PART TWO
PART TWO
Some people are really easy to impress. When my kids were growing up, they could have mac and cheese and chicken nuggets and think it was the greatest meal of all time. It just showed that there were a lot of culinary delights they had not experienced and didn’t even know existed.
Most people are like that when it comes to where we seek satisfaction and fulfillment in life. We may think sex, drink, or financial gain is what life is all about. We may long for that perfect romantic relationship which will make life just the way we want it to be. These things impress us.
But the book of Hebrews tells us not to be so easily impressed by the things of the world. When we begin to see the Lord Jesus Christ in all his fullness, we realize that what we have been feeding on is like mac and cheese and chicken nuggets by comparison with him. Christ is more pleasing than anything else.
Why the Concern over Angels?
In the context in which this letter was originally written, its Jewish audiences were also chasing around after other things, being more impressed by them than by Jesus. The thing that they were impressed by, however, was not job security or money or relationships; it was angels. This may seem irrelevant to us at first, but in fact it doesn’t matter what the particular distraction is. The point is the same: don’t be so easily impressed with the things of the world, because once you see Jesus in his glory, those things pale in comparison. He is superior to all things—angels included.
If you ever think about angels, you probably think of a sweet little creature who comes around and helps people from time to time. But in the Bible, angels are quite impressive. They are amazing, glorious creatures of God: his attendants and special servants. Every time an angel appears to somebody in the Bible, the first thing out of the angel’s mouth is “Don’t be afraid,” because fear is the inevitable response to seeing them. An encounter with an angel is a glorious encounter, because angels reflect the glory of God.
In Isaiah 6:1-7, the prophet Isaiah has a vision of God on his throne, and part of this involves God’s angelic attendants, the seraphim who fly around the throne. They are frightening creatures, zipping around with fire and lightning, wrapped with eyes all around (Revelation 4:8), which represents how God can see every single thing that is happening everywhere in the world at once. Angels are overwhelming and terrifying.
It seems as though the audience of this letter had begun to honor and venerate angels so that they took the place of Jesus for them. So the author unveils how great and glorious Christ is. He does this by walking through certain attributes of Jesus.
The writer’s methodology for proving the superiority of Jesus over angels is to use Scripture: specifically, the Old Testament. This is because Jesus is the God of the Old Testament. The Old Testament doesn’t just speak about Jesus; it is all about Jesus (Luke 24:27).
We may need to recalibrate the way we think about the Old Testament. We know that it was incomplete and that a fuller, final revelation was necessary. At the same time, we must remember that the Old Testament is absolutely true and authoritative and speaks of Jesus. Our author demonstrates this by his methodology here.
He gives us seven Old Testament passages. The number seven is noteworthy because it is a sign of completion in the Bible. But we can divide them up into four points: four attributes of Jesus. Jesus has a better name than the angels; he is worshiped by angels; he rules the angels; and he made the angels.
Are the angels glorious? Of course. Are they impressive? On one level, yes. But when you look at Christ in all his glory and wonder and beauty and magnificence, you realize you’ve been chasing the wrong thing. As we read these verses, we will be renewed again in our apprehension of the glory and greatness of Christ.
A Better Name
First, in Hebrews 1:4-5, Jesus has a name that is “more excellent” than the names of the angels. Remember that this name is the Son of God: the name above all names. We saw in verses 2-3 that to be the Son means to be the heir of the world and to share in the glory and divinity of the Father. Our author knows that Jesus has a status that no angel could even come close to competing with. In verse 5 he pulls out two proof texts.
The first is Psalm 2:7: “You are my Son, today I have begotten you.” The second is a quote from 2 Samuel 7:14: “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son.”
When you first read these passages, it may seem as though there was a time when Jesus was not the Son, and then a point when he became the Son. How could that be? That makes it sound as though Jesus is lesser than God, or that he came into existence at some point. But the Bible affirms that Jesus has always existed, throughout eternity (John 1:1-2).
Similarly, when we hear the word “Son,” we may be tempted to think that means that Jesus is secondary or inferior to the Father. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Son shares in the same eternal, divine nature as the Father.
Therefore, these passages likely have in view the moment when Jesus was “declared to be the Son of God in power” (Romans 1:4; see also Acts 13:33). This moment was his resurrection, which was his great inauguration—his ascending to his place of honor and glory.
This is something the Roman world would have understood. When sons came of age, they were formally bestowed with the family name, even though in one sense they had always had it. My own son, John, has my name and is my son; there’s nothing that can change that. But if we were living in the Roman world, when John came of age he would be bestowed with and credited with the family name in a formal way. He would “become” my son. This is the best way to understand Jesus’ sonship status. He “came of age” when he ascended into glory. This is why Psalm 2:7 can say that “today,” namely on the day of resurrection, Jesus was appointed as the Son (see also 2 Samuel 7:14).
And no angel ever had this status as the heir of the universe, the very Son of God.
Worshiped by Angels
In Hebrews 1:6, we come to a second attribute of Jesus: he is worshiped by angels.
Besides being afraid, one thing that people in the Bible do when they meet angels is to try to worship them. They are so overwhelmed with the glory of the angel that they bow down. We see this in Revelation 19:10 in particular, where John—even the apostle John—tries to worship an angel. But the response from the angel is No, no, no. There’s only one person to worship, and I’m not him.
In Isaiah 6 the angels who are so terrifying as they fly around the throne of God are actually worshiping God (v 3). In fact, they are so overwhelmed by the glory of God that they have two extra pairs of wings specifically for covering themselves so that they are shielded from the glory of God (v 2). If a sinless being like an angel cannot even look at the glory of God, what does that say about sinful beings like you and me?
John 12:41 alludes to that passage, telling us that the One who was lifted up on that throne is in fact Jesus. The Glorious Almighty—the magnificent, overwhelming, shining One at whom the angels cannot even bear to look, and of whom they spend all their time singing—is Jesus. People may find angels mesmerizing, but angels themselves are mesmerized by Jesus.
In Hebrews 1 the author’s point can’t be missed: You’re impressed by angels, are you? Tempted perhaps even to worship them, are you? But do you realize how impressed angels are with Christ? They are absolutely blown away by his glory. Angels are like a Junior Varsity team: they may seem impressive but they’re not playing major league. Jesus is.
We can learn from the angels the way to understand and recognize the superiority of Jesus: we should worship him. Come to church to be reminded of who he is, to be confronted with the glory of the Lord of the universe, and to be helped to go back to following him. Worship is essential for reminding us why Jesus is better. We are fellow servants with the angels (Revelation 19:10) and should follow their example; the whole theme of our lives should be to give glory to God and to worship Christ.
Ruler of the Angels
In Hebrews 1:8-9 the author cites Psalm 45. Notice the throne language: it’s about kingship. But also notice the way Hebrews 1:8 is set up. Speaking of the Son, “he” (God) says, “Your throne, O God”. When we read about God on his throne in the Old Testament, we should see that as applying to Christ.
We see this, too, in verse 13, which cites Psalm 110. “To which of the angels has he ever said, ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet’?” The phrase “the right hand of God” is found all through the Bible. This is not a subordinate position, as though Jesus were a junior God. No, to be at the right hand of God is to be the One who has all God’s authority and all his sovereign rule. It’s a position of power. In fact, to be at the right hand of God is eventually to be the person who will come to conquer and judge the world.
Notice the language here: his enemies will be “a footstool for [his] feet.” Jesus is not just a king but a warrior king—the One who will destroy all his enemies and set all things right.
Hebrews 1:7 contains another quote from the Old Testament, in which the author shows that the angels are Jesus’ servants or “ministers.” He says the same thing in verse 14: “Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?” In other words, angels serve Jesus. They do his bidding because he is the King.
The implications of this are monumental. First, if you realize that the King of the universe is your friend—that he sends ministering spirits out to serve for your sake—then you know you have someone to turn to for whatever help you need in times of trouble.
Second, if Jesus is the great King who will vanquish his foes, every person in the world needs to ask the question, “Am I on the Lord’s side?” Do we really want to fight against this King? It’s a sobering point. Those glorious angels you’re so impressed with, they cower before this King, the author is saying, and yet you defy him. Do you really want to do that?
This is not just a call to unbelievers, telling them that if they are not on the Lord’s side, they are in danger. It is a call to believers, saying that if you know you are living some part of your life in disobedience, you need to repent and come back to the King.
Creator of the Angels
The final trump card that the writer plays is the fact that Jesus made the angels. He created everything, and that includes them. We see this in verses 10-12, where Psalm 102 is cited: “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands.” Our author sees this psalm text about creation and asserts that God is talking there about Jesus.
The implication is that he is eternal. He does not wear out like the world (Hebrews 1:11). He is forever and ever.
As we pull these four attributes of Christ together across these seven quotations, we are reminded of the major theme of the book of Hebrews: how glorious Jesus is. We must be impressed not with the things of the world that we’re chasing but with Christ. Instead of being easily pleased with angels, or with whatever fills that slot for us—sex, money, power, or anything else—we must look to the glory of Christ. He is the One who has a name above all other names, who is the only person worthy of worship, who rules all things and who is the One by whom all things were made. It is Christ alone who should captivate our hearts.