“And I say to you, Every one who shall confess me before men, him will the Son of man also confess before the angels of God, but he who denies me in the presence of men will be denied in the presence of the angels of God.”
He has been speaking about how they should live generally, but now He turns to the crucial question facing all. And that is as to what their attitude should be to Him. For in the end that is what all comes down to. Deliverance or otherwise will finally depend on a person's response to Him.
We should pause and recognise the stupendous nature of this claim. He is openly claiming a status that is beyond that of all men, even of Caesar himself. He is declaring that men's destinies will be determined by their response to Him. This is because He is God's sent One, so that to turn from Him is to turn from God. The Kingly Rule of God is now here and men no longer have a number of options. Either they submit to the King and wear His colours, or they face judgment.
So the references to the coming judgment have now faced them with a challenge. In that day when they stand before God's court, before the angels of God, they will require a friendly and influential witness if they are to come off successfully, One Who can bring forward a valid reason why they should be found not guilty. And as the sacrificed and risen Christ, the Son of Man Who has gone to receive His Kingly Rule (Daniel 7:13-14), He will be able to do so. So those who publicly confess Jesus before men will find that when, as the Son of Man, He takes up His throne, He will testify on their behalf. On the other hand those who deny Him in the presence of men will find that He denies them before the angels of God. Compare Luke 9:26 where it is confirmed that it will be the Son of Man Who will be ashamed of them, and for both positive and negative compare Matthew 10:32-33, spoken on a different occasion. This was clearly a constantly repeated warning.
This warning concerning being 'confessed to' (acknowledged) or ‘denied' by Him in the Judgment, or its equivalent, was a favourite one with Jesus repeated on a number of occasions (Luke 9:26; Matthew 10:32; Mark 8:38). Matthew tells us on another occasion that He spoke of being ‘confessed', not only before the angels of God, but ‘ before My Father Who is in Heaven' (Matthew 10:32). The general idea, however, is the same.
Note the move from earth to Heaven here signified by ‘Me' in contrast with ‘the Son of Man'. The point is not that the Son of man is a different individual, but that Jesus' status will by then have changed from being a man on earth to being a recognised heavenly figure Who has received all authority, dominion and power (Daniel 7:13-14). Now they are open to choose on the basis of their view of Him, then there will be no option, it will be life or death depending on whether they had opted for Him on earth.
The whole of this should be seen in the light of Luke 12:3 where all words spoken are to be brought into the light, which includes their confessions of their Lord, thus revealing whether they are under the Kingly Rule of God or not.