Hebrews

Exalted King; Lord of Righteousness; The Eternal, Ultimate Conqueror 1. The Expectation of the MessiaH a. A number of the passages in this first chapter that are used to support the superiority of the Son are classic messianic expressions of the national and spiritual hopes of Israel. b. The expectation of the Messiah’s coming burned in the heart of every Jew. i. Certain familiar passages were automatic stimuli conjuring up in the mind of the hearer or the reader images of the coming Messiah and what He would accomplish for Israel. ii. A look at the history of the messianic concept helps us understand the nature and intensity of this hope. iii. God’s self-disclosure had convinced the Jewish people that He was a personal God, deeply interested in the world He had created and the people He had chosen. iv. He was the God of the family of Israel, present in pillar of smoke and fire, speaking face to face with Moses, and seeking out for His friend a man like David. c. This personal God was nonetheless sovereign and bound to liberate the oppressed. i. Even the military, political, and technological superiority of the Egyptians could not stand against the might of Jehovah in delivering His oppressed people. ii. A God of justice and righteousness, He swiftly judged all nations that refused to obey His laws. iii. He was a God who entered into a covenant relation with Israel, making this people His chosen for the sake of the gentile world. iv. He had made a promise that a king of the house of David would rule forever upon a throne of justice and equity. v. Even though He had allowed the people of Israel to be taken away into captivity to a foreign land, He nevertheless would bring back a remnant to live in the land under the established king of the house of David. d. By the time of Jesus, the Jewish people had been in captivity or exile seven of eight centuries. i. The Assyrians captured the northern kingdom in 721 b.c. ii. Then the southern kingdom fell to the Babylonians in 586 b.c. iii. From that time on, the people were passed off from one oppressor to another—to the Medes and Persians, then to the Alexandrians, then to the Syrians, and finally to the Romans. iv. Only one brief century of quasi-freedom under the Maccabeans eased the pain of oppression, and then there were only short-term guerrilla victories. v. Even that was swept away by the coup of the Roman general Pompey as he captured the city of Jerusalem by dishonest treachery. e. The Jews’ revelational theology, their sense of chosenness, their belief in God as a deliverer from oppression, and the longstanding occupation of their country left them aching and crying out for the liberating Messiah. i. Their hope was a mixture of the spiritual, political, and religious. ii. Life under the Messiah might be divided into distinct portions, but these would be unified, bound together by the Spirit and the life of the Lord. 2. Messianic Psalms a. As we consider the Psalms that are quoted from the messianic hymnody of Israel in the first chapter of Hebrews, let us note their varying emphasis, now upon God and again upon the messianic king. b. Psalm 2 was a classic reference to the hope of a trodden people: Why do the nations rage, And the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying, “Let us break Their bonds in pieces And cast away Their cords from us.” —Psalm 2:1–3 c. Then, speaking of the king whom God would set on His holy hill, the psalm continues: “You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” —Psalm 2:7b–9 d. It is not difficult to see how this psalm spoke directly to the messianic hope of Israel seeking an end to the seven centuries of agonizing bondage. This psalm our author applies to Jesus the Son in verse 5. e. Psalm 97 has as its theme God’s magnificence and victorious might. The following quotation includes verses 1–4a and verse 7a: The Lord reigns; Let the earth rejoice; Let the multitude of isles be glad! Clouds and darkness surround Him; Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne. A fire goes before Him, And burns up His enemies round about. His lightnings light the world; Let all be put to shame who serve carved images, Who boast of idols. i. The line appearing in verse 6 of the epistle, however, is taken from the Septuagint, Psalm 97:7, quoted in that version from Deuteronomy 32:43: “Let all the angels of God worship Him.” ii. In this psalm the power of the Lord that will reign over all nations is part of the messianic belief that God Himself will be involved in the vindication of Israel. 1. Zion is to rejoice and the daughters of Jerusalem are to be glad because God preserves the lives of His saints. 2. Was there any doubt that the saints were the people of Israel? Jesus is made the sovereign Lord of this psalm. iii. Jesus is presented by the author of Hebrews as being this magnificent and victorious Lord. 1. Surrounded by the awesomeness of the cosmos, He is the one to be worshiped even by the angels. 2. He was not created, but is described as the “firstborn,” begotten of God as the unique Son of God. Superior to angels—indeed! f. Psalm 104, from which our author has quoted in verse 7, erupts in a torrent of praise to the greatness of God, depicting Him as a sovereign ruler, using all creatures as His servants. Bless the Lord, O my soul! Lord my God, You are very great: You are clothed with honor and majesty, Who cover Yourself with light as with a garment, Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain. He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters, Who makes the clouds His chariot, Who walks on the wings of the wind, Who makes His angels spirits, His ministers a flame of fire. —Psalm 104:1–4 i. There is no doubt at all that the reference in this psalm is to God Himself. ii. Yet, this psalm is attributed to the Son-Messiah, who, far superior to the angels, sends them on their way for His purposes. g. Psalm 45 lauds the King as the blessed, mighty one, surely a messianic figure. Verses 6 and 7 of the psalm are quoted in Hebrews 1:8–9. My heart is overflowing with a good theme; I recite my composition concerning the King My tongue is the pen of a ready writer. You are fairer than the sons of men; Grace is poured upon Your lips; Therefore God has blessed You forever. And in Your majesty ride prosperously because of truth, humility, and righteousness; And Your right hand shall teach You awesome things. Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the King’s enemies; The peoples fall under You. Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You love righteousness and hate wickedness. Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions. —Psalm 45:1–2, 4–7 i. With his quotation of these last two verses, our author swings back to the emphasis upon the messianic king, applying this psalm to the throne of Jesus which our writer claims is going to be an eternal throne of righteousness; the Son will have no peer. h. Psalm 102 speaks of the writer’s distress and despondency, which could so easily have been the feeling of the people of Israel in their suffering through the centuries. With verse 12, the tone suddenly alters, expressing confidence in the everlasting character of God: But You, O Lord, shall endure forever, And the remembrance of Your name to all generations. You will arise and have mercy on Zion; For the time to favor her, Yes, the set time, has come. —Psalm 102:12–13 After further statement of hope in the liberating power of God, the psalmist continues speaking of the might of God. Of old You laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but You will endure; Yes, all of them will grow old like a garment; Like a cloak You will change them, And they will be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will have no end. —Psalm 102:25–27 i. Although the psalm is one on the majesty of God, it is connected with the hope of deliverance of the people of God. ii. The messianic hope is inseparably tied to the power and majesty of God. iii. The writer to Hebrews has God addressing these words directly to the Son, attributing to Him creating power and eternal endurance of unchangeable nature. iv. Certainly this attribute is superior to that of the angels. This psalm is again one of messianic overtones of deliverance. i. Psalm 110, the final messianic psalm used by our writer, appears in verse 13 of this first chapter of Hebrews. He quotes the first verse, which starts right out with the theme of ultimate victory. Undoubtedly, the messianic mind would take this thought to itself. The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” The Lord shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of Your enemies! Your people shall be volunteers In the day of Your power; In the beauties of holiness, from the womb of the morning, You have the dew of Your youth. The Lord has sworn And will not relent, “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.” —Psalm 110:1–4 3. UNPARALELLED ARRAY OF SCRIPTURES a. Nowhere else in the New Testament is there such an array of messianic literature brought to bear as argument for the glorification of Christ. i. As short quotations from the foregoing were used, they were sure to be recognized immediately by any Jewish reader. ii. Our author was certainly familiar with not only the literature but also the aspiration of the Jewish heart that the literature expresses. iii. The deepest desires of the waiting and expectant hearts were now being fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the Messiah-Son of God. iv. Whether these verses refer to the messianic human, or to the majesty of God Himself, the author of Hebrews applies them equally to Christ as proof of His supreme status before the face of God. b. Two important movements have characterized the arguments of this first chapter. i. First, the comparisons with the angels show that the Messiah-Son is in a superior category above that of the angels. They are simply ministering servants to the sovereign Lord who sends them on their way. ii. Second, the messianic figure usually identified with the kings of Israel is identified with God Himself. 1. The messianic literature always made the distinction between the acts of God in fulfilling the messianic hope and the Messiah figure Himself. 2. In this epistle both are made one! Passages always accepted as depicting the human messianic king are now interwoven with those depicting deity. 3. The human Messiah and the Son of the Most High are one and the same! c. As though with a fanfare of ultimate glory our author concludes this first chapter in which he has heaped up a mountain of description, unsurpassed in any other passage of Scripture regarding the character and credentials of the Messiah-Son. i. No higher essence could be attributed to any being than that attributed to the Son. ii. He is the very essence of God, the perfect revelation of His character and the true nature of His existence. iii. After speaking in many and various ways, God has now completed His revelation of Himself in a Son: Creator, Eternal, radiant in His glory, whom He has set over all and under all that exists. iv. Every existence that ever opposed Him will one day bow before Him and be as a stool for His victorious feet. v. Even great angelic powers will be but servants ministering to those upon whom the Son bestows the inheritance of salvation. 4. The Messiah-Son is God’s supreme self-revelation. a. When one steps into the arena of New Testament writing, one cannot help being impressed with the apostolic conviction of the absolute and magnificent uniqueness of Jesus Christ. i. Excitement of revelational discovery leaps from every page. ii. Awesome revelation from a heavenly source is personalized in Jesus of Nazareth. iii. A whitehot ingot, incandescent with the radiant glory of God, shines from every gospel or epistle. iv. The early church was alive—impacted, overwhelmed, and saturated with the Person who had made such a radical change in their lives. b. Whenever the church loses this sense of the awe, the wonder, the excitement, and the radical change, it begins to atrophy. i. To handle heavenly revelation with a dispassionate attitude or cool rationalism is to deny its transforming power. ii. It is distressing that today the church is so seldom excited or overwhelmed with Jesus. iii. One feels in certain ecclesiastical circles that enthusiasm for Christ is beneath the sophisticated disciple, that it is a mark of religious peasantry. iv. Yet as we view the history of the church, we see clearly that a lessened Christology means a correspondingly lessened church. v. When we bleach the banners of apostolic brilliance, fewer desire to march under its colors. c. When, on the other hand, the church rediscovers the magnificent Christ and is overwhelmed by His Godly Person and sacrificial atonement, the church comes alive and sweeps great segments of history before it. i. For this reason, the Epistle to the Hebrews is a crucial document for the church to rediscover. ii. Too long it has been the “forgotten epistle.” iii. May the Holy Spirit bring it back to our remembrance and understanding, magnifying Jesus Christ so powerfully that once again we are smitten and enthusiastic beyond control! iv. Let this high view of Christ again lift up the church to its apostolic power. v. Then preaching will be transformed; individuals will be changed by His redeeming grace; societies will be delivered from oppressors no longer able to contain the liberated disciples; and the body of Christ will be alive with His compassion and ministering love. vi. The Messiah-Son is God’s supreme revelation. God has said enough. vii. After Jesus nothing can be added. It is finished!1