The Goal of Hebrews
The Epistle to the Hebrews is one of the most profound books of
the Bible because of the incredible praise and honor it lifts up to
Christ. John is often lifted up as the
Gospel that speaks to the divinity of Christ.
Romans is often lifted up as the book that speaks about the path to
Christ. But the book of Hebrews is the
quintessential book about the nature of Christ.
In this book we will see Christ lifted up, praised, glorified, and
revealed in His proper place with God and over the whole world.
Nature of Christ
Jesus Christ is the last and final voice of God. God spoke creation into existence at the
beginning of the world. God revealed
Himself to the people of this world – especially to the patriarchs and those
who followed after them – through the prophets.
But now God has sent the last, final, and ultimate voice into the
world. He sent Jesus Christ to be the
final word. He sent Jesus to be the true
unveiling of God. He sent Jesus to speak
final words of repentance, justice, grace, mercy, and forgiveness. Jesus Christ is the greatest voice to come to
mankind.
Jesus Christ is also the Heir.
This really makes sense. After
all, if the world was created through Him, why shouldn’t all things ultimately
be His inheritance? What this means, of
course, is that if Jesus Christ is the heir, then everything of the Father will
be the Son’s. Everything will be under
the dominion of Christ.
We know Christ because the glory of God radiates from Him. This Greek word for “radiates” is a neat
word. If used actively, it can mean radiate:
God’s glory is within Him and shining forth through Him. If used passively, it can mean reflect: God’s
glory is being reflected off of Christ and shone to the whole world. I think both senses of this word can teach us
something about how we interact with God.
Like Christ, at times we reflect God’s glory to the world and at times
God’s glory shines through us.
We also see that Jesus is the one who sustains creation. He upholds the universe by the word. Again, this word for “uphold” is a neat
word. It can mean that Christ causes
creation to continue. The only reason
creation continues and doesn’t literally tear itself apart is because Christ
has become a part of it. In this sense,
then, Christ literally sustains us. He
is the only reason that we can continue to exist as we are.
Christ is the Redeemer. He
is the one who purifies creation from its sinful nature. He is the one who
intercedes for us with God. He is the
one who laid down His life so that others might live.
Finally, we see that Christ is king. Christ has sat down at the right hand of
God. Christ has ascended to be with the
Father to the place that was prepared for Him.
He has proven His superiority – superiority over death and even the
angels! There is none like Him!
What a great way to start this study on Christ as we march through
the book of Hebrews.
Superior to the Angels
At first glance, the rest of this opening chapter might seem
strange. After all, why so much focus on
the angels? Truth be told, other than a
few chapters in the book of Revelation there is no other place in the Bible
with as much concentrated focus on angelic beings. So, what’s the big deal?
Our best guess is that the author of Hebrews is making a strong
case for the salvation that comes through Christ as being greater than the
Law. You might wonder how it is that
such a conclusion is even connected to the topic of angels. Here’s how the logic goes. Much of the book of Hebrews is about Christ
being superior to the Law. Jewish
tradition holds that thousands upon thousands of angels were present and active
in the giving of the Law to Moses at Sinai.
{Jewish tradition, not Jewish
scripture.} Therefore, in Hebrew
tradition the glory and presence of angels are largely tied to both the Law and
a person’s ability to keep the Law while not be sucked into temptation. Therefore, if Jesus is superior to the angels,
then Jesus is superior to the Law.
That’s the point that the author is going for in the rest of this first
chapter.
How is Jesus superior to the angels? Well, collectively the angels may be called
“sons of God.” But, the author argues,
how many angels have ever been singled out and called the Son of God? The author also argues that the angels will
bow down and worship the Son. What angel
has been given a throne in heaven? What
angel has been given the scepter in order to rule? What angel has been the same today as
yesterday and tomorrow? {I’ll confess, this thought was really new
to me today and comes out of the comparison involving v. 12} To what angels has God invited to sit at His
right hand?
The angels are God’s servants.
Of course they are important! Of
course they have a great and noble place.
But they are not the Son! The Son
– God’s Messiah, the savior of the world – is above the angels. In the author’s mind and according to Jewish
tradition, then, the salvation that comes through the Son must therefore be
greater than anything that can come through the Law.
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