The Storm Before the Calm

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?

I am a CrossFit fanatic. For those of you who don’t know what CF is, it’s a workout methodology. It’s defined as, “constantly varied functional fitness performed at high intensity.” I began my search for a new CF gym to join here in DC. I was a DCF this week and we did one of the CF benchmark workouts, name Isabel. Isabel is one of several benchmark workouts known simply as, “the girls.” There’s Annie, Barbara, Cindy, Diane, Elizabeth, Fran, Grace, Helen, Jackie, Kelly, Linda, Mary, and Nancy.

Why female names for these benchmark workouts? Well, it actually doesn’t have a whole heck of a lot to do with gender. These workouts are named after hurricanes. CF decided to follow the pattern of the National Weather Service, which started to assign female names to storms after 1953 because they wanted to use “short, distinctive given names that made for easier and quicker communication.” The founder of CF wrote,

This convenience and logic inspired our granting a special group of workouts women’s names, but anything that leaves you flat on your back and incapacitated only to lure you back for more at a later date certainly deserves naming.

These workouts are just like hurricanes. There’s a calm before the storm. You’re feeling fine, talking with your fellow gym members, the coach has taken you through a nice warmup, getting you ready to workout. Then she starts the timer, counting down to the start of the workout. “Ten seconds!” she yells. “3-2-1, Go!” are the next words out of her mouth, and all hell breaks loose. At a certain point, you feel as though you might die. If you can think at all, you’re thinking to yourself, “Why am I here, doing this voluntarily?” (Christa’s comment…) The workout ends and you wonder, “Am I dead?”

The devastation in the gym is evident as people are lying on the floor all over the place, making what we call sweat angels.

This is what happens in a hurricane. There’s calm. Then there’s a realization that the storm has hit and you are no longer in control. Then, after the storm passes, there’s chaos. Devastation is all around. I want to put before you from our text this morning that with Jesus it’s the opposite. What we find out about following Jesus is a different pattern. It’s the storm before the calm. I want to talk to you this morning about Chaos, Control, and Calm.

Chaos

There is perhaps no other chapter in the Bible that hits us with the divinity of Jesus Christ stronger than this first chapter of Hebrews. You can’t read this and say that the Bible declares Jesus to be a mere prophet. No. He’s God. We don’t know for sure who the author of the letter to the Hebrews is. I simply refer to him as the Pastor because this letter is a long sermon. At the end he says to them,

Hebrews 13:22 ESV

22 I appeal to you, brothers, bear with my word of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly.

Not only that, but you read ch. 11 and you realize that this preacher is doing some whooping.

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 , telling us that God the Father says to God the Son

Hebrews 1:10–12 ESV

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.”

All of 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 , telling us that God the Father says to God the Son

Why is he quoting ? If you look at , the heading from the Hebrew text is,

Why ? If you look at , the heading 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.

This analogy falls short, but it helps to see the point. When I was young, my father used to work at the World Trade Center. He usually took the train home from work, but there were a few occasions when drove into Manhattan to pick him up. I can remember being parked outside of the towers waiting for Dad to come out and looking out of the car window up at the Towers. As hard as I strained my neck I couldn’t see the top. I was amazed by those buildings, and they were, in my mind, permanent fixtures in NY. The pictures that represented NYC always included the Twin Towers. Obviously, they weren’t the permanent fixtures I thought that they were. The City was thrown into distress when the Towers fell on 9/11.

The distress on the faces of New Yorkers when the Towers fell gets at the distress of the psalmist…

“For my days pass away like smoke, and my bones burn like a furnace. My heart is struck down like grass and has withered; I forget to eat my bread. Because of my loud groaning my bones cling to my flesh.” ( ESV)

Psalm 102:3–5 ESV

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 the psalm. In v. 12 he says,

Psalm 102:12 ESV

12 But you, O Lord, are enthroned forever; you are remembered throughout all generations.

“But you, O LORD, are enthroned forever; you are remembered throughout all generations. You will arise and have pity on Zion” ( ESV)

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 . 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. 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.

The chaos is having a particular impact on the recipients of this letter. Their Pastor is writing to them because they are in danger. They’re in danger of drifting away from the faith because of the persecution they’re under for following Jesus. They want a release from the pressure. Following Jesus is costing more than they anticipated. And the question they’re asking is, “Is it worth it?” “Isn’t there an easier way to be right with God?” “We don’t want to forget about God, we just want less suffering.” “Maybe folk will like us more, and stop treating us so badly if we make some slight modifications to what it means to be a Christian. Then folks will be OK with this gospel we’re trying to preach and live.”

Their Pastor is writing to them because they are in danger. They’re in danger of drifting away from the faith because of the persecution they’re under for following Christ. They want a release from the pressure. Following Jesus is costing more than they anticipated. And the question they’re asking is, “Is it worth it?” “Isn’t there an easier way to be right with God?” “We don’t want to forget about God, we just want less suffering.” “Maybe folk will like us more, and stop treating us so badly if we make some slight modifications to what it means to be a Christian. Then folks will be OK with this gospel we’re trying to preach and live.”

They are in a dangerous position. They have need of endurance. They’re in the height of the workout, when the pressure is most intense, and they want to quit. But they need to endure. The Pastor will say to them in 10:35-36,

Hebrews 10:35–36 ESV

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.

Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.

What’s interesting, though, is the how he begins to address their concerns. He wants them to endure, not to give up. But he doesn’t start out his letter, his sermon, to them by saying, “hold on,” “don’t be discouraged,” “keep the faith.” These are all things that he will say and imply later in the letter. But his starting point, in these beginning verses, is with the unrivaled glory, majesty and authority of the Son of God.

If they’re going to endure through the chaos of life, particularly as a Christian, what has to be in view is how glorious Jesus is. No encouragement to keep the faith is going to have any teeth unless we are gripped by the incomparable glory of Jesus the Christ. Make no mistake about it. Following Jesus is costly. We don’t do anyone any favors by presenting the Christian life as one of ease and comfort. Unless you’re captured by, unless your heart is beating to the rhythm of the grandeur, the bigness, the glory of Jesus, you’ll never think that being a Christian is worth it.

Control

The only way to endure the chaos is to know that Jesus is in control. The punch that he packs in the first four verses is that Jesus is the glorious prophet. Jesus is the glorious priest. And Jesus is the glorious king.

The letter begins almost like the opening words to Star Wars, “Long ago in a galaxy far far away…” But this is no sci-fi tale. The first thing he wants to remind us is that God has spoken.

“Long ago at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets.”

Hebrews 1:1 ESV

1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets,

At various points and 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 always to direct them to himself. It was always so that they would know what was necessary for them to live in a way that honors and glorifies him. When he spoke, he said all that he wanted to say. He didn’t leave out anything that was necessary. (ordination exam question)

At various points and 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 always to direct them to himself. It was always so that they would know what was necessary for them to honor and glorify him. When he spoke, he said all that he wanted to say. He didn’t leave out anything that was necessary. (ordination exam question)

God was not silent, but we are often deaf. He spoke that we would know him and understand who he is. But we’re hard of hearing. Here’s the deal. As glorious as the word spoken through the prophets was, it was varied, diverse, and fragmented because the prophets were many in number. But a change took place when Jesus came on the scene.

“In these last days, the Pastor says, God has spoken to us by the Son, by the unique and only Son.”

When God the Son took on human flesh, and was born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who are under the law, Jesus’ word became the final, complete, full word of God.

That’s why he says in the first verse of ch. 2, “Therefore, we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.”

If the word of the various prophets was glorious and authoritative, how much more glorious is the unitary message given to us by Christ? God’s word to us in Christ has been spoken fully and finally. We have what the fathers of the faith did not have. The full, complete, and final word of God in Jesus.

[T]his is the age of fulfillment when God’s revelation has been made complete.

In other words, God has upped the ante. The Son is far superior to the prophets. This first verse sets the tone and theme of the whole letter. Jesus is supreme over everything that came before him, prophets, priests and kings. It all pointed towards him. He is the full and final word of God.

He is not just one of the prophets. He is the heir of all things. He has an inheritance. His inheritance is the whole world. Not just people, but he came to lay claim on the whole thing. He came to lay claim to the entire world as his own possession because he is the One through whom the world was created. He is the one appointed heir of everything. You and I might hope to have a wealthy benefactor somewhere who leaves us an inheritance, but no benefactor could leave us an inheritance like the one Jesus has! His inheritance is the whole creation, and that includes us! He is the glorious radiance and exact imprint of God’s essence. He is God. And he makes the glory of God visible to us.

You almost have to ask the question how could the description get any better? What more could you say to describe how glorious Jesus is? But then you read the second part of v. 3.

After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.

In five words in the Greek text, eight words in our English translation, he lets us know that Jesus is not only the glorious prophet, he’s also the glorious priest. “After making purification for sins, he sat down.” In these eight words he describes the whole of Jesus’ work.

The Pastor is providing a “check your attitude” time. You can’t afford to ignore the absolute holiness of God. You can’t afford to think that you’ll be OK as long as you’re a decent person. You need a right view of God, and you need a right view of yourself. God is holy, and you’re not. If you’re going to know him, he has to provide a way for that to happen. What he did in the OT is provide a line of priests whose daily ministry was to atone for their own sins and the sins of the people by sacrificing lambs and bulls and goats. It was a gory and gruesome scene. Blood flowed in the tabernacle every day. That is how seriously God takes sin. He reminds them in 9:22, “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.”

This is “check your attitude time.” You can’t afford to ignore the absolute holiness of God. You can’t afford to think that you’ll be OK as long as you’re a decent person. You need a right view of God, and you need a right view of yourself. God is holy, and you’re not. If you’re going to know him, he has to provide a way for that to happen. What he did in the OT is provide a line of priests whose daily ministry was to atone for their own sins and the sins of the people by sacrificing lambs and bulls and goats. It was a gory and gruesome scene. Blood flowed in the tabernacle every day. That is how seriously God takes sin. He reminds them in 9:22, “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.”

Every day blood was shed so that the people would not be consumed. God’s punishment for sin fell on lambs and bulls and goats. But as the Pastor says in 10:4, “it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” The blood of bulls and goats could never finally, fully, and completely take care of the problem of sin. So the same sacrifices had to continually be offered over and over and over again.

But when the One who is the radiance of the glory of God came, he came as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Jesus came as the unblemished, spotless Lamb of God. He came both as the sacrificial offering and as the offerer. He is the great high priest who offered himself as the only One who could crush sin. As he was being beaten and whipped, as the blood was flowing from his head, his hands, his feet, purification was being made for the sins of everyone who puts their trust in him. It is as the hymn writer says,

See from His head, His hands, His feet, Sorrow and love flow mingled down: Did e'er such love and sorrow meet, Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

Sorrow and love flow mingled down:

Did e'er such love and sorrow meet,

Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

Jesus made final and complete purification for sins. How do I know that it’s final and complete? Do you know what was missing in the tabernacle? Do you know what was missing when the priests went in to offer the blood of atonement? There was no chair! They had to stand daily offering the sacrifices. There was no chair because there was no rest. But when Jesus made purification for sins, the Bible says that he sat down. He took his seat. The work was finished. There no longer remains any need for any other sacrifice for sin.

Let me ask you this question. Are you trying to clean yourself up? Let me tell you something. If you’re trying to get yourself together before coming to God, instead of giving yourself over to God with all your mess, you’re spitting in God’s face. You’re saying, “God, I got this.” Stop it. Stop spitting in God’s face. The Pastor is showing them that Jesus is the Glorious Priest because they’re being tempted to take matters into their own hands. They’re being tempted to make up their own way of salvation and right living. The message is that Jesus is the only one who can make the impure pure. There is no other way than throwing yourself at his feet.

Let me ask you this question. Are you trying to cleanse yourself? Are you trying to make yourself clean in the sight of God? Are you saying, “Once I get myself together, then I’ll come to church. Once I deal with this thing over here, living better. I don’t wanna be a hypocrite.” Let me tell you something. If you’re trying to get yourself together before coming to God, instead of giving yourself over to God with all your mess, you’re spitting in God’s face. You’re saying, “God, I got this.” Stop it. Stop spitting in God’s face. The Pastor is showing them that Jesus is the Glorious Priest because they’re being tempted to take matters into their own hands. They’re being tempted to make up their own way of salvation. The message is that Jesus is the only one who can make the impure pure. There is no other way than throwing yourself at his feet.

That’s the best place to find yourself. Not only because Jesus is the glorious prophet and the merciful high priest, but he’s also our great and glorious King. The fact that he sat down tells us not only that he’s completed his work of purification for sins, but also that he is the supreme King and Judge. For he sat down, not any old place, but at the right hand of the Majesty on high (v. 3, 13).

He completed his work and was restored to his rightful position in heaven as the King of kings and the Lord of lords, as the One before whom every knee will bow and every tongue confess.

As you were reading and hearing this passage did you ask the question, “Why is the writer comparing Jesus to angels and declaring that Jesus is far superior to the angels?” As one commentator puts it,

A Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews II. Christ Superior to the Angels (1:4–2:18)

It follows, then, that those to whom this letter was sent were entertaining, or being encouraged to p 52 entertain, teaching which elevated angels, or particular angels, to a position which rivalled that of Christ himself.

The recipients of this letter held a view that in the last days there would be a hierarchical structure two messianic figures. One would be kingly and subordinate to the second, priestly messiah. And both of them would be subordinate to the archangel Michael.

The Pastor is letting them know, y’all got this thing twisted. Jesus has a better name than any angel, and that name is Son! He’s the only one y’all need to be looking for. He’s not only the glorious messianic priest. He’s the glorious messianic king! To which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you?” Of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.” The Son rules. The Son is king!

Listen please, you have to know in your bones, in every fiber of your being, that Jesus is in control as the glorious prophet, priest, and king if you are going to endure the chaos of this world.

Calm

We live in a divided and polarized nation, politically, socio-economically, racially, and on and on the list goes. In quoting from the Son loves righteousness and hates wickedness, therefore he is anointed by God with the oil of gladness. When will we see righteousness and justice rule the day?

Where is the world going? The optimist says, “things are getting better. As technology advances we’re improving the lives of people.” The pessimist says, “Everything’s going to hell in a hand-basket!” Here’s where the world’s going. It’s going to the place where every knee will bow to Jesus. Creation is not under the authority of angels. It’s not under the authority of presidents and kings. It’s under the Son’s authority. The angels don’t sit at the Father’s right hand or have their enemies as a footstool. Our issue is that we don’t yet see it with our eyes. And anything we can’t see, hear, touch, taste, or smell, we doubt.

That’s why what he says in the last verse of the chapter, v. 14, is so encouraging. I’m convinced that he says it not just to correct their bad theology, but to encourage them with the truth. There’s a calm that comes after the storm. There’s a day coming when God, as says, “will wipe away every tear from his people’s eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be any mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” There’s not only a calm that comes after the storm, but there’s a calm that comes in the storm for the people of God right now. So he says to them about the angels,

Hebrews 1:14 ESV

14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?

The angels, these glorious creatures who worship Jesus, these powerful spiritual creatures who invoke terror in the hearts of people when the come on the scene, the Pastor says that God sends them out to minister on behalf of those who are to inherit salvation! The angels cannot be compared to Jesus. They are under his authority. They do his will. Here’s his will. He sends them to help those who follow him.

That’s why what he says in v. 14 is so encouraging. I’m convinced that he says it not just to correct their bad theology, but to encourage them with the truth. There’s a calm that comes after the storm. There’s a day coming when God, as says, “will wipe away every tear from his people’s eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be any mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” There’s not only a calm that comes after the storm, but there’s a calm for the people of God right now.

The perfect example of this is . The prophet Elisha would warn the king of Israel where the Syrians were setting up their camp to attack him. The king of Syria decided that he had enough of Elisha’s meddling. He found out that Elisha was staying in Dothan. So, the Bible says, he sent horses and chariots and a great army, and they came by night and surrounded the city. When Elisha’s servant got up in the morning and saw the army surrounding the city, he got scared, and said to Elisha, “What are we going to do?” The servant was petrified, but Elisha was calm. Elisha says in v. 16,

2 Kings 6:16–17 ESV

16 He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 17 Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

2KI

Because Elisha belonged to the Lord he understood that nothing in this created world was more powerful than his God. Even the angels of God were at God’s disposal to come and help him. Verse 14 in our text is a question… And the answer to the question is, “yes”. That’s what the angels are.

We were told in v. 2 that the Son is the heir of all things. We were told in v. 4 that he has inherited a name that is more excellent than that of the angels. And now we’re told that the angels are sent to minister on behalf of those who are to inherit salvation. He used the word inherit on purpose. He wants to link them intimately with Son and to emphasize God’s intentions for them.

Jesus is seated in glory right now. He’s reigning and ruling right now. But that doesn’t seem to be the case. It seems like everything but the Son of God is in control. But just as the Father’s plan was for the Son to do his work of redemption and take his rightful place on the throne, coming in to his inheritance, it is the guaranteed plan of the Father and the Son to bring every Christian into the full inheritance of eternal life with them in glory. So, he gives his children the strength to calmly endure through the storms. Do you see why he says to them in 10:35,

Hebrews 10:35–36 ESV

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.

“do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.” ( ESV)

If you have the Son of God you are privileged people. The very angels of God minister on your behalf. Don’t treat God’s salvation lightly. He doesn’t…

He completed his work and was restored to his rightful position in heaven as the King of kings and the Lord of lords, as the One before whom every knee will bow and every tongue confess. Who else but God upholds the universe by his powerful word? What the Pastor is telling his people is their Savior is the very One who sustains, who carries the universe along to its stated purpose and goal. Can you see why, when encouraging Christians to endure, the Pastor begins with Jesus’ glory?

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