Hebrews 1:1-3 The Incomparable Christ!

Bible Study Series: Jesus in Hebrews - Better by Far!

Bible Study Lesson: Hebrews 1:1-3 The Incomparable Christ!

by I Gordon

Well it is time to start a new series and I want to do a study on a very Christ centered New Testament book which is... (drum roll)... Hebrews. Hebrews is an amazing book and as we shall see, the first chapter alone is probably the most Christ centered in all of the New Testament. Who is Jesus? Is our understanding of Jesus correct? And does it matter in our life? We'll see that it does matter and Hebrews 1 does an incredible job of describing who the Lord Jesus is. In fact, it is so packed with spiritual nuggets that we will only do three verses today. Here is a run down of what we'll look at: 

• We'll start with the background: Who is the author, what was the date and what are the key themes in the book?
• We'll then focus on the incomparable Christ - the author takes no time in establishing that Jesus is the authority, the Heir and the Upholder of all things! 
• And we'll include applications along the way trying to answer the question, what do these things mean for our Christian life and why is it important to have a true understanding of who Jesus is?

So let's begin with...

The background & key themes

Background

Hebrews was written to Hebrews. That is, to Jewish believers in Jesus. No great revelations thus far! They were obviously familiar with the Jewish traditions and the law of Moses and this will be seen in the epistle from the many Old Testament quotes that he uses to back up what he is saying. It should be noted that there is at least one quotation from the Old Testament in every chapter of Hebrews. Yet many of these Jews were coming under intense pressure to leave their new faith and return to their roots - to return back to Judaism. It is important to remember what it meant for a Jew to believe in Jesus. The Believers Bible Commentary states:

Themes

Because of this background and the pressure applied to these Jews who had come into the Church to turn back to their roots, it is not surprising to see what the main themes of the letter are:

1. The supremacy of Christ – Firstly and most importantly, Hebrews emphasizes that Jesus is superior to all things: angels, Moses, the priesthood, and the old covenant (Hebrews 1:1-4, 3:1-6, 4:14-16, 7:23-28).
2. The importance of faith and perseverance – Hebrews encourages believers to remain steadfast in their faith, even amid trials (Hebrews 10:35-39, 11:1-40, 12:1-3).
3. The need to find rest in Christ - Hebrews calls believers to find their true rest in Christ, every day! (Heb 3:7-19, 4:1-13)
4. The warnings against falling away and going back – There are strong exhortations to avoid drifting away from faith and to remain firm in God’s truth (Hebrews 2:1-4, 6:4-8, 10:26-31).
5. The blessing of the new covenant – The book explains how Christ established a better covenant through His sacrifice, fulfilling what the old covenant could not (Hebrews 8:6-13, 9:11-15).

These themes come out when we look at the prominent key words in the book:

• Faith – Used 38 times, especially in Hebrews 11, the "Hall of Faith".
• Better – Appears 13 times, emphasizing Christ’s superiority over all that have come before. 
• Covenant – Found 17 times, highlighting the transition from the old to the new covenant.
• High Priest – Used 17 times, describing Jesus' role as our eternal heavenly High Priest
• Sacrifice – Mentioned 15 times, focusing on Christ’s once-for-all offering.
• Rest – Found 11 times, symbolizing the spiritual rest available through faith.

If we were to pick one key word that keeps coming out it is 'Better' – Jesus is better than the prophets, better than the angels, better than Moses, Joshua and the High Priest... and He brings in a better covenant based on better promises. Essentially, take that which any good 1st century Jewish man or woman looked up to and be assured - Jesus is better! 

Author & Date

The author of Hebrews has been debated since the early church Fathers and several names have been presented including the Apostle Paul, Luke, Barnabas, Silas, Apollos and others¹. While many lean towards Paul, it is best to agree with the early Church theologian Origen who said “But who wrote the Epistle God alone knows for certain.” Most scholars place the date of writing as in the 60's. John MacArthur writes:

The use of the present tense in Heb_5:1-4; Heb_7:21, Heb_7:23, Heb_7:27-28; Heb_8:3-5, Heb_8:13; Heb_9:6-9, Heb_9:13, Heb_9:25; Heb_10:1, Heb_10:3-4, Heb_10:8, Heb_10:11; and Heb_13:10-11 suggest that the Levitical priesthood and sacrificial system were still in operation when the epistle was composed. Since the temple was destroyed by General (later Emperor) Titus Vespasian in A.D. 70, the epistle must have been written prior to that date. In addition, it may be noted that Timothy had just been released from prison (Heb_13:23) and that persecution was becoming severe (Heb_10:32-39; Heb_12:4; Heb_13:3). These details suggest a date for the epistle around A.D. 67-69.

Jesus is the authority!

Heb 1:1-2 In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, (2) but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son...

So as we start chapter 1, I want you to hear what A. W Tozer, a well-loved Bible teacher on the 20th century, wrote: 

"What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us."  
A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy.

This is so true as what we believe about Jesus is critical. Just as we are what we eat in the physical realm, so we are what we feed on in the spiritual realm. Are you feeding on the truth of who Jesus is as revealed in His word or are you trying to get by on a limited fast food diet spiritually speaking? Thankfully, the writer of Hebrews spends no time at all before getting into this, the important stuff! You will note that there is no 'Grace and Peace to you from...' in this letter. Nope. No introduction. No easing our way into the letter. No hoping that Aunt Betty and the other believers are well. No... It's just straight into the important things that the believers needed to hear! And what is that? Well, as we will see it is all about Jesus and who He is! Hebrews starts by telling us how God spoke to His people in days gone by. This was primarily through prophets who gave His word to the people. The prophets knew in part, and were given insight into what was to come, but they desired to know more as scripture tells us:

1Pe 1:10-12 Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, (11) searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. (12) To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven--things which angels desire to look into.

So what was the downside to receiving the message of God through a prophet? Well... false prophets! When there are multiple people with different messages supposedly from the Lord, who do you trust? But the author of Hebrews says that in these last days² He has spoken through His Son. So it is worth asking, in what way was how Jesus spoke different from the prophets of old? Two quick points come to mind... 

1. How Jesus spoke: Did Jesus ever come and say ‘Thus sayeth the Lord’ like the prophets did? No. Never! He would say ‘Truly I say unto you!’ This was radical for His Jewish hearers. Imagine being a Jew, raised in the law, and hearing something like:
   Mat 5:38-39 "You have heard that it was said, 'AN EYE FOR AN EYE, AND A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH.' (39) "But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.
   It is fair to say that no one had spoken like this before. While He never said anything like 'Hear the word of the Lord', there are 126 times in the Gospels where it records Jesus saying ‘I say unto you’. That is, Jesus wasn’t relaying a message from God. He was speaking as the One who had authority. He was speaking as the One who was the Word, and gave the word, in the first place! And when He did quote the Old Testament Prophets, He was simply quoting them, quoting Him! It is fair to say that the people had never heard someone come and speak like this before!. That is why we read: Mat 7:28-29 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, (29) because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.
   
   
2. How Jesus' life spoke: It is worth noting that this scripture can mean that God spoke either 'in' or 'by' His Son. So it wasn't just His words that were different. His whole life was different! His every reaction and action spoke of God the Father. God literally spoke to the people 'in His Son'. That is why Jesus could say 'He who has seen me has seen the Father'. (John 14:9) Amazing. We'll come back to this thought later!

Being sure of the source

As an important side note, in saying that in these last days God has spoken in His Son, it is not saying that God can’t use other means. There are parts of the Middle East at the moment, especially amongst Muslim believers, where God is giving many dreams and visions. The Lord may also speak to you through a person, such as a friend, minister or fellow believer. What is important however is being sure of the source. With the word of God we have a sure source that can be trusted. And any message that we receive from elsewhere should be checked against this source. To give you an example, at my work we get a lot of emails. Now with emails these days, there can be quite a few 'spam' or 'phishing' emails which are normally filtered out automatically with modern email clients. But some look like the real thing and get through, tempting the recipient to click on a link that may have dire consequences! So at our work our cyber-security team within the organization often sends out 'fake' emails to test us. These emails look like the real thing but there will be something different about them. For example, the 'from' address will be slightly wrong... There will be spelling mistakes or unnecessary attachments that the email wants you to open. Maybe it has a link that says one thing in the text but has a different URL behind it. What our cyber-security team is doing is teaching us to examine the source closely so we can spot the fakes and have nothing to do with them! And it is no different in the Christian life. There are unlimited 'prophets' on YouTube that one could get caught up with but be very careful what you accept as coming from God. Always look for the 'fake' signs and judge all things by the trusted source - God's message through His Son and the Apostles in His Holy Word.

Jesus is the Heir of All Things!

Heb 1:2 ...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.

Now, it's always nice being an heir to receive something is it not? Some receive money, some property, some artwork, some... well some just get a post-passing lecture about why they aren't getting left anything but some advice that they need to consider! So what is it that Jesus is the heir of? In one word, everything! Everything in heaven and earth and in all the galaxies are His. So did Jesus ever speak of Himself as the heir? Yes, consider this parable that He spoke:

Mat 21:33-39 "Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who PLANTED A VINEYARD AND PUT A WALL AROUND IT AND DUG A WINE PRESS IN IT, AND BUILT A TOWER, and rented it out to vine-growers and went on a journey. (34) "When the harvest time approached, he sent his slaves to the vine-growers to receive his produce. (35) "The vine-growers took his slaves and beat one, and killed another, and stoned a third. (36) "Again he sent another group of slaves larger than the first; and they did the same thing to them. (37) "But afterward he sent his son to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.' (38) "But when the vine-growers saw the son, they said among themselves, 'This is the heir; come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.' (39) "They took him, and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

Jesus was expressing the thoughts of the religious leaders here. They were jealous and concerned they would lose their position and authority to Jesus³. Therefore they desired to kill Him, to take what He had. But it also points to the one influencing their hatred of Jesus, and that is Satan. Satan had taken dominion of this world from Adam and Eve, but 2000 years ago he came up against humanity's last representative... Jesus! Satan desired all that the Son had and thought he could seize Jesus’ inheritance as the heir. He first tried in the wilderness temptation where Jesus resisted Him with the word of God. Then he thought he could do simply away with the Son once and for all and remain the ruler of this planet! Well... he got the first part of His wish and oh what a mistake that was for him!

As we know, Jesus was victorious over Satan at the Cross and He inherits all. And why not? He also created all things! But as we recently saw in the studies in Daniel, the amazing thing is that believers are co-heirs with Christ! And even above the angels! Both of these are seen in Daniel 7:

Jesus is the exact representation of God the Father

Heb 1:3  And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature...

Jesus is the exact representation of the Father. Let's think about that for a moment... Jesus' disciple Philip once asked what sounded like a very spiritual question. He probably thought that Jesus would be impressed at such a spiritual question! What was the question you ask?  

Joh 14:8-9 Philip *said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us." (9) Jesus *said to him, "Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?

Ok, so this may not have got the reaction Philip expected! But that fact was that with every thought, every word, every action and every reaction, Jesus displayed the character of God 100% throughout His life. He never fell short of the glory of God. For centuries people had wondered what God is really like. They had wondered what He would be like if He was a man like they are. There were lots of questions... What would it be like to talk to Him? Would He be angry with mankind if He came to this planet? Judgmental of sinners? Frustrated? Would He come and rule, demanding obedience and punishing those that disobeyed? And then God became a man and took the lowliest place. He came and was the servant of all. The prophet Isaiah would prophesy of the coming Messiah:

Isa 53:2-3 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. (3) He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

So what was Jesus like towards sinners? What was He like towards the religious? What about the proud and the humble? He displayed the very character and nature of God 100% for He only did and said what He heard from the Father. In Jesus the glory of God was seen (John 1:14). Now you may remember what God said through the prophet Isaiah: I am the LORD, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another. (Isa 42:8)

“Jesus prayed, And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was. (Joh_17:5) If God the Son and God the Father each share glory, and the LORD shares His glory with no one, it means that the Father and the Son are the LORD God. The LORD God - Yahweh - is one God in Three Persons.”
David Guzik

But Jesus also prayed that we would be with Him and see His glory:

Joh 17:24 "Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.

And the amazing thing is that while the Lord doesn't share His glory with another, He will share it with those that are 'in Him'⁴. This is what is coming for the believe:

Romans 8:17 – "Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory."

Col 3:2-4 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. (3) For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. (4) When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.

We may not see or grasp these things today, or probably just in a very limited way, but it will not be limited when He comes. Simply put, the plan of God is incredible for those that believe in His Son!

Jesus is the upholder

Heb 1:3  And He... upholds all things by the word of His power.

As we go on, we see that not only is Jesus the exact representation of the Father, the creator and inheritor of all things, but He is also the One who upholds all things by His power! Paul tells us that:

Col 1:15-17 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. (16) 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. (17) He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

So think about the vastness of the universe... well what we know of it anyway. When I asked an AI system about it, this was the reply:

The universe is a vast, mind-bogglingly immense place! Astronomers estimate that there are about 200 billion to 2 trillion galaxies in the observable universe. Each galaxy varies greatly in size, shape, and the number of stars it contains. On average, a galaxy contains about 100 billion stars, though this number can differ significantly. For example, the Milky Way, our galaxy, has roughly 100 to 400 billion stars. Smaller dwarf galaxies might have just a few million stars, while giant elliptical galaxies can have up to a trillion or more! It’s staggering to think about the sheer number of stars in the universe—likely more than there are grains of sand on all the beaches on Earth. Fascinating, isn’t it?

Yes, it is fascinating and guess what... all of that is held together by Jesus! He created it all and it is held together by the power of His word. Think about that the next time you are worried about some detail of your own life!

The Jesus Nut!

As an illustration, have you heard of a Jesus nut? Sounds like a Jesus-freak or someone who can't stop talking about Jesus... but this nut is actually a nut. No, not the edible kind but the mechanical/locking kind. Recently there was a horrific helicopter crash in New York where the helicopter literally came apart and fell out of the sky, killing a family of five along with their pilot. A newspaper report stated:

A fist-sized piece of steel known as the “Jesus nut” could be a crucial piece of evidence in the horrific helicopter crash that killed a Spanish family of five and their pilot in Manhattan earlier this week.” The so-called “Jesus nut” holds the main rotor to the mast of some helicopters — and some experts have speculated that it could have been why the chopper broke apart midair. Bray also said that it’s standard procedure to regularly check the “Jesus nut.” “There is a particular procedure which has to be checked every time it’s serviced, and it’s known as the ‘Jesus bolt’ … because without that the whole thing will fall apart” he said.

Thankfully, our Jesus doesn't fall apart under stress or pressure! That's just you and me! And here is the personal application for you – if He can uphold all things, then He can do so in your life as well! If you turn on the news you'll hear that the next Covid virus is about to hit. Trump is going to lead us into global recession. Wars are breaking out. The climate is out of control and we only have years left! An asteroid could hit earth and end life as we know it. It is mostly all fear based. And yet Jesus upholds all things! He does this for this world, the universe, the nations and yes, even our own individual lives. So when faced with stress or uncertainty, remind yourself that Christ holds all things together. Instead of worrying, practice surrender and thankfulness saying, "Lord, I trust You in this situation. I thank You that You are enough in this difficulty and in all that I face."

Jesus is the purifier

Heb 1:3  When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high

Christ is a substitute for everything [and everyone], but nothing is a substitute for Christ.
H.A Ironside

Now, we are only three verses into Hebrews and we have already been given a wealth of spiritual truth concerning the Lord Jesus. But wait... there's more! We see here that He made purification of sins. So is that 'some sins'? Was it a partial work? No, it is all sins. He actually finished the work to the extent that the writer says He could now sit down at the right hand of the Father. This is in contrast to the High Priest under Judaism whose work was ongoing and would continually offer sacrifices for sins every year. It is worth thinking a little more about the work that Jesus has done. Let me ask you a question... Jesus has been seen in this passage as the Creator, the Sustainer and the Purifier of sins. Which work of our Lord is the most difficult?  

• Creator: What did Jesus have to do to make the world? Spoke into being
• Sustainer: What does Jesus do to sustain the world? Upheld by the power of His word
• Purifier: What did Jesus have to do to make purification for sins? Firstly He had to become a man. He had to be born into this world and then live a perfect sinless life in order to even offer Himself as a sacrifice. Then He had to be willing to actually suffer the most agonizing death, separated from His Father for the first time ever, in order to be able to declare 'It is finished'!  

I think it is clear what Jesus' greatest and most difficult work was. Creation is beautiful and amazing yet the fact that the God of the Universe would be willing to come and die on our behalf is truly mind blowing!  

Application - Rest!

Now as the purifier of all sins, we need to rest in Christ’s finished work. Remember that. Remember what He said on the cross that confirmed that His work in paying for the sins of mankind was complete. He said 'It is finished'. This is the word 'teléō' meaning 'To make an end or to accomplish, to complete something, not merely to end it, but to bring it to perfection or its destined goal, to carry it through.' (Complete Word Study Dictionary) Another way to translate the word is 'Paid in full!' The sin issue has been paid in full! The full debt has been paid. So if you're feeling overwhelmed or tempted to think that you have to work to earn salvation and forgiveness, remind yourself that salvation is a gift—it cannot be earned. Learn to live in, and embrace, His grace. Live in the reality of His finished work. As scripture says, 'Stop striving and know that I am God!'

Conclusion

So we are only three verses into this book and look at what we have seen about Jesus already:

1. The ultimate revelation: Jesus is the final way God has spoken to humanity (Hebrews 1:1-2).
2. The Heir of all things: Jesus was appointed by God to inherit everything (Hebrews 1:2).
3. The Creator of the universe: Through Jesus, the worlds were made (Hebrews 1:2).
4. The Radiance of God’s glory: Jesus reflects the divine glory of God (Hebrews 1:3).
5. The Exact representation of God’s being: Jesus perfectly embodies God’s nature (Hebrews 1:3).
6. The Sustainer of all things: Jesus upholds the universe by His powerful word (Hebrews 1:3).
7. The Provider of purification for sins: Jesus accomplished redemption through the payment of His sacrifice for sins (Hebrews 1:3).
8. The Exalted One at God’s right hand: Jesus holds a position of supreme authority at the right hand of the Father in Heaven (Hebrews 1:3).

That is why I have called this message, the incomparable Christ! And again, that is just looking at three verses! We'll carry on next time with the rest of the chapter exploring how Christ is the theme of the entire Bible. We'll also look at how the New Testament writers interpreted key Old Testament passages in connection to Jesus Christ and His work. So for now, to reiterate one last takeaway, it is this... If Jesus upholds all things by the power of His word, and He loves you as God's word says He does, then what is it that is troubling you at the moment? Is He not able to deal with it in His time? Will He not do that if you place the situation in His hands and be still and know that He is God? 

Yes He will. He is a wonderful God! 

God Bless. 

FOOTNOTES