Have you ever wanted your life to be better? Maybe you have wanted a better job, or a better place to live, or better health, or better children, or a better spouse, or a better church. Or how about a better you?
The New Testament letter to the Hebrews has been called “The Book of Better Things”. That’s because the two Greek words for “better” and “superior” appear some 15 times in this letter.
Now, the New Testament does not promise that our life in this world, as we measure it, will get better if we follow Jesus. But the New Testament does promise that if we follow Jesus we will discover life in all of its fullness, life everlasting. And what could be better than that?
We do not know who wrote the letter to the Hebrews. The author is not named. Some have thought that Paul wrote it. But that is unlikely. The style of writing is unlike Paul, and in all the other Pauline letters of the New Testament, Paul names himself as the author. Other scholars have speculated that this letter was written by a companion of Paul, maybe Barnabas, or Luke, or Silas, or Apollos, or even Priscilla. But we simply do not know.
This letter was probably written before the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70. I say that because the author talks much about the Temple, but he does not mention its destruction, which he would have, if he was writing after AD 70.
This letter was obviously sent to Jewish Christians, living in some large town in the Roman Empire, possibly even Rome itself.
The theme of this letter is, as J. B. Phillips once wrote, “that Jesus amply fulfils all the highest conceptions of the Jewish religion and is infinitely superior to any predecessors.”
So, let’s look together at what the writer to the Hebrews has to say in the opening verses of his letter about the better revelation that is offered us in Jesus. Listen for God’s word to you from Hebrews 1:1-4…
Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son,[a] whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. 3 He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains[b] all things by his powerful word. When he had made 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 writer to the Hebrews tells us several things about Jesus in the opening of his letter. First, Jesus is God’s prophetic voice.
What these verses are telling us is that before Jesus came on the scene God spoke in many fragmentary ways through prophets, through intermediaries. These revelations were good and true as far as they went, but they were incomplete. Now, in Jesus, God has shown up on the scene of history in person. He has put himself as a character into the play of the universe. The prophets used different methods, such as plain speech or dramatic action to convey their message. However, with Jesus, God revealed God’s message by taking on human flesh. And there is a “finality” to God’s revelation in his Son. Once the Son spoke and lived the message that the Father wanted to communicate, what more was there that needed to be said?
I have an interest in listening to great communicators because communication is so much a part of what I do. And it is often interesting to go to a conference or some other event where there are a number of speakers in a row.
Shortly before George W. Bush was elected as President I attended the last political rally he held in Pittsburgh. Colin Powell was one of the speakers that day. Now, I mean no disrespect to our former President. I think he is a good communicator. But Colin Powell is a great communicator. Almost every time I have heard him speak, either on television, or in person, he has said what needed to be said, simply, with great eloquence, insight, and emotional power. After hearing Colin Powell I have sometimes thought, “What more needs to be said?”
How much more is this true of Jesus? After he has spoken, what more needs to be said? I believe Jesus is God the Father’s full and final revelation to human beings. Furthermore, I believe what we need most as human beings is to listen to him and do what he says by his grace.
The second thing these verses tell us about Jesus is that he is God’s Son.
Talk show host Larry King was once asked, “If you could select any one person across all of history to interview, who would it be?” Mr. King’s answer was that he would like to interview Jesus. When the questioner followed with, “And what would you like to ask him?” King replied, “I would like to ask him if he was indeed virgin-born. The answer to that would define history for me.”
I think Larry King was right. The answer to that question would define history, because if Jesus was virgin-born, then it would suggest that everything else that the New Testament claims about him, namely that he was and is the Son of God, is true.
Now, granted, we can’t interview Jesus today. He never wrote a book. He never gave a recorded interview. We don’t even have a photograph of him. But some of the people who knew him passed on what they knew, and it was written down, and we have those records to read. Their basic claim throughout is that Jesus was not merely a good man, a captivating teacher, or an impressive leader, but that he was and is the Son of God. And once you examine what Jesus’ friends had to say about him, it seems to me that to conclude that he was anyone other than the Son of God is incompatible with the historical record of his words and deeds.
A third thing these verses tell us about Jesus is that he was and is God’s appointed heir. Jesus is heir of all things. That is quite a claim!
But Paul also says in Romans 8:17, “Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.”
I remember a decade ago when it seemed that every time I walked through the supermarket checkout line there was a photo on some magazine of Prince William. At the time I wondered: why all this interest in this young man? Yes, he was good looking. Yes, he was the son of one of the most sought-after women of the 20thcentury. But why all this interest in him? He hadn’t done very much in his young life. Well of course, the reason why so many eyes were trained upon him was because he was and is heir to the British throne. If he wasn’t, there would be much less interest. But because he is the heir, people are fascinated. And everyone, a decade or so ago, wanted to know who he would marry, because that person would marry into royalty and an untold fortune.
In the same way, when we relate ourselves to God by trusting in his Son Jesus, we marry into the riches and the royalty of his grace. We become co-heirs with him of the universe. That is not something that magazines write about, but it is something of far greater eternal consequence than the British throne.
A fourth thing these verses tell us about Jesus is that he is God’s creative agent. The writer to the Hebrews tells us that it is through Jesus that God the Father made the universe. Not only is Jesus the heir of all things at the end of history, but he is also the one who began history when through him the universe was created. In other words, what Jesus will one day inherit is what belonged to him all along.
Now this is not something that can be proved. But I think the more you get to know Jesus in a personal way, by encountering him through the Scriptures, you will not have any good reason to doubt this amazing claim.
I don’t know whether I have shared this story with you before, but I think it is worth re-telling…
There was once a little boy who fashioned a boat out of wood. Once he was finished creating his fine little craft, he took it down to the stream behind his house to see how sea-worthy it was. He set the boat in the water, but the current was fast that day and so it quickly carried the boat downstream, out of sight. The boy’s prize creation was gone.
A few days later, the same little boy was playing down by the stream when he saw another little boy playing with a toy boat. Taking a closer look, the first little boy realized that the boat was his. So, he approached the second boy and said, “That boat you have there is mine. I made it and lost it.” To this the other boy replied, “I don’t know where this boat came from, but I found it and now it’s mine. If you want it back, you are going to have to pay me for it.” So, the first little boy reached into his pocket and took out all the money he had and paid it to the second boy, who gave him back his boat. And as the first little boy walked away from that exchange he was heard to say, “Little boat, you are twice mine, because I made you and I bought you.”
Now, that is just a little picture of a far greater truth. Jesus made you, and he bought you by his blood shed on the cross for your sin. The only question is: are you twice his? You see, unlike the little boat, you have a choice about the one to whom you will belong.
A fifth thing we see here about Jesus is that he is God’s personified glory.
In the Hebrew Scriptures, when the Law of God was given to Moses on Mount Sinai, “the glory of the Lord” settled on the mountain. In the same way, the glory of God became visible at the tent of meeting. And God led the Israelites day by day through the desert making his presence known in the glory cloud.
Now, the writer to the Hebrews tells us that Jesus is the very radiance of God’s glory. In Jesus, we see with amazing clarity the fact that God’s glory does not consist in crushing human beings and reducing them to slavery, but in serving them, loving them, and in the end, dying for them. The glory of Jesus is not the glory of shattering power, but the glory of suffering love.
A sixth thing we see here about Jesus is that he is not only God’s better revelation, he is God’s perfect revelation.
The text says that Jesus is the exact representation of God’s being. The word in Greek is “character” and it means two things. First of all, it means a seal, and second, the impressionthat seal leaves on a bit of wax. When the writer to the Hebrews says that Jesus is the character of the being of God or reality of God, he means that Jesus is the exact image of God.
It’s like the stamp that I have that I use on all the books in my library. That stamp leaves an impression on any page of a book that I use it on. And when you look at that impression you see exactly what the stamp itself is like. And it tells you that the book you are holding in your hand belongs to the library of William James Vaus.
In the same way, the writer to the Hebrews tells us, that when we look at Jesus we see exactly what God is like because he is the exact representation of God’s being. If you want to know what God is like you need not wander around in confusion. Look to Jesus and you will see exactly what God’s character is like.
A seventh thing the writer to the Hebrews tells us is that Jesus is God’s cosmic sustainer. Jesus sustains all things by his powerful word. He keeps the planets in orbit by his authoritative and effective word. If he were to withdraw his hand from the universe all would come crashing down around us. “He’s got the whole world in his hands” is not just a song for children; it is a deep spiritual truth. Jesus is not only the creator of the universe and the heir at the end of history, but he is the sustainer in the middle of history. In the strong hands of such a God as this, our lives are eternally secure.
Have you ever felt like your life was coming apart at the seams? Jesus is the One who can bring things back together, if you will hand your life over to him.
As I said earlier, the only difference between you and the toy boat in my story is that you have a choice about whether you will belong to Jesus or not. You can choose to give your life to Christ… or not.
Someone commented to me the other day about a Bible I had sitting on my desk. It looks a bit worn out. It is highlighted. I have countless notes in it. A number of pages are loose. The person who saw my Bible said, “It looks like you’ve had that one a while.” I said, “Yes, I’ve had it for 32 years.”
Now here’s the thing… It has been my experience that a Bible that is falling apart, usually belongs to someone who isn’t. That’s because a well-worn Bible is usually the sign of a person who has gotten to know personally the One to whom the Bible points… Jesus Christ. And he is the one who holds all things together.
The eighth thing we see in these verses is that Jesus is God’s unique sacrifice. He is the one who provided purification for sins. That is why he was born. It says in Hebrews 2:14, “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” Jesus was born to die that he might, by his death, purify us of our sin, and set us free from the power and fear of death.
That’s why we celebrate the Lord’s Supper in Church—the last meal that Jesus shared with his disciples. And we do it frequently, because Jesus told us to share this meal in remembrance of him and his sacrifice for us. We need to make sure we never forget it.
Finally, we see in this passage that Jesus is God’s exalted mediator. “After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.”
According to the Hebrew Scriptures, every priest stood in the Temple because his task was never complete. By contrast, Jesus sat down after he provided purification for sins because that job was done.
And what does Jesus do for us now? He intercedes for us, he prays for us at the right hand of the Father. As Paul says in Romans 8:34, “Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.”
William Barclay wrote, “… the tremendous thought of the writer to the Hebrews is that he [Jesus] is there, not as our judge but as one who makes intercession for us so that, when we enter into the presence of God, we go, not to hear his justice prosecute us but his love plead for us.”
Steve Winger writes about his last college exam—a final in a logic class. To help the students on the test, the professor told them they could bring as much information to the exam as they could fit on a piece of notebook paper. Most students crammed as many facts as possible on their 8 ½ x 11 sheet of paper.
But one student walked into class, put a piece of paper on the floor, and had an advanced logic student stand on the paper. The advanced logic student told him everything he needed to know. He was the only student to receive an “A” on the final exam.
The ultimate final exam will come when we stand before God some day for the final judgment. On our own we cannot pass that exam. But if we bring Jesus with us before the Father, we will pass the test. Let’s ask Jesus to stand in for us right now…
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