A natural question that arises from this verse in today’s reading from the Gospel of Matthew is: Whose angels are they? Is there a special class of angels belonging uniquely to Christ, or is Jesus expressing His divine authority over all the heavenly hosts?
Throughout the Old Testament, angels are consistently described as God’s angels—the heavenly servants who carry out God’s will. Yet in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus repeatedly speaks of them as “his angels.” This language would have been astonishing to His Jewish audience. No mere prophet would claim authority over the armies of heaven. By saying, “The Son of Man will send his angels,” Jesus is quietly revealing that He exercises the authority that belongs to God Himself.
The New Testament consistently portrays the angels as subject to Christ. St. Paul writes that Christ has been exalted “far above every principality, authority, power, and dominion”. Likewise, St. Peter proclaims that Christ has gone into heaven “with angels, authorities, and powers subject to him”. Even at His birth, resurrection, and ascension, the angels minister to Him, not because they are a separate order, but because He is their Lord.
This authority becomes even clearer in the context of Matthew 13. Jesus says the angels will gather “out of his kingdom” those who do evil. In the Old Testament, the kingdom belongs to God alone. Here Jesus claims ownership of the kingdom and commands the angels who execute its final judgment. This is a remarkable claim to divine sovereignty.
There is also a beautiful spiritual insight here. During His earthly ministry, Jesus often appeared humble and hidden. He walked dusty roads, accepted rejection, and even submitted to death on the Cross. Yet He repeatedly lifted the veil just enough for His disciples to glimpse His true majesty. Statements such as “The Son of Man will send his angels” remind us that the carpenter from Nazareth is also the Lord of heaven’s hosts. The One who washes His disciples’ feet is the same One before whom countless angels stand in worship, ready to accomplish His will.
Jesus Christ is the divine King whose authority extends over heaven itself. The angels obey Him because He is the eternal Son of God, and at the end of time He will send them forth to bring history to its fulfillment.