In the Bible to “sit at the right hand” connotes conferred authority in a royal setting, I.e., a person who has been told to sit in a place of honor. Therefore, the Messiah is subordinate to the one who commanded him to “Sit at my right hand” in Psalm 110:1.
The NET Bible note on this verse says:
“To sit at the ‘right hand’ of the king was an honor (see 1 Kgs 2:19). The Lord’s invitation to the Davidic king to sit down at his right hand reflects the king’s position as the Lord’s vice-regent."
Bishop N.T. Wright adds:
"Jesus, through his Ascension, was seated at the right hand of the Father. In ancient Jewish thought, with echoes of Daniel 7, this could only mean that, from that moment, Jesus was the Father's right-hand man....The Father's accredited and appointed agent." (Preface to How God Became King: Getting to the heart of the Gospels, 2012.)
So when the Apostles ask Jesus, "Let one of us sit at your right" in Mar 10.37 they meant “We want to sit in places of honor next to you” (as the NLT best captures the meaning of their petition). No one at the time would have confused the Apostles with Jesus!
It would be redundant (if not outright blasphemous) to ever suggest God can be told to sit anywhere, let alone in a subordinate, inferior position.
The point is according to Ps 110.1 God grants David's human lord unprecedented authority and power because he is Yahwehs’ anointed, I.e., the LORD's Messiah (Luke 2:26), His unique and supreme chosen agent.
The royal imagery and setting goes back to the most used OT verses by the NT writers, Dan 7.13-14! This is yet another prophecy where the prophet Daniel sees a glorified human person presented to the Ancient of Days, i.e., God.
"And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him." Dan 7.14
The Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible explains what the vision means:
“As the human being described in Daniel 7, the human being to whom divine authority is granted, Jesus has authority to forgive sins…Jesus has not claimed to be God (if he had, the scribes would have reacted much more violently); He has claimed to be God’s vice-regent on earth. [And] while the son of man figure is similar to the Ancient of Days in John's vision of the resurrected Jesus, there is no of equivalency or identification. In fact, the giving of authority, power, glory to the son of man implies that his status is subject and therefore different from that of the Ancient of Days.”
The NET Bible note on this verse says:
“To sit at the ‘right hand’ of the king was an honor (see 1 Kgs 2:19). The Lord’s invitation to the Davidic king to sit down at his right hand reflects the king’s position as the Lord’s vice-regent."
Bishop N.T. Wright adds:
"Jesus, through his Ascension, was seated at the right hand of the Father. In ancient Jewish thought, with echoes of Daniel 7, this could only mean that, from that moment, Jesus was the Father's right-hand man....The Father's accredited and appointed agent." (Preface to How God Became King: Getting to the heart of the Gospels, 2012.)
So when the Apostles ask Jesus, "Let one of us sit at your right" in Mar 10.37 they meant “We want to sit in places of honor next to you” (as the NLT best captures the meaning of their petition). No one at the time would have confused the Apostles with Jesus!
It would be redundant (if not outright blasphemous) to ever suggest God can be told to sit anywhere, let alone in a subordinate, inferior position.
The point is according to Ps 110.1 God grants David's human lord unprecedented authority and power because he is Yahwehs’ anointed, I.e., the LORD's Messiah (Luke 2:26), His unique and supreme chosen agent.
The royal imagery and setting goes back to the most used OT verses by the NT writers, Dan 7.13-14! This is yet another prophecy where the prophet Daniel sees a glorified human person presented to the Ancient of Days, i.e., God.
"And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him." Dan 7.14
The Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible explains what the vision means:
“As the human being described in Daniel 7, the human being to whom divine authority is granted, Jesus has authority to forgive sins…Jesus has not claimed to be God (if he had, the scribes would have reacted much more violently); He has claimed to be God’s vice-regent on earth. [And] while the son of man figure is similar to the Ancient of Days in John's vision of the resurrected Jesus, there is no of equivalency or identification. In fact, the giving of authority, power, glory to the son of man implies that his status is subject and therefore different from that of the Ancient of Days.”
