What does Luke 22:70 mean?

After a night of illegal trials and a morning filled with a legal trial before the Sanhedrin, the Jewish leaders almost have what they need to eliminate Jesus. He has just claimed that He will be "seated at the right hand of the power of God" (Luke 22:69). To Jews of that era, such a statement is a blasphemous insult. The transcendent God could never be in the presence of an unclean human. God would never sit beside any human. In their minds, that makes Jesus guilty of blasphemy. He has broken the Mosaic law. He is technically worthy of death. But that's only the first step.

They want Jesus destroyed, but they don't want to complete the act on their own. They're afraid of the people who love Jesus so much they may stone anyone who kills Him: even their own priests and elders (Luke 22:2). The Sanhedrin wants the Romans to kill Jesus, but to make that happen they need Jesus to break the Roman law. So, they ask Him if He is the Son of God. The thought would disgust them, but it would fill their purposes. To claim to the be the Son of God would claim an equal standing with the emperor.

Jesus' reply is oblique, as if He does not want to give a straight answer. The Sanhedrin takes it as a definite admission that breaks the Mosaic law and gives them what they need for Pilate. "What further testimony do we need?" they ask themselves. "We have heard it ourselves from his own lips" (Luke 22:71). They don't understand that what they've heard is the truth. Not only will Jesus, fully man, sit at the right hand of God, Jesus, fully God, is with them now.