“I am,” replied Jesus, “and you will all see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of the Almighty, and coming in the clouds of heaven.”
one
doesn’t even need
to think
to be understood
as an I ameach
comes streaming
clouds of glory
after them
before them
Commentators like to make too much of the response, “I am” as a parallel of the identity of G*D in Exodus 3:14. Here Jesus is only responding to a question by the High Priest, not bringing a presence that would enlist the Council to be as bold as Moses in a mission to confront the authoritarian ruler of his day.
While Jesus may have had such an allusion in mind, we need to hear Bratcher466 talk about translational issues to have this allusion bear any weight.
Though the words I am may imply a subtle allusion to the divine self-revelation (cf. Exodus 3:14), it is difficult, if not impossible, to reproduce this type of allusion in a receptor language. In most languages Jesus’ reply must be either (1) an affirmative such as ‘yes’ or ‘that is right’ or (2) a declaration such as ‘I am the Christ’. In most instances it is quite impossible to translate literally ‘I am’ because the copulative verb requires some type of so-called predicate complement.
The limits of language are seldom taken into account when theologizing takes place. The temptation to eternalize one moment in one language for all time in all grammatical constructs is usually too great to resist.
In his response, Jesus’ “Yes” to the question about being the Son of the Blessed One affirms all that has gone on to this point. We are at a place that returns us to the beginning verse of Mark, the reception and testing of Belovedness, a repeat of that at the Transfiguration and affirmation that, “Yes, I am partnered with that which Blesses.”
That same issue arises when it comes to the “right side” of “the Almighty” or “Power”. Again, Bratcher466,
Power cannot be used as a substitute for God in some languages since not only is the figure ‘right hand of the Power’ unintelligible, but ‘power’ does not exist apart from a possessor, e.g. ‘God who has power’ (Tzeltal) or ‘the one who has power’ (Mazahua).
This is the proactive consequence of the prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. There is no denying blessing; it must be affirmed.