How was one who was now walking upon earth, to come from heaven? He would have needed first to be translated thither. One who had died or been rapt away from earth might be brought back to earth again in this way, or a being who had never before been upon earth, might be conceived as descending thither."
But if, on the one hand, the title Son of Man was not to be understood apart from the reference to the passage in Daniel, while on the other Jesus so designated Himself as a man actually present upon earth, "what was really implied was that He was the man in whom Daniel's vision of 'one like unto a Son of Man' was being fulfilled." He could not certainly expect from His hearers a complete understanding of the self-designation. "We are doubtless justified in saying that in using it, He intentionally offered them an enigma which challenged further reflection upon His Person."
According to Peter's confession the name was intelligible to the disciples as coming from Dan. vii. 13, and obviously indicating Him who was destined to the sovereignity of the world. Jesus calls Himself the Son of Man, "not as meaning the lowly one, but as a scion of the human race with its human weakness, whom nevertheless God will make Lord of the world; and it is very probable that Jesus found the Son of Man of Dan. vii. in Ps. viii. 5 ff. also." Sayings regarding humiliation and suffering could be attached to the title just as well as references to exaltation. For since the "Child of Man" has placed Himself upon the throne of God, He is in reality no longer a mere man, but ruler over heaven and earth, "the Lord."
This attempt of Dalman's has the same significance in regard to the question of the Messiahship as Bousset's had for the ethical question. Just as ln Bousset's view the Kingdom of God was, in a paradoxical way, after all proclaimed as present, so here the self-designation "Son of Man" is retained by a paradox as conveying the sense of a present Messiahship. But the documents do not give any support to this assumption; on the contrary they contradict it at every point. According to Dalman it was not the predictions of the passion of the Son of Man which sounded paradoxical to the disciples, but the predictions of His exaltation. But we are distinctly told that when He spoke of His passion they did not understand the saying. The predictions of His exaltation, however, they understood so well that without troubling themselves further about the predictions of the sufferings, they began to dispute who should be greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven, and who should have his throne closest to the Son of Man. And if it is once admitted that Jesus took the designation from Daniel, what ground is there for asserting that the
