The Supremacy of Jesus: Hebrews 1

Hebrews: The Supremacy of Jesus Christ
Hebrews 1:1-3

INTRODUCTION:
The letter’s original recipients were most likely being enticed to depart from the Christian faith and revert to Judaism. Thus, the author of Hebrews warns them against apostasy, for if they forfeit their Christ, they will forfeit their salvation. The book of Hebrews is an important letter for our time, too. Like the world of the Bible, our world offers many different religious roads to salvation, but Hebrews champions the centrality and supremacy of Jesus Christ and His Message.

GOD HAS SPOKEN TO US IN HIS SON - 1:1-2:
The readers had experienced persecution in their early days as believers (10:32–34), but they, apparently, had not suffered martyrdom (12:4). They were probably tempted to return to Judaism, perhaps to avoid persecution. Since Judaism was a legal religion under Roman law, it would afford protection from Roman imperial power.

Thus, the author of Hebrews penned this letter to encourage Jewish Christians to stay the course and persevere in Christ. Hebrews is a warning against apostasy, or falling away. This atoning sacrifice on the cross at Golgotha fulfilled the Old Testament sacrificial system, bringing an end to the old covenant and inaugurating a new covenant in Christ.

The documentary Losing Sight of Shore (Netflix) chronicles the physical and mental endurance of four women who spend nine months rowing the eight thousand miles from the West Coast of the US to Australia with no backup team. Like the Jewish Christians to whom the letter of Hebrews is addressed, the four rowers in this inspiring documentary had to persevere through much adversity in order to reach their desired destination.

Christians today must persevere and keep the faith in obedience to God amidst persecution and hardship. The kingdoms of this world and those who are pawns in the hands of Satan will often oppose works that are consistent with God’s kingdom.

The opening two verses of Hebrews highlight the supremacy, authority, and lordship of Christ—the unique and beloved Son of God. During the course of this letter, the author of Hebrews will implore his audience to fix their eyes upon Jesus, the author and perfecter of their faith (Hebrews 12:2). Therefore, these two verses set the tone for the entire book. Living within a myriad of distractions, Christians today must also focus their attention upon Christ—centering their lives on the Rock of their salvation in the midst of the chaos of the world.

What has the author said about Jesus?

God has spoken through Jesus.
His Son is appointed heir of all things
Through the Son He made the world
The Son is the radiance of His glory
And the exact representation of His nature
The Son upholds all things by the word of His power
The Son made purification of sins
The Son has sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high

THE SON HAS MADE PURIFICATION OF SINS - 1:3:
The opening two verses speak of Christ as the unique Son of God through whom the entire universe was created. This verse goes a bit further, making a claim—whether indirect or direct—to deity. For the author of Hebrews, Christ is not just the Son of God, but also God the Son…

The word translated “radiance” (apaugasma) means “reflected brightness.” Christ is one who reflects the light of God to humankind.

Furthermore, the word translated “exact imprint” (charaktēr) refers to a mark burned or stamped onto something. The word is related to an ancient instrument used for engraving or carving. We have a couple of Christmas ornaments that are wood engravings that we got from the Slotman kids. Christ is an “image,” “model,” “character,” “figure,” “precise reproduction,” or an “exact copy” of the living God. The transliteration of this word is spelled almost exactly like the English word “character.” This is quite apropos. Jesus reflects the nature and character of God to humanity in the world.

As a mirror powerfully reflects the light in the room, Jesus reflects the light—the majesty and glory—of God in an intense, exacting fashion. Like Jesus, Christians are called to reflect the light of God in the world, to shine forth like a flame in a cold and dark universe. We are called to represent Christ on the earth, to reflect his goodness in the world, to be his representatives in the world.

Next, the author of Hebrews mentions two other divine characteristics or attributes of Christ: (1) he is sovereign over all things (a defining trait of God) and (2) he forgives sins (an act that only God can perform). Only God can create and sustain the universe (vv. 2–3), and only God can redeem and save humanity from corruption (v. 3). God alone has the power and authority to do these things.

The author of Hebrews knows this, and he or she predicates these divine characteristics and divine actions to Jesus Christ anyway. This is either blasphemy, for which Jesus himself was crucified, or the truth. If it is the truth, then we must order our lives accordingly, giving Jesus the full honor and due respect that he deserves. We must make him Lord of our lives, the final authority on all faith and practice, our judge and our redeemer.

Buffalo Bills football player Damar Hamlin came under fire for wearing a controversial jacket at the Super Bowl. Unlike Jesus, who represents the “exact imprint” of the divine nature, this jacket featured an “abstract” or distorted caricature of Jesus, one that is barely recognizable. Though we don’t know Hamlin’s true intentions, and though Hamlin himself later denied ill intent, it’s possible to interpret the jacket as blasphemous. Adrian Peterson, a fellow professional football player, certainly believed it was.

Only if Jesus is God in the flesh, only if Jesus is who the apostles claimed he was and who he himself claimed he was does blasphemy become an actual possibility in this case. If he is, then we should fall on our knees and worship him. Then, after that, we should obey the command of Christ by loving those who blaspheme, by loving our enemies, even those who might mock and ridicule Jesus himself.

GOD NEVER REFERRED TO ANGELS AS “SONS” - 1:4-14:
The author of Hebrews continues his discourse on the person and nature of Christ. In many ways, this passage functions as a summation of the opening three verses. The author continues to assert that Jesus is both the Son of God and God the Son. The author invokes angels as a rhetorical tool for comparison and contrast. The main claim in this passage is that Jesus is greater than angels because he is both the Son of God and God the Son.

Verse 5 specifically highlights the sonship of Christ. There are about three dozen quotations to the OT in the letter of Hebrews and about just as many allusions to the OT making it the most OT-saturated book in the NT with the possible exception of the book of Revelation. Those quotations begin here in verse 5. Before we go any further, there are three things I want to point out about the writer’s use of the OT:

1) Notice in verses 5-7 and 13 that the writer quotes from the OT and then says, “He says.” In other words, the Hebrew writer is clearly inferring that the OT is the voice of God. If I quote from the OT (or the NT for that matter), then I am quoting God. That’s how God speaks.
2) In 10:15, the writer quotes from the book of Jeremiah and he writes: “the Holy Spirit testifies to us…” I want to point out to you that the writer is stating emphatically that Jeremiah is talking to us as Christians. For far too long, Christians have acted like the OT was just for the Jews and it did not merit us studying it. But the Hebrew writer - as well as other NT writers and Jesus Himself - still found real, relevant lessons in the OT that were applicable to Christians. The Hebrew writer shows us that.
3) Back in chapter 1, the writer, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, quotes a series of texts from the OT to prove his point. That is not unlike a preacher or Bible class teacher today giving a lesson on some topic and quoting, citing, or reading various Bible verses to prove a broader point. As long as those texts are quoted consistent with their contexts, then we are accurately handling the word of God.

So, here in this text, the Hebrew writer is quoting these texts to show that Jesus is God-in-the-flesh. He is not a created being; He is not an angel. Jesus is the unique Son of God. All other children of God are adopted into the heavenly family, but Jesus is God’s Son by nature. He is distinct, unique, special. Note that sonship does not necessarily denote divinity on its own and by itself.

In Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio, a father who tragically lost his only son is granted a wish that brings a toy boy life—a second chance to care for a child in lieu of the son that he lost. Soon, however, the father learns that this wooden boy, this figurine or toy duplicate of his son, is not the same as his one and only son. Similarly, all believers are “sons” and “daughters” of the Most High, but Jesus is the unique and special “Son of God.”

Believers are not illegitimate sons and daughters. They are true children of God who are heirs with Christ and heirs of the kingdom. Believers must ground their identity in the adoption of Christ and the love of God. They must find their personal value, self-worth, and self-esteem in the cross—the place where God embraces them in his loving arms for all eternity.

God has adopted us into his family through Jesus; in Christ, we are now treated as God’s own. We must learn to treat ourselves in this way, to live into this reality, to view ourselves as children of the living God.

Verses 6–13 specifically highlight the lordship and deity of Christ. Jesus is not merely an angelic being. He is not simply one of the first created beings, like the angels. No, he is Lord of all, the God of the universe. In verse 6, the author of Hebrews mentions that the angels worship him. In Jewish thought, only God is worthy of worship.

Verses 8–9 directly refer to Jesus, “the Son,” as “God.” Finally, in verses 10–12, the author of Hebrews once again identifies Jesus as the creator and sustainer of the universe. Thus, Jesus is greater than the angels because he is not only the Son of God but also God the Son.

The only proper response to this truth and this reality is worship, both in corporate “praise and worship” and in how we live. This Christ is worthy of our devotion. This Christ is worthy of our sacrifice. This Christ demands all of us. For whoever finds his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for the sake of Christ will find it (Matthew 10:39).

Take home message: In a chaotic world, find peace by fixing your eyes on the unchanging truth of Christ.