Obsessed with the Son

BEFORE TITLE:

Christ-Centered Endurance is characterized by a particular kind of:

Thinking (Hebrews 1:5-2:4): What should I be thinking?

Experiencing (Hebrews 2:5-4:16): How should I be feeling?

Confiding (Hebrews 4:14-10:39): Where do I get my confidence?

Persevering (Hebrews 11:1-13:25): What does it look like to keep on keeping on?

Introduction cont...(Need & Background):

Our obsessions with means can be problematic (See Hebrews 2:1).

[the gift wrap rather than the gift]

Hebrews 1:1. It is not always that the message is wrong but that the message is incomplete (Old Testament - 1:1).

Illustration: [for those who’ve grown up in church and are sticklers to detailed doctrine] Sometimes we get obsessed with an incomplete message.

Hebrews 2:2, 1:14. It is not always that the messenger is a complete failure but that he or she are incomplete (Angels - 2:2, 1:14, Acts 7:53, Deut. 33:2).

Illustration: [for those who tend to be obsessed with following men, family, parents…etc] Sometimes we get obsessed with incomplete messengers.

In Hebrews both the message of the Old Testament and the Angels who gave the message were means to Someone, but it seems that the Christians in that time were being tempted to revert back to the means rather than stay with Christ - the Goal.

Hebrews 1:1-4 presents the Son as both the Message & the Messenger.

Big Idea:

Because the exalted Son is better than angels, we should be obsessed with Him.

Preview:

The Son is the better Message & Messenger (1:5-14)

(1) Because of his unique relationship to the Father (1:5-6)

(2) Because of his unique throne & kingdom (1:7-12)

(3) Because of his supreme authority over all (1:13-14)

Body:

The Son is the better Message & Messenger (1:5-14)

(1) Because of his unique relationship to the Father (1:5-6)

Clarify it:

Jesus is the divine Son who became the Messianic Son while still remaining fully the divine Son.

Illustrate it:

There is a natural affection that parents should have for their children. This week, a news article surfaced of a young mother throwing a baby into a dumpster. These stories are incomprehensible because of the natural affection that should exist of a parent towards a child. But the natural affection is only increased when the child hurts or is ill. There is an increased feeling of sympathy and concern in the heart of a parent who sees their child injured. It is simply unique.

As there is a unique relationship between an earthly father and son, so much the greater the uniqueness of the relationship between the Eternal Father and the Eternal Son.

Prove it:

(a) Jesus is the divine Son... (1:3)

(b) ...Who became the Messianic Son... (v. 5a) - Psalm 2:7 & II Samuel 7:14.

[there are two aspects of Sonship; Jamieson notes, “…Jesus can only become the messianic Son because he is the divine Son incarnate.” [p. 21, The Paradox of Sonship, IVP Academic, 2021]

(c) ...While still remaining the divine Son (v. 5b) - Deut. 32:43, Psalm 97:7.

Summarize it:

Because the Son has an eternal unique relationship with the Father - a relationship that was added to when the Son took on flesh, fulfilled the righteousness of the old covenant, died as a sacrifice under the Old Covenant, and was exalted, the Son is better than the angels.

Apply it:

The Son’s unique relationship to the Father allows us to have an exclusive means that angels could never have offered us through the Old Covenant. (John 14:6)

The hope of rightness with God, our Creator, fully rests in the Son.

Are you actually relying on the Son?

There is no relationship that should consume our thoughts more than this relationship.

Transition from it:

the Son is the better message and messenger because of his unique relationship to the Father (v. 5-6)

(2) Because of his unique throne & kingdom (1:7-12)

Clarify it:

Angels are servants of the divine Son who is eternally enthroned as God.

Illustrate it:

What do the following list of names have in common: Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, Ben Ali of Tunisia, Musharraf of Pakistan, Fujimori of Peru, Charles Taylor of Liberia, Noriega of Panama, Duvalier of Haiti, Montt of Guatemala, Habre of Republic of Chad, Doo-hwan of South Korea, Kauda of Zambia, Kyi of Myanmar, Muammar Gaddafi of Libya, Hussein of Iraq…etc

These are country leaders that for one reason or another were removed from their kingdoms.

The kind of throne and kingdom of the Son is eternal and He can never be deposed. He is served by the powerful creatures — angels.

Prove it:

(a) Angels are servants of the divine Son... (v. 7) - Psalm 104:4.

(b) ...Who is eternally enthroned AS God…(v. 8) - Psalm 45:6-7.

(b.i) As God:

the Son’s rule is perfect in justice (v. 9) - a comfort to those who’ve been wronged here...

...is full of joy (v. 9) - a comfort to those who experience misery here...

the Son is recognized as the Agent of Creation (v. 10) - Psalm 102:25-27. - a comfort to the powerless...

The Son’s rule is eternal. (v. 11-12) - a comfort to those who feel as though life is too short...

Summarize it:

Because the Son has a unique enthronement and kingdom which He assumed through becoming the Messianic Son, he is far better than angels.

Apply it:

The Son came preaching the gospel of this kingdom, calling people to repent and join this kingdom, and establishing the church as the embassy of this kingdom upon the earth.

Our obsession should be with King Jesus, His authority in our lives, and his people. The path of endurance is NOT a path of solitary independence.

Transition from it:

the Son is the better message and messenger because of his unique relationship to the Father (v. 5-6)

the Son is the better message and messenger because of his unique throne & kingdom (v. 7-12)

(3) Because of his supreme authority over all (1:13-14)

Clarify it:

The Son has been authoritatively exalted with an unstoppable, expanding kingdom; and the angels are servants of those in this kingdom.

Illustrate it:

People confuse their ideal for America with the reality of Christ’s kingdom. Could you imagine a country whose leader was powerful, smart, and in good health; a country where there is perfect justice, peace, and hope of good health…; where all citizens loved their king and one another; where the military might was so strong that one of the soldiers could kill 185,000-man army (2 Kings 19:35); but the King so loving that he does not first approach the enemy with the sword, but He approaches the enemy with a message of mercy, and a call to repent, have all their sins completely forgiven and to receive Him as King...

And so, this King and Kingdom has been made known and it is advancing as people are saved and added to this kingdom.

Prove it:

(a) The Son has been authoritatively exalted…(v. 13) - Psalm 110:1 (I Corinthians 15:20-25).

1 Corinthians 15:20–25 KJV 1900

20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. 21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming. 24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. 25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.

(c) With an unstoppable, expanding kingdom. (I Corinthians 15:26-28).

1 Corinthians 15:26–28 KJV 1900

26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. 27 For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith, all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. 28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

(d) And the angels are servants of those in this kingdom. (v. 14)

Summarize it:

Because the Son has supreme authority over all, he is far better than angels.

Apply it:

The Son has won the victory, been enthroned in Heaven, and commissioned his angels to serve the servants of the kingdom.

Our obsession with the Son’s authority should lead us to lives obsessed with mission — seeking people from every tribe, kindred, and tongue to acknowledge, receive the Son and be forgiven.

Bridge to Conclusion:

Am I truly obsessed with the Son, or is my obsession with an incomplete message and incomplete messenger?

Summary of Points:

the Son is the better message and messenger because of his unique relationship to the Father (v. 5-6)

the Son is the better message and messenger because of his unique throne & kingdom (v. 7-12)

the Son is the better message and messenger because of his supreme authority over all (v. 13-14)

Applications:

Big Idea: Because the exalted Son is better than angels, we should be obsessed with Him.

(1) Consider the life of Christ (over demons, served by angels) and cry to Him for help. (I Timothy 3:16).

(2) Carefully consider the irony of other obsessions:

The irony that creation and all things are gifts of God (1 Timothy 4:4, I Timothy 6:17), to bring us to God; but that we allow to become gods.

Our minds become obsessed with the created rather than with the Creator.

This attention problem contributes to how Christians endure sin, struggles, and persecution. (12:3)

In Tony Reinke’s book 12 Ways Your Phone is Changing You, he speaks of “Captology” which is a nickname for computers as persuasive technology. “Captologists” study what you like or spend most time watching and through changing algorithms supply irresistible images, ideas, and products to you — thereby capturing your attention. Like the manipulation of food ingredients to engage the palate, media is ever-so-modified to attract and distract the mind. “Distractibility might be regarded as the mental equivalent of obesity.” [Reinke, Tony. 12 Ways Your Phone Is Changing You (Wheaton: Crossway, 2017), p. 82-83].

Clearly, this kind of distracted obsession can actually weigh down a Christian.

The irony that the word, religious observances, reading, memorizing, meditating, prayer are to be means whereby we experience God and yet we thoughtlessly practice these as the habits.

Our minds become obsessed with the practice rather than with the Person.

The irony that the creative demigod glamor of entertainment are only fantasies of what is complete, and we enjoy them without enjoying the Complete One to whom they should point us.

Our minds become obsessed with creative imaginations rather than the real Creator who is the Son.

Conclusion:

Illustration:

Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations 660 Loving God’s Son

660 Loving God’s Son

In his splendid book of anecdotes entitled Bible Windows, Ivor Powell tells the story of a rich man who died and left no heirs. When his household goods were auctioned off, an elderly lady dressed in shabby garments was the only one to bid on the picture of the dead man’s son. It had been greatly cherished by the wealthy father because his only child had died at an early age. But the crowd that had gathered for the sale showed no interest in it. When the woman who bought the portrait was asked why she wanted it, she said she had been the boy’s nurse many years before, and had loved him dearly.

Later she examined the picture closely and noticed a bulge in the heavy paper on the back. Making a small cut, she removed an envelope which turned out to be the man’s missing will. The document very clearly stated that he wanted to leave his property to the person who still held dear the memory of his beloved son.

—Our Daily Bread

Final Statement: The Son is so much better than all others — indeed He is the One with whom we should be obsessed.