Chapter 36 — Sitting at God's Right Hand
The Incarnate Christ and His Critics (Komoszewski & Bowman, 2024)
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At his trial, Jesus claimed he would be "seated at the right hand of the Power" (Mark 14:62). At his stoning, Stephen looked up and saw "Jesus standing at the right hand of God" (Acts 7:56). In Hebrews, the opening argument is that the Son "sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high" (Heb. 1:3). Peter's Pentecost sermon concludes with the declaration that Jesus has been exalted "to the right hand of God" (Acts 2:33).
"Sitting at God's right hand" is one of the most consistent themes in the New Testament's portrait of the risen, exalted Christ. But what does it actually mean?
Psalm 110:1: The Most Quoted Old Testament Text
Jesus directly quoted Psalm 110:1 in his debate with the Pharisees (Matt. 22:41-46), turning the same riddle that had stumped them into his own claim. This psalm is quoted or alluded to more than any other Old Testament text in the New Testament.
"The LORD says to my Lord: 'Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.'" (Ps. 110:1)
David wrote this psalm, and yet he calls the Messiah "my Lord." How is the Messiah both David's descendant and David's superior? Jesus uses this as a kind of riddle to expose the inadequacy of purely human Messianic expectations. The Messiah has to be more than David's son. He has to be David's divine Lord.
The "right hand" in ancient Near Eastern royal culture was the position of co-regent, the one who sat beside the king and shared in his authority. In God's case, no one sits at the right hand and still remains a creature. Whoever shares the divine throne shares in the divine rule, and only one who shares in the divine nature can properly do that.
Greater Than Israel's Greatest King
Jesus raises Psalm 110:1 in the context of a challenge to the Pharisees, who have been trying to trap him. After answering their questions about paying taxes, about the resurrection, and about the greatest commandment, Jesus turns the tables:
"What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?" "The son of David," they answer. "How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying, 'The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand…'? If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?" (Matt. 22:42-45).
The Pharisees are silenced. Jesus has exposed the inadequacy of thinking of the Messiah only as a human king. The one David calls "Lord," using the same word Israelites used for YHWH, isn't merely David's descendant. He's David's divine superior.
After the resurrection, Peter uses the same psalm to explain who Jesus is: "David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, 'The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.' Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified" (Acts 2:34-36).
The crucified Jesus is the one now exalted to God's right hand. The one who died is now enthroned.
The Exaltation and the Incarnation
There's a tension in the New Testament between Jesus' preexistent divine glory and his post-resurrection exaltation. Before the incarnation, he shared the Father's glory (John 17:5). In the incarnation, he humbled himself (Phil. 2:7-8). At the resurrection and ascension, he was exalted to the highest place (Phil. 2:9-11).
What's exalted at the resurrection isn't the preexistent divine Son alone, but the incarnate Son, the divine person who is now also fully human. The resurrection is the vindication and glorification of the God-man. The one who sits at God's right hand isn't a pure spirit. He's the risen, glorified human being who is also the eternal Son.
That means in the presence of the Father right now, there's a human being. Our nature, redeemed and glorified, is already present at the center of the universe. The ascension of Christ is the first human being at God's right hand, and it guarantees our own resurrection: "And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies" (Rom. 8:11).
What This Means for Our Prayers
When we pray, where does our prayer go? Hebrews gives us the answer: "Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession… Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace" (Heb. 4:14, 16).
The throne of grace is the throne of God. And at that throne, as our advocate, our intercessor, our high priest, is Jesus. Not a holy angel relaying our requests. Not a divine principle processing our intentions. The person Jesus Christ, who was tempted as we are, who knows our weakness, who knows what it is to suffer, is at God's right hand, interceding for us.
That's where our prayers go. To the throne of grace, where the one who loves us most has already taken his seat.