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"The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven."

—Hebrews 1:3

Have you ever noticed how many times Scripture tells us that Jesus sat down?

Hebrews 1:3 says that after He provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God. Mark 16:19 tells us that after His ascension, He sat down at God's right hand. Colossians 3:1 reminds us that Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Psalm 110:1, one of the most quoted Old Testament passages in the New Testament, begins with the words, "Sit at my right hand."

Why does Scripture mention where Jesus is sitting so often? This week, during a meeting, we began tracing that theme through the Bible. The more we talked, the more one detail stood out. There was one piece of furniture you would never find in the tabernacle or the temple.

A chair.

The priests had an altar. They had a lampstand. They had a table. They had a basin. They had the Ark of the Covenant. But nowhere was there a chair for them to sit down.

Why?

Because their work was never finished.

Day after day they stood before the Lord offering sacrifices for the sins of the people. Morning became evening, and evening became morning, yet the sacrifices continued. Every offering pointed to humanity's greatest need, but none of them could permanently remove sin. The priest never sat because there was always another sacrifice to make.

Then Jesus came.

He became both our Great High Priest and the perfect sacrifice. On the cross He declared, "It is finished." Those were not words of defeat but of victory. The price had been paid. Sin had been atoned for. Death had been defeated.

So after His resurrection and ascension, Jesus did something no earthly priest could ever do.

He sat down.

His posture tells the story.

Jesus is not seated because He is resting from exhaustion. He is seated because His work of redemption is complete. There is nothing left to add to the cross. No sacrifice remains to be offered. No payment is still owed. Salvation has been fully accomplished through Him.

What a comfort that is for us.So often we live as though we need to earn God's approval. We strive to prove ourselves worthy, hoping that if we do enough, serve enough, or try hard enough, God will finally accept us.

But the Gospel tells a different story. We do not work for salvation; we work from salvation. Lets take a moment and read that again, We do not work for salvation; we work from salvation. Whew. We don't obey in order to earn God's love. We obey because we have already received it through Christ. Our service is no longer an attempt to finish what Jesus started. It is a grateful response to what Jesus has already finished.

The absence of a chair in the tabernacle and the temple wasn't an oversight. It was a reminder that the work of the earthly priests was never complete. Every sacrifice pointed forward to the One who would accomplish what they never could.

Then Jesus came. Our Great High Priest offered Himself as the once-for-all sacrifice for sin. When His work was finished, He did what no earthly priest had ever done.

He sat down.

Not because He was weary, but because redemption was complete. The debt had been paid. The sacrifice had been accepted. There was nothing left to add.

Today, Jesus is still seated at the right hand of the Father. He is reigning. He is interceding for His people. And because His work is finished, we can rest in what He has accomplished instead of striving to accomplish it ourselves.

"But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God."

—Hebrews 10:12