Scripture
Then Jesus said, “I am. You will see the Son of man seated at the place of power at God’s right hand and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

Observation
Jesus is taken to the home of the high priest, where all the priests, elders and teachers have gathered. Peter follows at a distance and enters the high priest’s courtyard,

The Jewish leaders are trying to find something to condemn Jesus for. They arrange false witnesses, but they contradict one another. Finally, they have some men come to say that Jesus said he would destroy the temple and three days later make another one not made by human hands. But even these could not agree.

Finally, they ask Jesus to defend himself. He tells them that he is the Messiah and they will see him seated at God’s right hand and coming on the clouds of heaven.

The high priest says that they need no other witnesses. The Council determines that Jesus is guilty of blasphemy and must die.

Application
Jesus, in the middle of his trial, speaks succinctly about his identity,

The phrase ‘I am’ is in Greek, the translation of the Hebrew name for the Lord, that is Yahweh. He is declaring that he is God.

The Son of Man is a title for the Messiah.

He will sit at God’s right hand is a declaration that he is the King of Kings, the one who wields God’s authority in the world. This took place when Jesus rose from the dead and then ascended to heaven.

Jesus said he would come on the clouds of heaven. Some people say this is about the end times, but Jesus said those present would see it. “Coming on the clouds of heaven” is a term for divine judgment. This judgment happened when the Romans destroyed the city of Jerusalem, including the temple in AD 70.

The Jewish leaders rejected the Messiah they had been waiting for, and said God rejected them.

Listen
Lord, what do you want to say to me about this passage?

Keith, people do not like to think about my judgment of them. They treat me as some insignificant benevolent being. My love for them is real, but so too is my revulsion of sin. Every sin must be atoned for, either by the blood of Christ or the blood of the sinner.

These men knew this. They knew that Messiah would come and replace law with love, commands with grace, duty with joyous submission. They knew this. They knew the Scriptures, but they pursued narrow self-interest instead of pursuing Me. They rejected my Kingdom for the sake of man’s empire.