In These Last Days

Hebrews 1

There is, in my time, a great decline in the sense of awe with which Christians approach God.  The hymns of old often declared the majesty of God in a majestic way.  Contemporary music is not capable of majesty.  I see it in the youth, who run through the halls of the church karate kicking each other.  Had I done such in my youth, my father would have let out with, “Young man, this is a church, not a gymnasium.”  Now there is no sense of reverence in the church.

It is a pity.  I miss the awesome, sovereign God of my youth.  That God had real power;  when he granted prayer, it was indeed a privilege.  You knew that you had best be careful in asking, for he is capable of delivering.  Perhaps this loss of reverence is the source of our weakness in prayer.

Whatever it is, it was certainly not shared by the ancient Christians.  See the tone with which the author of Hebrews approaches the subject.

Hebrews 1

¹In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, ²but 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. ³The 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. ⁴So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.

⁵For 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”^£ ?

⁶And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says,

     “Let all God’s angels worship him.”^£

⁷In speaking of the angels he says,

     “He makes his angels winds,

       his servants flames of fire.”^£

⁸But about the Son he says,

     “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever,

       and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom.

⁹     You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;

       therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions

       by anointing you with the oil of joy.”^£

¹⁰He also says,

     “In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth,

       and the heavens are the work of your hands.

¹¹   They will perish, but you remain;

       they will all wear out like a garment.

¹²   You will roll them up like a robe;

       like a garment they will be changed.

     But you remain the same,

       and your years will never end.”^£

¹³To which of the angels did God ever say,

       “Sit at my right hand

     until I make your enemies

       a footstool for your feet”^£ ?

¹⁴Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?

The problem of the Jewish Christian

In its earliest days, the church faced a serious difficulty:  just how much of the Jewish Law was to be imposed upon the Gentile converts?  This difficulty conceals within another difficulty:  how does the Jewish Christian reconcile his knowledge of the Old Testament with his knowing of the Savior?  To understand this book, we must first examine this problem.

Requirements

The Jewish Christian might have summarized the problem this way.  Many things he could change – but the core of what he knew from Moses must still be true with Christ.  Three things stand out:

1. He must be faithful to the Law, and hence faithful to God.  Ceremony might be trifled with, but not the commandments.
2. He must also keep himself pure.  This no longer would mean no contact with the Gentiles – but surely purity itself would not cease.
3. Above all else, the Lord your God is One.

Violation

It appears, at first glance, that Christianity violates these requirements.  Christ explicitly tells us that He is superior to the Law.  Healing on the Sabbath, for example, can be seen as a violation of the Law of Moses.  Worse, the church is told by the Holy Spirit to associate with Gentiles.  What of purity now?

But most of all, God now appears to be three, not one.  It appears very much like the church has added two gods to the list – and there’s only room for one.

What to do with such a problem?

The “book of transition”

That’s why the book of Hebrews was written.  It is to assure the Jewish Christian that his understanding of the Law is not in vain, but rather has been completed.  In this book, and in particular in this chapter, we shall see these things:

Continuity of Christ

The author of the book is unknown to us, though the early church assumed that Paul wrote it.  It is clearly addressed to Hebrew Christians, meant to solve their difficulties.  It is fitting, therefore, that the author begins by stressing the continuity of God’s message to man.

Continuity of prophecy

There are prophets in plenty in the Old Testament.  The New Testament mentions (in Acts) some as well, but the bulk of our attention is focused on the Christ – who is prophet, priest and king.  See the continuity:

¹⁸For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. (Matthew 5:18)

Theme:  purification of sins

Both the old and the new seem to spend amount of time with the problem of sin.  In particular, both show us that sin must be atoned for.  In the Old Testament, this was done with animal sacrifices.  In the New Testament, Christ is our Passover lamb.

This becomes extremely important to the Jewish Christian when, in AD 70, the temple in Jerusalem is sacked and destroyed.  Animal sacrifices for sin ceased. 

God the source of all things

In both revelations, God is shown to be the source of all things.  Since God is eternal, his word takes on that same everlasting character.  Indeed, his Word – Jesus – also has that attribute.  So it is that from the same source flows the same living water.  This, then, must have been great comfort to the Jews.

Supremacy of Christ

We have examined the continuity, let us examine the supremacy.  Christ is supreme over all – including the prophets of the Old Testament.  We see this here in four ways.

The Son

We see Him proclaimed to be the Son of God.  What does that mean?

Creation

His mighty power is shown by his relationship to all creation:

The image of God

This passage is difficult to translate – because the concept behind it is difficult to grasp.  There are two ideas:

1. That Christ is the “radiance” of God’s glory.  Other translations say words like “effulgence,” “reflection,” “brightness,” “perfectly mirrors.”  God the Father is the source of glory;  Christ is the “going out” of it.  To use a poor analogy, if God be compared to the sun, then Christ is the light from it.  What we can see of God is best shown in Christ.
2. That Christ is the “exact representation” of God.  If you’ve seen Jesus, you know what God the Father is like.  Other translations say he is the “very image,” “expression (of his substance),” “exact likeness,” “express image (of his person),” “stamped with God’s nature,” “exact imprint of God’s being,” and “impress of his subsistence.” 

Perhaps the translators find it so difficult because the concept is beyond our minds.  But we can put is simply:  He who has seen Jesus, has seen the Father.

True Purification

Christ provided purification for our sins – but he did so in accordance with the law given in the Old Testament.  He dies just like the Passover lamb does.  The Old Testament foreshadowed this.

How then, should we live?

This lesson began with the concept of reverence for God.  If we are to revere him, we should do so for good reason.  I submit to you that the good reasons are shown here.  Christ is the one spoken of by the prophets – and is prophet himself.  He is the one who transforms animal sacrifices into purification for our sins.  He is the agent of creation, the image of the Father, the only begotten Son of God.  If that is not reason for reverence, then the word has no meaning.