Jesus King Of Angels Series

SIMPLY JESUS

Jesus King of Angels

Hebrews 1:4-14

INTRODUCTION

-On December 2 there was a cross country race featuring runners from around the world.

-The clear leader through the entire race was a Kenyan runner named Abel Mutai.

-Just as he approached the finish line something strange happened. He stopped.

-He was confused about where the finished line was, and stopped just before he got there.

-A few moments later the second place runner; a Spanish runner Iván Anaya came up behind him.

-He had the opportunity to run past Mutai and steal the victory.

-But he did something shocking; he also stopped!

-He knew that Abel Mutai was the better runner, and had run a better race, and so he pushed him up to the real finish line and helped him to win.

-Iván Anaya could have tried to take first place, but he knew he was the second place runner.

-He knew that first place rightfully belong to someone else.

-That’s a perfect illustration for our passage today about Jesus and the angels.

-Angels are impressive and powerful creatures, but they will always be second to Jesus. Because Jesus is…better.

-The book of Hebrews uses the word “better” 11 times to describe the superiority of Jesus Christ.

-And that’s what the book of Hebrews is all about…Jesus is better, than anything, anyone, any priest, prophet or king. He’s better.

-Last week we saw that In the OT God made promises, and in the NT God fulfilled those promises through Jesus.

-We looked at seven characteristics about Jesus, if you missed it you can listen to it online.

-Vs 4 tells us the main idea of our passage right away.

4 This shows that the Son is far greater than the angels, just as the name God gave him is greater than their names.

-You might think it’s obvious that Jesus is greater than the angels.

-But throughout the history of God’s people there have been problems with angel worship.

-The OT Kings Ahab and Manasseh led the people of Israel to worship angels.

-In the NT books of Galatians and Colossians there were warnings about angel worship which had begun to infiltrate the church.

-Even the apostle John bowed down to an angel in his revelation vision but the angel said, “No! Don’t worship me! (Rev 19:10)

-And throughout history there have been false teachers who have suggested that Jesus himself was an angel.

-But vs 4 says the name God gave Jesus is greater than the angels names. And the name he’s given Jesus is “Son”.

-There are people who are obsessed with angels.

-They have angel necklaces, angel figurines, and bumper stickers that say “angel on board”.

-People who don’t even know Jesus…declare their trust in angels.

-They say, “I have an angel was watching over me.”

-But angels aren’t private security contractors!

-They work at Christ’s commands, for Christ’s people, and to serve Christ’s purposes.

-They cannot save you, they cannot help you, they don’t work for you outside of the will of Jesus.

-They work for Jesus, because is greater than the angels.

verse 5: explains it for us.

5 For God never said to any angel what he said to Jesus: “You are my Son. Today I have become your Father.” God also said, “I will be his Father, and he will be my Son.”

-Here the author of Hebrews starts quoting various Psalms to make various points about Jesus. He starts by saying…

-ANGELS ARE NOT GOD’S SONS. God has never called them that.

-So, if they aren’t his sons, who are they? What are they?

-Do they really play harps? Do they really sit on clouds?

-There are some fascinating accounts of angels in the Bible.

-There was a demon in Daniel called the “prince of Persia” who was preventing a messenger angel from getting to Daniel.

-And God sent the archangel to battle that demon prince. (Dan 10)

-When God called Zec, Joseph and Mary he sent the angel Gabriel.

-When the angel Lucifer led his rebellion, it was the angel Michael who led God’s forces and threw Lucifer(satan) out of heaven.

-An angel fed Elijah after his showdown on Mt. Carmel.

-It was an angel that gave a pep talk to Gideon when he was afraid

-It was an angel who orchestrated a prison break for Peter.

-And it was angels who were present at the resurrection of Jesus.

-Angels are impressive heavenly beings but angels are not God’s sons. They are angels.

-Now in contrast verse 5 says…

-JESUS IS GOD’S ONLY SON. This is a quote Ps 2:7

-No angel could ever be called God’s son. Only Jesus is God’s son.

-Have you ever worked with the boss’ son? I have.

-When I was in high school I worked at T.C.B.Y. That’s where I met my wife. The boss’ son liked to boss us around.