FOR THE LOVE OF GOD

Scripture Reference: Hebrews 1:1-14

Jesus – Superior to the Angels (Hebrews 1:3-14)

It is worth noting the way in which Hebrews is saturated in the teaching of the Hebrew Bible. This is most likely due to the intended readership. The opening chapter is already full of references and allusions, and we note in particular the value given to the Psalms as a treasure house for revelation about the Son of God. The Scriptures of the Jewish people are simply assumed to be centered upon and pointing towards Jesus. Jesus himself gave the lead in this interpretation on the way to Emmaus (Luke 24:27).

It was important to Hebrews to establish at the outset that the angels, though a wonderful creation of God’s, were far below Jesus in authority and glory. By Jesus’ time the Jewish people had a sophisticated theology of angels who served as the mediators between the transcendent God in heaven and his people on earth below. There was even the belief in some quarters that angels carried Israel’s prayers to God. Perhaps the believers to whom Hebrews was written came from a background which highlighted the significance of angels, and therefore needed to be given particular help.

There is in fact only one mediator, the Son of God himself (see 1 Timothy 2:5–6).

The Son’s name is superior to that of the angels, and this refers to his status and authority. In Philippians 2:9–11 we learn that God gave Jesus “the name that is above every name,” the very name/title of “Lord.” This was the title reserved by Jewish people for God himself!

We must remember that the angels are part of God’s creation, and therefore cannot be compared with the eternal Son. This contrast is alluded to in Hebrews 1:7–9. The Son’s throne is everlasting, but the angels come and go like winds or flames of fire. Two famous Jewish texts relate angels to wind and fire in this way (4 Ezra; and the other, Yalkut Shim’oni).

The Hebrew term for angel is simply a word which means a “messenger,” and at the end of the day that is what angels are. They are ministering spirits sent to serve. But note the grace of God in that he also sends his angels to serve those who belong to Jesus. The early believers knew about the reality of angels in their lives as we see in the book of Acts (5:19, 8:26, 10:3, 12:23, 27:23–24).

The angels actually live to worship and serve the Son. The reference here in Hebrews 1:6 is to the Greek version of the Hebrew Bible (the Jewish Septuagint), and could be from Deuteronomy 32:43 or Psalm 97:7. The Hebrew text doesn’t use the term for angels, but speaks of “gods.” We are taught here that Jesus is worthy of the same worship as God the Father.

Jesus is worthy because he is the radiance of God’s glory. The word for radiance can mean a bright reflection, or as is more likely here, a shining forth. In Israel’s history the glory of God was an almost visible manifestation of the overpowering presence of God. It guided them and assured them of God’s blessing (see Exodus 24:15–17; 33:18–23; Leviticus 9:5–6, 23). This glory is now seen overwhelmingly in the person of Jesus.

Jesus is also worthy because he is the exact representation of God’s being. In 2 Corinthians 4:4 and Colossians 1:15 Jesus is described as the “image” of God, using a word which gives us the English term, “icon.” However Hebrews uses a word which occurs nowhere else in the New Testament, and which gives us the English word, “character” It is a word which means the exact detail and expression of the original. If we want to know what our Father is like then we pay attention to Jesus.

After . . . he sat down shows us that, worthy and glorious though the Son is, there is a sense in which the Father honored and glorified him even more when he proved his love for us by dying for our sins on the cross. It was after he purified us that he sat in the place of honor at the right hand of the Father. This staggering truth is developed throughout Hebrews, as elsewhere (see Philippians 2:9).

Right at the opening of the letter the readers are encouraged to remember that Jesus will never change, and that he will be with them in every situation (Hebrews 1:12). This was a word of comfort which Jesus himself gave to his disciples (Matthew 28:20), and it also helps to close Hebrews (13:8). We need to hold on to that same promise.

There is a blessed assurance and extreme confidence and security in knowing that Jesus will always remain the same!

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV © 2011 by Biblica, Inc
Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture Reference: Hebrews 1:1-14

Jesus – Superior to the Prophets (Hebrews 1:1-2)

The clear teaching of these opening verses is that Jesus is incomparably better than all that went before him. Hebrews actually uses the term for superior approximately twelve times throughout the letter, from Hebrews 1:4 to 12:24. This is a key matter of revelation, Jesus is greater than anyone or anything to which he might be compared.

The Muslim call, “Allah hu aqbar,” which Christians usually assume means, “God is Great,” is actually very clever indeed. I am not trying to elevate the Muslim faith, but just to point out something of importance as we come to this letter. The Arabic phrase actually means, “God is Greater.” If you ask a Muslim, “Greater than what?”, the answer given is, “Greater than anything you care to name.” This claim made by Muslims for Allah is in fact true only for Jesus!

Much of Jewish thought in Jesus’ day supposed that all time and life was divided into two ages, known as the present age and the age to come. The present age is one of struggle and defeat, but the age to come will see God’s perfect order and joy established in the world. The “Day of the Lord” separates the two ages, bringing about these last days, and it is the time when the Messiah enters history and brings the age to come into reality. Jesus has done exactly that.

According to Jewish beliefs, the last of the biblical prophets was Malachi, who died centuries before Jesus was born. The Jewish people and the world needed the Messiah to come to live out the life of God among us. The prophets spoke about God’s love, glory and power, etc., but Jesus personified it all.

The prophets were God’s great messengers before the coming of the Messiah, but now God is able to communicate with us at the deepest level because His Son has come and begun the supernatural transformation of the world. So we note that Hebrews focuses on the status of Jesus as God’s own Son, his mission, reign, obedience and perfect nature (see Hebrews 1:2-3, 5, 8). The age to come has already begun. As Jesus said after his baptism, “The time has come, . . . The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15).

All of the various ways added together would not begin to compare with the depth and richness of revelation which has come in Jesus.

God so loves the Son that he has made him the heir of all things. This goes far beyond the promise of inheriting the nations of the earth given in Psalm 2:8, a Psalm which is used in this opening chapter of Hebrews. Only God can give this gift to Jesus (Matthew 4:8–10), and those who fully share Jesus’ life are also promised a share in this inheritance with him (Romans 8:17).

Hebrews delights to reveal that Jesus inherits what he was instrumental in creating in the first place. The Son is the one through whom (God) made the universe. Paul and John also teach us this important truth (Colossians 1:16; John 1:3). This letter has been written to believers in trouble, but just as Jesus was the means by whom God created order and beauty out of the primeval chaos, so he will be able to bring stability and purpose to the difficult life of believers then and now.

To Be Continued

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV © 2011 by Biblica, Inc
Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture References: Luke 10:1-12, 17-20

Last lesson: When we come upon those who are not open to what we are trying to do for Jesus’ sake, politely disinterested, and rigorously and rudely opposed to the news we bear and the service we offer in Jesus’ name, well, Jesus had some advice on what to do in this situation, too. We tell any of the dissenters who will listen that we are wiping the very dust from our feet that got on us while coming to them.

Continuing on however, remember that the seventy went out and did what Jesus asked them to do according to his directions, and they experienced some notable successes. Luke reports that when they came back from their initial mission, they were joyful and said to Jesus:

“Sir, even the most devilish ones gave in to us when we approached them in your name.” He said to them, “Yes, and I saw the whole Satanic structure smashed like a bolt of lightning from the sky. Look here, I’ve given you the ability to trample on ‘snakes and scorpions,’ and on the power-structure of the opposition, and nothing will be able to stop you. But don’t get all hepped up just because the devilish guys gave in to you; instead you should be happy that you’re enrolled in a spiritual cause” (Luke 10:17–20, The Cotton-patch Version of Luke and Acts).

Jesus was saying to persons who saw the gospel successfully at work, through numerical increase and dramatic effect on teller and hearer, that they had to keep such success in perspective. Yes, the gospel works; it does change lives. However, this kind of change is always effected through the power and anointing of the Holy Spirit, not through the power of the messenger of the Good News. He or she is always, at most, a catalyst for the work of God. If we forget this, we will certainly mistake God’s power as our own, and we will begin to take personally the appreciation which changed lives tend to express. Then we could come to believe that people owe us for our efforts, and religious scandals will be repeated time and again. We have to be aware that after a victory, that is when God’s servants need to be most vigilant for that is when the devil likes to plant seeds of pride.

What should really thrill us is not our own success stories of how we helped the gospel to function in the lives of people who had been in bondage to evil, but the more foundational reality: that the gospel of Jesus Christ first changed us and the power of God grasped our souls and gave us hope in a hopeless world. This alone should make us willing laborers for the demanding harvest which Jesus called “truly great.”

Can you think of any task which promises to pay you greater dividends than this ministry of the harvest and laboring to prepare people to receive all that God wants for them? There is no greater calling, no greater opportunity than to be laborers together in the fields “white for harvest” (John 4:35). People out there desperately need us on their way to finding God in Jesus Christ. The voice we hear calling us to them is the voice of Jesus. Let’s go in the power of the Holy Spirit!

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.