The Supremacy of God s Son Hebrews 1:1-14 Introduction Some men are notorious for refusing to ask for directions. They either insist on their memory or rely confidently on their ability to understand directional signage. In recent years, however, stubborn men have met their match in the form of the GPS. Many new cars now come equipped with these miraculous little devices that help drivers navigate to their destination. What some people do not know though is that older versions of GPS, like the one used in my two vehicles, do not dynamically update to reflect changes in the road system. One example of this outdated system is seen when I drive to Ruston on Highway 7 which eventually turns into Highway 167. At various points on that journey south, my GPS indicates that I am driving through an area that once had no road at all. At times, especially if I am trying to get somewhere new, my GPS insist on going back to the road, failing to know that a new road is now in place. New construction has changed my route. The road that once existed is no longer there. A new road has been constructed in its place and my outdated GPS needs to be updated. The old paths that were once good no longer have the same relevance for my trip. Things have definitively changed and it is necessary for my GPS to be configured for the new terrain. It would be foolish and dangerous to continue on or return to those old paths. In many ways, that is what we encounter this morning as we begin our study of the book of Hebrews. The book of Hebrews was composed for a church of Jewish Christians that was being tempted to turn back to the old paths. They were being tempted to abandon Christ and return to the former ways. And who could blame them, really? The old paths were well-worn and familiar. They grew up on those paths. And so as they embarked on the difficult journey to follow Christ, they started to slow down in their faithfulness to Christ. The things of Christ were becoming less of a priority to them. They were becoming distracted by other things, taking their eyes off the joy that was set before them. So the author of Hebrews intends to get them back on track, to refocus their attention on Christ, to encourage them run the race before them with vigor, warning them along the way that if they are not running with passion and commitment, then they might actually not be in the race at all. He does this by showing them that the old paths that they once walked, the old paths of Judaism were pointing to the path of Jesus Christ all along. Thus, the point of Hebrews is to show the audience that following Christ is not contrary to the old paths, but instead, a fulfillment of the old paths. You see, while the roads might have changed some, the destination was the same. All that needed to happen was for their map to be updated. For their frame of reference to be adjusted and transformed in light of the supremacy of the person and work of Jesus Christ. So let s begin this series by considering the first chapter Hebrews 1:1-14 1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.
3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. 5 For to which of the angels did God ever say, You are my Son, today I have begotten you? Or again, I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son? 6 And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, Let all God s angels worship him. 7 Of the angels he says, He makes his angels winds, and his ministers a flame of fire. 8 But of the Son he says, Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. 9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions. 10 And, You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands; 11 they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment, 12 like a robe you will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will have no end. 13 And to which of the angels has he ever said, Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet? 14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation? Exposition As I said earlier, the point of this book is to reorient the thinking of the audience around the reality of the supremacy of the Son of God. The people needed a dose of divine reality if they are going to continue to follow Christ and stay on the right path. They needed their guidance system updated. They needed to trust the new roads revealed in Christ, and in order to do that, they would need to understand and value the Son of God more. I want you to see three things about the Son of God in these verses 2
I. The Prophet Who Speaks (Vs. 1-3a) The Son of God is the supreme prophet of God who speaks to us as God himself. While various prophets from the past have spoken, the supreme prophet has spoken, Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The author of Hebrews is deliberately contrasting the work of Jesus to the work of the former prophets. It is not that Jesus prophetic word is completely different than the previous generations of prophets. Instead, as 1 Pet. 1:10-12 teaches us, it is that Jesus fulfills the word of the prophets as the fullest revelation of the character and nature of God. As verse 3 tells us, Jesus is the radiance of the glory of God and exact imprint of his nature. If we want to know what God is like, we look to Jesus, for in Him all the fullness of the Godhead was pleased to dwell bodily (Col. 2:9). As such, Jesus perfectly reveals to us the holiness, the grace, the kindness, the mercy, the justice, the compassion, the love, and the power of God. We are not looking for a greater revelation from some other prophet. No! For we have the revelation of God in His Son, Jesus Christ! We do not have to wonder about God s Word to us. He has made it plain in Christ, and it is recorded in scripture. As Jesus said to the Pharisees, You search the scriptures for in them you believe you have eternal life, but it is the scriptures that testify of me (Jhn. 5:39). We never graduate from our need to know and love the Christ of the scriptures! For He has spoken with deafening and saving clarity as God s ordained and final prophet! T.S. - And what has He declared to us? He has declared to us the love of God through His saving death on the cross, which leads us to the second truth that we find in our passage II. The Priest Who Saves (Vs. 3b) According to verse 3, the same Christ who upholds the universe by the word of His power is the same Christ who made purification for sins. We will learn more about the priestly work of Christ throughout the book of Hebrews, but for now what we need to see is that at the very core of Jesus work is the saving of sinners from their sins. And the beauty of His saving work is that He is done! It is finished! There is no more sacrifice to be offered on the altar! The Lamb of God who appeared to take away the sins of the world has risen from the grave. He shed His blood willingly on our behalf that we might not endure God s just wrath toward our sin. You see, our sins deserve death. We deserve to be crushed under the wrath of God for our disobedience. Yet Christ, for all who trust in Him, bore the wrath of God. The creator and sustainer of the universe was not unconcerned with our sin. He cared for us! He laid His life down for us in order to bring us to himself! As the final priest in the presence of God, meditating on behalf of sinners, Jesus Christ saved sinners! But what is the use of coming to a once dead and now risen priest? What authority does he possess? He has saved us from sin, but what about all of the other brokenness in our world? What about all the things that must be made right in the world? What is this prophet-priest going to do? T.S. - This prophet-priest is going to reign as king forever! 3
III. The King Who Reigns (Vs. 3c-14) The whole point of these remaining verses is intended to highlight the exaltation and enthronement of the prophet-priest as the king over all! He is seated at the right hang of the Majesty on high! That is, He is seated in the place of supreme authority. Do you realize what this means? It means that the One who has revealed God s truth to us as prophet and the One who has satisfied God s wrath toward our sin as priest, now possesses all authority in heaven and on earth at the King of Ages! He has inherited a more excellent name than the name of the angels. Now, some of you are thinking, what is the deal with the comparison to angels? While we will look at this in more detail in chapter 2, suffice to say now that Jewish Christians highly regarded angels for their role in the meditation of the law of Moses. They were viewed as givers of the law, so the temptation of the Jewish Christians was to return to the Mosaic Law, to return to the old paths, in favor of the splendor of angels than the splendor of King Jesus. So the author of Hebrews wants to undermine their exaltation of angels by showing them that Jesus is better! Jesus is greater! He wants them to see that they shouldn t worship angels. They should worship the One that the angels worship, namely, Jesus! Angels are servants of the king. They are not greater than Him. Conclusion In sum, what we have seen in these opening verses is that this Jewish audience was being tempted to return to the old paths of the law of Moses and abandon Christ. They were tempted to value things that were infinitely less glorious! They were tempted to return to the old prophets, old priests, and old kings, but the new and final prophet-priest-king had come and there was no turning back now! Application The reality here this morning is that most of you are not struggling with the temptation to return to the law of Moses. Most of you don t need to be told that Jesus is greater than the angels. So what difference does this passage make for you? Is it simply a theological statement about the source of God s revelation in His Son? I believe that one of the most important truths that we must learn from this passage is that we have a sinful tendency to be captivate by things others than Christ. Now, you might not readily admit that other things captivate you, but just think for a moment about the things that you spend your time and resources on. Think about the things that you talk about with other people. Think about the things that excite you. Think about the things that bring you joy. Now let me ask you? Where is Jesus in those things? Would you enjoy such things just as much if Jesus never lived, died, and rose from the grave for your salvation? Do you glorify Jesus in, with, or through those things? Or do you simply glorify those things instead of Jesus? 4
Brothers and sisters, we talk about, we invest in, we learn, we meditate on, we live for the things that captivate us, and if Christ does not captivate you, if you do not stand in awe of Him, if you do not long to know Him more, if you do not desire to be in His presence to behold His glory, it is because you have not seen Him for who He truly is! You have not encountered the Jesus of Hebrews 1, who is supreme over angels, who upholds everything by the word of His power, who is the radiance of the glory of God, who made purification for sins and sat down at the right hand of God. You are not hearing the Prophet who speaks God s truth to you nor are you coming to the Priest who saves you from your sins nor are you living in submission or obedience to the King who rules over all as the enthroned Son of God! If you saw Him for who He truly is, you would talk about Him, you would learn about Him, you would meditate on Him, you live for Him, and others would know it. What is captivating you this morning? What is holding your attention? Have you lost your awe of Jesus? I have no doubts that there are some here this morning that have lost their affection for Christ. They are no longer captivated by Him, and my call to you this morning is to confess this sin to God this morning, right where you are sitting. It is a grievous sin to take the glory of God in Christ for granted. I also believe that there are some here this morning that have never been captivated by the glory of Christ. They have never seen Him as the One who reveals God s truth, as the One who alone can save them from their sins, or as the One to whom their knee should bow. I believe that there are people that have been in church their whole life that have never really come to know this Jesus, the Jesus of Hebrews 1. And today, right where you are, you need to simply pray and ask God to reveal Himself to you in Christ. To give you eyes to see Him as He is. To be captivated by His beauty. Lastly, I know there are some here this morning that have been on the path of following Jesus for some time now and you get weary sometimes. You are tempted to start to drift from God. My admonition to you is to ask the Lord this morning to rekindle your affection for Christ. To reinvigorate your faith that you may run with endurance the race of faith that has been set before you. 5