Jesus Is Better - 2
Notes
Transcript
Jesus Is Better - 2
Introduction
People have lots of opinions. Most decisions you make are based on your opinions. How things should happen? What’s wrong with the world? Which food to eat? All opinions.
—Coke v. Pepsi
—Toilet paper roll over or under
Our culture is defined by opinions. You get to decide what is better or worse. Life for us is all personalized by what works best for you. And isn’t that what some people think about faith? Think about the phrase “Jesus Is Better.” Is that just an opinion? “Well, Jesus is better for you. Religion works for you, but not for me. I”m glad you think Jesus is better, good for you (bless your heart), but that’s not how I see it.” To them, Jesus is not really better, but just another option to choose from.
While some in our culture may think like this, the Bible is quite different in how it speaks of Jesus. He is not a matter of opinion. His “betterness” is a matter of fact. Jesus is fundamentally and quantifiably better.
TS - last week we began our journey through Hebrews, dealing with this truth, seeing how Jesus is so much better, greater, superior than anything or anyone else. The author comes charging out of the gate with this definitive declaration about Jesus.
- 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.
Now, he is going to press into the specifics of that. He is going to come back to these same truth now in the rest of chapter 1, showing us that this is not his opinion, but what God himself has declared about Jesus. He will utilize no less than 7 (some say 8) OT quotes and references to show that God has declared Jesus to be better. God has always declared Jesus is better.
- 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?
The crux of the argument here in chapter 1 is that Jesus is better, superior, to angels. He has a better name, he is more powerful. Before we dive into the fullness of why he is better, let’s talk about angels for a minute.
Whenever we picture angels, we think of television shows like “Touched by an Angel” or some of the popular artistic depictions of angels, featuring chubby little naked babies with wings, figurines made by Precious Moments. Yet, the Biblical picture of angels shows us something much more awe-inspiring than naked babies.
Time and again, the Old Testament describes angels as fierce warriors, ready to do battle at any moment, and powerful enough to ensure God’s will is accomplished. In , for example, the city of Jerusalem is being threatened by Sennacherib, the king of Assyria. Hezekiah, the king of the Israelites, along with the prophet Isaiah, go before God in prayer, asking for His deliverance. Here is how the Lord answers them, as recorded in - 21 And the Lord sent an angel, who cut off all the mighty warriors and commanders and officers in the camp of the king of Assyria. One angel vs. an army and the battle was not even close. The angel annihilated them. He didn’t barely win. One angel pulverized an entire army.
In the book of Revelation, we’re given an even more amazing picture of the power of angels, beings that are so majestic that John almost bows down to worship one. In recording the last days of the world as we know it, John tells us that God’s angels have a significant part to play in the horrible events that will unfold on this planet. In , the apostle John recorded this: 14 saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” 15 So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour, the day, the month, and the year, were released to kill a third of mankind. At the end of time, it’s only going to take four angels to kill one third of the human population. If you assume a world population of 7.6 billion, that means that each angels kills over 600 million people. That sounds like a big deal.
But, if any book of the Bible is going to shake our idea of what God’s angels are like, it’s the book of Daniel. In , the exiled prophet encounters one of these celestial beings and actually tells us what it looked like. records this encounter when it says, 4 On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river (that is, the Tigris) 5 I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, a man clothed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist. 6 His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a multitude. Doesn’t sound like a harmless naked baby.
Yet, Daniel not only talks about how intimidating the angel’s appearance is, he also talks about how terrifying their presence is. Continuing in his story of meeting the angel, Daniel describes his reaction as well as the reaction of those around him in verses 7-8, which say: 7 And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men who were with me did not see the vision, but a great trembling fell upon them, and they fled to hide themselves. 8 So I was left alone and saw this great vision, and no strength was left in me. My radiant appearance was fearfully changed, and I retained no strength. It seems obvious to say that Daniel would have been scared at the sight of the angel, but what’s so amazing is that the men who didn’t see the angel were just as afraid. They just sensed the angel’s presence and felt the need to run and hide. No wonder these guys have to say “Fear Not” whenever they come to talk to one of us. Angels are extremely powerful and absolutely terrifying.
TS - now, take all of that info about angels and transplant it here into . Jesus is better. He is superior. Angels are great and powerful, but here is the problem…they have no inherent authority. No power of their own. They are just the messengers, telling what God tells them to tell. What Hebrews is impressing on us this this…Jesus is better because he does have that authority. Because of who he is and what he has done, he has ultimate authority over the universe, over us. Let’s walk quickly through these OT quotes with an outline to see how it’s structured. 3 Qualities that Give Jesus Authority:
A BETTER NAME
- 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”?
Jesus has been given a more excellent name. What name is that? Son. Angels are servants, Hebrews says, Jesus is the Son. In the Bible, someone’s name speaks to their character or rank. Jesus’ character and rank are higher than angels. Now, why include this in the argument? The fact that the author feels the need to include this shows the high place that angels occupied in the beliefs of the day. The writings of the intertestamental period (between OT and NT) show a dramatic rise in fascination with angels. Came to believe:
—since always around throne of God, higher knowledge.
—functioned as God’s Senate, his consultants.
—objected to creation of humanity, didn’t want share God
—angels that controlled every aspect of creation
—one that wrote down all you said
—every individual had a personal guardian angel
Because of this, they began to believe that angels could come between them and God. So now it is necessary to who that angels are not elevated. There is only one person we go through to get to God, and it’s not an angel.
- 5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.
William Barclay -“The writer to the Hebrews lays down the great truth that we need neither human nor supernatural beings to bring us into the presence of God. Jesus Christ has broken every barrier down and opened a direct way for us to God.”
2. A GREATER NOBILITY
We see this nobility in a few different ways:
—Jesus is EXALTED
- 6 And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says,“Let all God's angels worship him.”
“Firstborn” is a title from the OT, meaning preeminent one. He is higher, superior, better. And how is it that he is better than angels? They worship him.
—Jesus is ETERNAL
- 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,
He will come back around to this again in a few verses, but also in one of the concluding verses of the book, one that brings incredible comfort.
- 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
—Jesus is ENTHRONED
- 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.”
TS - So Jesus is God enthroned on high, ruling and reigning as Sovereign over all things. Jesus is better because he has a better name (his character and rank is higher), a greater nobility (he is the preeminent one who is exalted, eternal, enthroned God above all), and thirdly:
3. A HIGHER NATURE
Again, we see this higher nature in a few ways:
—Jesus is CREATOR
- 10 And,
“You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning,
and the heavens are the work of your hands;
He has already talked about this is verse 2 and will come back to a few more times later on.
—Jesus is EVERLASTING
- 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.”
Again, he reiterates the same truths from v. 7-8.
—Jesus is VICTORIOUS
- 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”?
This is the culmination of all the OT quotes here, . Why say all these things about Jesus and bother with all these OT quotes? Because Jesus is, and always will be, victorious over all his enemies. says that Jesus triumphed over his enemies on the cross, and gives the morbid details of what happens to those in opposition to Jesus when he returns. He always wins.
TS - With this powerful, worshipful beginning to Hebrews, that is continued in the rest of chapter 1, with confirmation and validation from God by quoting all these OT verses to prove that this is not opinion but fact, now the author passionately inserts a warning. Hebrews is a book of warnings…there are 7 of them. Essentially this is a 7 point sermon, and this is point 1. After all we have heard about the nature, person, and work of Jesus…here is the application: Since Jesus is better, he both demands and deserves to be heard!
- Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. 2 For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, 3 how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, 4 while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.
Therefore…because of this comprehensive, glorious picture of Jesus, we best listen up. “We must pay much closer attention to what we have heard…” “pay attention” was a word originally used in reference to anchoring a ship. So, because of who Jesus is and what he has done, drop your anchor here. “..lest we drift away from it.” Anchor in the authoritative message of Jesus so that you don’t drift away.
William Barclay -“For most of us, the threat of life is not so much that we should plunge into disaster but that we should drift into sin. There are few people who, deliberately and in a moment, turn their backs on God; there are many who day by day drift further and further away from him. There are not many who in one moment of time commit some disastrous sin; there are many who almost imperceptibly involve themselves in some situation and suddenly awake to find that they have ruined life for themselves and broken someone else’s heart. We must be continually on the alert against the peril of drifting in life.”
It is easier than we think to drift away from Jesus. Here are a few reasons people drift:
—persecution - temptation to blend in or run away.
—apathy - stop caring as much
—busyness - too much going on
—listen to culture - compromise for the cool factor
ILL - a few years out of college my best friend got married. As best man, it was up to me to celebrate with him ahead of time. We took a fishing trip to Bull Shoals Lake in deep southern MO. We rented a cabin and a boat and hung out on the water for a few days. One afternoon a storm blew up very quickly. In the chaos of the pounding rain and wind, trying to get our gear stored for the long haul back to our cabin, our boat turned in the wind. And without realizing it we set off in the wrong direction. By the time we realized it, we were in Arkansas and several miles off course. Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.
3 Reasons to Anchor ourselves to Jesus:
THE CERTAINTY OF JUDGMENT
- 2 For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, 3 how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?
If the message from the angels (OT covenant) was so binding with clear consequences for disobedience (God opened the earth and swallowed people whole, instant death, exile), how could we escape from the message of Jesus? Answer…you won’t.
2. THE CHARACTER OF CHRIST
- It was declared at first by the Lord…
This truth ought to matter to us! After seeing the truths in chapter 1 about who Jesus is, how could we choose to ignore him? We should listen to absolutely anything he has to say. This isn’t delivered by angels…it is from the exalted Son himself.
3. THE CONFIRMATION OF GOD
- 4 while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.
To validate the truth of the message of salvation offered in Christ, God endorsed it all by doing miraculous things. To prove it’s all true, God overruled his own natural laws that govern the created order. Jesus heals, the apostles heal, the blind see, the lame walk, the dead rise. All so that we could know with confidence…Jesus truly saves.
Jesus lived sinlessly and willingly went to the cross so you could be saved. God wants to forgive your sin. God wants to adopt you into his family as a son or daughter. God wants to spend eternity with you. We’ve seen who Jesus is and what he’s done. Therefore we anchor our lives in him so that we do not drift past the promise of salvation offered only in him. How shall we escape if we ignore him? We won’t. Not only the greatness of a hope-filled life, but your eternal destination is at stake. Pay attention to him.
BELIEVE/REPENT/CONFESS/BAPTIZE
SONG
COMMUNION