Under the Old Covenant the Levitical priesthood would offer the same sacrifices to God perpetually to no avail (Hebrews 10:11-12), but under the New Covenant Christ offered himself and rested from his redemptive labor by sitting down at the right hand of God (Psalm 110:1-4). Thus, showing that his single sacrifice was perpetually effective to redeem man and wash his conscience of sin guilt.
According to Psalm 110 Jesus is sitting at the right hand of God, showing he has the very same authority of the Father, himself. However, he not only exercises that authority as the Messiah, the son of David (Psalm 110:1), but, and especially in the context of Paul’s argument in his Epistle to the Hebrews, he sits at the right hand of God as High Priest after the order of Melchizedek (Psalm 110:4). Thus, through his sacrifice of himself for our sins, Christ has united, forever, the offices of High Priest and King, showing there is no authority greater, neither is that authority modified by the Law of Moses or any other ordinance or authority of men. Jesus, as God, sits in the Temple of God, on the throne of God, showing himself to be God. But, what would this look like from a first century perspective.
First of all, we shouldn’t have the idea that Jesus is merely “sitting” on the throne of God, while the Father brings Jesus’ enemies into submission to his authority. When a king sits on his throne, it is understood that he is ruling and exercising his great authority, and this is how we should understand Jesus’ sitting on the throne of God (Hebrews 10:12). What occurs as a result of Jesus’ exaltation is that he brings his enemies into submission to him, as he works in the kingdoms of men, causing them to bring about his will (Hebrews 10:13; Luke 21:22-24; cf. Daniel 4:17, 34-37).
However, in contrast to preaching the Gospel of Jesus sitting on the throne of God (Psalm 110:1-4; Hebrews 10:12-13; Acts 2:34-35), the high priest in Jerusalem during the first century AD utterly opposed what he saw the Apostles doing and reached out his hand to try to prevent God’s will from bearing fruit. He even went as far as persecuting the nascent church to the point of shedding her blood. The Jewish high priest was the supreme authority in the Temple of God at Jerusalem and sat opposing the Gospel of Christ. He exalted his position above the very throne of Christ, the real High Priest. In doing so, he even exalted himself above the Lord God, our Father, and all who are called by his name. Thus, in effect, he presented himself to the world as the god of the Jews (2Thessalonians 2:4; cf. Psalm 82:1-7).
The Annas high priestly family (Luke 3:2; John 18:13) was the ONLY persecuting authority that opposed the believing community during the first century AD until Nero. Annas had five sons who reigned as high priests during the first century AD, and one of them reigned twice. He also had a son-in-law, Caiaphas, who reigned as high priest during Jesus’ public ministry, and the final high priest to reign before the Jews’ rebelled against Rome was Annas’ grandson. Annas, himself, reigned high priest for 60 years from 6 AD, until he was killed at the outbreak of the war against Rome in 66 AD, on the 6th day of the 6th month in the Jewish calendar.[1]
He was judged by the real High Priest, just as Jesus claimed he would do (Matthew 26:63-64; Mark 14:61-62), and he was destroyed in the brightness of Jesus’ coming to vindicate his disciples by judging him and the only nation that had been persecuting his people. This was done just as Paul claimed it would be done (2Thessalonians 2:8)—by the ‘spirit of his mouth’ or in other words by what Jesus told him in Matthew and Mark indicated above. Moreover, the only times the church was persecuted before 70 AD, was when one of Annas’ family officiated the office of high priest in Jerusalem. No one else who lived during that generation fits the Scriptural title Man of Sin better than he.
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[1] JOSEPHUS: Wars of the Jews, book 2, chapter 17, section 8-9
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