The Supporting Cast Of The Christmas Story Series

It’s now just one week until Christmas! Christmas is so exciting for so many reasons. After all, you have presents carefully wrapped under the tree with your name on them! And some of the best food you’ll eat happens to be shared by friends and family. Whole neighborhoods are lit up with beautiful Christmas lights of every color. And the music reminds us of some great times with family.

Christmas is such a special time of year; part of the reason the time is so special is the angel's message. We sing about angels this time of year when we sing “Angels We Have Heard on High” or “Hark the Herald Angels Sing.” You cannot have Christmas without the angels.

Find Hebrews 1 with me, if you will. I don’t know how many brain cells you have devoted to angels, but Christmas is better because of the angels. And as we will see, Jesus is even better than the angels.

Today’s Scripture

“ having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

5 For to which of the angels did God ever say,

“You are my Son,

today I have begotten you”?

Or again,

“I will be to him a father,

and he shall be to me a son”?

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

“Let all God’s angels worship him.”

7 Of the angels he says,

“He makes his angels winds,

and his ministers a flame of fire.”

8 But of the Son he says,

“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever,

the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.

9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;

therefore God, your God, has anointed you

with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.”

10 And,

“You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning,

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 like a robe you will roll them up,

like a garment they will be changed.

But you are the same,

and your years will have no end.”

13 And to which of the angels has he ever said,

“Sit at my right hand

until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”?

14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation” (Hebrews 1:4-14)?

When you read Hebrews, you’re likely reading a printed sermon (Hebrews 13:22). While most of us are used to hearing a sermon, Hebrews is one for you to read for your spiritual health and growth.

Hebrews was likely a sermon written to Jewish converts. We call them Messianic Jews today and these who are considering giving up on Jesus. The writer of Hebrews has one basic message: “Don’t give up! Christ is better. Go all the way with Him!” The whole theme of Hebrews is: Jesus is better. Or as the English Standard Version says it: Jesus is superior. Jesus is better than Moses. Jesus’ sacrifice is better (Hebrews 9:23). Jesus’ temple is better (Hebrews 7:22). Jesus makes for a better hope (Hebrews 7:19). And Jesus is better than the angels (Hebrews 1:4).

1. Let’s Talk about Angels

“ having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs” (Hebrews 1:4).

Many Christians claim to believe in the supernatural but think and live like skeptics. At one level, we find the supernatural world fascinating and wish to learn more or even see more. On another level, we are suspicious at some level of people who talk about seeing angels, demons, and supernatural beings frequently.

1.1 What Would You Think?

What would you think if a friend said their car overturned, pinning them underneath? Scared and alone on a deserted road with no cell coverage, they report a person showing up out of nowhere and flipping the vehicle over. Once your friend was safely out of the car, she turned to thank the hero stranger. But there was no one there despite the fact that she could see clearly for a mile in each direction. Many of us would initially doubt someone like this, I suspect. We would nod and listen politely to our friend’s heartfelt story, but the whole time we would seek other possible explanations. That’s because we insist on evidence in our day.

1.2 Angels, the Unseen Ones

There are angels around us, but we cannot see them because our eyes do not have that capacity. In the Old Testament, Elisha was surrounded by an army of angels and chariots of fire protecting him from the Syrians. But Elisha’s servant could not see those angels until God opened his eyes so that he could see things that existed in that spiritual dimension (2 Kings 6:17).