Sitting, Standing, Walking – is that really the point?

Every Wednesday night we are discussing Christology (the Study of Christ). This past Wednesday night we were discussing his ascension to Heaven. During this discussion someone brought up Hebrews 8:1 and the fact that Jesus is seated at the right hand of God. I have heard (on more than one occasion) that the fact that Jesus is seated reflects the fact that his work is done. The explanation most often given is that there was a chair in the temple, but the priests were never able to sit in it because they were always busy offering sacrifices. Now that Jesus’ work has been completed our High Priest is able to sit down.

Now for those of you who know me, you probably realize that I have long questioned this idea. I quickly brought to their attention to Acts 7:56 where Jesus is standing at the right hand of God. I also pointed them to Revelations 5:1-7, where the slain lamb is seen walking to God to get the scroll from his right hand. Someone mentioned that they heard that Jesus was standing in the Acts 7 verse because that was the first martyr.

When I was asked what I thought, I simply said, “I don’t buy into the whole sitting/standing distinction.” Why? Well because I do not think it is important to the text. If it was important for us to know why Jesus was standing in one verse and sitting in most of the others, a writer would have explained it. To come up with interesting little reasons why something “could” be is very dangerous. The importance of these verses is to understand that Jesus is at the right hand of God and that he is always there, able to see us and comfort us. Any Extra-Biblical explanation, no matter how interesting it may be, is still just an extra-biblical explanation.

What do you think? Am I wrong?