Jesus Is . . . Above Angels! Series

Jesus Is. . .!

Above Angels

Hebrews 1:5-14

June 11, 2017

I’m not sure I know very many people who really like to take orders from others. In many respects, we have an authority issue. And in the midst of government issues, questions, inquisitions, probes and trials, as we experience the moral decline in our country, the belief that if it feels good - - do it . . . I really do think we have an authority crisis!! This is what I’m asking - - -

Who or what should we listen to - - in order to determine what to believe and how we should live our lives?

Some will answer by turning to the psychic hotline, calling 1-900-psychic. Others will go to the New Age section in bookstores. I’m not sure they still call it new age. Or they will hold onto the words of Oprah, Dr. Phil, Dr. Oz and seek the great and powerful Oz. Others believe they have all of the answers, so there’s no need to look elsewhere.

Some believe science will cure all ills, others look to religion and combine as many as they can so they can get the answers they desire. Even within the church, there are different responses to who’s really in authority. We wonder who is God and who is not. We struggle with authority issues over individuals, as well as what god we’re going to listen to.

We’re now in week 2 of our search through the book of Hebrews. Our overarching theme and title of the series is . . . Jesus Is. . .! That’s the hope of this series as we discover more and more who Jesus is in our lives and what that means for us so that we don’t have distorted views of the Son of God.

The message from the writer of Hebrews in chapter 1, verses 5-14 can be a little confusing, and while I’m not going to touch on every verse, I hope you will walk out of here today knowing a little more about who Jesus is. Let’s look at this passage ~

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 1:5-14

There is so much going on in these verses, but my hope is to summarize them as I talk about who Jesus is and the context and reason the author wrote this.

It’s believed these 2nd generation Jewish believers needed to hear this because many of them were embracing the belief that Jesus was an angel — maybe He was a great or even the greatest angel, but they were struggling to believe He was God.

If Jesus was really God, and had all of this power, then why were they suffering and being persecuted? Maybe He was not all powerful, so they were developing a new theology of Jesus . . . that He was really a great angel.

This way of thinking may have been appealing to them because they would be accepted back into the temple and escape the persecution and suffering.

Making Jesus the greatest angel — was tantalizing because it didn’t require an outright denial of Christ — but only a different affirmation of Him and His greatness. It would be like they were saying what a lot of people in our world say today . . . Jesus was a really, really great teacher, a great moralist, a great leader, and He was a really, really great angel!