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. 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.
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”?
And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says,
“Let all God’s angels worship him.”
Of the angels he says,
“he makes his angels winds, and his ministers a flame of fire.”
But of the Son he says,
“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.
And,
“You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands; they will perish, but you remain; they will wear out like a garment, 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.”
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”?
Are they not all ministering spirits set out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?
Hebrews 1
Hebrews starts pretty abruptly. There’s no intro to speak of, the writer just launches into the theology of the Son. The writer doesn’t even identify himself or who his audience is, it’s just bam “Long ago!”
Despite this, there are some things that we can infer about the author and his audience. At the very least, we know that whoever this was written to was familiar with Jewish tradition and teaching, and the author wants to build and expound on their knowledge even further by solidifying the truth of who Jesus is. We also know from Hebrews 10:32-34 that the audience has experienced persecution because of their faith. Knowing this makes the clarity of Jesus in this book sweeter, as the author answers the question “is He worth it?” with a resounding and all-encompassing yes.
There are many theories on who wrote Hebrews, but the truth of the matter is, we just don’t know. This might drive some people crazy, but, believing that God is faithful to preserve his Word as it should be, we can believe the words of this book, even if we don’t know who wrote it.
The first 3 sentences of Hebrews 1 are mind-blowing. It's a triad of deep theology, right from the get-go, and could easily take us our whole lives to understand the significance of it.
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.
This sentence feels like a weird, time travel-y kind of idea, and it’s imperative to our understanding that the Son is simultaneously not a new creature and his revelation is a culmination of everything. He is new and at the same time ancient. Prior to his full revelation, God used prophets to speak to the fathers. We can see this easily by a cursory reading of the Old Testament - it’s all up in there. This is contrasted with the fact that now God speaks to us through his Son. God has changed how he will speak to us from the former ways to a new and better way.
Usually when someone is an heir of something, we think of how they typically come after the person who owned the thing that they will inherit. This concept of Jesus being appointed heir could make us think he is new but he was also actively present at the creation of the world - the world was created through him. This makes the Son much older than his incarnation, much older than just being a new way of communicating.
It’s fine if your head is exploding. Eternity is a hard thing to grasp.
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.
I feel like this sentence is here to make sure that we don’t try to make Jesus just a really nice guy. If you’ve ever heard anybody say something like “Jesus is my homeboy,” you have my full permission to slap them upside the head with this verse. (Just kidding, I don’t condone violence…I guess). But the reality of this verse needs to sink into our brains. If the Son is the exact imprint of God’s nature, the radiance of the glory of God, and upholds the universe BY HIS WORD, then maybe he is God himself. We actually know that he is God because both God and Jesus tell us that he is. (John 10:30; John 1:1; John 14:7; the rest of this chapter)
The third sentence makes it clear why that matters:
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.
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.
Who can make purification for our sins, apart from God himself? Who else could have the right and the ability to make us holy in the sight of God? The Old Testament is full of commandments, sacrifices, prophets and kings who served their purpose for a time but could not provide an ultimate and once-for-all salvation. There was no one on this earth, in all of history, capable or worthy enough to fill that need. If you looked at your own individual life, at all the things you’ve done to try to be in right standing with God, you would easily see why all of mankind hadn’t been able to figure something out to make themselves holy enough to stand in the presence of God. Without the Son of God we are left in despair, because no one is righteous enough.
Which is why the fact that the Son sits down at the right hand of the Majesty is extraordinary. Up until Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection, there was no sitting for anyone. There was always work to be done. The futile work of obtaining salvation was never-ending. But Jesus completed the work of salvation, so he can sit. And if he is sitting, then it is finished. We don’t have to keep trying to save ourselves.
While studying, I struggled to really get why we had to compare the Son to the angels. Maybe because it seems to me like an unfair comparison because well, yeah, the Son of God is superior to angels. That just seems like how that would go.
But this is where historical context is key - Jewish tradition taught that God spoke to Moses on Mt. Sinai through his angels. So, in establishing that Jesus is greater than the angels, we see that the message Jesus brings (salvation through him) is superior to the message brought by the angels.
The rest of this chapter is an amazing compilation of Old Testament scripture that confirms not only the superiority of Jesus to angels but the deity of Jesus himself. I would encourage you to look these scriptures up as you study. One of my greatest personal joys in studying the Bible is seeing how God wrote his story so cohesively, from beginning to end, and this is one of those windows into the beautiful complexity of his Word.
We must first understand who Jesus is before what he has done can ever make sense to us. Even then, it still feels like a great mystery. I am grateful for these three sentences that reveal who he is, because they, in part, reveal to me the fullness of his love for us and greatness of his sacrifice. May he root these truths deeper into our hearts.
