way of saying that He is the Messiah the Jews were looking for.

The title "Son of Man" evolved in Jewish culture from Daniel 7:13

I was watching in the night visions, “And with the clouds of the sky one like a son of man was approaching. He went up to the Ancient of Days and was escorted before him."

The phrase "like a son of man" evolved in to "the son of man" being a title for the Messiah.

The use of plural "men" (or "people") in verse 18 is a way of highlighting that the people did not recognize Jesus as God in the flesh, but attributed this to human power.

The Rabbis understood Jesus was making a claim to being God because Jesus forgave the man's sins. That is why they thought, "This man blasphemeth" - because only God can forgive sins, yet Jesus just forgave the man's sins. So when Jesus replies with calling Himself the "Son of Man" - He is claiming that He is God in the flesh, and He is the Messiah the Jews have been waiting for.

As for the connection to Matthew 6:14 / John 20:23, those verses are focusing on us forgiving, whereas Matthew 9 is focusing on the forgiveness from God, as a way of showing that Jesus is truly the Messiah. As such, I don't think these verses are closely related.

Answer 2

Is any of this relevant to Matthew 6:14 and John 20:23

14 For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. -Matthew 6:14-15 (NKJV)

This is only relevant in the remotest of way, as you could perhaps infer that the palsied man was not holding any grudges against anyone and therefore had forgiven anyone who might have trespassed against him in the past.

21 So Jesus said to them [the disciples] again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” 22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” -John 20:21-23 (NKJV)

Again, this is only relevant in the remotest of way, in that Jesus had authority to forgive sins and then delegated that authority to the disciples here.

Who is the son of man in Matthew 9:6?

Jesus is the son of man, and He even states this Himself a few chapters later:

13 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”

14 So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.

[...]

20 Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ. -Matthew 16:13-17, 20 (NKJV)

As to Matthew 9:8 were the multitudes gave glory to God "who had given such power unto men", the sense is that the multitudes at this time considered Jesus to be just a mere man through whom God had worked a miracle, such as Elijah or one of the other prophets.

Answer 3

Very simply in Matt. 6:13 in this verse refers to himself as the Son of man...and by revelation knowledge Peter said in verse16 he proclaimed Jesus was the Son of God. He was both...If he came to earth as He was in heaven, in all Power and Authority he had with the Father...we couldn't have obeyed when he said ..follow me..but in Phil. 2:5-8 We see he humbled himself as a man and walked in submission to God as the Holy Spirit led him, taught him . In Luke 2:52 it says Jesus increased (gk....to grow ) in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man . If Jesus came only as the Son of God ...he would not have need to grow in faith , through knowledge . As the Son of man he gave us an example to follow : through growing in faith , prayer , spending time with the Father, worship , praise , forgiveness , mercy , grace , and love, soul winning . That is why we can follow HIM as the Son of man and Son of God! Jesus was ...touched with the feeling of our infirmities ; like as we are, (as the Son of man) yet without sin .

Answer 4

The Son of Man This phrase is taken from Daniel 7:13 (bar enosh), and by the time of Christ, it was a title of Messiah. (See E.B.Pusey, Daniel commentary, p. 404 for all the Jewish writings claiming this title for Messiah.)

It was used by Jesus 83 times in reference to Himself! This often made the Jewish scholars and rulers irate because they knew what Jesus was claiming. And they preferred a totally different type of Messiah who would rule over Judea (instead of Herod) and kick out the Roman occupiers.

When Jesus used this title, He was making spectacular claims of historic importance: Forgiver of sins, One who came from God, the "clouded one" with judgmental powers, the Lord of the Sabbath, etc. And mysteriously, "One who would die and rise from the dead on the third day! Only after the Resurrection did His own disciples understand the significance of all Jesus's pronouncements.

Matthew 9:6 is just one of many events that Jesus used to portray His worthiness of this title, Son of Man.