Why does Jesus refer to himself as the "Son of Man"? Why does Jesus refer to himself as the "Son of Man"?  This is similar to Why does Jesus speak of himself in the third person?, but I am specifically looking for an explanation of the "Son of Man" references.
From &quot;The Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels&quot;

Thus: “When E. Hiyya ben Adda died … R. Levi received his valuables. This was because his teacher used to say: ‘The disciple of bar nāšâ is as dear to him as his son.’ ” Here the expression plainly refers to the group of teachers
It is suggested that the idiom was used as a form of self-reference in cases where the speaker wished to show modesty or to speak of matters (such as his own death) which were distasteful—in any case in sayings where he wished to avoid speaking directly in the first person.
--Green, J. B., McKnight, S., &amp; Marshall, I. H. (1992). Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels (779). Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press.

There are several theories about what Jesus was alluding to in calling himself son of Man (literally son of 'a-dam'):

A re-affimation of his authority to forgive sin (which entered via Adam).
An allusion to the suffering that he will undergo
A kindredness that will be evident at his return, in which he will come not just as a conqueror, but as a redeemer who is coming (back) to his own.
An allusion to his Messianic role, since the Messiah would be &quot;the Son of Man&quot;
A reference to the inheritor of the world, per Daniel 7.  The last beast to have authority was &quot;like a Son of Man&quot;

With any of these motives, by speaking of himself in the third person, he is making an audacious claim (the power!) but couching it in the most humble terms he can.