Recap:
Just to review what I taught last time. The book of Hebrews was written to a group
of Hebrews around 70A.D. The author is unknown. The purpose of the letter is to
encourage this group of believers to stay strong in their faith as some were
going back to the traditions and faith of Judaism as a result of growing
persecution.
In the first 8 or so chapters the writer of
Hebrews (under the indwelling of the Holy Spirit) makes his case as to why this
group of believers needs to stay firm in their faith in Jesus. His case is that
Jesus is superior to anything or anyone else that they had previously believed
or put their trust in.
Rock,
Scissors, Paper:
Remember the old children’s game to decide
who wins at something or who goes first. One, two, three, shoot. Rock,
Scissors, Paper.
Rock beats scissors, scissors cuts paper
but paper covers rock.
That is what this passage reminded me of.
Jesus, Prophets, Moses, Angels….
Jesus beats them all. He is superior in
every way.
As you study this book I have asked you to
make a list of all the persons/beliefs that Christ is superior to. Let’s begin.
Jesus
is superior to
the Angels:
In the Jewish faith, angels were revered
creatures. The word angel means messenger. There are numerous examples in the
OT of God speaking or leading by angels.
God recognizes the position that angels
have in the mind of the Jews. There was even a Jewish sect at that time that
worshiped angels. But in this section God reminds the Hebrews that angels are
created beings, actually created by Jesus and therefore Jesus trumps angels.
Jesus
is superior to the prophets.
We need to remember that the prophets had a
huge role in the Jewish faith. They were rock stars to the Jews. They were the direct
line from man to God and God to man. Most scholars believe that Abraham was the
first prophet. God certainly spoke to Abraham as He did to others and I will
elaborate on that in just a few minutes.
What
makes Jesus superior to the prophets and the angels?
Jesus is Superior:
He
is heir of all things. (v.2.)
That means that everything belongs to Him.
He
is the exact representation of God.(v.3)
Jesus says, if you see me you have seen the
Father because I and the father are one. (John 14:9)
He
sustains all things.(v.3)
He not only is the creator of the universe
but He sustains it as well. He doesn’t just start things in motion and let them
go on their way.
He
is the purifier of sin.(v.3)
He is our redeemer. He has paid for our sin
through His death on the cross. He is the only sacrifice needed; which for the
Jews would be a huge selling point. They no longer had to go to the temple and
offer sacrifices to maintain their holy standing with God. Because Jesus was the
sinless sacrifice, He met God’s holy standards.
He
is God’s firstborn.(v.6)
Another selling point. Jewish culture
placed tremendous value on the firstborn son. He was the one that received the
Father’s blessing and the majority of the worldly possessions. That Jesus was
God’s firstborn gave Him even more stature if that were possible.
His
throne will last forever.(v.8)
The writer is encouraging the Hebrews to
hang in there because Jesus’ throne is eternal.
He
is the creator of all(v10)
He
is immortal(v.14)
Because of all of these truths about Jesus, God then says:
PAY
ATTENTION!!
Don’t
ignore Salvation.
What is salvation? What exactly did Jesus do
for us?
He came to earth and took on the form of a
man.
He was fully God and fully man and after He
had lived on earth, taught and healed and lived with the disciples, he
surrendered his life to be crucified.
He became obedient to death, on a cross, a humiliating,
painful death.
He had all things under him, yet chose to
humble himself to die so that the fear of death would no longer have power over
us if we would accept “so great a salvation.”
Jesus was the only one to ever defy death.
Vs. 14 says that:
“Jesus
shared in our humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the
power of death, that is the devil and free those who all their lives were held
in slavery by their fear of death. Vs. 16 “For surely it is not angels he
helps, but Abraham’s descendants. For this reason he had to be made like his
brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful
high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of
the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help
those who are being tempted.”
In Old Testament times there were various
ways that God spoke to his people. Of course in the beginning in Genesis, God
spoke with Adam and Eve face to face as we speak to one another. Once Adam and
Eve disobeyed God that relationship changed. They were banished from the garden
but He still had relationship with them. In Genesis 4 it is recorded that the
Lord spoke to Cain. He also speaks to Noah in Genesis 8 and to Abraham in
chapter 12. In chapter 15 it states that God spoke to Abram in a vision and
that “the word of the Lord came to him.”
Another way God spoke in the O.T. was
through angels. Genesis 19 we see 2 angels arrive at Sodom to rescue Lot.
God spoke through
angels (Gen. 16)
God spoke through dreams (Gen. 28:10-19)
God spoke through visions (Gen. 15)
God spoke through the use of the Urim and Thummim (Ex. 28:30)
God spoke through symbolic actions (Jer. 18:1-10)
God spoke through a gentle whisper (1 Kings 19:12)
God spoke through miraculous signs (Ex. 8:20-25)
And of course, God spoke directly Himself (Gen. 3:9)
Relationship:
As
I studied this passage I was struck by 2 things that I want to share.
First, are the lengths that God has gone to
to have relationship with us.
He created us and has looked for
communication with us ever since.
In the Old Testament He used so many
creative ways to speak to His people. He shows grace and compassion time and
again.
He says, Rev. 3:20, “I stand at the door
and knock, if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat
with him, and he with me.”
Access:
Then I looked at how He provided an even
better way to have relationship with us through Jesus. I wrestled with this at
first. I thought, why is Jesus better than the way God spoke in the Old
Testament? I mean, he spoke to Moses face to face as we speak to each other.
That sounds so much better to me.
As I thought about it and I prayed about
it, this is what I discovered.
When God spoke through the prophets, the
message was received third hand. You heard what God said through someone else.
When God sent his messenger angels, it was
the same thing~third hand.
When he spoke through dreams and visions
they were uncommon occurrences.
Jesus is better because He fills in what we
lack. Because of the Holy Spirit we have immediate, constant access to God.
24/7 communion. And we have a high
priest that “gets it.” He lived on the earth and understands our frailties. He
has compassion and self-giving love. Because we have been left the Bible we get
to see the character of God. Because of what Jesus has done we learn to
understand what true self-giving love is and as a result of the indwelling of
the Holy Spirit we are able to truly have our spiritual eyes opened.
Application:
So I have 2 questions for you today.
1. Have you ignored so great a salvation?
Have you heard Jesus knocking at the door of your heart? Open the door.
2. Are you paying careful attention to
Christ so that you don’t drift away?
Hebrews 3:8 says, “Today if you hear His
voice, do not harden your hearts…”
Are you listening for His voice?
Chapters 1 and 2 Discussion Questions
How has your view of Jesus changed as a
result of these chapters?
What are some things you tend to put your
faith in before you turn to Christ?
Given the excellency and supremacy of
Christ, why do you think human beings still tend to trust other things more?
What are some of the ways that God speaks
today?
What restorative steps would you advise for
those who have drifted away from God or failed to pay attention to His word?
How does knowing that Jesus suffered and
was tempted help you when you are being tempted?
