JESUS CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD

Hebrews 1:1-2:4

Key verse: 1:3

“The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.”

Welcome to the study of the Epistle to the Hebrews. The authorship of Hebrews is unknown. God only knows. It is probably written around AD 62. During this time persecution was a real problem for the church in Rome. Many Jewish Christians suffered persecution when they turned to Christ. This resulted in the loss of property and imprisonment. These persecutions continue and so the believers are tempted to give up their faith in Christ by returning to Judaism in order to avoid persecution. The purposes of the book is 1) to combat the danger of drifting away (2:1), 2) to bring them on toward maturity (5:11-6:10), 3) to prevent them from forsaking the assembly of believers (10:23-25), 4) to encourage them to endure hardship in the face of persecution (12:13-15), and 5) to warn against false doctrine (13:9). Today, Christians are persecuted in a subtle way and Christianity is challenged by Islam and the secular world. Churches are declining and no longer welcomed in America. Is this really true in America? May God bless Hebrews’ Bible study to strengthen our faith by knowing the person and work of Jesus so that we may fix our eyes on Jesus in this unbelieving generation! I pray that God may bless us to grasp who Jesus Christ really is so that we may run the race of faith with confidence. Let’s not drift away from our faith in Jesus in spite of worldly opposition and peer pressure.

PART I. THE SON IS SUPERIOR TO ANGELS (1:1-14)

Verses 1-3 show that God has given his final revelation through his Son, the heir of all things. Look at verse 1. “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways,” The key word here is that God has spoken. God’s revelation is continuous and progressive. In the past God revealed himself through his creation. Romans 1:20 says, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” One astronaut who landed on the moon confessed God’s creation by reading Genesis 1 because he saw God’s divine nature through the universe. When we see the awesome Niagara Falls, we ask, “Niagara Falls, why do you fall?” It answers, “Because God said, ‘Fall.’” God blessed me to see the source of Nile in the middle of Lake Victoria in Uganda during my African trip. It was amazing to see the Nile river flow from South to North. So I sang my favorite hymn 33, “O Lord, my God when I awesome wonder. Consider all the worlds thy hands made, I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder. Thy power throughout the universe displayed. Then sings my soul, my Savior God to thee. How great thou art! How great thou art!” Also God revealed himself through the prophets at many times and in various ways. God spoke to Abraham in a vision in Genesis 15:1 and showed his plan by asking him to count the stars in the heavens. (15:5) God spoke to Moses within the burning bush. (Exodus 3:4) God spoke to Israel through Joshua to conquer the Canaan land. God revealed the coming of the Messiah as a suffering servant to Isaiah. God revealed the fate of future kingdoms to Daniel. But the prophets’ revelation was not complete in itself. Their revelation was indirect. The prophets could not see the whole picture of God’s eternal plan.

Look at verse 2. “But in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.” Finally, the days of the prophets ended when Jesus was born in a manger. The days of Jesus, the Son of God began in the New Testament. The days of Law spoken by the prophets ended but the days of Grace spoken by the Son dawned through the gospel of Jesus. The author of Hebrews took the precious things of the Old Testament and showed the better things of Christ. The contrast between Law represented by the prophets and Grace represented by Jesus is not between Bad and Good; but rather between Good and Superior. For example, iPhone is superior to Samsung cell phone because it does more things. But this does not mean that Samsung cell phone is bad. Let’s think about Jesus’ superiority to reveal God better. Since Jesus came into the world and began to preach the good news of the kingdom of God, God has spoken to us by his Son. The White House Press secretary says many things about the President’s plan. But the President has authority to say the final word by saying, “The buck stops here.” In the same way the buck stops with the Son. The revelation of the Son is superior to prophets for it fully reveals God. John 1:18 says, “No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.” Jesus was with God in the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth. Jesus is God the Incarnate. Who knows father best? Of course, sons know their father best. Who knows Elijah Park best? Joe and Augustine know him best. Who knows Dr. Luke Lim best? It is Paul. Who knows David best? It may be Sarah B. or Sammy. Who knows me best? Abe and John know me best. They have no problem choosing gifts for me because they know me. They buy me anything related to tennis because they know I’ll like it.

Look at verse 3. “He is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.” Originally God created man in his glory. Adam was glorious in the Garden of Eden before he sinned. It is inconceivable how glorious he was! But Adam lost the glory of God due to sin. Now Jesus is the radiance of God’s glory. John 1:14 says, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” The brightness of his glory cannot be compared to anything in the world. On the Mount of Transfiguration Jesus was transfigured and his clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. (Mark 9:2-3) M. David S. is working in the dry cleaning store but he cannot bleach my clothes to become whiter than Jesus’ clothes. Moses received the Ten Commandments at Mountain Sinai and came down, and his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord. (Exodus 34:29) People were afraid to come near him. Moses told them to come and they came. Jesus is the Son of God and his glory is far greater than that of Moses. Now Jesus came to us and revealed the glory of God to us. We will be conformed to his likeness when we follow him. Apostle Paul said in 1 Cor 15:43, “It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory.” He continues in 15:49, “And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven.” Wow! What a glorious promise it is! We will have the glory of God in Jesus when we are resurrected at the second coming of Jesus.

Jesus is the exact representation of his nature. Like Father like Son. Baby Nathanael is exact representation of his father Phillip. Abe and Sarah are waiting for their first daughter eagerly. The question is who does she exactly represent? Who do you want her to represent? Of course, she will represent Abe and Sarah. Jesus is the exact representation of God’s nature. When we see Jesus, we see God. The disciple Philip in the Bible once asked Jesus, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” (John 14:8) He looked smart but sometimes he was stupid. How did Jesus answer? Jesus said in John 14:9, “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father?’ ” Jesus is the revelation of God to all men.

Jesus is also sustaining all things by his powerful word. How? Because Jesus’ word has power. When he said, “let there be light, there was light.” (Gen 1:3) Many people deserted Jesus when he did not give them free bread. So Jesus asked his Twelve, “You do not want to leave too, do you?” But Simon Peter answered, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” (John 7:67-68) Peter loved the word of Jesus. He obeyed Jesus’ word when Jesus asked him to put his net into deep water (Luke 5:5) Later, he said, “For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring the word of God.” (1 Peter 1:23) That’s right. The word of Jesus has power to change our lives. Many Mexican shepherds suffered a lot due to their broken families and sexual immorality in Latin America. But they were changed by the powerful word of Jesus. They became missionaries to other countries in Latin America. The Livingstone team encourages me with their love of God’s word. David Casler asked me to take Romans final exam Thursday morning and he took it Friday morning because he loved the word of Jesus. I think he got A.

 Jesus performed priestly duty by providing purification for our sins. Jesus removed our sins once for all through his death on the cross. Wow! Jesus purified the stains of sin from our life. After completing salvation work for all men, now Jesus sits at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. Nobody sits down until he has finished his work. Here “sitting down” means that Jesus finished his salvation work. Jesus was enthroned in the heavenly authority. God crowned Jesus with honor and glory and made all knees to bow down before him. Now Jesus has a different mission. He intercedes for us. He hears our prayers. He is our advocate. We studied his qualifications as the Son to be the perfect revealer of God in the New Testament times.

Verses 4-14 show us how the Scriptures of the Old Testament testified Jesus’ superiority over angels.  OT is filled with ministry of angels by God to Israel. Israel focused on the order of angels and developed a particular reverence of them. Angels mediated the Law to man through Moses. Acts 7:53 says, “You who received the law that was put into effect through angels but have not obeyed it.” Galatians 3:19b says, “The law was put into effect through angels by a mediator.” The angels played significant roles in the Bible. When angel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah to deliver the birth of John the Baptist, he was startled and gripped with fear. (Luke 1:12) Mary had a similar reaction when she heard a greeting from angel Gabriel, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you!” (Luke 1:29) Gabriel is the angel who brings good news. Revelation 12:7 says, “And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back.” Archangel Michael is the angel who fights against the devil and protects God’s people. Angels were highly respected among the Jews.

However, Old Testament quotations from Psalm 2:7, 2 Samuel 7:14, Deut. 32:43, Psalm 104:4, Psalm 45:6-7, Psalm102:25-27, and Psalm 110:1, related to Jesus’ position and authority as the Messianic King, tell us Jesus is greater than even angels. Look at verse 5. “For to which of the angels did God ever say, ‘You are my Son; today I have become your Father”? Or again, ‘I will be his Father, and he will be my Son.”? Jesus is the Son of God. God commanded all angels to worship and serve Jesus. Matthew 4:11 says, “Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.” The angels were created not only to serve Jesus but also to serve on behalf of believers. Jews may have been tempted to elevate the status of angels. But based on verses 4-14, who is the Christ and Savior? Only Jesus. He is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being. Others today may attempt to elevate something else over Jesus. Some say Christ, Buddha, and Muhammad are all alike. We must declare that Buddha, Muhammad are dead and they are not sitting at the right hand of God but Jesus is our King and Savior who is sitting at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. Only Jesus is the Savior of the world because he is the Son of God.

PART II WARNING TO PAY ATTENTION (2:1-4)

In Hebrews 2, the writer erects the first of six prominent warning signs in the letter. Look at verse 2:1-4. “We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. God also testified to it by signs, wonders, and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.” Warning! Beware of deer. I’ve seen this sign on some highways. At an amusement park a child was killed because her mother ignored the warning about the age and height requirements. Virginia State warned motorists to obey the speed limit. Otherwise, they have to pay a $2000 fine. In the post modern generation we resist warnings because we think that they limit our human freedom. But today’s passage reveals that God gives us fair warning about the risks and dangers that lie ahead in our spiritual race.

The first warning is given because we have the danger of drifting away from the truth of God. Here “therefore” refers to the previous chapter 1. Since we have a superior revelation through a superior messenger, we must give more careful attention to the word of Jesus than to the Law. Why? If the Law which was spoken by the angels is unchangeable and binding, and brought punishment on sinners, how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? Lot’s wife ignored God’s warning not to look back and became a pillar of the salt. (Gen 19:17,26) Remember Lot’s wife. Here the word “ignore” is used instead of “reject.”  This means that they heard the word of God and accepted Jesus. The audiences were Christians like us. But when they faced hardship and difficulty and receive persecutions, they are tempted to renounce their faith. The author warned them not to give up their faith. He encouraged them not to ignore the message of such great salvation. Jesus spoke the message of salvation by preaching the kingdom of God in Mark 1:15. “’The time has come,’ he said. The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!” Then the apostle preached the gospel message to others in Acts 2. God confirmed their messages with signs and wonders. Three thousands people repented and accepted the message of salvation through Apostle Peter. We find spiritual direction in this passage. We must pay more careful attention to the message of Jesus, the Son of God. Jesus warned different groups of people who heard and heard and heard (Mark 4:1-20) and produced nothing. He said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear. We heard the word of Jesus and studied the word of God for many years. But do we really pay more careful attention to what we have heard? Are we not ignoring the message of such great salvation? Are we not confronting the danger of drifting off the course of our faith race? How can we pay more careful attention? Demas was one of Paul’s sheep but he left Paul  because he loved the world. (2 Tim 4:10) He did not pay more careful attention to the word of God. We cannot pay more careful attention to Jesus by our human efforts because there are many temptations that distract us from paying attention. We hear many commercial messages and internet and video games and TV sounds. We can only pay attention when we are alert spiritually. This is possible when we eat the daily bread of God’s word and pray before God constantly. Then God will wake us up from spiritual laziness and give us power to listen to the word of God. By prayer we can hold the word of God and we may not drift away from Jesus. Let’s examine our faith before Jesus and listen to his warning once again. Today’s passage reminds us to concentrate on staying in the race and listen to his word more carefully. May God bless us to have fruitful and rewarding fall semester. Let’s read the key verse 1:3.