Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.
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.[a]
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?
I am not good at wrapping presents. I don’t get it. When I wrap them it takes three times as long as a normal person and it looks like a five year-old wrapped it. My wife is very good at wrapping and that is the excuse I used to allow HER to wrap all the presents for all the family members at Christmas. I do wrap hers, but that is pretty much it.
A couple of Christmas ago, Dana found this beautiful gold wrapping paper and she wrapped present after present with it. That gold wrapping, under the lights of the tree was simply picturesque. She wrapped and wrapped and I sat and read my book. When she was done and drew my attention to how beautiful the presents looked under the tree, I started laughing. My wife was covered in glitter. It was everywhere. Glitter on her clothes, glitter in her hair, glitter on her face. The gold wrapping paper was glitter wrapping…I have never seen so much glitter. Because of the glitter, tape wouldn’t stick so Dana had to use ribbon. Don’t get me wrong, it was beautiful to look at, but, did I mention, there was glitter…everywhere.
When our family opened the presents, all they could do was comment about the glitter…glitter all over them, glitter all over their clothes, glitter in their hair…One of the grandchildren decided to play with a large piece of glitter wrapping in our den…which of course ended up looking like someone painted the room with…you guessed it…glitter.
If you know my son Caleb, you can imagine the jokes…he made fun of the glitter for hours which almost made the fiasco worth it. We found glitter in the carpet, and in odd places around the house, after numerous vacuums and Swiffer runs for about 6 months after that particular Christmas. Interestingly, I cannot remember any of the presents that were in those glitter wrapped boxes…all I can remember is the glitter.
The author of Hebrews is very anxious that we not make that mistake. That we not forget what the gift, the present is, for all the glitter that surrounds it. The historical glitter of redemption or the glitter of Messianic expectation. Yes, the final Word of God is spoken, Jesus comes in simple, but splendid wrapping, but we must not miss the point…which sadly many have done and even we can be tempted to do.
The author begins his exaltation of Jesus, which is the point of the sermon we call Hebrews. Jesus will be the culmination, everything concluding at the end of time, at His feet, that is why he is called the heir of all things. But He is also, as our text makes clear, the one through whom all things were created. So, beginning and end…and everything in the middle…God’s purpose is Jesus the Messiah, the alpha the omega, the beginning and the end.
Jesus is the radiance of God’s glory, that is, he shines forth the reality of God and, our text says, the exact imprint of his nature. The word that is used there is the Greek word, which is also the English word, character. In the ancient world there would be engravings or stamping of soft or hot metal with a pattern which the metal would then bear…maybe on a coin, so that the coin gave the exact impression of the person.
That is what the word character in this context is referring to. God’s impression…who God is, was seen perfectly, imprinted perfectly, in God the Son, Jesus who is the Christ.
*Remember when Philip said to Jesus, “Lord show us the Father, and it is enough for us”? (Jn 14:8) Do you remember what Jesus answered? “Have I been with you so long and you still do not know my Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, show us the Father?”
The exact impression.
I read a minister telling a story about a friend of his who was describing the situation with his daughter. Now in her teens, she was wearing seven earrings, bright purple hair, and rings in her lip and navel as well. The father recounted all of this as though seeking sympathy but underneath it sounded more like pride and delight.
The pastor writes: I remembered my friend’s own teenage years. A typical rebel, with long hair, loud music, a cigarette hanging from his lip, doing everything he was told not to do and doing nothing that was expected of him…clearly his daughter was, as we like to say, a chip off the old block. Looking at her, he could see himself…his own character…or at least an aspect of it…if he wanted to.
Jesus is the shining reflection of who God is. So much so, that the author makes clear that it is this same Jesus who upholds the universe by his mere word. Things are…because Jesus allows them to be. Take a minute…think about that. While Jesus is hanging on a Roman cross, life slowly being taken…He…at the same time, is sustaining all things.
What the author does next is an argument about Jesus’ superiority to angels. Why would this be necessary? And it is quite extensive…he spends a lot of time making this point and uses some of the most well-known Biblical passages from the OT to make sure He is understood. The preacher mentions Psalm 97:7 to show that God intends the angels to worship the Son and according to Psalm 104:4, quoted in verse 7, the angels are servants of the Son, not embodiments of Him.
Psalm 45 is important because it addresses this king as though He should be called God and expresses the sovereignty of this King in a parallel to the sovereignty of Yahweh Himself. Psalm 102 picks up on the forever and ever…the heavens and the earth will be rolled up as a scroll, and this will be picked up in Hebrews in chapter 12 and 13.
Psalm 110 which was widely used in early Christianity to interpret the meaning of Jesus’ messiahship again speaks to the enthronement of God’s true king at God’s right hand who will destroy everything that stands in the way of God’s purpose of justice and salvation.
The point is that nothing like this is ever said about angels. They are servants. Once we realize who the Son is, nothing and no one compares, not even the perfect, eternal beings who do God’s bidding.
To be continued…
Prayer: Father, this is my prayer; As Jesus my Savior and Lord has given Himself for me, may I with full heart, affection and will, give myself entirely to and for Him. I know that I am weak, too weak to be such an offering. Give me strength O Lord, give me grace that I might be as I desire to be, as You are making me to be, through Jesus Christ my Lord, Amen.
Gospel Song: I am Thine O Lord