Reasons Why

Good morning once again. Go ahead and open your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 1. We are going to be covering verses 5 through 14 this morning, Lord willing. Last week we began our series of sermons walking through the book of Hebrews and I told you the main theme of the book is Jesus is better. There is also this stream of perseverance running through the book, as if to understand that since Jesus is better than anything else we should persevere in our faith and keep worshipping He who is greater.

For several years now, angels have been a big thing. Back when there were more Christian bookstores, you’d go in and they would have this section of wall art and so much of that would have depictions of angels on it. Now these weren’t generally biblically accurate but they were everywhere. There were little statues and figurines all over the place. There were television shows that featured angels. You might remember one called Touched by an Angel from the 90s. Do you remember this one, where a couple of angels traveled around Earth acting like heavenly psychologists? I’m old enough to remember Highway to Heaven with Michael Landon. A glut of movies and tv shows followed. But angels were never supposed to be at the center of our lives as Christ followers. Jesus is enough. That is the question that I want you to ponder throughout this message. Is Jesus enough?

In verse 4 the author teaches that Jesus is superior to the angels. He then spends the next several verses explaining why Jesus is superior to the angels. Why would the author fell it was important to write about Jesus being superior than angels and give seven Old Testament references to prove the point?

Ligon Duncan says, “Well, it's because apparently this congregation is tempted to think that angels, or at least some of them, may be superior to Christ. We know that there were various branches of the Jewish community, including the Essenes, who had a very high view of angels who thought Michael and his angels were going to reign in the kingdom to come, they believed that the last days were upon them, and that Michael was going to bring in the eternal reign of God. They had a very high view of angels. And we also know, from Paul's little letter to the Colossians, that there was an apparent temptation of some Christians to even worship angels because Paul warns against the worship of angels in Colossians chapter 2. Well I don't know exactly the temptation that is facing this particular congregation, but the author of Hebrews thinks that it's actually very important that they understand that Jesus is superior to angels, that He's better than angels, that He's more excellent than angels. And that's what he's going to be talking with us about today.”

Read Hebrews 1:5-14

Hebrews 1:5–14 (ESV)

5 For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”? Or again, “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son”?

6 And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.”

7 Of the angels he says, “He makes his angels winds, and his ministers a flame of fire.”

8 But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.

9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.”

10 And, “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands;

11 they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment,

12 like a robe you will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will have no end.”

13 And to which of the angels has he ever said, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”?

14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?

This is the Word of the Lord.

Pray

Let’s begin plowing in verse 5. Jesus is superior to the angels because Jesus is God. His unique position is better.

I. Jesus is God. (v. 5)

When we get here we find a quote from Psalm 2:7

Psalm 2:7 (ESV)

7 I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you.

Right there you find what could be a bit of a head scratcher for some of us. When it says “…today I have begotten you.” Jesus is the eternally existent Son of God, the second person in the Trinity, and God Himself. So what does it mean today I have begotten you. Well, the writer of Hebrews has a strict policy when it comes to interpreting scripture. He holds that scripture interprets scripture. So we can look to other parts of the New Testament to provide some help.

Acts 13:32–33 (ESV)

32 And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers,

33 this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm, “ ‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you.’

Phillips writes, “This refers to Christ’s resurrection, and the idea of begetting here is that of declaring or manifesting to the full. Paul amplifies this in Romans 1:4, writing that Jesus “was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.” Here, then, is why those first-century Christians must hold fast to their faith in Christ, as must we: when God raised our Lord Jesus from the dead, having been crucified for our sins, God the Father brought him into his inheritance, manifesting before all the world his status as divine Son.”

So in the resurrection, God the Father was declaring that Jesus Christ alone is the worthy heir and the true and unique Son of God. He was already worthy and already the Son of God but the resurrection was a declaration of it.

II. Jesus is worshipped. (v. 6)

In verse 6 we get a second argument for why Jesus is superior to the angels. This reason is that the angels are commanded to worship Him. Jesus is worshipped by the angels. No where are we commanded to worship the angels.

There are a couple of Old Testament references that fit in here. Psalm 97:7 and Deuteronomy 32:43 both contain the statement he is referencing. We see this acted out spectacularly in the story of Christ’s first Advent. When the shepherds are out watching their flocks by night and the heavenly host praises God. The book of Revelation tells us that angels forever worship the Son who sits on the throne.

Revelation 5:5–6 (ESV)

5 And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”

6 And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.

As mighty as the angles are, they are still beings who were created. They still serve God. They are worshippers of God and we should follow that example. Those who have been in the very presence of God worship Him forever. Jesus should be the one we delight in. It should be our joy to worship Him with our whole lives.

III. Jesus is master of the angels. (v. 7-9)

It’s fitting to mention what I’m told is an old joke (though I just read it) about the pope and the chauffeur? You know, the pope wants to drive the car and so with some difficulty he talks his chauffeur into letting him drive. And while driving, the pope gets a speeding ticket. And the policeman comes up to the driver's window, motions to him to roll it down, sees that it's the pope, says, “One moment please,” walks back to the car, calls into dispatch, and says, “I've just pulled over the pope for speeding. I have no idea who it must be in the backseat.”

The author wanted to make sure that his readers understood the truth about Jesus as master of the angels. Not the other way around. Jesus exercises divine sovereignty and the angels obey His command.

The citation in verse 7 is Psalm 104:4. If you skip down to verse 14 we see the author revisit this idea of the angels as the ministering servants of Jesus.

In verses 8 and 9 he’s citing Psalm 45:6-7

Psalm 45:6–7 (ESV)

6 Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness;

7 you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions;

He would have us take these passages about God on His throne in the Old Testament and see them as applying to Jesus Christ. You can see it again in verse 13 citing Psalm 110:1

Psalm 110:1 (ESV)

1 The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”

From a Jewish perspective, the idea of Christ’s enthronement was monumental to the Old Testament and the expectation of the Messiah. You can see the theme of this playing out in the pages of the Old Testament. The author of Hebrews had already brought in Psalm 2 and 2 Samuel 7. You see it in a common passage of prophecy that we read around Christmas.

Isaiah 9:6–8 (ESV)

6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

8 The Lord has sent a word against Jacob, and it will fall on Israel;

It’s as if the writer of Hebrews wants to point back and say to the people, “Hey, do you remember all the expectation of the Messiah who was coming, of the Savior God would send, of the ruler from the line of David? That’s Jesus Christ and he’s better than anything! He’s certainly superior to angels.”

Only Jesus could live up to everything written about Him in all of scripture.

IV. Jesus is the creator of the angels. (v. 10-12)

In verses 10-12 we have kind of a final trump card that the author plays in his argument that Jesus is superior to the angels. It’s this: Jesus is the creator of the angels. He is not created but has always been, whereas theses beings called angels were created by God for his purposes.

The author quotes Psalm 102. Jesus is eternal and will not wear out. We fade. Yesterday I had the honor of officiating a wedding. The bride and groom looked so beautiful and handsome and young. But I told them eventually that will fade. We will wear out. The blossom drops. So build your life on that which lasts forever, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior King.

If I could get you to do one thing today, it would be to be in awe and wonder of how glorious Jesus is. I want you to be impressed with Jesus. The world fades. Everything else in our lives that we chase after fades but Jesus stands the same yesterday, today, and forever. Will you worship Him and surrender your whole life to Him? Will you repent of your sins and believe the good news that He is who He says He is and did what He said He would do? This God came to earth as a man. All God and all man and lived a perfect life that you can’t live. You can not live a perfect life because you have sin. The scriptures tell us that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. That means we all miss the mark. We can’t be perfect. So Jesus was perfect on our behalf. He gave that perfect, sinless life willingly on the cross in the place of sinners. That means the one who was rightfully due the throne, instead took on our sin and the wrath of God that was due us because He loves us and because sin must be justly punished. He took the judgment for our sin. And he died. Then three days later He raised from the dead and in doing so God was declaring that death was defeated and that sin had been atoned for. The sacrifice of Jesus was sufficient. So will you look in wonder and awe at the glorious Savior today? If you have never trusted in Jesus you must repent of your sin and believe the good news of the gospel that I just shared, trusting in Jesus Christ alone for salvation and surrendering to Him as Lord.

V. Jesus rules and angels serve. (v. 13-14)

Jesus is given the seat of honor at the right hand of the Father.

Seated at God’s Right Hand

Jesus being seated does not mean that he is not active. In fact, He is quite actively involved and concerned with the goings of of His flock. He is attentive to us. We see this in the early church all through the book of Acts. It should be a deep comfort to us to know that our Lord is active on our behalf from His seat at the right hand of the Father. Who knows just how many times he has sent these ministering spirits to help us?

In addition to knowing that the angels are sent as ministering spirits and knowing we have an active Savior and Lord on the throne, we also have the very Holy Spirit of God indwelling us as Christ followers. He has been sent to teach us of Christ, to convict us of sin, to renew our wills, to guide us in right paths. God has provided so much for us as His children. Where could we ever go to find anything greater? There is none greater than Jesus!

He has defeated every enemy! Have you ever wondered what it means when you read, “until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”? Back in the ancient days a victorious general would put his foot on the throat of a defeated enemy. Joshua had his commanders to this to the kings of Canaan they had captured. Joshua 10:24

Joshua 10:24 (ESV)

24 And when they brought those kings out to Joshua, Joshua summoned all the men of Israel and said to the chiefs of the men of war who had gone with him, “Come near; put your feet on the necks of these kings.” Then they came near and put their feet on their necks.

If God is going to make Jesus’s enemies a footstool then we should find out who those enemies are. Let’s take a look at what the apostle Paul writes in I Corinthians 15:24-26

1 Corinthians 15:24–26 (ESV)

24 Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power.

25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.

26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

The curse of the law, sin, Satan, the worldly powers, death, and the grave are Christ’s enemies. He will have no enemies left standing in the end.

Revelation 21:4 (ESV)

4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

As remarkable as angels are, they pale in comparison to the glory of Jesus Christ seated on the throne and slain for the sins of the world and risen again.

This Jesus is sufficient to save. He’s worthy of our worship and obedience. So to answer the question that I asked at the beginning, YES, Jesus is enough.

But do you believe He is enough? Is He enough for you?

Are you too easily impressed with things other than Jesus?

MUSICIANS COME FORWARD

- If you have believed the gospel and repented of your sins then Jesus the king of the universe is your friend. He sends ministering spirits to help us but also, you can call out to Him for help. You get to have a daily personal relationship with the king of the universe.

Jesus will vanquish His enemies. So the question we must ask ourselves is am I on Jesus’s side?

Are you a follower of Christ who has fallen into disobedience in some part of your life? Repent and come back to King Jesus.

Let what we have learned about Jesus, rule and reign as Kind of the Universe to increase and deepen your worship.