The Supremacy of Jesus (Hebrews 4)

The Supremacy of Jesus
Hebrews 4

INTRODCUTION:
From what are you looking forward to rest?

Work?
People you work with?
Body aches and pains?
Temptations?
Sinful behaviors?

The Hebrew writer is talking to Christians who are being tempted to leave Jesus Christ and go back to the religions that were popular in their culture at that time. But the writer is urging them to reconsider their thinking because Christ and His gospel are supreme above all! Let’s feed our spirits on Hebrews 4 as we study the supremacy of Jesus.

Notice that verse 1 begins with “therefore.” As always, this word means the author is drawing a conclusion. What has he said so far? He has shown that Jesus is God, the Son (chapter 1). He has shown that Jesus is also human (chapter 2). He has argued that we should encourage each other to stay faithful to Christ so we can enjoy the rest that Israel did not get to enjoy.

In this chapter, the writer will elaborate on what that rest is that is available for Christians…

FEAR, WITH FAITH - 4:1-2:
It seem like a contradiction to suggest that we should “fear” with faith. But notice what the writer is saying. Because Israel did not enjoy the rest that God had promised them, because of unbelief and disobedience (3:17-19), so Christians need to fear that we don’t fall from our relationship with God. And the reason why Israel fell is because the word coming from the mouth of God was not united with faith in the heart of the Israelites. Some fear is healthy; there are things we need to have a healthy fear of, like rattlesnakes.

So we need to hear the word of God and we need to trust the word of God. When you hear and you trust, then you are going to obey.

Just because you have been baptized into Christ is no guarantee that you are going to enjoy heaven. We have to continuing fearing the consequences of unbelief and continue strengthening and broadening our faith in God and His word.

Before we go further, I want to point something out to you… Notice the writer uses the expression “preach the good news” here in verse 2. It is the verb “to preach the good news.” And notice that the writer is saying that the Jews who were moving toward the Promised Land under Moses - the subject of Hebrews 3 - had the gospel preached to them. Sometimes the word “gospel” is used in a broad sense to refer to everything that comes from the mouth of God. For the Jews, it referred to the “good news,” the gospel, that they had a rest awaiting them when they got to the Promised Land. For us, the gospel - the good news - is made real because of the coming of Jesus Christ.

In the war film All Quiet on the Western Front (directed by Edward Berger, Rocket Science, 2022), a group of young, naive, idealistic soldiers set off to the “Western front” to fight for their country in World War I. But soon they confront the cold and harsh realities of war, realities that cut through their overly optimistic presumptions. In one scene, two German soldiers steal a goose from a local farmhouse in the area, risking being shot and killed by the owner. The two soldiers have learned to fear the battlefield, but they don’t have a healthy fear of civilians. Toward the end of the film, after a peace treaty has been signed and a ceasefire declared, the two German soldiers return to the farmhouse for one last good meal. This time, however, things don’t go so well; one of them is shot and dies shortly thereafter. As with the two German soldiers in the movie, Christians should have a healthy fear of the negative consequences of their sins, which can be fatal.

BECAUSE WE ARE ENTERING THE REST - 4:3-10:
In verse 3, the writer quotes from Psalm 95:11, just as he did at 3:11. I have pointed this out before as well, notice before the writer quotes from the OT, he says, “God says…” to show us that in the mind of the writers of the NT, the OT was from the mouth of God.

But then in verse 4, the writer adds to the quotation from Psalm 95 a quotation from Genesis 2:2. The point is that God rested on the seventh day of the week of creation and He quit creating anything new. God has invited His children to join Him in rest, but the Jews could not do that because of their unbelief and disobedience.

In verse 6, again the writer reminds Christians that the Israelites did not enter the Promised Land of rest because, even though they heard the gospel preached, they failed to trust the message and their lack of faith led to a lack of obedience. Notice that in the mind of the Hebrew writer, not having faith in verse 2 is the same thing as disobedience in verse 6. You cannot separate the two in the mind of God. If you trust, you will obey. Israel did not.

So since Israel did not enter their rest - and now in verse 7 the writer quotes again from Psalm 95, a psalm written by David - there is still a rest remaining for God’s people. The promise is still open; it is still valid. There still remains a rest for God’s people.

In verse 7, he quotes from Psalm 95:7-8, just like he did in chapter 3:15. Do not harden your hearts.

Please observe in verse 8 that the OKJV uses the word “Jesus.” This is what the text actually says. But “Jesus” is the Greek translation of the Hebrew name “Joshua.” So modern translations usually use “Joshua” here to show that the Hebrew writer is talking about the time when Joshua led Israel into the Promised Land and its rest. If Joshua had been able to give Israel the rest God had promised, then David would not have spoken about the rest as still an unfulfilled promise.

The Hebrew writer’s main point is in verse 9: There remains a Sabbath rest - a rest comparable to God’s rest on the 7th day of Creation week - for the people of God. Once we enter God’s rest, then we can rest from our works as God did from His on the 7th day.

I want to point out to you that in verse 3, the writer uses the present tense verb: we who believed are entering that rest. This is a process, you might say. It is a journey. We notice in verse 9-10 that this rest actually is not in our possession yet. So the writer is not quite talking about the rest that we all have in Jesus Christ, which Jesus talked about in Matthew 11:28-30. This is the rest that we will experience when we are in heaven with Jesus and then we will rest from our works, as God rested from His.

LET US BE DILIGENT TO ENTER THAT REST - 4:11-12:
Notice in verse 11 that the writer draws another conclusion: “Therefore.” Again, we see that we do not have that rest yet. We need to “be diligent” to enter that rest. The word translated “be diligent” means “to make every effort,” “to strive,” “to do all we can” to make sure we stay faithful to Jesus Christ. Because we don’t want to fall away just like the Israelites did.

The Gospel that was preached to the Israelites and the Gospel that is being preached to Christians is the word of God (4:12). It is living and active and sharper than a double-edged sword and can reveal our deepest, darkest, thoughts and motivations in our hearts. The writer makes his application of this point in verse 13: there is no creature that is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is open and laid bare before God’s eyes.

It is animated by the Spirit of God, the Spirit of life. Scripture is “God-breathed” (see 2 Timothy 3:16); it is infused with and empowered by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit works in and through the words of old, the Word of the living God, to speak to us afresh every time we read the Bible—always properly applying the message to our present circumstance and to our current season of life.

Scripture is “sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” The Spirit works in and through Scripture to convict us of sin, draw us to repentance, and lead us and guide us into all truth. As we engage with Scripture, the Spirit penetrates our heart, mind, and soul, often separating our bad desires and intentions from our good desires and intentions, flesh from spirit. And that’s the reason we need to be in Bible study because we need to have the Scriptures presented to us so that the Spirit can penetrate our hearts and our minds and lead us to honor Jesus Christ better.

Rachel and I have each been summoned to jury duty once. Thankfully, neither one of us were needed, but one time we had to change up our vacation because of a jury duty summons! If you receive a jury summons and are selected for service, the trial itself is unconditional. Your participation in the trial remains conditional, though. You could choose not to fulfill your responsibilities and civic duties, which may result in a large fine or even short-term imprisonment. Similarly, like a civil or criminal trial, the promised rest of God is an established fact, but we can still choose not to participate in it, as long as we understand that such a choice will not go unpunished.

The main application for today is clear: Christians need to nurture and develop a consistent devotional life. Reading the Bible should be a habit we incorporate into our daily and weekly routines. When we approach Scripture, we should come with expectancy, openness, and receptiveness, ready not only to hear from God but also to obey him.

LET’S STAY FAITHFUL! - 4:14-16:
Again, the writer draws another conclusion: “therefore.” He will spend more time later in the letter talking about Jesus as our high priest and the writer has already mentioned this a couple times before. But, since we do have a high priest who has “pass through the heavens,” that is, Jesus has already entered heaven, then “let us hold fast [tightly] the confession of our faith.”

Why? Because our high priest is not unsympathetic to what we experience in trying to stay faithful to God. Jesus does sympathize with our weaknesses. But He is also the one who was tempted in all things - which we will study in May (the temptations of Jesus) - but He was without sin. Incidentally, this point also proves that Jesus was 100% human since God cannot be tempted.

The final conclusion (this is the 5th one in this chapter!) - therefore (ver. 16) - let us “draw near” with confidence! You can make it to heaven! You can be pure and blameless and holy in the eyes of God! “Draw near with confidence!” That expression actually has its origins in the sacrificial worship in the OT; the verb that often refers to offering animal sacrifices is the verb “to draw near.” But, of course, here it is broader and refers to all that we do in relationship with God including finding hope and encouragement from God, our prayers, etc. “Draw near with confidence!”

Why? Because His throne is a “throne of grace.” The throne on which God sits and rules is the throne that is characterized by grace! No, you don’t deserve to come into God’s presence. You will never, on your own, be able to make it into God’s presence! But, by His grace and through the blood of Christ, which the Hebrew writer will talk about more later, then we can come before Him with confidence and find mercy and grace to help us in our times of suffering and temptations.

Take home message: Fear, with faith, because we are entering God’s rest! Let’s be diligent and stay faithful!