The Greatness of Jesus
Hebrews 1:1-4
May 24, 2015
This morning we are going to begin a new book study.
We are going to start working our way through the book of Hebrews.
I don’t really want to take a great deal of time introducing this book this morning,
But it is vitally important that you understand some of the parameters.
First of all, no one knows who the author of this book really is.
Many have guessed, but no one knows.
We’ll just stick to saying it was the Holy Spirit.
Secondly, no one knows who the author is writing to.
No specific church is mentioned.
That means all of the circumstance we can gather about the book
Must come from hints inside the book.
And from that we can gain the parameters we need to see
To help us understand where the writer is coming from.
We don’t know the specific people,
But we do know the kind of people that the writer is addressing.
In:
• (3:1) the writer calls them, “holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling,”
• (5:12) he says, “by this time you ought to be teachers”
• (6:9) he says, “beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and things that accompany salvation”
We know that in the past they greatly suffered, for the writer says:
• (10:32) “But remember the former days, when, after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings…”
And we know that they are currently suffering discipline, though not to the extent of having to shed their own blood.
• (12:4) “You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin.”
You take all that together and you understand
• We are dealing with people who at the very least have claimed to be
believers.
• And when they accepted Christ, they jumped out of the gate well, but
the writer is clearly frustrated that they haven’t matured more by this
point.
What is also clear is that the writer has one major concern,
And that is that they fall away from the faith.
You need to understand that the writer is not concerned that they might somehow lose their salvation (and we’ll make that clear throughout), but he is concerned that their salvation might be proven phony.
These professing believers are facing hardships for their faith in Christ
And the writer is concerned that some of them are contemplating abandoning Christ and returning to the comforts of Judaism.
He addresses this time and time again.
In:
• (2:1) “For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it.”
• (2:3) “how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?”
• (3:12) “Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.”
• (3:14) “For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end.”
• (4:1) “Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it.”
• (6:4&6) “For in the case of those who have once been enlightened…and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance.”
• (10:29) “How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?”
• (12:25) “See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven.”
The concern is mentioned time and time and time again.
So the writer here is writing to
A group of underachieving and yet professing believers
Who are contemplating defecting from the faith
Because of the struggles they are facing.
To that the writer has very specific requests:
• (10:22) “Let us draw near with a sincere heart”
• (10:23) “Let us hold fast our confession”
And even more specifically,
He wants them to embrace the suffering of Jesus.
(13:12-14) “Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate. So, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach. For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come.”
So the main point of the book should be apparent to you now.
It is a book written to encourage you to stick with Jesus.
And I would almost guarantee that
At some point in your life, you’ve felt pressure not to.
• Sometimes it can be the enticement of sin.
• Sometimes it can be the confusion of suffering.
• Sometimes it can be the threat of persecution.
All of those are reasons why people who claimed to have a relationship with Jesus had defected from Him.
THE BOOK OF HEBREWS IS AN ARGUMENT WHY YOU SHOULDN’T.
And the preacher wastes no time stating his case.
He opens his letter with an announcement of “The Greatness of Jesus”
And just to fill you in, throughout this letter
The writer is going to remind you that Jesus
Is greater than anything and everything you’ve ever known.
Whether it’s the Law
Or the Priests
Or the Sacrifices
Or the Angels
Or the Prophets
Or the Patriarchs
Jesus is greater than them all.
And in these first 4 verses he sets out to show you
The Jesus that people failed to see.
You may recall Isaiah 53
Isaiah 53:1-2 “Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.”
To put it plainly, all the world could see was this “tender shoot”
Who didn’t look like the Messiah.
Israel quickly tripped over the incarnation.
John 1:10-11 “He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.”
As Jesus wept over Jerusalem He said:
Luke 19:43-44 “For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side, and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”
That was the problem.
God was there, but they couldn’t see Him, they didn’t recognize Him.
It’s as if all they could see was His outer flesh.
The writer of Hebrews is saying, “Don’t let the skin fool you!”
And it is clear that his goal is to peel back the outer layer of Jesus.
He wants you to see the glory that dwelled beneath His flesh.
He wants you to understand exactly who we are dealing with here.
Jesus is greater than anything and anyone you’ve ever known.
And his message is that leaving Him would be an eternal mistake.
So let’s jump into the letter.
(1) “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son,”
You really need to recognize the contrasts here.
The theme is about God speaking.
• God “spoke long ago” and He has spoken “in these last days”
• God spoke “to the fathers” and now He has spoken “to us”
• God spoke “in many portions and in many ways” and now He spoke “in His Son”
The writer is pointing out something valuable to you and to me.
GOD HAS SPOKEN TO US!
And God has spoken to us in the most extensive and exhaustive
And thorough way that He has ever spoken.
NOTICE THE DIFFERENCE
“He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways”
One thing that was true of the average person alive in the Old Testament…God did not speak to them directly.
If they were to hear from God,
It would come to them via the medium of a prophet.
Even then, it wasn’t always a lot, and not always the same way.
• Jonah had a short message (8 words)
• Isaiah a long one
• Amos stood and boldly spoke harsh realities
• Ezekiel acted everything out
• Elijah and Elisha were full of signs and wonders and miraculous points
• Jeremiah worked no miracles and just faithfully proclaimed the truth
It was God communicating, but you never knew for sure
What you were going to get, or how much of it.
And yet, when God did speak (however He did it),
It was to be valued and obeyed.
When God spoke, you listened.
The voice of the Lord was of infinite value.
And it is that truth that makes Jesus of so much value.
God used to speak “in many portions and in many ways” but “in these last days [He] has spoken to us in His Son”
Jesus is God’s greatest sermon.
Jesus is God’s final spoken word.
Jesus is the most extensive message that God ever spoke.
John said it like this:
John 1:16-18 “For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.”
Jesus is the most comprehensive message God ever preached.
We learned more from 5 minutes with Jesus
Than we learned in years of study in the Old Testament.
God spoke to us “in His Son”
And it is apparent that the writer wants you to know
How great the Son actually is.
In case all you can remember is the carpenter’s son
Who had no stately form or majesty that would attract you to Him.
The writer of Hebrews wants to remind you exactly who this Son really is.
He gives here 8 characteristics about this Son.
#1 HE IS THE SELECTED HEIR
Hebrews 1:2b
“whom He appointed heir of all things”
This Son of God, who came to reveal God, is God’s appointed “heir”
He is the long awaited Messiah.
He is the rightful King of Israel.
And He will in fact rule the world.
Psalms 2:6-9 “But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain.” “I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. ‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the very ends of the earth as Your possession. ‘You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.'”
Isaiah 9:6-7 “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.”
This Son through whom God spoke
Is none other than the long-awaited Messiah.
And regardless of what you think of Him,
It is obvious what His Father thinks of Him.
• He is the Father’s chosen heir
• He is the Father’s Joseph (the favored one)
• The Father has chosen this Son to rule and to reign
You need to know that!
#2 HE IS THE SOVEREIGN CREATOR
Hebrews 1:2c
“through whom also He made the world.”
The Son of God is not just some spoiled little rich boy
Who sits by while His Father does all the work.
God’s Son is actually the creator of all things.
John 1:1-3 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.”
Colossians 1:15-16 “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities — all things have been created through Him and for Him.”
When we are talking about God’s Son, we are not just talking about
Some insignificant figure in the shadows.
He is the creator of all things.
SO HE IS CREATOR AND HEIR
• This makes God’s Son both the Beginning and the End.
• That makes Him the Alpha and the Omega
• That makes Him the Creator and the Judge
He is of imminent importance.
Selected Heir, Sovereign Creator
#3 HE IS THE SUPERNATURAL RADIANCE
Hebrews 1:3a
“And He is the radiance of His glory”
We are talking here about the Shekina Glory of God.
And trust me, when I tell you that the Jews knew all about it.
Perhaps you remember when Solomon built the temple, after he was done, we read:
1 Kings 8:10-11 “It happened that when the priests came from the holy place, the cloud filled the house of the LORD, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD.”
It was the glory of God, and no man could stand it.
God’s glory is too awesome
It drove men to their knees
Moses couldn’t look directly at it, and even when he saw the back, the glow radiated on his face to such an extent that he had to wear a veil when speaking to the children of Israel.
And for the first time the writer of Hebrews gives explanation
As to why the Son of God came veiled in human flesh.
It is because “He is the radiance of His glory”
No man could have looked directly at Him, if He had come in His glory.
He had to “glory down” so to speak.
According to Philippians 2:7 He :
Philippians 2:7 “emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.”
He had to hide His glory.
But the point is that everything that is attributed to
The unapproachable, holy, glorious presence of God…THAT IS THE SON!
DON’T LET THE SKIN FOOL YOU
He is every bit as glorious and magnificent.
He is the Selected Heir, the Sovereign Creator, the Supernatural Radiance
#4 THE SUPREME REPRESENTATION
Hebrews 1:3b
“and the exact representation of His nature”
He is more than just a chip off the ole’ block.
The Greek here indicates that He is the same substance.
If the Father and the Son used a hair brush and left their DNA behind,
It would be the same DNA
They have the same fingerprint
They have the same blood type
They are the same substance
The word here is used of the imprint that is left
When you force a signet into hot wax.
The imprint is the same as the signet
So is the Son as the Father
And from that you gain the understanding that it is impossible to reject the Son without what? (Rejecting the Father)
John 5:19-23 “Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner. “For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing; and the Father will show Him greater works than these, so that you will marvel. “For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes. “For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son, so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.”
This Son whom God sent as the final message to humanity is a big deal.
#5 HE IS THE STRONG SUSTAINER
Hebrews 1:3c
“and upholds all things by the word of His power.”
Creator is one thing, sustainer is another.
The Son didn’t just start all this world spinning
And then sit back to see how it would all play out.
He sits enthroned sustaining it all.
He keeps it working
He keeps it together
Colossians 1:17 “He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”
The nucleous of the atom only has protons (positive) and neutrons (neutral), but no negative charge.
And no one can figure out what keeps it from flying apart.
Now, they know what happens if you split it – you get an atom bomb.
• Who is it that holds the atom together?
• Who is it that keeps the earth on its axis?
• Who is it that holds the sea in place?
According to the writer of Hebrews, it is God’s Son.
(Read in Revelation and see what happens when He begins to pull back)
Would you say that He is important?
Absolutely
He is the Selected Heir, the Sovereign Creator, the Supernatural Radiance,
The Supreme Representation, the Strong Sustainer
#6 HE IS THE SACRIFICIAL SAVIOR
Hebrews 1:3c
“When He had made purification for sins”
• Not only did God’s Son come as a message from God
• Not only did He create the world
• Not only did He contain His glory behind a veil of human flesh
But the Son of God came and did something
That no one could see coming.
He “made purification for sins”
He did what no priest in thousands of years had been able to do.
God’s Son came and actually cleansed sinners.
God’s Son came and actually purchased a pardon.
He propitiated God’s wrath on sin
He satisfied God’s holy desire for judgment
Colossians 2:13-14 “When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.”
He took what was sinful and made it clean
God’s Son is of infinite value
#7 HE IS THE SUCCESSFUL PRIEST
Hebrews 1:3d
“He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high”
That may not mean much to you, but it sure did to the Jews.
No man dared even enter the holy of holies
Only the high priest did once a year
But I’ll tell you one thing that priest never did…he never sat down.
Sometime read the book of Leviticus
You’ll find the priests doing all sorts of things, but one thing you won’t find them doing is sitting down
WHY?
Because there was always work to be done.
But after God’s Son “made purification for sins”
He did it so well that He actually sat down and rested.
When He took care of sin, He took care of it totally.
SO CAN YOU HEAR THE WRITER OF HEBREWS MAGNIFY THE SON?
He may have come veiled in human flesh, but don’t let the skin fool you.
He is not optional, He is absolutely essential.
You don’t want to reject Him
You don’t want to abandon Him
You don’t want to defect from Him
He is the Selected Heir
He is the Sovereign Creator
He is the Supernatural Radiance
He is the Supreme Representation
He is the Strong Sustainer
He is the Sacrificial Savior
He is the Successful Priest
#8 HE IS SECOND TO NONE
Hebrews 1:4
“having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.”
He was able to sit “at the right hand of the Majesty on high”
And I promise you no angel ever did that.
To the Jews, angels were a big deal.
It was the angels who mediated the Law.
They were celestial beings.
And next to God, nothing and no one had power like them.
Angels were a big deal to the Jews and the writer here reminds that angels are nothing compared to the Son of God.
“He has inherited a more excellent name than they.”
Philippians 2:5-11 “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Don’t let the skin fool you
• Don’t let the fact that He was a tender shoot out of dry ground throw you off
• Don’t let the fact that He had no majesty that we should be attracted to Him cause you to miss Him
He is the Son of God and He has no equal.
And to all those who received this letter,
Or to those who would read it today.
• Some who are tempted with sin and are enticed by the pleasures of the
world and are considering trying them…
• Some who are suffering and think it unjust and wonder if a God who would
allow such suffering is actually worthy of worship…
• Some who are persecuted and the threat of pain and death are causing them
to consider forsaking Jesus…
The writer of Hebrews would say – DON’T!
There are a lot of things in this life you might leave,
But don’t let Jesus be one of them.
He is higher and loftier than any you could ever know.
John MacArthur wrote:
“Someone has said that Jesus Christ came from the bosom of the Father to the bosom of a woman. He put on humanity that we might put on divinity. He became Son of Man that we might become sons of God. He was born contrary to the laws of nature, lived in poverty, was reared in obscurity, and only once crossed the boundary of the land in which He was born – and that in His childhood. He had no wealth or influence and had neither training nor education in the world’s schools. His relatives were inconspicuous and uninfluential. In infancy He startled a king. In boyhood He puzzled learned doctors. In manhood He ruled the course of nature. He walked upon billows and hushed the sea to sleep. He healed the multitudes without medicine and made no charge for His services. He never wrote a book and yet all the libraries of the world could not hold the books about Him. He never wrote a song, yet He has furnished the theme for more songs than all songwriters together. He never founded a college, yet all the schools together cannot boast of as many students as He has. He never practiced medicine and yet He has healed more broken hearts than all the doctors have healed broken bodies. This Jesus Christ is the star of astronomy, the rock of geology, the lion and the lamb of zoology, the harmonizer of all discords, and the healer of all diseases. Throughout history great men have come and gone, yet He lives on. Herod could not kill Him. Satan could not seduce Him. Death could not destroy Him and the grave could not hold Him.” (MacArthur, John [The MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Hebrews, Moody Press, Chicago, IL 1983] pg. 9-10)
DON’T LET THE SKIN FOOL YOU
No one matters like Jesus matters.
And this morning we come to remember that.
We are going to partake in the Lord’s Supper.
It is here we eat the cracker and remember His body
• It was the veil that concealed His glory
• And He gave it for you
It is here we drink the juice and remember His blood
• It was the payment for our sin
• And He shed it for you
And as we eat, we proclaim His death and our trust in it,
Until He comes again.
The Lord’s Supper is a tremendous act of worship.
The Lord’s Supper is a necessary act of faith.
For when you take the Lord’s Supper you are saying that
You have seen what the rest of the world has not seen.
You have seen that He is in fact:
• The Selected Heir
• The Sovereign Creator
• The Supernatural Radiance
• The Supreme Representation
• The Strong Sustainer
• The Sacrificial Savior
• The Successful Priest
• And Second to None
We are going to have a time of preparation,
And then we will partake of the table of the Lord.
