Meditations on the Glory of Christ: He Sits at the Right Hand of God

In Hebrews 1:2-4, the author makes seven claims about Jesus that when taken together greatly exalt his glory. The seventh claim the author makes about the Son is that, having made purification for sins, he now sits at the right hand of the Majesty on high. The words “he sat down” set the stage for chapter 7 where we’re taught that Jesus is both Priest and King. Prior to Jesus, no king offered his own sacrifices and no priest sat on the throne of David, for that wouldn’t be right. God had decreed that there should be a separation of powers between the priest and the king, but Jesus, unlike all before him, is worthy and able to fulfill both roles.

So, on the one hand, Jesus sat down at the right hand of God after making purification for sins because the sacrifice he offered, namely himself, is sufficient. Other priests were always standing, as we see in chapter 10:11-14, because their work was never done. The blood of bulls and goats can never take away sins, so the priests could never sit down and rest. But the blood of Jesus can most certainly take away sin, and so having shed that blood he sat down and took his rest—forever!

On the other hand, Jesus sat down at the right hand of God after making purification for sins because he is the King of kings and Lord of lords and he rightly belongs on that throne. Do you know anyone who can make a rightful claim to the throne of God? Jesus is the heir of all things, the creator of all things, the radiance of the glory of God, the exact imprint of his nature, the one who upholds all things by the word of his power, and the one who made perfect purification for sins. And given that he is all these things, he rightly belongs on the throne that belongs to God alone!

The force of this final claim about Jesus Christ is that he has a position that’s exalted above all except the Father himself, and that his authority emanates from heaven and not from earth so that his Kingdom is not of this world and is not subject to the authorities of this world. He is the King of kings, the Lord of lords, the Ruler of rulers, the Power of all powers, and he will reign forevermore!

Beloved, this is no theoretical claim: Jesus is presently seated at the right hand of the majesty on high from where he rules and reigns over all things except the Father himself! Think about how great he must be in light of this truth. Think about how exalted a position he must hold in light of this truth. Indeed, Jesus is highly exalted and he alone is worthy of our praise, our allegiance, our souls, our lives, our all.