Teaching With His Actions When Nobody Listens
““If you are the Christ, tell us.”
But he said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe, and if I ask you, you will not answer. But from now on the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God.”
So they all said, “Are you the Son of God, then?”
And he said to them, “You say that I am.”
Then they said, “What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips.””
Notice how Jesus doesn’t get into opinions, slander, or attacking. He just gives them the truth for them to accept or reject.
The thing is, the statements He made weren’t out of place. Anybody that sincerely wanted to learn the truth, after watching Him in Jerusalem and Judea for the past 3 years, would have to stop and consider if it might be true.
To sit at the right hand of God is a big deal. It means that you are privileged and honored by God more than any other thing in the universe. It also means that you have God’s power at your side. To put yourself in any such position would be pride, arrogance, madness, and narcissistic.
Unless it was true.
That’s what really made them mad. That Jesus would think Himself to be so powerful that He could be seated with God. To be a son, in their culture, meant that you had the same authority as your father. You’re the heir, so you have as much power over servants, land, animals, whatever as your dad.
So Jesus does a triple word score here by being the “Son of Man” as described in Daniel as the Messiah, the Son of God being equal to God, and seated at the right hand of God which gives Him equal powers to God.
The number one commandment of the Ten Commandments? “I am the Lord your god, you shall have no other gods besides me.” That means if any man says he’s equal to God, he’s breaking commandment number one.
All of Jesus’ life lined up to show that this statement was true. Now, at this point, nobody is listening. The best thing for Him to do is to show them with His actions that it is still true. This was His practice all along. He’d show people the truth by His actions, and then tell them the truth when they came and asked.
And if you ever wondered if that method worked, check back with us in a few days. Three to be precise.
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