A Better Word

The Communication Explosion

The cover for Time magazine on May 14th, 1965 was “The Communication Explosion”. The president was Lyndon Johnson. The Cold War was the global issue. The Russians were concentrating propaganda throughout Europe through TV and radio stations. In response, the US sent up a satellite 22,340 feet above the equator and broadcast Lyndon Johnson’s own message to Europe. Some applauded this communication accomplishment, while others claimed it was an infringement on their rights. Again, that was in 1965.

Time magazine had no idea what was coming. Communication history offers examples of muscle-powered communications: human runners, homing pigeons, and horse relays. Perhaps the earliest communications infrastructure was the road network of Rome, which carried not only the legions needed to enforce the emperor's will but also messengers to direct forces far from the capital. Ancient societies also developed systems that avoided the need for physical delivery of information. These systems operated within line-of-sight distances (later extended by telescope): smoke signals, torch signaling, flashing mirrors, signal flares, and semaphore flags (Holzman and Pehrson, 1995).

Next came the wires – 1793. Almost a 100 years later, in 1895, came basic wireless. In 1907 a trans-Atlantic wire was placed. Within the 20thCentury we developed satellite communications, cellular comm’s up to 3G (now 5G), fiberoptics, the internet with broadband speeds. But there has never been a greater communication to the world than the communication that God provided to us through the Person of Jesus Christ.

God’s Words

This is the point that the writer of Hebrews makes in chapter 1. God has communicated to us that Jesus is the Son of God and that He has come. Jesus is the ultimate revelation of God and the entire Old Testament points to Him.

Hebrews was written at the perfect time. It seems that the original recipients of Hebrews were growing weary of following Jesus and found themselves tempted to return to their old ways. Commentator Thomas Long states,

The Preacher is not preaching into a vacuum; he is addressing a real and urgent pastoral problem, one that seems astonishingly contemporary. His congregation is exhausted. They are tired—tired of serving the world, tired of worship, tired of Christian education, tired of being peculiar and whispered about in society, tired of the spiritual struggle, tired of trying to keep their prayer life going, tired even of Jesus. Their hands droop, and their knees are weak (12:12), attendance is down at church (10:25), and they are losing confidence. The threat to this congregation is not that they are charging off in the wrong direction; they do not have enough energy to charge off anywhere.”[1]

I love how the Bible is always relevant. Maybe the quote that I just read doesn’t strike a chord with you right now. We always want to be on spiritual mountaintops, but there are times when we just feel exhausted. Hebrews is a B12 shot, a reminder of how wonderful Jesus is and that being His disciples is an amazing opportunity with endless benefits.

Hebrews 1 NIV

In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs. For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father”? Or again, “I will be his Father, and he will be my Son”? And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.” In speaking of the angels he says, “He makes his angels spirits, and his servants flames of fire.” But about the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.” He also says, “In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed. But you remain the same, and your years will never end.” To which of the angels did God ever say, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”? Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?

When I read the first chapter of Hebrews for the first time, I was struck by the repetition of the reminder that God spoke. In this chapter there are 9 reminders that God spoke. In my previous Army world, in Signals Intelligence we were concerned with both the internals and externals of enemy communications. This included the fact that the enemy was speaking, how they were speaking, and what they were saying.

Sure, Angels are Cool but Nothing Like Jesus!

For the Hebrews and for any of us, an encounter with an angel would be amazing. I’ve never seen an angel, but I have been aware of angels through visions in prayer.

- Nova at Harper Valley trailer park

- Prayer meeting at Shekinah

Angels are spiritual beings created by God and are under his authority (Colossians 1:16). They help carry out God’s work on earth by bringing God’s messages to people (Luke 1:26; Revelation 14:6–12), protecting God’s people (Daniel 6:22; Matthew 18:10), offering encouragement (Genesis 16:7ff.), giving guidance (Exodus 14:19), carrying out punishment (2 Samuel 24:16), patrolling the earth (Zechariah 1:9–14), and fighting the forces of evil (2 Kings 6:16–18; Revelation 20:1–2). Other popular Jewish teachings during New Testament times said that angels brought people’s requests to God and interceded for them. Because of all these beliefs about angels, the Jews honored them highly. However, Hebrews emphasizes that Christ and his work far surpass angels and their work. Jesus created the world, sustains the world, reveals God’s glory, makes God known, and provides the perfect sacrifice for sins. No angel can accomplish any of these things.[2]

In God’s Own Words We Know…

The angels will bow down

The new Christians were probably hearing false teaching about Jesus that claimed He was an angel. Other than the fact that this was incorrect, the Hebrew Christians knew that angels could be good and bad (Satan and his ilk). Paul wanted them to know that Jesus far transcends them all.

The good angels were not exposed to the grim hazards of human temptation. They knew nothing of the sinister voice of the evil one expressed not only directly in the lonely solitude of the wilderness, but also in the warm companionship of a well-meaning friend. Christ lived valiantly among people and for people and exemplified in his spotless life the qualities of righteousness, for he loved it; and obedience, for he hated lawlessness (1:9); and joy, for he determined to honour the Father (5:8); and found true gladness (1:9) in humble submission, even to death on a cross (12:2).[3]

The knowledge that the angels will bow down places Jesus in the supreme position as the Son of God.

His Kingdom will be an Eternal Kingdom

Hebrews 1:8–9 NIV

But about the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.”

We live in a world that is constantly changing. This was especially true of the 1st century Christians. They no longer had a temple, an altar for sacrifice, or the priests. Including Jesus into their worship was new…and the persecution.

Paul encourages them with the permanence of the Kingdom of God. Andrew Murray writes that:

Christ is the King eternal. His dominion is an everlasting dominion. The full meaning of the word eternal will become clear to us later on. Eternal is that which each moment and always exists in its full strength, immoveable, unchangeable. "We receive a kingdom that cannot be moved," because our King is God, and His kingdom for ever and ever. The rule of Christ our Priest-King, even now, in our souls, is in the power of an endless, an imperishable life: the faith that receives this will experience it." (Ibid)

As the year began, we talked about “Kingdom mindedness”. An eternal kingdom is hard for us to imagine. We live in an increasingly divided world. Imagine a Kingdom that is based on the goodness of God – unchallengeable, all-powerful, fully loving, caring, and more…Secure!

Jesus Christ Was with God at Creation

Why does Paul point out that Jesus was present at creation? If Jesus was present in the beginning of creation, then He is better than the creation including the angels. In other words, Jesus was preexistent before they even came into existence.

John records the same truth this way

John 1:1–3 NIV

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

Thou… didst lay the foundation of the earth clearly refers to God's creative power as described in Proverbs 8:29

Proverbs 8:29 NIV

when he gave the sea its boundary so the waters would not overstep his command, and when he marked out the foundations of the earth.

Similarly in Isaiah declares that the LORD

Isaiah 42:5 NIV

This is what God the Lord says— the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out, who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it:

Isaiah 48:13 NIV

My own hand laid the foundations of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens; when I summon them, they all stand up together.

Jeremiah acknowledges the Lord God's role in creation declaring

Jeremiah 32:17 NIV

“Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.

Zechariah says

Zechariah 12:1 NIV

A prophecy: The word of the Lord concerning Israel. The Lord, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth, and who forms the human spirit within a person, declares:

Hebrews draws from the OT by my count, 15 times, to point out the majesty of Jesus Christ. Paul shows us that God hasn’t just been speaking…He’s been SHOUTING to us about Jesus.

What are You Hearing?

Things to take away from this idea

1. God has spoken to us through the Person of Jesus Christ and continues to speak to us through the person of the Holy Spirit.

2. Jesus is far superior to the angels.

3. Jesus Christ is supreme

Are we listening? Admittedly we don’t do it well…

To illustrate the high cost of poor listening, Diana Bonet, listening consultant and author of The Business of Listening, offers this example: A $100,000 error was caused by a dispatcher who routed a fleet of drivers to deliver building materials to the wrong state. The dispatcher heard the city (Portland), but quit listening before he heard the state (Maine). The result: eight trucks, 3,000 miles away in Portland, Oregon.

God spoke to us through His Son…are we listening?

[1] Long, Thomas G. Hebrews. Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching. Louisville, Ky: John Knox Press, 1997. [2]Barton, B. B., Veerman, D., Taylor, L. C., & Comfort, P. W. (1997). Hebrews(p. 7). Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers. [3]Brown, R. (1988). The message of Hebrews: Christ above all (p. 42). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.