"The Greatness of Christ"
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Before we just jump into our text today I need to set up some things to help us understand a little bit about this letter to the Hebrews. The reason why I need to explain a few things is because Hebrews poses some very interesting challenges, especially when it comes to it’s author and it’s audience. What we see here is that the readers of this letter were Christians, which meant that this letter and now book was meant for a Jewish community that had converted from Judaism to Christianity. We do know that these people had a great deal of knowledge about the Old Testament and the Levitical Priesthood. Interestingly the author of Hebrews quotes frequently from the Septuagint (which is the Greek Translation of the Hebrew Old Testament). There were also probably a number of unbelievers in the church as well who were attracted to this message of salvation and had not yet made a commitment to trust Christ. One thing that we do know for sure is that this community of Hebrew believers were facing some intensified persecution. (Hebrews 10:32-39) Since they were confronted with persecution, it could have been very easy for these believers to deny or turn away from identification with Christ.
Now I want to turn to the author of this Wonderful book. I will just say this the author is unknown. While many purpose that it could be Paul there is also evidence of Barnabas, Silas, Apollos, Luke, Philip, and Clement of Rome. Whoever the author may have been they preferred citing Old Testament references from the Septuagint rather from the Hebrew text. Ultimately, of course the true author of the this Book was the Holy Spirit.
For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
The use of the present tense throughout Hebrews like in 5:1-4, 7:21, and 8:3-5 suggest to us that this Levitical Priesthood and sacrificial system was still in place. What this means then is that when this book was written it was written before the temple was destroyed. Since the temple was completely demolished by Titus Vespasian in A.D. 70 the book had to be written prior to that time. We also know that Timothy had just been released from jail (Hebrews 13:23) and persecution was getting worse. All of this would lead us to a date around 67-69 A.D.
The author of Hebrews definitely emphasized the superiority of Christianity over Judaism. In fact, the author even more so focus’s on the superiority of Christ’s once and for all sacrifice over the old way of the repeated and imperfect Levitical sacrifices. The reason why we need to know this today church is because there is a need for all mankind for a perfect priest and a perfect sacrifice that can once and for all remove sin. God’s provision of this priest and the sacrifice of Jesus is the central message of Hebrews.
One of the great things that the author of Hebrews does here is that he takes us back to the beginning of time. In fact, the author sets us up for how he explains the gospel. The author does not begin with the Bethlehem birth or the saving work of Jesus during the Roman empire, but he takes us all the way back to a time long ago into the narratives of the Old Testament. The account of God’s saving work in Jesus actually begins at the very beginning in that of creation.
Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness,
Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.
For centuries Yahweh has chosen to speak to His people and he had done this many times and in different ways. To begin with God chose to speak to Moses and then the priests (Samuel) and the prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel). Sometimes God chose to speak through dreams or visions like with Daniel. God even chose to speak through a donkey when he was trying to get Balaam’s attention in Numbers 22. What all of this leads us to is what God has preserved for us in the Old Testament which is this wonderful and faithful transmission to his people.
The ultimate authority on every issue is God’s Word and we see this revelation throughout Scripture. The author of Hebrews right off the bat helps us to see that Jesus has come to fulfill not abolish the revelation that has been given to us in the Old Testament. The author affirms the authenticity and authority of the Old Testament. When you sit down to read the Old Testament you see how it fits with the New Testament and likewise. Eventually the Old Testament does come to a conclusion and we see the next part which will end in a Messianic conclusion.
1. Jesus is Greater than any Prophet.
1. Jesus is Greater than any Prophet.
Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets,
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.
One of the most important things that we see here in the first two verses here is that God is the one who speaks. One of the most important things here that stands out to us is that God has spoken down through history and has now given us his final revelation in His Son Jesus. When we think about the Lord’s grace that is given to us we of course think about his salvation but we must also think about God’s grace in his revelation.
Here is what I mean. If we never stop to pick up God’s Word and read it we would have no knowledge revealed to us about the meaning of Christ’s life, his death on the cross, and his resurrection. We would also not have any way to respond to the good news of this gospel message, namely that when we see that we are sinners to repent and submit to God and His plan for our lives. In other words, we would not know what to do without God’s revelation. If God could not or did not speak, we would be left in ignorance, but God did choose to speak to us at many times and in many ways.
First we see that God speaks to us in nature. This is called general revelation. Check this out.
The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.
In general revelation, God’s invisible attributes, like his eternal power, and divine nature are clearly seen through what he has made. There is also another type of revelation and that is special revelation. This is what we see here in Hebrews chapter 1. This type of revelation is a direct and verbal revelation that comes from the very mouth of God. It is special to us because when Scripture speaks it is actually God speaking.
So God speaks to us through nature and his word which was done through the prophets and then ultimately through the one true prophet in the last days. The New Testament fulfills the Old Testament through the redemption of Jesus. The gospel story of Christ is the long awaited conclusion that fulfills all the promises of the Old Testament.
1. Here is the first reason we know that Jesus is the one true prophet. God is now speaking through His Son. Jesus God’s Son is the complete revelation of the Father since Christ shares the Father’s divine nature as the second member of the Trinity.
One of the interesting things here is the author uses the word “heir” of all things. The audience to whom the author is writing would have understood this quite well. They knew that the heir was to be invested with everything. The son in their culture was given full authority. To do business with the son was to do business with the Father.
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
The next phrase that we see here at the end of verse 2, “whom also he created the world,” recalls what John said in his gospel.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
2. This leads us to the second reason we know Christ was the one true prophet. Jesus was not only the fulfillment of the Old Testament and testament of God’s saving works in history, but Christ is also the agent of creation. What this shows us is that Jesus is the beginning and the end. This is a very significant thing that the author is doing here because he helps us to see the doctrines of redemption and creation. Jesus who is God not only started everything by creation, but he also came so that we may be redeemed. As followers of Christ we must recognize that Christ is the creator of everything, He alone has put together everything we need here on earth including salvation. What an awesome design and plan this is.
2. Jesus is Greater than any Priest.
2. Jesus is Greater than any Priest.
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,
1. One of the first things we know to be true of this great high priest, is that verse 3 here shows us how the Son reveals the Father to us. Notice the word “radiance” here. The picture here for us takes us all the way back to this shekinah glory in the Old Testament. (Exodus 13:21; Exodus 40:34-35) This shekinah was a shining that was an actual visible glory which demonstrated the majesty of God when he lead his people by a pillar of smoke during the day and a pillar of fire by night.
Let’s come full circle. What does all of this mean for us today? Here is what I want you to see. Looking to Christ is the way we see most fully the glory of God! Are you looking to Christ as you go about your days? Do you have a desire to please him and obey him? Christ is the exact expression of the Father’s name. Jesus shares a divine nature with the Father and is the Second Person of the Trinity. Christ is an exact representation or imprint. He and God are of the same divine essence. The word Radiance means outshining or reflection of the glory that is God’s essential character.
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,
2. The Second thing about Christ as the one true Priest is something I don’t want us to miss. Christ makes purification for sins. What is so interesting about this word purification is that we would generally not use this word to summarize the gospel. However the author uses this to put everything together for us to show the priestly work of Christ and to help us see our great need for a Savior to come and take away the sin of the world.
3. Jesus is the Great and One True King.
3. Jesus is the Great and One True King.
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,
having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.
The final statement of verse 3 highlights the kingly authority of Christ. To be at someone’s right hand is to be in a place of authority. What we then see here at the end of this verse is for Christ to be at the right hand of the heavenly Majesty means that he is above all powers and he rules over the whole world. There are so many things all through out this book we see about Christ and His greatness.
-Jesus is the Son of God.
-He is the Revelation of God.
-He is the heir of all things.
-He is the agent of creation.
-He is the purifier of God’s people.
-He is the mediator for God’s people.
Christ came to this earth to do His Father’s will and was truly obedient in every way. We see this especially through his sacrifice for us as sinners. Three days later Christ rose bodily from the grace and ascended to heaven and his enthroned at the right hand of the Majesty. This alludes to Psalm 110:1. The more excellent name that Christ is given through his redemptive mission is SON!
This is the last thing I want you to see here on why Jesus is the one true King. Verse 4 tells us that Christ is much superior to angels as the name he has inherited. Jesus is the Son of God and He is the King of Kings. What we do know about angels here is that God used them to deliver messages including the law to Moses. Also the divine Son became lower than the angels through his incarnation or order to save mankind from their sins. However all of this led to certain groups of people worshipping angels more than Christ and this could have possibly been why the author is telling the readers Christ is much superior to angels.
Conclusion: Church, I want you to understand today that when we read the Old Testament, we should always read it and understand it in light of its fulfillment in Christ. We live in a day and age where it can be easy for us to get angry, resent, and even ignore the Old Testament. There are many people today including churches and church leaders who think we should unhitch from the Old Testament and would say that the Old Testament doesn’t belong to the church anymore because it is so offensive, outdated and irrelevant. Remember that Christ did not come to abolish the Old Testament and the laws but he came to fulfill it. (Matthew 5:17)
Wether we like it or not the Old Testament was written for our instruction and for our good in mind. I would say that it is profitable even now in this new covenant that we live in. Here is how Paul summed this up in his letter to Timothy.
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
Paul also tells us this in Romans chapter 15.
For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
The Old Testament which we know was written long ago or written in the past has been given to us for several reasons:
-It is for our instruction. We all need instructions to guide us.
-Also the Old Testament has been given to us for hope.
-And finally it has been given to us as encouragement.
In order for us to live faithfully before God, we should not just read the Old Testament to read it out of some kind of duty, but to read it, and study and learn from it in relation to Christ. He came to fulfill all of what we have. And this book of Hebrews helps us to that end.