The "Son of Man" Passages in Mark

Abstract

The fourteen "Son of Man" passages in Mark fall into three groups. Mark 1–6 portrays Jesus as the authoritative "Son of Man" perceived in Psalm 8. In Mark 8–14 there are nine "Son of Man" passages that portray Jesus as the suffering servant of the Lord perceived in Isa 52:13–53:12, even following the sequence of that passage. The three passages in Mark that predict that the "Son of Man" will come again were inspired by Isa 5:26–30, where Jesus is perceived coming "with a great force" of angels. Isa 5:30 forecasts "clouds," and so does Mark 13:26; 14:62. The words attributed to John in Mark 1:7 cannot be linked to Daniel 7, because the allusion was to Isa 5:26–30. Mark 12:6 even portrays Jesus as the "beloved" son perceived in Isa 5:1.