Right and Left in the New Testament
The symbolic use of right in the New Testament is quite spectacular.
Right appears an enormous number of times (almost entirely for its symbolic value) whereas left does not appear, except as the occasional counterpart to right.
In addition, these usages of right and left are almost entirely in Matthew, Mark and Luke - but not in John!
Here are the occurrances (removing duplications from the three first gospels)... right and left must have had a very powerful influence on people's minds, a sort of yin-yang, with right being the good/spiritual/primary and left being sinister/material/secondary:
if your right eye offends pluck it out, or if your right hand offends cut it off (Mat 5:29);
whoever smites the right cheek, turn the left too (Mat 5:39);
don't let your left hand know what your right does (Mat 6:3);
of the Messiah, 'Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool (Psalms, Mat 22:44);
sheep on the right go to salvation and goats on the left to damnation (Mat 25:33);
Jesus returns on the right hand of power coming in the clouds (Mat 26:64 and innumerable other places);
those mocking Jesus on the cross put a reed in his right hand (presumeably a mock symbol of power) (Mat 27:29);
two thieves were crucified with Jesus one on the left and one on the right - only one goes to Paradise (Mat 27:38);
entering Jesus' tomb they see an angel on the right (Mar 16:5);
Jesus is received up to heaven and sits at the right hand of God (Mar 16:19);
the angel of the Lord appears to Zacharias on the right hand of the incense (Lk 1:11);
one of Jesus' disciples cuts off the right ear of the high-priest's servant as Jesus is arrested by them (Luke 22:50);
Jesus instructs the fishermen to cast onto the right-hand side with their nets so as to catch lots of fish (John 21:6);
Pater lifts up the sick man by the right hand and he is healed (Act 3:7);
quite a lot in acts about Jesus being on the right hand of God (eg. at Stephens martyrdom Act 7:55);
the spirit in Revelation has the stars [Messengers of God] in his right hand (Rev 1:16),
and lays his right hand on John to calm him (Rev 1:17);
the books with the seals are in the right hand (Rev 5:1);
the angel has his right foot on the sea [i.e. spiritual], and left upon the earth [i.e. material] (Rev 10:2);
the sign of the Beast is put upon the right hand or forehead (Rev 13:16)