Sermon Tone Analysis
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Introduction
The book of Hebrews is written to Christians who are thinking about giving up on the Lord.
These Christians were going through a lot.
Life was difficult for them.
Because of this, their zeal for Christ had waned.
That makes this book extremely relevant to us because that’s where we find ourselves at times.
Sometimes we are the people who are going through a lot.
Sometimes we are the people who have lost zeal for Christ.
So, the lesson that the author of Hebrews is trying to teach his audience is a lesson that’s very relevant to us.
Here’s the lesson:
The author of Hebrews is trying to show his audience who Jesus is.
He wants his audience to see how Jesus fits into the biblical narrative, and how he’s better than what preceded him.
This is an important lesson for us because it teaches us why people abandon the faith.
The author of Hebrews teaches us that people abandon the faith because they don’t know enough about Jesus.
People leave the faith because they don’t mature in their thinking about Jesus.
They are stuck drinking milk, but they should be maturing to solid food.
Thesis
So, in this lesson, I want to start a series going through the book of Hebrews.
Here’s why I want to do this:
We don’t do it often
It’s needed
We are going to begin in chapter one, and as the weeks go on, we are going to make our way through the book and learn what The Preacher is teaching his audience.
In this lesson, we are going to look at the first 4 verses and start learning about our Savior.
The Heir
Hebrews 1:1-2.
One of the first things that the author tells us is that Jesus is the son who is the heir of all things.
In the ancient world, this was a pretty important thing.
During that time, there was a son who was the primary heir.
This son would get the home, most of the property, and if the father was the king, then this son would get the throne.
So, being an heir was a very important thing especially if you are royalty.
Jesus was this heir, but he was a different type of heir.
First of all, he isn’t the heir of the home or property… Jesus is the heir of all things.
This is a reference to Psalm 2:7-9.
God tells his anointed king that the nations will be his inheritance.
This king is different from all other kings… He will inherit it all.
Second, this heir is different because he isn’t the first son (so to speak).
Exodus 4:21-23.
Israel is God’s firstborn, but Israel isn’t the heir.
Jesus is, and Jesus doesn’t just inherit Israel; he inherits all nations.
The Christians that received the book of Hebrews were struggling with their faith, so what did they need to know about Jesus?
They needed to know that he was the heir.
The Creator
Hebrews 1:2.
In the previous point, the preacher of Hebrews goes to the end of time when Christ will inherit all things.
In this point the author goes back to the beginning.
Jesus is the creator.
This is a point that’s made clear throughout the New Testament, but someone might say, “didn’t God create everything?”
Imagine that I’m a contractor and I’ve been hired to build a mall in town.
Imagine that Aaron is the main construction engineer who oversees the construction process on the ground.
Who built the mall?
Someone might say that I built the mall, while another person might say that Aaron built the mall.
In the same way, both the father and the son are the creators of this world.
So, Christ is not only the heir of all things… He’s also the creator of all things.
How does this help those struggling through oppression?
Imagine having the builder guide you through the mall.
Do you think you are going to get lost?
Our king is the one guiding us through this life.
The Radiance
Hebrews 1:1-3.
Here we are told that Jesus is the radiance of God’s glory.
This is very significant because it has some references back to the Old Testament.
Exodus 33:18-23.
Moses asks to see God’s glory, and God says, “I will show you, but you can’t see it fully.”
Exodus 34:5-7.
Instead of seeing God’s full glory, Moses gets to hear about how wonderous and glorious God is.
He doesn’t get to see God; he gets to hear about God.
This is how it was in the OT.
This changed in the New Testament.
John 1:14, 18.
When God was in the tabernacle in the OT, humanity could not see him, but when God became flesh and tabernacled among us, we were able to see his glory.
Jesus is the radiance of God’s glory.
He is how we come to truly know God.
The idea is that Jesus has a special relationship with The Father that no one else can claim to have.
So, someone might be thinking of leaving Jesus, but Jesus is the radiance of God’s glory.
He is how we come to know God.
The Imprint
Hebrews 1:3.
The next thing that we see is that Jesus is the exact imprint of his nature.
The Greek word is charakter, and this word was used to refer to an engraving tool, but it was also used to refer to the imprint made by the tool.
It would be used in reference to the image on a wax seal.
It would be used in reference to the image on a coin.
It’s kind of like our rubber stamps.
You would dip that rubber stamp in ink, and then you would make an impression on paper.
Both the stamp and the impression would be charakter.
Even if you never saw the rubber stamp, how could you figure out what was on the stamp?
You would just need to look at the paper.
The same is true of God.
If we want to know who God is, then we can look at Jesus because he is the imprint of God’s nature.
He has God’s charakter.
So, if someone is struggling in their faith, they need to know who Jesus is.
He is God’s imprint…
The Sustainer
Hebrews 1:3.
So, Jesus upholds the universe by the word of his power… The idea is that he sustains it all.
This is very important for us to remember because modern science can cloud us from seeing it.
If someone asks us why there are days, months, and seasons, we think of the earth naturally revolving around the sun.
We don’t think of our God supernaturally holding it all together.
This verse tells us that Jesus is the one who is in charge and holding it all together.
Sometimes we think that we are in charge.
Sometimes we think we are in charge of our own house, and in some sense that is true, but God is ultimately in charge.
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