Lk 21:34-36
[Jesus said to his disciples,] 34“Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise 35like a trap. For that day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth. 36Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man.”
THE SON OF MAN: “Son of man” is the translation of the Greek huios tou anthropou which, in turn, renders the Hebrew ben adam or ben enosh. Rarely used in the Old Testament, it is a term for man or a human being. When God calls the prophet Ezekiel, “Son of man, stand up! I wish to speak with you” (Ez 2:1), he must mean “O man.” Of great importance is the Aramaic form bar anash in the vision of Daniel: “I saw One like a son of man coming, on the clouds of heaven; when he reached the Ancient One and was presented before him, he received dominion, glory, and kingship; nations and peoples of every language serve him” (Dn 7:13-14). This figure stands for Israel, the people of God taken collectively. God would surely rescue and glorify his people who at the time were undergoing persecution under Antiochus IV Epiphanes.
“Son of man” is the title which Jesus applies to himself in the gospels. He uses it in different contexts: when he speaks of his human condition, as when he has no place to lay his head (Mt 8:20); when he refers to the superhuman powers he possesses, like the power to forgive sins (Mk 2:10); when he describes his messianic mission, like seeking and saving the lost (Lk 19:10); when he speaks of his passion and death (Mk 9:31); and, as in today’s Gospel reading, when he speaks of his apocalyptic-eschatological coming at the end of time.
Jesus sees himself and is seen by the Church as the new Israel. The paradox of the suffering of the son of man/Israel reflects the mystery of Jesus himself who is glorified through his passion and death.
Just as the vision of the son of man in Daniel was meant to give encouragement to Israel under persecution, the apocalyptic discourse of Jesus is meant by the evangelists for Christians bearing the brunt of the persecution of Emperor Nero and other sufferings they would meet.