The Most Glorious Image of Christ (Matthew 26:57-75)

[Stephan Choe]

September 21, 2026

– Jesus Before the High Council –

Key Verses 63–64:     “But Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to Him, ‘I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God.’ Jesus said to him, ‘You have said it. Nevertheless, I say to you, from now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.’”

Every person carries a certain image of Christ within. For instance, we might envision the crucified Jesus, through whom we experience the grace of the forgiveness of sins. Or we may hold the image of the risen Christ within us—He who empowers us to overcome the power of death and taste eternal life.

During His interrogation by the high priest, Jesus Christ reveals to us yet another image of Himself—His heavenly image: “From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

This is the most glorious image of Christ.

1. Die Gefangennahme Jesu (47–56)

Während Jesus im Garten Gethsemane mit seinen Jüngern sprach, traf Judas mit einer Abteilung der Tempelwache ein, die von den Hohepriestern und den Ältesten des Volkes ausgesandt worden war. Judas trat an Jesus heran, sagte: „Sei gegrüßt, Rabbi!“, und küsste ihn. Daraufhin ergriffen die Soldaten Jesus.

In diesem Augenblick zog Simon Petrus sein Schwert, schlug nach einem Tempelsoldaten namens Malchus und hieb ihm das rechte Ohr ab (Johannes 18,19). Doch Jesus sagte zu Petrus: „Steck dein Schwert wieder an seinen Platz! Denn alle, die zum Schwert greifen, werden durch das Schwert umkommen. Oder glaubst du nicht, dass ich meinen Vater bitten könnte, mir sogleich mehr als zwölf Legionen Engel zu senden?“ (26,52–53).

Und Jesus berührte das Ohr des Malchus mit seiner Hand und heilte es augenblicklich (Lukas 22,51). Hätte Jesus nicht verhaftet werden wollen, so hätte er seinen Vater bitten können, zu seinem Schutz unverzüglich mehr als zwölf Legionen Engel – das heißt mehr als 72.000 Engel – zu entsenden.

Doch weil Jesus sich freiwillig entschied, dem Willen des Vaters zu gehorchen, fügte er sich seiner Verhaftung. Denn er wollte für deine und meine Sünden sterben, damit wir Vergebung der Sünden empfangen und das ewige Leben haben können. So starb er bereitwillig aus Liebe zu uns.

2. Jesus Before the High Council (57–68)

The soldiers led Jesus to the High Priest Caiaphas, who had ordered His arrest. Caiaphas convened the High Council, and the scribes and the elders of the people gathere1. The Arrest of Jesus (47–56)

While Jesus was speaking with His disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane, Judas arrived with a detachment of the Temple guard, sent by the high priests and the elders of the people. Judas approached Jesus, said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" and kissed Him. Thereupon, the soldiers seized Jesus.

At that moment, Simon Peter drew his sword, struck at a Temple soldier named d. However, the High Council did not possess the authority to pass or carry out a death sentence; that power lay solely with the Roman governor. Therefore, the Jewish authorities sought grounds for Jesus's execution so that they could hand him over to Pilate and demand the death penalty.

When Jesus stood before the High Council, many purported witnesses came forward to accuse him. Despite the numerous accusations, Jesus remained silent. It was clear to most of those present that the charges were slanderous.

Then the high priest put a question to Jesus: “I adjure you by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God” (63).

Thereupon, Jesus broke his silence and answered: “You say so!”—which meant: “That is exactly what I mean!”

Jesus continued: “But I tell you: From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven” (64).

Jesus affirmed with absolute clarity that he is the Christ and the Son of God, and proclaimed that he would sit at the right hand of God and return on the clouds of heaven.

Why had Jesus remained silent until then, and why did he now break his silence? I cite three reasons for this:

First, Jesus remained silent because he knew that the false accusations would expose themselves as such.

For instance, someone accused Jesus of having said that he would tear down the temple and rebuild it in three days. In fact, Jesus had said this. But by “the temple,” he had meant his own body, for he would rise from the dead on the third day. Despite many accusations, Jesus remained silent because he was convinced that the true meaning of his words would be correctly understood in time.

Even today, much slander is leveled against Jesus. Yet we need not get upset about such slander, nor do we need to expend much energy refuting false accusations. Instead, we should use our strength to actively spread the gospel.

Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormons, claimed to have seen God and Jesus Christ in 1820 and authored the Book of Mormon. Citing leading representatives of the Mormon Church, the *New York Times* reported that Joseph Smith had an estimated 40 wives—some of whom were already married, and one of whom was just 14 years old.

Today, members of the Shincheonji group act aggressively. They claim that Lee Man-hee, the sect’s founder, is "the all-encompassing and infallible light"—in other words, the Messiah. Even though we recognize the falsehood and aggressiveness of this group, we should not expend the majority of our energy unnecessarily engaging with this sect; rather, we should dedicate our strength to the active proclamation of the Gospel.

Secondly: Jesus broke his silence because he chose to bear his cross for our salvation.

Whether a person can lead a meaningful life and die a meaningful death depends largely on their own decisions.

The fact that I live here in Germany today is the result of a decision I made. After middle school, I attended a five-year agricultural college. Yet, at the end of the second year, I decided to switch to a high school so that I could subsequently attend university—even though my family could not have afforded the tuition fees at the time due to poverty. Had I not received a scholarship for my studies, I would have been completely stranded. So, I took the risk and changed schools. God had mercy on me and blessed my decision; I achieved the best result on the university entrance exam and received a scholarship. God then led me to faith and to Germany. God’s grace is great.

With his answer, "Yes, you have said so," Jesus chose the path of the cross. He knew full well that this answer would lead to an agonizing death on the cross. Yet he said, "Yes!"

Why did he choose this? Because he wanted to take upon himself all the sins of humanity and die as the sacrificial Lamb of God. He wanted to become the sacrificial Lamb of God for my sins and for yours.

Why is sin so terrible that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, had to sacrifice his life for it?

Sin is enmity against God. It means thinking, speaking, or acting against God and His will. God actually desires that we believe in Him, love Him, and willingly follow His will. He also wants us to love others and build them up. Yet we did the opposite: we did not believe in God and His love, we acted against His will, and we hated others and wronged them.

In the past, there was an insurmountable wall between East and West Berlin. Sin erects an insurmountable wall between us and God, as well as between us and other people. This wall is far worse than any other wall in the world.

Yet Jesus loved us so much that He voluntarily sacrificed His life for our redemption. That is why He answered the High Priest’s question—"Are You the Christ, the Son of God?"—with "Yes!" We ought to gratefully accept His sacrifice and His love for us. Then we will be freed from sin and find happiness; His love will become the driving force of our lives.

We should ask ourselves what defines our lives. Is my life guided by a human motive such as ambition or greed? Or by the love of Christ and gratitude for His love?

Thirdly: Jesus broke His silence and proclaimed to everyone His glorious identity as the King of the Kingdom of Heaven.

When the High Priest asked Jesus if it was true that He was the Christ and the Son of God, Jesus answered: "Yes! You have said so." He continued: "But I tell you: From now on, you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven" (64).

Jesus proclaimed this wonderful message to all people. It applies not only to those present at that time but also to us and to all people throughout the world. Why? Because He will return to redeem us and all believers and to lead us into the Kingdom of Heaven. Therefore, this message applies to everyone in the world.

Suppose Jesus had not risen from the dead after His death. That would have been a great tragedy for Him and for us as well. Thank God, He did rise. Death and hell could not hold Him. God freed Him from the power of death and raised Him up. Yet Jesus is more than just someone who rose from the dead. The risen Jesus ascended into heaven at Pentecost and sits at the right hand of God. The Acts of the Apostles describes His ascension as follows:

"Jesus Christ was lifted up before the eyes of His apostles, and a cloud hid Him from their sight. While they (i.e., the disciples of Jesus) were looking up into heaven, two angels said: 'Men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you saw Him ascend into heaven'" (Acts 1:9–11).

Just as the two angels said, Jesus Christ will return on the clouds of heaven with His holy angels to take us into His Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus proclaims to us the good news of His victory over sin, death, and the devil. He declares that He grants eternal life and the Kingdom of Heaven to all who believe in Him. He announces that He sits at the right hand of God in heaven and will return in His own time on the clouds of heaven to lead us into His kingdom.

Jesus’ message regarding the glorified Christ and His return is unimaginably good news for all people. Jesus now sits in heaven at the right hand of God, in God’s glory, and reigns over the entire visible and invisible world. This Christ loves us deeply and desires to lead us into His glorious kingdom. Therefore, He will return with His angels to take us home.

We live in this world. Consequently, we tend to place our hope in a better life within this world. Of course, we should strive for that as well. Yet our true hope lies not in this world, but in Jesus Christ and His kingdom. He is in heaven and will certainly return to take us to Himself. We must not forget this. It is wise not to place our hope in this world, but in Christ and His kingdom. One day, we shall see the glorified Christ face to face (Rev. 22:4).

3. Peter’s Denial (69–75)

Peter had said to Jesus: “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You” (26:35). He loved Jesus and followed Him, but from a distance. Then a servant girl of the high priest said: “You were with Jesus from Galilee.” Peter replied: “I do not know what you are talking about.” Ultimately, he denied Jesus three times.

And immediately the rooster crowed. Then Peter remembered the words of Jesus: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly. Because Peter relied on himself, he could not overcome his fear. That is why he denied Jesus three times.

Yet Jesus knew Peter’s weakness and prayed for him. We ought to confess our weakness to Jesus and ask for His help.

The Most Glorious Image of Christ

There are various images of Jesus Christ—for example, the image of Christ on the cross and that of the risen Christ. Jesus reveals to us yet another image of Himself:

“From now on, you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven” (64).

This is the most glorious image of Christ.

What image of Christ do we carry in our hearts? Of course, we must not overlook the image of Christ on the cross and of His resurrection. Yet above all, we should carry within us the most glorious image of Christ: Him who sits at the right hand of God in heaven and who will come on the clouds with His angels. Then we will experience great joy and the certainty of victory. Amen!