Name Above All Names
Hebrews: In Need of Endurance • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 17 viewsThe best news that anyone can hear is that Jesus is the divine Son of God.
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 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. 3 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, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. 5 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”? 6 And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.” 7 Of the angels he says, “He makes his angels winds, and his ministers a flame of fire.” 8 But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. 9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.” 10 And, “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands; 11 they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment, 12 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.” 13 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”? 14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?
If we look around this room we will notice all kinds of differences. We come together this morning as people from different walks of life; we have different backgrounds, different cultures, different ethnicities, different experiences, different ages, different genders, different abilities, different heights, different weights, different political leanings, different likes, difference, difference, difference. In spite of all this difference, here’s one of the most significant things we all share in common. Every one of us has a name.
What’s also true is that our name is very significant to us. Our name is how we’re known and identified. You can’t really say that you know me unless you know my name. In fact, we rightly get offended when people call us out of our name. One way for me to offend you is to constantly mispronounce or even forget your name. I don’t know a woman who likes to receive cat calls from men when she’s walking down the street. “Hey ____!” “Yo _____” You don’t know me and you don’t know my name. And you can’t have my number or my IG handle cause you ain’t gonna get to know me either! If you don’t know my name then you don’t know me.
Here’s the deal. As intimately associated to our name as we are, we didn’t choose it. It was given to us by our parents. Even though we didn’t choose it, when we grow up the overwhelming majority of us decides to keep it. Most of don’t change our name. It is a part of who we are. One of my great joys as a grandfather is to hear my little granddaughters say their name. It gives them a sense of who they are. It’s not too much to say that to be nameless is akin to being person-less. To have a name is so important that an angel of the Lord says to Joseph in Matthew 1:20-21
20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
In our message, Name Above All Names, from this first chapter of Hebrews what is interesting is that we don’t read the name “Jesus” at all. We know that the passage is talking about him, but we don’t hear is given name, Jesus, until ch. 2:9 when the writer says, Heb.2:9
9 But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
Here’s the point. The name above every name in ch. 1 is “Son.” What is happening is that the overwhelming emphasis in this chapter is the divinity, and thus the superiority of the Son of God over all things, all people, all places, all creation for all time. What their Pastor wants the Hebrews to know is that the best news that anyone can have is that Jesus is the divine Son of God. He is radiant, glorious and majestic, and he rules over the whole creation. Here’s why it was crucial for them to know this in every fiber of their being. The recipients of this letter are a suffering people. They are facing hardship and persecution because they have put their hope in Jesus Christ. And they are wondering, “Is it worth it?” We thought following Jesus was going to make life better. We thought following Jesus was going to make things easier for us. Why are we catching all of this hell? Have we believed a lie? They are in grave danger of drifting away from the truth of the good news in Jesus, the gospel, because life as a Christian is hard.
He wants them to endure. He will say that very thing to them later in the letter. Heb.10.35-36
35 Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. 36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.
He want them to endure, not to give up. But he doesn’t start out his message by saying, “Hold on,” “Don’t be discouraged,” or, “Keep hope alive.” These are all sentiments he will make later in the letter. But his starting point is with the unrivaled glory, majesty, and authority of the Son of God. The supremacy of Jesus Christ is their source of eternal hope in a topsy-turvy, upside-down world. The supremacy of the Son of God is the only source of enduring hope in an upside-down and unjust world.
The message is that the only way that you will be encouraged to keep the faith is if you are clear on who Jesus is. The best news for them and the best news for us is that Jesus is the divine Son of God. I’m going to share with you from our text three reasons why this is such good news. The Son is Exalted (vv. 1-5). The Son is Worshipped (vv. 6-7). The Son is Just (vv. 8-9).
The Son is Exalted
The Son is Exalted
Right out of the gates, the letter to the Hebrews starts with a bang.
1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 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. 3 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, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.
At various times in history and in different ways, God raised up and anointed prophets to declare his word with authority: Abraham, Moses, Samuel, Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, and on and on for centuries. God spoke to his people through the prophets to direct them to himself. it was always so that they would know what was necessary for them to honor and glorify him with their lives. When he spoke, he said all that he wanted to say. He didn’t leave out anything that was necessary.
Still, as glorious as the word spoken through the prophets was, it was varied, diverse, and fragmented because the prophets were many in number. A change took place when Jesus came on the scene. In these last days, the Pastor says, God has spoken to us by his unique and only Son.
If the word of the various prophets was glorious and authoritative, how much more glorious and authoritative is the message given to us by the Son? God’s word to us in Jesus has been spoken fully and finally. “These last days,” then, are the days of fulfillment—despite the chaos of the world around us.
What I love about the Pastor is that he’s not setting forth the divine nature of Jesus, the Son of God, as an idea that’s disconnected from life. He’s not just giving them head knowledge. All of this rich theology about Jesus Christ is not given in a vacuum. It is the epitome of theology applied to life. Jesus’ being God is important because the world is full of chaos. In vv. 10-12 he quotes from Psalm 102:25-7, telling us that God the Father says to God the Son
10 And, “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands; 11 they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment, 12 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.”
Why is he quoting Psalm 102? If you look at Psalm 102, the heading from the Hebrew text is,
‘A prayer of one afflicted, when he is faint and pours out his complaint to the Lord.’
The psalmist is in the midst of a storm. He’s overwhelmed by the chaos of this world. His world had been rocked. What’s turned his world upside down is that Jerusalem has been destroyed. The temple is in ruins. The temple was supposed to be the place where God made his name dwell. It was the evidence that the Lord was with his people. Now, the thing that he thought was most secure and stable was gone. The Babylonians have crushed them and taken them into exile. The Psalmist says in Ps.102.3-5
3 For my days pass away like smoke, and my bones burn like a furnace. 4 My heart is struck down like grass and has withered; I forget to eat my bread. 5 Because of my loud groaning my bones cling to my flesh.
But there’s a turning point in v. 12 of the psalm,
12 But you, O Lord, are enthroned forever; you are remembered throughout all generations.
In the midst of the chaos that’s around him what he realizes is that the only stable, unchanging reality is that Yahweh, the Lord is enthroned forever. That’s the message that the Pastor is communicating in Hebrews 1. The distress you feel is real, but the One who walked the streets of Jerusalem and said, “Come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,” is none other that Yahweh, the Lord your God. The Son is exalted. He’s telling them that Jesus is the very one who laid the earth’s foundations in the beginning; the very one who created the heavens. Those created things will wear out and be rolled up like an old garment and be changed, but the Lord continues forever. He is the same and his years have no end.
When the Pastor boldly says in v. 4 that Jesus is exalted because has inherited a name much more excellent than that of the angels, he turns to Psalm 2 and 2 Samuel 7 to prove his point. There are so many places he could have gone. He could’ve reminded them of the words of the angel Gabriel to Mary in Luke 1:32 that the child to be born of her would be called “the Son of the Most High.” He could have reminded them of the Father speaking from heaven at Jesus’ baptism in Mark 3:17, “This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased.” He could’ve reminded them of Jesus shining in his glory on the mountain in the presence of Peter, James, and John when the voice came from the cloud saying, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.”
But he’s showing us that the divine sonship of Jesus Christ is not something that started with the NT. It is of old. In other words, the relationship of the Son to the Father was not a new relationship that began in Mary’s womb. In the incarnation, when the Son took on human flesh and walked this earth, his relationship with the Father was a continuation in time and space of the eternal relationship he already had. So he asks them in v. 5,
5 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”?
The answer to the question is that God has never said those things to any angel. The words of Psalm 2 were about the Messiah, the Christ, the Anointed One. The whole Psalm speaks of his kingship and the futility of the nations trying to stand against the Son. The words in 2 Samuel 7 come from the lips of the prophet Nathan when God was making a covenant with king David. David wanted to build a temple for God. God sends Nathan to tell David, “You’re not going to build me a house. I’m going to build you an eternal house.” He promised David that he would have a son on the throne forever. It became obvious that Solomon, although he built the temple didn’t fit the bill. This promise had to refer to another Son.
What’s the point? Why is it that we’re being called to see the Son as exalted? Why go through all the trouble of saying that Jesus has inherited a more excellent name and quoting from Ps. 2 and 2 Sam. 7? The answer is found in the words, “today I have begotten you.” What does that mean? Is it a reference to the day Jesus was born? We recite what it means every week when we recite the Nicene Creed.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father. Through him all things were made.
The early church was very careful to point out that the Son was “begotten” not “made”. He was not created like the angels we read of in v. 7. The Son willingly put his glory behind a veil when he came to do his work on earth. But that veiling was only temporary. It only lasted long enough for him to complete his work of redemption. And the idea of ‘begetting’ here is the idea of declaring or showing something fully. As the apostle Paul says in Romans 1:4,
4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,
In a few months winter will be here and everybody will be thinking about Jesus. And their thoughts will be of sweet baby Jesus in a manger, vulnerable, cute and cuddly. Having no visible expression of glory. He was a human through and through, but his divine nature was not going to be hidden for long. His resurrection from the dead is the “day” that Psalm 2:7 was fulfilled. The veil is removed and he is visible forever in his glory as the God-man. He’s speaking of the day of Jesus’ glorious victory. Do you what he’s doing? He’s speaking to people who are in need of endurance. And he’s doubling down on the victory of the Son of God.
3 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,
He points them to the resurrection, ascension and glorification of Jesus Christ. Why? Because his victory means victory for everyone who trusts in him. His Sonship is your sonship if you’re in him. His inheritance is your inheritance if you’re in him. His exaltation is your exaltation if you are in him.
The Son is Worshipped
The Son is Worshipped
We need to know this truth just like they needed to know it. That because, just like them, we often have some wacky spirituality. The Son is not only exalted, but the Son is worshipped. Look at what’s said in vv. 6-7…
6 And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.” 7 Of the angels he says, “He makes his angels winds, and his ministers a flame of fire.”
The Pastor quotes from the song of Moses in Deuteronomy 32:43 as well as Psalm 97:7.
“Rejoice with him, O heavens; bow down to him, all gods,” (Deut 32:43 ESV)
“All worshipers of images are put to shame, who make their boast in worthless idols; worship him, all you gods!” (Ps 97:7 ESV)
In the Hebrew text the angels are referred to as “gods” with a small “g”. The angels have power. V. 7 quotes from Psalm 104:4,
“he makes his messengers winds, his ministers a flaming fire.” (Ps 104:4 ESV)
Wind and fire are powerful elements. God has given angels great power. There’s a TV show I used to watch years ago, Touched By An Angel. If you watch that show you’ll think that angels are, “heavenly psychologists, proclaiming a soothing message of love from an all-embracing, non-judgmental God.” But when we look a the Bible, when angels show up people are terrified. The angels, because they are endued with power and glory from God strike terror in the hearts of people. The angel Gabriel has to say to both Zechariah and Mary in Luke 1, “do not be afraid.” In Rev. 19:10 the glory of the angel is so striking that John is about to worship him, but the angel says,
10 Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
And that’s the point being made in these two verses. As powerful and glorious as angels are, they worship the Son. They readily acknowledge and bow down to the power that is greater than theirs; the same power that created them. Isn’t that obvious? Why would it be necessary to say that the Son is superior to the angels?
The recipients of this letter were living in the middle of a culture that encouraged the elevation of angels to a position that rivaled the Messiah. They were being influenced by teaching that said two messiahs were going to come. One would be a king, the other would be a priest, and both of them would be under the authority of the archangel Michael. Like I said, wacky spirituality.
You might not be as enthralled with angels, or give them as much thought as the ancients did, but we still like to create our own spiritual hierarchy. Spirituality is popular today. What’s popular is human-made spirituality, not biblical spirituality. I want to be spiritual on my own terms, and who are you to tell me that I’m wrong.
Vv. 6-7 are a corrective for human-made spirituality. Every created thing worships the Son. The angels are created beings and they realize that worship is due to the Son. They worshipped him as a baby in Bethlehem when they appeared to the shepherds keeping watch over the flock, and they worship him in heaven as the Lamb of God in heaven,
11 Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!”
Are you worshipping the Son? Or, are you still thinking that there’s some way to have access to God without him? If even the angels worship him what would make us think that we don’t need to?
The Son is Just
The Son is Just
The Son is exalted. Therefore the Son is worthy of worship simply because of who he is. He’s exalted and worthy of worship, and praise God that he’s also just.
8 But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. 9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.”
The Pastor now quotes from Psalm 45 to encourage his congregation with the justice of the Son of God. What’s so beautiful about his applying Ps. 45 to Jesus is that Ps. 45 is a wedding psalm. It describes the royal bride as she prepares to enter into marriage with the king. Her heart overflows because her husband is the most handsome of men. Grace is poured upon his lips. Her husband is the mighty one in splendor and majesty. He rides out victoriously for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness.
But then the psalmist seems to go too far and says of the king, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.” The Pastor is letting us know that there’s no problem at all because this is really about Jesus. It is an OT view into the reality of the Trinity, one God in three Persons, Father, Son and Spirit. The one who is addressed as God is anointed by his God with the oil of gladness. Because of the Son’s just and righteous rule, because he loves justice and hates lawlessness, the Father has such unsurpassed joy that he anoints the Son with the oil of gladness.
Here’s why this is so beautiful. Jesus is the King and Husband, and the Church is his bride. He is the one who is the most handsome of men. He is the one with grace on his lips. He is the one who in splendor and majesty rules with absolute justice and righteousness for the cause of truth. And those who are under his rule and authority are the companions of whom God speaks in v. 9. His joy and righteousness are the blessings he gives his companions.
They needed to hear that because life seemed to be unjust. They were suffering, they were being persecuted for their faith. And they needed to know that the justice of the Son overrules the injustice of Rome.
The justice of our Savior overrules the injustice of this world. That reality is what empowers the people of God to endure ugly injustice and see beauty rise from its ashes.
Let me close with an example of this truth that struck me to my core. Passion for Christ Movement has a video on their website of Poet Janette...ikz telling her story in the song of a poem. She was abused at 8, 9, and 10 years old by both her babysitter and her own father. She says in the poem that she took the pain, stored it in the back of her mind, threw it in a safe an intentionally forgot the combination. But years later she says that the wound resurfaced and she realized that she could no longer put a bandaid on a wound that needed surgery. She said that the wound was infected and spread to every area of her life all because she didn’t want to sign the consent form and go under God’s knife. She said, “I didn’t want to answer him, I wanted him to answer me. What kind of God would allow an innocent child to be molested?!”
Then she said, “Allow me to share with you one of the most beautifulest, ugliest revelations. The same God, who sent his own Son to die on a cross, that most would be ungrateful for and even more would take lightly, and even more would crucify him again with our actions. And although he had done no violence and no deceit was found in his mouth, it pleased the Lord to bruise him? That don’t make no sense to us! But his ways are not our ways and his thoughts are not our thoughts. The glory of Christ is the resurrection, but you can’t just skip the cross. You can’t skip the suffering or all the souls he came for that were lost.”
Then listen to her closing words. “Some of us won’t hear it unless it’s from somebody who went through. And in that case he allowed me to come before you and stand as a testimony for you and it was worth it. It was worth every single ounce of physical, mental, and spiritual pain. And I’d go through it again, if he would allow me to stand before you again, and encourage you to allow him to get glory. Because, like Paul, I reckon that the present sufferings of this current time are just not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us.”
How is it possible to say that when you have suffered so much injustice? It is only possible if you know that the divine Son of God is a name above all names who is exalted and worthy of all praise because he is holy and just.
You see, family, in all of our differences there is one name that unites. When we are united to him by faith we have fellowship with him in his graces, sufferings, death, resurrection and glory. His victory is our victory. And we become a people united to one another who exalt and worship him together, enduring by faith in an upside-down world.
