And the high priest said to Him, “I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God.” Jesus said to him, “You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Matt 26:63-64

Remember the old commercial, “When E. F. Hutton speaks, people listen.” That was a great catch phrase, wasn’t it?

In our above text, we have Jesus speaking and quoting from a couple of passages in the Old Testament while on trial before the high priest and the San Hedrin. When He says “you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven”, He’s quoting from Psalm 110:1 and Daniel 7:13. You continue reading the next few verses following His declaration and you’ll notice that the high priest and the San Hedrin were listening carefully and understood exactly what Jesus was implying – that he was the Messiah. Not only that, but in the reference to Daniel 7:13, He was communicating His ascension to the throne before the Ancient of Days in heaven! Now, as His people purchased at the price of His blood, we ought to be willing to listen carefully when our Lord speaks, amen? In His proclamation about Him coming on the clouds of heaven Jesus unlocks several key issues that as Christians  we need to understand. What He’s talking about from the context of Daniel is His coronation. He gives us the time it is to happen, (when He ascended to heaven as recorded in Acts 1:9-11) and what three things He will receive. 1) Dominion, the Hebrew word here meaning power to govern or rule; (He did say all authority had been given to Him on heaven and earth); 2) glory, the root of this Hebrew word means weight, denoting value and honor and 3) a kingdom meant for all peoples for all times that could not be destroyed. The event of Jesus’ ascension corresponds perfectly (in time) with the parallel passage concerning the divine kingdom as revealed to Daniel and recorded in chapter two. Brethren, you can believe that the high priest and the ruling council understood what that passage in Daniel communicated as well! No more authority over the people, no more honor by the people, and a kingdom that belonged to Christ, not them – and to add insult to injury-included all nations, peoples and tongues! There was a reason why they wanted to put Jesus to death and at the heart of the issue was their jealousy and lust for power. Now let’s stop and consider ourselves, shall we? A little test to see if we’re in the faith. Have you, have we, given Christ the power to rule over us? When Jesus Christ speaks (red and black letters!), do His people listen? How about that “weighty” issue of how much we value Christ? Is it Him we want to get the glory or do we secretly long for the spotlight to shine on us? How about the kingdom? Can we answer in the affirmative that we have put the kingdom and His righteousness first, knowing that everything else pales in comparison to an eternity in heaven? It’s worth being reminded that those who place such importance on the kingdom, the promise is made that our true physical needs will be met-food and clothing. Is that enough for us? Brethren, it should be easy to subject ourselves to Him. Why? Because He first demonstrated He was willing to leave the throne in glory (give up the authority, so to speak) in order to reveal the value He placed on us by offering His life, securing us a place in an eternal kingdom as joint heirs! A-A-men!!