For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. Luke 19:10
A man with a doctorate degree was placed in charge of a large group of workers who were building a major power project. Some of the foremen on the project met with the new leader as he arrived on the site to take over his responsibilities. Seeing his title, one of the foremen addressed him as Doctor. The leader smiled and shook his head. ‘Just call me Joe’, he said. ‘Those letters after my name aren’t for use here where we are getting our hands dirty.’ The men appreciated him for setting aside his title so he could relate to the ordinary workers on the project. Just as we appreciate the Lord Jesus for taking the humble title of Son of man, when He could have taken a title much more majestic.
If we look into the Scriptures, we will find small peeks into the majestic glory that belongs to our Lord. Consider the words of the seraphim in Isaiah 6:3: Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory. The title Lord of Hosts sounds more exalted than Son of man. Why did the Lord Jesus not choose to call Himself that? Or why did He not take one of the titles from Isaiah 9:6: Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace? Many other high titles belong to Him, and He could have chosen to refer to Himself as any of them. But he spoke of Himself as the Son of man. In this we see His humility, His willingness to relate to the fallen race that He loved and wanted to see redeemed.
Most of us have a poor understanding of just how lowly we are, just how sinful our natures are, just how far short we actually come of the glory of God. But the Lord Jesus knows all about us. He knows our failings and our shortcomings far better than we ever could. And yet, He is willing, desirous even, of identifying with us. In His great love for sinful man, He makes Himself of no reputation, and takes upon Himself the very image of his creatures. The first Adam, we are told, was made in the image of God. The last Adam, we are told, was made in the image (likeness) of man (Philippians 2:7). As our text declares that He came to seek and to save that which was lost, it does so by identifying Him as the Son of man, the near Kinsman to those who were lost.
The title Son of man is precious to us, because it reminds us of how much He loves us. – Jim MacIntosh