DO YOU HEAR WHAT I HEAR? HEBREWS 1:1-3

Introduction

There is an old Christmas song that you do not hear very often anymore. The title of the song is the same as the message today: Do You Hear What I Hear. The song begins by the wind asking, “Do you see what I see?” It continues with the lamb asking, “Do you hear what I hear?” It continues with the shepherd asking, “Do you know what I know?” These are great questions and I want you to see, hear and understand more about the one in the song that is said to “bring us goodness and light.”

His name is Jesus. Our text is going to inform us that this one has spoken. God is a God who speaks. If God did not speak, you could never know Him. Speech is a vehicle of revelation. It is also a vehicle of communication. When God speaks, He does not mutter, nor does He stutter. God has spoken. God is the perfect communicator and Jesus is God’s perfect communication. Speech is also a communication of salvation. Jesus is the key to mankind’s salvation.

Are You Listening to Jesus (1:1-2a)?

In these verses we have a contrast between God’s speech in the past as seen in the Old Testament and His final word that He speaks in His “Son.” I also notice that there is continuity here. The God who spoke through the prophets is the same God who speaks in His Son. God spoke to the fathers through the prophets. Now He speaks to us in His Son Jesus the Christ. I notice something else as well. God spoke through the prophets in a progressive way. We might say revelation was given in piecemeal fashion. Now God speaks fully and finally through the Son. His revelation is personal and permanent.

A. In the Past God Spoke through the Messengers (1).

The prophets lived and died.

The prophets spoke of forgiveness.

The prophets spoke of repentance.

The prophets were men.

The prophets spoke the Word of God. [contrast each bullet point here with each bullet point in sub-point B below]

B. God has Spoken Most Fully in the Messiah (2a).

In His humanity, Jesus lived, Jesus died but Jesus is alive forevermore.

Jesus gives forgiveness.

Jesus forgives those who genuinely repent.

Jesus is the God-Man

Jesus is the Word of God-that is the difference. Jesus is God’s final Word.

Are You Observing Jesus (1:2B-3)?

Jesus is superior to every prophetic voice that has gone before. Sorry, all you false prophets out there. Sorry Joseph Smith, Jesus is the final Word. Sorry, Muhammad, Jesus is God’s final Word. Sorry Judge Rutherford, the Son is Superior and we do not need your New Word translation, the old and original is still supreme. Jesus is superior. Let me tell you all about Him.

A. Jesus is the Heir of All Things (2a).

Jesus is the heir of all things. God the Father has appointed the Son to be the heir of “all things.” The phrase “all things” means everything in the material universe and everything in the spiritual universe. When was the last time you read Romans eight? If you have never read it, you really need to. It is there that you will discover that we are joint heirs with Christ. A joint heir is one who receives everything the heir receives. What is this world coming to? This world is coming to Jesus.

B. Jesus is the Creator of All Things (2b).

Jesus is the Creator of all things. It is through and by Jesus that the universe has been created. Do not understand this to mean that Jesus is going to gain everything. He already owns it. What this says is that Jesus gets it all because He is the one who created it all. Jesus is the agent of creation.

C. Jesus is the Manifestation of God’s Glory (3a).

We are told that Jesus is the brightness of God’s glory. It reads, “who being the brightness of glory.” It is in Christ the glory of God shines through Him. Jesus is. That word “is” describes a state of being. This makes the first statement of this verse to read, “who is eternally being the brightness of His glory.” This means that all God is, Jesus is. Just as the sun radiates light, so Jesus radiates the glory of God. That is why John would write in John 1:14, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Then we read a little further and observe in verse eighteen, “No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten of the Father, He has declared Him.”

Jesus is the one who explains (exegetes) who God is. He demonstrates who God is. Jesus is the expression of God’s glory. You do not make the sun shine, it does shine. You do not make the sky blue, it is blue. You do not make water wet, it is wet. You do not give Christ glory, He is glory.

D. Jesus is the Perfect Representation of God (3b).

Jesus is the exact representation of God’s nature. The term “representation” or “express image” describes a stamp with an image on the stamp. So, when you take that stamp and place it on an object, the image on that stamp is imprinted on the object you place it on. In other words, Jesus perfectly expresses God’s image. This is an affirmation of the deity of Jesus. This means that Jesus is of the same exact God “stuff” as the Father. To put it another way, Jesus is God.

E. Jesus is the Sustainer of All Things (3c).

Jesus is the sustainer of the universe. Jesus sustains everything there is. Jesus is the galactic cop of the universe. Jesus is the sustainer who keeps the cosmos from degenerating into chaos. How does He do this. He does this by the power of His Word. If Jesus can hold the universe together, He can also hold your life together. He can sustain your marriage and every other area of your life.

F. Jesus is the Savior of All People (3d).

Does this take your breath away, like it does mine? The KJV and the NKJV treat the term purification as a verb. The term is a noun. It reads, “when he had by Himself made purification for our sins.” Wait a minute! We have been observing Jesus up to this point in His preincarnate state. Suddenly, we are brought face to face with Jesus in His incarnate state and the purpose of His coming. What was the point of Christ’s coming? The purpose of Christ’s coming was to give the solution to our sin problem.

Who was it that brought sin into God’s wonderful creation? Who would dare do such a thing? It was not the amoebas or the Milky Way. It was not the fish of the sea or the birds of the air. Look around the sanctuary. Take a gander up here at the one preaching this message. Look to your left and look to your right. Do that and you will discover who is responsible for sin coming into the world. Friend, it is you and me and over seven billion others who are responsible.

This is the message of Christmas. Sin is bad. It is so bad that it cost Jesus His earthly life to pay for it. The good news is that Jesus came to this world as Savior to deal with the problem we created. In great mercy and love for us, Jesus came and made a beeline for the cross to die for every single one of those sins. He came to make purification for our sins. This is Old Testament language. In the Old Testament, sin is filth. That is why sin itself must be atoned for. The human soul is caught in a trap. Because of the filthiness of sin, the human soul must be cleansed. That is what Jesus did. Jesus atoned for the legal violation of sin. You see sin is an illegal act against God Almighty Himself. Jesus provides cleansing for the human soul through that same atonement. Justice and mercy met at Calvary. Sin is atoned fo,r and we become purified in His sight.

G. Jesus is the Exalted Lord (3e).

Jesus is the exalted Lord. “Majesty on High” is a Hebraism that means He sat down on the throne of God. He sat down because He successfully accomplished the work of atonement. He died on the cross, was buried in a borrowed tomb, rose from the dead, ascended to the throne of God, and has permanently sat down at the place of power, privilege, and prestige-the very throne of God.

The book of Hebrews is a sermon with an epistolary ending. It is a sermon based on Psalm 110:1, “This is the declaration of the Lord to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.”” We learn from the book of Hebrews that Jesus is the ultimate prophet. We learn that Jesus is the great high priest. We learn that Jesus is the majestic and exalted King of kings. Jesus is God’s final word on Christmas because the truth of the matter is, Jesus is Christmas, and He is everything that you will ever need.

Conclusion

It a wonderful thing to know things about God. It is okay to study about God and to learn more facts about God. It is a noble quest to come to know that God exists and things understand what He has done. That is good. It is good to know that He is omniscient, omnipresent, omni-benevolent, and that He is omnipotent. Nothing wrong with learning those things at all. It is great to know about God. However, it is much more important and a whole lot more fun to know God in an intimate relationship through Jesus Christ the Son.

It was a Friday night, that last night of Vacation Bible School in 1974 in the mountains of North Carolina. It was then and there that Jesus reached down to me while I was sitting in a pew and invited me to let Him live His life through me. When I allow Him to have leadership in my life, I can have more fun than should be allowed by law. Yet, it is not by the law, but by the grace of Jesus Christ that makes this possible.

The greatest thing on the face of this planet is knowing Christ, following Christ, and serving Christ. You see, this is true because God has spoken His final Word most fully in the Lord Jesus Christ. I do not know about you, but in the realm of this life and beyond, I am going with Christ.