1:4 having become as much better than the angels as the more excellent name he has inherited is better theirs.

This verse begins the writer’s argument as to the superiority of Christ over the angels. This is very important, for several reasons:

Firstly, the Jews believed that the Law had been given through the mediation of angels (Acts 7:53) as well as the human mediation of Moses. By demonstrating that Christ is superior to both of these, he will set the stage to later demonstrate that the covenant enacted through Christ is greater than the old Covenant.

Secondly, the culture of the day, both Jewish and Gentile, saw angels as having a central and vital role in spiritual life. Some of the Jewish rabbis even taught that when God, in Genesis 1:26, said, “Let us make man in our own image,” He was consulting with the angelic council, and that they were part of the creation process. The pagan religions conferred upon angels a kind of demi-god status.

Thirdly, at least some level of worship of angels was considered acceptable, even among the Jews (although they would only be worshiped as messengers and representatives of God, not in their own right.) Paul warns against this in Colossians 2:18. It was clearly understood, however, that the angels themselves worshiped only God. Thus, by establishing that Christ receives the worship of angels, the writer is subtly establishing the divinity of Christ.

The word “better” used at the beginning of this verse is not talking about moral excellence, but about Christ’s position – He who once was made ” a little lower than the angels” (see 2:7 and Psalm 8:5) has now been exalted far above them.

Of course, this does not in any way negate the fact that, in His pre-incarnate state, He was eternally higher than the angels. However, Hebrews is not just about the essential divinity of Christ, but about His work as man and the effects of that work. In verse 3, it was as a result of His effective dealing with sin that He was exalted to the right hand of the Father. It is in this exaltation that He has been placed far above every angel.

Although the writer does not make the point here, we can understand that this includes the fallen angels as well as the holy angels. In fact, if Christ is exalted above those angels who have maintained a holy state, how much more is He above those who have fallen! When we face the attacks of the enemy, it is easy to feel overwhelmed by his power. At those times we need to remember that Christ is exalted above him.

The second “better” in this verse, referring to the Name that Christ has received, is a different Greek word, and means “more excellent”. Not only has He been given a higher position than any angel, He has been given a more excellent name.

In ancient times, a name was far more than a “handle.” A person’s name embodied all that person was, his character and destiny, and also carried the authority of the person himself. Thus, in many places through Scripture, we see God change the name of an individual to more accurately reflect his potential and destiny. In saying that Christ’s name is more excellent than that of angels, the writer is saying that everything about Christ’s character is more excellent, and that His authority is greater.

There is a parallel here with Philippians 2:9-11, and as in those verses the writer does not spell out what the “Name” is. It cannot be simply Jesus, for then and now many people in the world are called by that name. In fact, even Barabbas, the terrorist who was set free rather than Christ at the time of the crucifixion, bore the first name Jesus. Neither can it be Christ, for Jesus Himself said that many false Christs would rise up. Whilst there is a good case for the full title of the Lord Jesus Christ as the Name given for the use of believers, the writer here seems to have something different in mind. Here the Name is not about His relationship with His followers, but about that with His Father. Here, the Name above all names is “Son.”

A word needs to be said about the term “inheritance.” In the Greek, this does not imply simply something received after the death of a benefactor, but something obtained from another rather than taken for oneself.

v. 5. For to which of the angels did he say at any time, “You are my Son. Today I have become your father?” and again, “I will be to him a Father, and he will be to me a Son?”

Unfortunately, some of the cults have picked up on this verse and tried to use it to say that Jesus was not the eternal Son of God, but only became God’s Son at a particular time in His ministry (some say at His baptism, some at His resurrection.) Thus they relegate Him to the position of an adopted son, and vastly inferior to the Father.

The writer, however, has made it abundantly clear in the preceding verses that Christ is in every way equal to the Father, sharing fully His nature and His power. He has for all eternity been God the Son.

Yet there was a point at which God the Son had to become the Son of God. In ancient times, when a king was appointing his son as his heir and therefore as ruler over the kingdom, a ceremony would take place in which the heir apparent was publicly declared as the true son of the king and rightful heir of the kingdom. (See 1 Kings 1:7-40).

Both the Old Testament passages quoted here refer to this. The first is from Psalm 2:7. Although the rabbis at times interpreted the “son” here as Aaron, David or even the nation of Israel, as we read this Psalm in the light of the New Testament it is clearly messianic. Verse 6, immediately before the verse quoted in Hebrews, says, “I have installed My king on Zion, My holy hill.” The Father has declared Christ as Son, and appointed Him as King over the kingdom.

The second quotation in the verse comes from two Old Testament passages, 2 Samuel 7:11-16 and 1Chronicles 17:10-14. Both record the word of the Lord to David, telling him that he was not the one to build a house for the Lord, but that the Lord would build him a “house” through his son. There is a very interesting difference between the two passages. The first clearly refers to David’s immediate, natural son, Solomon. It speaks of God punishing him if he does wrong. The second, however, is obviously messianic. It makes no mention of sin and punishment, but rather declares that “I will set him over my house and my kingdom forever. His throne will be established forever.” Obviously, such a promise could not be applied to any earthly king! Here again, because of his relationship with the father, the son is established as legitimate ruler over the kingdom.

The Bible does at times refer to both angels and people as “sons” of God. Nowhere, however, does it confer upon any individual apart from Christ this unique form of sonship, which is about both relationship and inheritance. Christ alone is God the Son, and in this unique sense Christ alone is the Son of God.

1:3 Who (the Son) is the brightness of His glory,

The picture being presented here is that of the sun and sunlight. The sunlight is distinct from the sun, yet it is an expression of the sun’s nature. Without the sun there would be no sunlight, but without sunlight the sun would not be visible. In the same way, God the Son, though distinct from the Father, shares and expresses the nature of the Father. Without Him, we could never have known all that God was like. Nature gave us some hint of God’s greatness and intelligence, but only through Jesus did we really see His grace, His mercy, His holiness, and His plan of salvation for mankind.

The two words translated as “brightness” and “glory” are exactly parallel, implying an absolute equality. The brightness which is inherent to the sun, and the brightness which shines out from the sun, are identical. Jesus is not only the expression of the Father’s nature, He is a partaker of that nature.

The phrase also introduces a theme which the writer will pick up later. When Moses came down from the mountain where he had received the tablets of the Law from God, his face shone with the reflection of God’s glory, so much so that he had to put a veil over his face until the glory subsided. Christ, however, did not merely reflect God’s glory, but shone forth that glory from within Himself. Unlike Moses, His glory would never fade. Thus, the writer ever-so-unobtrusively begins the theme that Christ is greater than Moses.

and the express image of His person,

Here the image changes to that of a seal making an impression on a clay tablet. When the seal, often worn as a ring on the owner’s hand, was pressed into the soft clay, it left behind an exact impression. It was not merely “similar to” the seal, it was exactly the same. Likewise Jesus was not merely “like” the Father. He was exactly the same. The word translated “image” is the one from which our word “character” is derived. Jesus showed forth the character of the Father perfectly, exactly as if people had looked at the Father Himself. (“If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father” John 14:9).

The word “person” refers to the substance, or essential nature of God. Early theologians argued about whether Jesus was “the same substance” as God, or merely “a similar substance”. The writer to the Hebrews had no doubt: Jesus was an exact manifestation of the substance of God.

In the Old Testament, God had forbidden the people to make any images representing Him. Now He has sent one who is not merely a representation or an image, as man would make it, but an exact picture of Himself complete in every detail.

and upholding all things by the word of His power

These ten words bring us one of the most powerful and awesome concepts in the Bible. The writer has already told us in verse 2 that the universe was made through the Son. Now he goes further and says that it is the Son Who holds it all together, and He does it by nothing more than a word.

Scientists have searched in vain for the source of the cohesion in the universe. In a desperate attempt to explain it all they have come up with concepts like “dark matter” and “dark energy”, saying that although we cannot actually measure these things, they must be there because they see their effects (funny, but they laugh at us if we use a similar argument for the existence of God!) Yet all along the explanation has been right here. “Dark Energy” and “Dark Matter” are a person, God the Son.

The phrasing of this is typical of Hebrew references to the power of God, and the Jewish readers of this letter would have been no doubt that the writer was stating unequivocally that Jesus was God.

when He had by Himself purged our sins

Again, the writer introduces with a simple statement a theme he will develop later. Under the Old Covenant, sin had been covered by the blood of the animals brought for sacrifice at the Temple. Later, the writer will show how those sacrifices could never be sufficient to truly deal with sin. For now, he simply points out that Jesus did not use such sacrifices. He dealt with our sins “by Himself” – by offering Himself, the only sacrifice that was sufficient to truly take away sin.

There is an awesome irony in the juxtaposition of this and the preceding phrase: the One who holds the universe together with a word delivered His own body to death on our behalf!

“By Himself” also gives us a sense of the aloneness of Christ’s sacrifice. There was no-one else with Him. There was nothing we could do to add to His sacrifice, nothing we could contribute. He alone bore the full weight of sin’s burden, not just for one individual, not just for a few, but for every person who has lived since Adam, and every one who will live up to the last baby ever born on planet earth.

What’s more, in dealing with sin He did a complete work. He didn’t merely cover up sin. He didn’t merely excuse it. He didn’t even merely forgive it. He purged it – that is, He drew it out (onto Himself) as impurities are drawn out of metal in the furnace, and took it away completely. Thus, when we come to Him we are not just forgiven for our sins, we are justified: declared to be legally “not guilty”.

sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.

Twice in Scripture God declares His work to be finished. The first time was at the end of the creation week, when not only the visible universe but all things pertaining to man had been set in place. There is a sense in which the work of Christ was also finished at that time, for He is the “Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” The Triune God already had a plan to deal with the sin of man, and in His eternal purposes, that plan was already complete, as was the whole history of humankind.

The second time was at Calvary when, having taken upon Himself all the sin of humanity, Jesus gave the shout of triumph (not a whisper of despair): “It is finished!” The work of eternity had been completed in time. The frightful exchange had been made: our sins on Him, His righteousness extended to us. God had done everything He could do. His work was over; He sat down.

Yet again the writer is setting up the theme he will pick up later in the book. Whereas the sacrifices of the Old Covenant had to be endlessly repeated, the sacrifice of Jesus was made once, and finished. The completed sacrifice, he will argue later, is by its nature greater than that which must be made continually.

However, this verse speaks of more than mere rest after the completion of a task. It speaks of rest in victory and in honor. This was not just a job completed: it was a job completed with absolute success. In the course of dealing with sin, He had also dealt the death blow to the author of sin, the devil. That victory was sealed initially by the resurrection, and ultimately by His enthronement at the right hand of the Father. Having laid aside the honor and glory of Godhead to become man, He is now accorded not only that original honor, but also the honor of the conquering hero.

The Book of Hebrews sits in the New Testament between the epistles of Paul and those of the other apostles. The reason for this is simple: nobody is really sure who wrote the book of Hebrews. Traditionally, it was accredited to Paul, and certainly the ideas it presents are totally in accord with Paul’s teachings, but the structure of the letter in Greek is so unlike the writings of Paul that most scholars today do not believe he was the author. Some have suggested Luke, Barnabas or Apollos as possible authors.

The fact that the author speaks about the Temple in the present tense, with no suggestion that it had been destroyed, indicates that the book was probably written before the destruction of the Temple in AD 70. Other than that, there is no indication of a more precise date.

Very clearly, the book was written to Jewish Christians who, because of the pressures around them, were in danger of slipping away from their Christian faith. Some were being drawn back into the ritual and tradition of Judaism, others were staggering under persecution, others were simply losing site of the person of Jesus and growing cold in their relationship with Him. These Jewish Christians may have been in one specific location (some believe in Rome, others in Jerusalem), or the book may have been addressed to Jewish believers in general, and circulated among them.

More than any other book of the Bible, Hebrews focuses on Jesus, presenting Him as “better” in every possible aspect. He is superior to the prophets and the angels. He is superior to Moses and to the Levitical priesthood. The covenant He brought about is better than that brought through Moses. His sacrifice is better than the Old Covenant sacrifices. He has entered into a greater tabernacle than the Temple. His blood is more effective than the blood of bulls and goats.

As a result, the readers are urged to a greater faith and greater perseverance. The book is scattered with increasingly stern warnings about the dangers of falling away from faith. In the light of “such great salvation” (2:3), how could anybody want to turn back to the old way of living?

So, let’s begin to look closely at this wonderful book. (NB: Because of copyright restrictions, I will be using the public domain version, the World English Bible.)

1 God, having in the past spoken to the fathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 has at the end of these days spoken to us by his Son

God is the subject of the first sentence in Hebrews, setting the tone for the whole book. In fact, its thirteen short chapters contain the word “God” sixty-eight times. The writer wants to make it very clear from the outset that the things he is going to be discussing do not originate in man.

What’s more, God chooses to communicate with man. It is God Who spoke in the past, it is God Who is speaking now. He is not off in some far distant corner of the universe doing His own thing; rather, He is and always has been vitally involved in the affairs of man.

The fact that God speaks to man is in itself awesome. The infinite creator and ruler of the universe lowers Himself to speak to such tiny, finite creatures. The Holy One speaks to sinners! We could spend a month or more just meditating on the wonder of that truth.

In the past, under the Old Covenant, much of the verbal communication from God to man was done through the prophets. Of course, there was always the non-verbal communication of nature, as Paul points out in Romans, and even without the spoken word this should have been enough to make us aware of God’s reality and power. However, God wanted to communicate more directly and specifically, so He did so through human instruments.

Under the Old Covenant, the people did not have the indwelling Holy Spirit as believers do under the New Covenant. Rather, the Spirit of God would come upon the prophet in such a way that the prophet knew the words God wanted spoken, and delivered them to the people.

The system worked, but not perfectly. The words of God were still filtered through the human vessel, and as we read through the Old Testament we can recognize the individual characteristics and personalities of the prophets as they brought forth God’s word. Think for a moment of Jonah, walking through the streets of Nineveh and calling the people to repentance. The words were God’s, but the heart of Jonah was very different from the heart of God. Jonah wanted the people to be destroyed, God wanted them to be delivered. Jonah was bringing them God’s message, but not demonstrating to them God’s character.

Now, God has spoken through His Son. This is not a new revelation. It is still God speaking. There is a continuity from all that God has spoken before. All that He has spoken in the past has been a preparation for this present communication.

The great difference is, the Son not only brings God’s words: He also brings His character. The Son does not merely bring God’s message: He is God’s message. He doesn’t just hear God’s words: He is the Word.

(2b) … whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds;

In their turn, each of the prophets stepped into the pages of history. Each played his or her part, presented his or her message, then exited.

Jesus, however transcends the whole of history. When all is finished, and the universe has been rolled up like a worn-out garment, Jesus will stand as the heir of all things. After time is over, He will be there. Not only that, but He was there before time began. Everything that exists came into being through Him. Although He spent only a brief period actually walking on this earth, He – and, therefore, His message – is not limited by time.

(Our study of Hebrews will continue in future posts.)