Sermon Tone Analysis

Hebrews 1:4-14 Jesus is Greater than Angels.

Now:

Read Hebrews 1:1-2 "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 he also created the world."

I like a good flashlight.

When you are camping, a headlamp or lantern can be helpful as well.

But a campfire?

Who doesn't love a good campfire?

Every light source I just mentioned has its pluses and minuses.

All will provide illumination to varying degrees and qualities.

You can read a book with a good headlamp or lantern, but you cannot make smores with them.

There are qualitative and distinctive differences for each light source.

But what happens when you compare a flashlight or a campfire to the Sun?

We have a whole other category, right?

The Sun provides light and power and controls our planet's orbits and at least seven others, depending on how you feel about Pluto.

The Sun is fundamentally different; it is far more than just a light source or smores cooker.

Then

We opened up last week by identifying our anchor; he is Jesus Christ, the heir, creator, and Son of God.

The author made seven definitive statements about Jesus, and now he fleshes out his argument.

We do not know much about the church receiving the letter.

We know they are Jewish to some degree and were struggling with the identity of Jesus, the effect of faith, and the Gospel.

The objective of our enemy and our sinful flesh is to compromise on the identity of Jesus.

If we compromise on the identity of Jesus from Scripture, all bets are off.

So the author structures his argument around 13 statements about the superiority of Jesus, and the primary teaching point is on the priesthood of Christ.

The author argues passionately, so the church will not neglect their salvation and shipwreck their faith.

He wants the church firmly anchored to Jesus Christ.

Today, the author gives us the first of the "superior" statements and illustrates the qualitative and distinctive differences between Jesus as a messenger and the messengers God sent before.

Always: (B/I)

The Son of God is greater than any other messenger, and the Gospel is the greatest message he brings.

And there is the issue, the author is not addressing angel worship today, though we will talk about them some.

The author is concerned that we will supplant the message of Christ with something else or that we will prioritize another messenger above him, which is a real risk.

Section One: Jesus is the superior messenger & message - truth statement 1:4

The seven statements of verses 2-3 feed the truth statement, so they are worth a quick review.

Jesus is the heir of all things, the creative agent of God, the radiance of God's glory (meaning his presence, the imprint (character and knowability of God), and he is guiding the creation and your life to its logical God-centered conclusion.

He initiated the final perfect sacrifice - his life for our life (Life, Death, Resurrection) and is sitting at God's right hand as only he is allowed to do, as the Son of David.

No other messenger in history has the qualifications of Jesus.

And our writer zooms in on one fundamental truth he has already discussed in verse two: Jesus has a greater name than other messengers, and that name is Son.

Not Son in the general sense, but Son in the sense of heir, station, and quality.

No one is like Jesus.

Why does the author feel the need to address the superiority over angels?

Well, he will address other messengers as well, specifically Moses.

We do not know the exact issue, but it must have something to do with the message delivered by Angels and Moses in the Old Testament being prioritized by the church in a way that was not healthy.

However, it is also more - outside forces were impacting what the church believed about Jesus.

Jumping ahead, the author offers this caution in 13:9a of Hebrews (Read): "Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings."

The writer offers this statement at the end as a part of the general applications and instructions, so we need to understand the general nature most likely applies in every area he addresses.

The church struggles with believing doctrines and practices outside of faith and practice delivered by Christ.

So, the church was choosing inferior sources of light, God is giving them the Sun to pierce the darkness, but they are choosing to use a box of matches.

One source they prioritized is the Old Testament delivered by the Angels to the Prophets, as the writer states in verse 1.

Hence, the evidence of the superiority of Jesus comes from the same place, the Old Testament.

Let's look at his argument.

Section Two: The superior messager - the evidence 1:5-14

In verse five, the sonship of Christ is affirmed by God himself via Ps.

2:7 and 2 Samuel 7:14.

It is important to note that the author uses the Old Testament in a messianic way.

Through the Holy Spirit, through generations, the text he uses became commonly accepted as speaking of Messiah himself.

So the author places them in the messianic context, the foretelling of Messiah and his nature and character.

If you go back and read some of the citations, they will not be an exact match because the original readers used the translation we see in Hebrews, explaining the arrival of the Messiah.

Last week, I described progressive revelation as promises made and promises kept, which is precisely what the writer is doing.

Psalm 2:7 refers to the dynasty of King David on one level but to the Messiah on another level.

Jesus is a direct descendant of King David, and Jesus fulfills a promise God made to David back in 2 Samuel 7:12-14.

Jesus is the Son, the heavenly Son, and his "begotten-ness" speaks to his preeminence.

No angel has the preeminence of Jesus.

Jesus is a Son in every sense of the word.

Qualitatively, he is something completely different from the angels; thus, his message is superior.

In verses six and seven, the angels are identified as worshiping God and serving him.

Since Jesus is the heir of all things and is preeminent, he receives the same worship as God the Father.

And the Angels are doing this; it is not something we are waiting for; the Angels are worshipping Jesus today, just as they did in eternity past, and will do into eternity future.

As these supernatural beings served God, they also served the Son.

A quick application, so we do not miss it.

We do not take an intermediate step of worship when worshipping Jesus.

We do not worship someone else, who then takes the worship to the Son, which works in reverse; the Son is the complete fulfillment of God's Word.

He is the "yes" to all of God's promises.

We worship Jesus directly.

We will say more about that in a minute.

The author again affirms what he wrote in verses 1-3 by quoting Psalm 45:6, Isaiah 61:1,3, and then Psalm 102:25-27.

The writer is speaking of the permanence of the condition of Jesus.

His kingship and reign will not end; it is firm and eternal.

If you do not like the management of the universe, I have bad news for you; the complaint department will not care.

But it is not just about the rule of Jesus; the Isaiah quote also brings in the qualitative nature of the reign of the Messiah.

Remember how he is the "exact imprint" of God's character?

Here is a summary of that nature: Loves righteousness, hates wickedness, the oil of gladness, so a culture of joy will permeate Christ's reign.

I have more goodness; according to Matthew 4:27, the reign of Christ has started, we are in the time of fulfillment, and the oil of gladness is being poured out on you.

In verse 10, our scribe quotes the end of Psalm 102.

The Psalm is one of a petition for rescue.

From the beginning of the Psalm, we do not know if the source of affliction is a judgment or just the effects of persecution, but the cry is to the Lord.

And in verses 25-27, we see the series of contrasts listed; reread it with me (READ 1:10-12).

God is ascribed as laying the foundations by we know the writer, and the Jewish Priests and teachers identified this as speaking of Messiah.

"Through whom also he created the world."

The writer is latching on to that thought.

Then he moves through two contrasts: permanence and impermanence, eternal and temporary.

The writer wants the reader to know whatever the church believes; Christ is it.

He is the permanent messenger, king, and priest with the superior message.

If we are tempted to look to something or someone else for a better message, it will not last.

It is not a real anchor.

The author then quotes Psalm 110:1.

And ties this back into Jesus, the Son, sitting at the right hand of the Majesty on high, as he stated in verse 1:3e.

The picture we are left with is one of Majesty in the courts of heaven.

What human or angelic messenger can stand before the King of Kings and Lord of Lords?

Let me try to help you picture this scene from the Book of Revelation 4:2-6a, (Read):

"At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne.

And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald.