When my oldest daughter was younger, I had explained to her that the reason she disobeys is because the Bible says there is sin in her heart.
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”
Jeremiah 17:9
Even Jesus Himself highlighted the corruption of the heart.
“For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person.”
Matthew 15:19-20
So you can imagine how aghast her grandparents were when they asked their year and a half old granddaughter, “Who is in your heart?” and her response was, “Hamartia”(Greek for sin). Then the follow-up question: “Who taught you such a thing?” And with her innocent grin my daughter said, “Daddy.”
Her grandparents were expecting their sweet little granddaughter to say that Jesus, not sin, was in her heart. After all, isn’t that where Jesus is? Not really. So then, where is Jesus?
The straightforward, unadulterated, biblical answer is: He is at the right hand of the Father.
In his opening chapter, the writer of Hebrews shows the superiority of Jesus over angels. In order to do this, he uses a literary device known as inclusio where he brackets this section with the same phrase.
“After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,…”
Hebrews 1:3b
And to which of the angels has he ever said, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”?
Hebrews 1:13
There are a number of important truths we can learn from this. First of all, note that Jesus sat down at the right of the Father after making purification of sins.
But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,
Hebrews 10:12
This highlights the sufficiency of the work of Christ, that His work of atonement is done. That is why He is seated.
Secondly, Jesus holds the unique position of power, honor and authority, as signified by the fact that He is seated the the Father’s “right hand”. It is the Father who puts the Son at His right hand, and this by His own initiative. It is the Father’s prerogative to appoint the Son to sit at His right hand in a position of honor, power and authority.
Thirdly, the Father says that He will make Jesus’ enemies a footstool for His feet. Conquering kings emphasized their triumph by placing a foot upon the neck of some conquered king. A victorious king or general would place his feet on the neck of a defeated king.
“And when they brought those kings out to Joshua, Joshua summoned all the men of Israel and said to the chiefs of the men of war who had gone with him, “Come near; put your feet on the necks of these kings.” Then they came near and put their feet on their necks.”
Joshua 10:24
So, where is Jesus? He is seated at the right hand of the Father. Seated because He finished the work of atonement for sin. At the right hand of the Father because He is the one with all authority and power. And His enemies will be made a footstool because He is the conquering and victorious King.
“God thinks so much of His Son that He cannot set Him too high; He has placed Him at His own right hand…The great God thinks heaven and earth too little for Him, and magnifies Him exceedingly above all, as King of kings and Lord of lords. The place at the right hand of God, to which He is now exalted, is the place of power. There sits the Mediator, the Son of God, the man Christ Jesus,…”
-Spurgeon
