Religion
In reply to the discussion: Whether Jesus existed historically [View all]struggle4progress
(118,278 posts)"son of man" is most frequent by far, and I think it only occurs there as self-description of Jesus.
The "son of God" language seems never to be used directly by Jesus but occurs in the mouths of others
In Matthew, for example
Matthew 4:3: If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become bread.
Matthew 4:6: If you are the Son of God, jump off!
Matthew 8:29: What do you want with us, you Son of God? Have you come to torment us?
Matthew 14:33: You are surely the son of God.
Matthew 16:16: You are the the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Matthew 26:63: I demand you tell us whether you are the Christ, the son of the living God
Matthew 27:40: If you are the son of God, come down from the cross.
Understanding "son of God," as a designation of the emperor, casts a particular light on the crucifixion of Jesus by the Romans, since the claim to be "son of God" then represents a subversion against Roman authority. This view makes sense of such passages as
Matthew 27:11 The governor asked him, Are you the king of the Jews?
Matthew 27:29 They mocked him, saying, Hail! King of the Jews!
Matthew 27:37 And above his head they set the accusation, Here is Jesus, King of the Jews.