Hebrews, Day 1
Meet the Son, Better than Angels (Hebrews 1 – 2)
“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 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. 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, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs” (Hebrews 1:1 – 4).
As we begin our devotional series on Hebrews, it is important that we recognize who the author is as well as who the recipients are. Unfortunately, the human author never directly identifies himself, but that is all right because we know that God is the Author of every book. As for the recipients, they are Jews who had converted to Christianity. They were obviously very familiar with the Old Testament since the author quotes the Psalms time and time again. The book of Hebrews was written so that these Jewish Christians would recognize and confess that Jesus Christ is more important than any prophet or angels that they have read about in the Old Testament.
The author begins by quoting the Old Testament to support the fact that Jesus is superior to all of the angels. God never once called an angel His Son or any other relation. Instead, God referred to His angels as messengers, which is what “angel” means. In Hebrews 1:8, the author quotes Psalm 45 and refers to Jesus as God. Jesus did things that only God could do, including creating all of Creation.
Why does the author go to such great lengths to make sure the readers know that Jesus is superior to angels? Because if everything that the angels declared to be truth was proven to be reliable, then how much more the words of Jesus? You may know people whom you know you can trust and those whom you may not be sure about. Well, we can be sure that we can trust everything the Lord Jesus spoke.
Who do you listen to? Do you have a favorite preacher, teacher, or friend that you can fully trust? Why do you trust them so much? Is it because they only say positive things that make you feel good about yourself, or are they honest with you no matter how they think you will respond? It is easy to trust those who have never lied to us, but difficult to trust those who have.
At the beginning of Chapter 2, we see that Jesus was made “a little lower than the angels,” and that refers to His coming to Earth as a human being. How big of a sacrifice do you think that was, going from the Creator of all to being subject to His creation? Jesus felt pain, hunger, sadness, joy, warmth, and friendship that He had never felt before. He did that because of His love for you.
This upcoming weekend, we as believers will be celebrating Easter. We purposefully remind ourselves of the sacrifices our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ made because of His love for us. He was humiliated and crucified by those whom He loved. The Creator was sacrificed by His creation. This Easter, remember what Jesus sacrificed for you, then be willing to sacrifice for Him. Tell others that Jesus was crucified, but also tell the wonderful news that He has risen again!
Pastor David Guenin