Hey! I'd love to hear your thoughts, send me a voice note.

Who is Jesus?

Christians call Him the Son of God, the Son of Man, the Son of David, and God in the flesh. But what did those titles mean within the Jewish world of Jesus and the Hebrew Scriptures that came before Him?

In this teaching, we trace the identity of Jesus from the Tanakh into the New Testament and ask a central question: when Jesus called Himself the Son of Man and was identified as the Son of God, what was being claimed about Him?

We begin with the biblical language of sonship. Israel could be called God's son, and the Davidic king was described as God's son within the covenant. Sonship therefore does not imply biological reproduction. It can communicate relationship, representation, covenantal status, and royal authority.

We then examine Psalm 2 and the Davidic covenant in 2 Samuel 7. These passages establish the expectation of God's royal Son, whose kingdom ultimately reaches beyond any ordinary Davidic king.

Isaiah 9 presents a Davidic child associated with extraordinary titles, including Mighty God, while Proverbs 30:4 asks the mysterious question, "What is his name, and what is his son's name?"

The teaching then turns to Daniel 7, where "one like a son of man" comes with the clouds of heaven and receives dominion, glory, and an everlasting kingdom from the Ancient of Days.

This becomes especially important when Jesus repeatedly identifies Himself as the Son of Man.

We examine the difference between Ezekiel's use of "son of man" for human frailty and Daniel's heavenly Son of Man, along with the development of Danielic expectations within Second Temple Judaism.

We then address one of the most common objections to the deity of Christ:

Why didn't Jesus simply say, "I am God"?

Before asking how the divine and human natures are united in Christ, we must first ask who the person is who became incarnate.

The Christian claim is that the one born in Bethlehem did not begin at Bethlehem.

He is the eternal Son, the promised Davidic king, the Son of Man, and the one in whom genuine humanity and divine identity meet.

Also available through YouTube Music as an episode of Theophilus Podcast.

Research and Further Study

This teaching draws from the following papers:

• The Divine Son in the Tanakh: A Canonical and Apologetic Study of God's Anointed

• Before Bethlehem: The Divine Son in the Hebrew Scriptures

• The Son of Man: Exploring Christ's Identity Through Ezekiel, Daniel, and New Testament Christology

• The Son of Man: Who Is Jesus and Why Does It Matter?

The academic studies examine divine Sonship in the Hebrew Scriptures, the Davidic covenant, Psalm 2, Isaiah 9, Proverbs 30, Daniel 7, Second Temple Jewish expectations, Jesus' use of the Son of Man title, and the New Testament presentation of Christ's divine and human identity.

Defend the Word Ministries

DefendtheWord.com

Academic Papers

GeneWilliamsJr.academia.edu

Remember these wise words I once took to heart when studying Scripture:

"If it's weird, it's important. What you know may not be so."

Think carefully. Follow the evidence. And let's see where it leads.

#JesusChrist #Christology #SonOfGod #SonOfMan #Daniel7 #Messiah #DivinityOfChrist #OldTestament #NewTestament #Apologetics #DefendTheWord

Production Note

This teaching is presented using an AI digital twin of Gene Williams. The research, arguments, and teaching content are his own.