#45- Jesus Is Greater Than?
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(English Standard Version)
Heb 1 - The Supremacy of God’s Son
Heb 2 - Warning Against Neglecting Salvation
Heb 3 - Jesus Greater than Moses - A Rest for the People of God
Heb 4 - Jesus The Great High Priest
Heb 5 - Warning Against Apostacy
Heb 6 - The Certainty of God’s Promise
COMMENTS and QUESTIONS
by J Neil Evans:
Read Hebrews yourself then…
Watch the Bible Project video Hebrews
Two things about Jesus Christ have been challenged from His youth until now. Who Jesus is and what He accomplished have been disputed throughout history. The book of Hebrews addresses these questions from a Jewish perspective. Many Jews believed the Gospel claims of Jesus, but many were uncertain or doubted. Hebrews was written to address these questions, and the claims of the book are arresting not only to Jews but to everyone who seriously reads it.
Hebrews opens with an amazing series of statements. The Jews had long revered the Old Testament Prophets as genuine spokesmen for God. The writer says that Jesus has joined that small group of messengers. But then, Jesus is described as very much different from the prophets. Jesus is “The Son”, “The Heir of all things”, The One Who “created the world”. It continues: “He is the radiance of the glory of God”, and “the exact imprint of His nature”. This sure reads like it is describing Jesus as being God Himself in all His fullness. But there is more: “He upholds”, not just the world, but “the universe by the word of His Power”. Making sure that we understand these descriptions are of Jesus Christ it says: “after making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high”. Somehow, it seems evident that God can sit at the right hand (a place of equal authority and position) of God. The only reasonable explanation of this seeming contradiction is that God is indeed Three persons in One. (The Holy Spirit is also described in various places with equally Divine attributes.) The paragraph concludes describing Jesus as “superior to angels”, the first of three things the Jews revered to which Jesus is described as superior.
Angels were held in very high regard by the Jews, who saw them as above human in stature. So Hebrews points out that God never called an angel “My Son”. When Jesus was born it was angels who “worshipped Him”. While angels are indeed unique ministers of God, the writer repeats the ideas of the first paragraph: “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever … You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth … and the heavens are the work of your hands”. And: “You are the same”, You never change, “and Your years will have no end”. (Heb 1)
If Jesus were simply a created spirit being, like the angels, He could be viewed as one of many messengers or ministers sent and used by God. But Jesus is different, He is superior in both His person and His accomplishments. Therefore chapter two begins with the first of several warnings about our response to Who Jesus Christ is and what He has done. While it was angels who announced God’s amazing salvation, it was Jesus Who accomplished it and to neglect it is to be subject to the retribution announced by angels. Perhaps the most amazing thing about Jesus is that even though He is God, the creator of angels and humans, He became a human brother to us “so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people”. (2:17)
Secondly, Jesus is greater than Moses. Moses was the man God used to lead the Jews out of bondage in Egypt, to give them the Law, the Tabernacle and the Sacrifices, the things God used to draw the Jews into fellowship with Himself.
But Jesus “has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses—as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself”. (3:3) Under the leadership of Moses, the Jews rebelled against God and did not enter the rest God was able to give them. So Hebrews warns the followers of Jesus: “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin”.
Regarding the confident restful fellowship God offers everyone, It is not as if God has not communicated to us, but that we refuse to listen, believe and trust Him. In fact, in the Bible, God has given us His Word that is: “living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account”. (4:12,13)
Thirdly, in being our Savior, Jesus is our Great High Priest. All other priests offer sacrifices of animals and produce brought by individuals as substitutes for the sinner. In Great Contrast, Jesus offered Himself as the Perfect Sacrifice for all our sin. He is a Priest like no other. Except there was one priest to whom Jesus is likened, namely Melchizedek, a very unique and interesting priest described in the Old Testament. This is a very important comparison and will be discussed in chapter seven.
On the surface the Old Testament appears to teach that having a good relationship with God requires a number of fundamental things such as: continual offering of sacrifices in repentance of sin; having faith that God can get us out of trouble; learning and keeping various rules like ceremonial washings; passing God’s blessings and authority from one priest to another; believing that there is life after death; and constant attention to the coming judgments of God. These things consumed the lives of faithful Jews. But, the Old Testament Prophets, Jesus Christ, and the writers of the New Testament all say that these things are shadows of which Jesus is the reality. (Col 2:17, Heb 10:1)
And so, chapter six begins: “Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment”. Focusing on these things without understanding the truths to which they point is to misuse them and miss out on the truly marvelous things God has promised His people. Jesus was not merely a priest leading his people in rules and ceremonies to gain God’s blessing. As God promised over and over in the Old Testament, The Messiah, Jesus, was and did infinitely more than any angel, Moses or Aaronic priest. To not recognize and believe all that the Bible says about Jesus was, and is, to miss the real blessings God has promised. The next chapters of Hebrews explains in more detail the Grand Supremacy of Jesus Christ and the amazing and eternal blessings of putting our faith in Him rather than ourselves.
(English Standard Version)
Heb 1 - The Supremacy of God’s Son
Heb 2 - Warning Against Neglecting Salvation
Heb 3 - Jesus Greater than Moses - A Rest for the People of God
Heb 4 - Jesus The Great High Priest
Heb 5 - Warning Against Apostacy
Heb 6 - The Certainty of God’s Promise
COMMENTS and QUESTIONS
by J Neil Evans:
Read Hebrews yourself then…
Watch the Bible Project video Hebrews
Two things about Jesus Christ have been challenged from His youth until now. Who Jesus is and what He accomplished have been disputed throughout history. The book of Hebrews addresses these questions from a Jewish perspective. Many Jews believed the Gospel claims of Jesus, but many were uncertain or doubted. Hebrews was written to address these questions, and the claims of the book are arresting not only to Jews but to everyone who seriously reads it.
Hebrews opens with an amazing series of statements. The Jews had long revered the Old Testament Prophets as genuine spokesmen for God. The writer says that Jesus has joined that small group of messengers. But then, Jesus is described as very much different from the prophets. Jesus is “The Son”, “The Heir of all things”, The One Who “created the world”. It continues: “He is the radiance of the glory of God”, and “the exact imprint of His nature”. This sure reads like it is describing Jesus as being God Himself in all His fullness. But there is more: “He upholds”, not just the world, but “the universe by the word of His Power”. Making sure that we understand these descriptions are of Jesus Christ it says: “after making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high”. Somehow, it seems evident that God can sit at the right hand (a place of equal authority and position) of God. The only reasonable explanation of this seeming contradiction is that God is indeed Three persons in One. (The Holy Spirit is also described in various places with equally Divine attributes.) The paragraph concludes describing Jesus as “superior to angels”, the first of three things the Jews revered to which Jesus is described as superior.
Angels were held in very high regard by the Jews, who saw them as above human in stature. So Hebrews points out that God never called an angel “My Son”. When Jesus was born it was angels who “worshipped Him”. While angels are indeed unique ministers of God, the writer repeats the ideas of the first paragraph: “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever … You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth … and the heavens are the work of your hands”. And: “You are the same”, You never change, “and Your years will have no end”. (Heb 1)
If Jesus were simply a created spirit being, like the angels, He could be viewed as one of many messengers or ministers sent and used by God. But Jesus is different, He is superior in both His person and His accomplishments. Therefore chapter two begins with the first of several warnings about our response to Who Jesus Christ is and what He has done. While it was angels who announced God’s amazing salvation, it was Jesus Who accomplished it and to neglect it is to be subject to the retribution announced by angels. Perhaps the most amazing thing about Jesus is that even though He is God, the creator of angels and humans, He became a human brother to us “so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people”. (2:17)
Secondly, Jesus is greater than Moses. Moses was the man God used to lead the Jews out of bondage in Egypt, to give them the Law, the Tabernacle and the Sacrifices, the things God used to draw the Jews into fellowship with Himself.
But Jesus “has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses—as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself”. (3:3) Under the leadership of Moses, the Jews rebelled against God and did not enter the rest God was able to give them. So Hebrews warns the followers of Jesus: “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin”.
Regarding the confident restful fellowship God offers everyone, It is not as if God has not communicated to us, but that we refuse to listen, believe and trust Him. In fact, in the Bible, God has given us His Word that is: “living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account”. (4:12,13)
Thirdly, in being our Savior, Jesus is our Great High Priest. All other priests offer sacrifices of animals and produce brought by individuals as substitutes for the sinner. In Great Contrast, Jesus offered Himself as the Perfect Sacrifice for all our sin. He is a Priest like no other. Except there was one priest to whom Jesus is likened, namely Melchizedek, a very unique and interesting priest described in the Old Testament. This is a very important comparison and will be discussed in chapter seven.
On the surface the Old Testament appears to teach that having a good relationship with God requires a number of fundamental things such as: continual offering of sacrifices in repentance of sin; having faith that God can get us out of trouble; learning and keeping various rules like ceremonial washings; passing God’s blessings and authority from one priest to another; believing that there is life after death; and constant attention to the coming judgments of God. These things consumed the lives of faithful Jews. But, the Old Testament Prophets, Jesus Christ, and the writers of the New Testament all say that these things are shadows of which Jesus is the reality. (Col 2:17, Heb 10:1)
And so, chapter six begins: “Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment”. Focusing on these things without understanding the truths to which they point is to misuse them and miss out on the truly marvelous things God has promised His people. Jesus was not merely a priest leading his people in rules and ceremonies to gain God’s blessing. As God promised over and over in the Old Testament, The Messiah, Jesus, was and did infinitely more than any angel, Moses or Aaronic priest. To not recognize and believe all that the Bible says about Jesus was, and is, to miss the real blessings God has promised. The next chapters of Hebrews explains in more detail the Grand Supremacy of Jesus Christ and the amazing and eternal blessings of putting our faith in Him rather than ourselves.
Check out these LINKS:
Watch Bible Project summary of Hebrews
Read "Bible Words to Ponder" related to this week study
Read "The Gospel"