In facing the Sanhedrin, Jesus declared

But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.

In saying this, He made it clear that at His ascension, what had been predicted in Daniel 9 would become a reality.

“And that was . . .”

That as He ascended, He would come to the Father with the clouds that accompanied Him into the sky, to receive power and honor and glory as the God-man Who would be seated at the right hand of the Father—the place of power.

That was why, in giving the great commission to His disciples, Jesus prefaced His words with the declaration that all authority in heaven and in earth had been given to Him. He could say, “therefore” go. It was His prerogative to do so.

Incidentally, the apostles fulfilled this commission in their lifetime as Jesus predicted in the Olivet discourse. He said that the Gospel would be preached in the whole oikoumene (Roman world) as a witness to all the Gentiles. And Paul made it clear that this happened in his lifetime (Colossians 1:6, 26; Romans 16:26; I Timothy 2:26).

What does all of this mean?

Among other things, it means that nothing men can do—as devastating as they can be to one another when they turn their backs upon Him—can thwart His purposes. Aren’t you glad that, though things often seem to go so very wrong, none of this is out of His control. And in His time—just as He waited to destroy Jerusalem—so too He will put down all authority and rule and power that exists among men when that time is ripe. Then, He will set up the new Heavens and the new Earth in which righteousness is at home. Until then, we must trust and obey!