Jesus Will Rule

Every single day, and, really, at every single moment, we have to decide whose voice, or whose opinion, or whose message, matters most. Those of you who have multiple children probably know the experience of having more than one of them attempt to have a conversation with you at the same time. And as much as we think we can multitask, it doesn’t really happen.

The same kind of frustration, or even battle, happens as we go about our day, deciding whom we will be listening to. The struggle of the Christian life is knowing that we’re supposed to honor and serve Christ in everything, and yet there are so many other voices clamoring for our attention.

With a church full of people who are prone and tempted to drift away from Jesus, what are we supposed to do?

Hebrews helps answer that for us because it is exactly what this author was facing. A group of Hebrew men and women who had professed faith in Jesus Christ were ready to walk it all back and return to Judaism. So, how does this preacher intend to warn, and protect, and restore this congregation?

The short answer is: with the Scriptures. The word of God is going to have a stronger impact for Jews who affirm the Old Testament, but the power of Scripture is universal. It is what all of us need to hear, and it’s what we need to hear today.

In holding Christ up as superior to everything else these people had learned before, the argument and the motivation of Hebrews is biblical. The author wants his audience to know that Jesus is not just the next character in God’s story. Jesus is God in human flesh. He is the fulfilment and embodiment of all previous revelation.

So, even before we look more specifically at our passage, we get with a reminder and an encouragement about the power and the sufficiency of Scripture. This is our tool to bring hearts to Christ. This is enough for all of us to be and to do all that God commands. This is the instrument that the Spirit of Christ uses to work in your life.

When our hearts lean away from God and away from Christ, what we need is to hear is Scripture. When you want to encourage a brother or a sister in his/her faith, what you need to give is Scripture. When you want to point an unbelieving friend or family member to Jesus Christ, what you need to share is Scripture. This is what gives spiritual life and spiritual strength.

Psalm 19:7—The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul.

John 8:32—The truth is what sets us free.

John 17:17—We are sanctified in the truth, which is God’s word.

Romans 10:17—Faith comes from hearing through the word of Christ.

First Timothy 4:6—We need to be trained and nourished in the words of the faith.

Second Timothy 3:16—All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.

James 1:18—God brought us forth of His own will by the word of truth.

First Peter 1:23—We were born again through the living and abiding word of God which is the good news that was preached to us.

The importance and the sufficiency of Scripture is going to be a principle we see enacted over and over again as we study Hebrews. It will be demonstrated in the way we study the book. But the principle is also demonstrated in the book itself because it relies so heavily on previous revelation. The foundation of the arguments and the message are found in the Old Testament.

The formatting in your Bible may make it clear that chapter 1 is filled with Old Testament references. And the passages listed are all intended to make the point at the end of verse 4. Jesus is superior to angels. The name that Jesus has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

The word “name” could be a referring to a title, like “Son,” or “Lord,” or “King of kings and Lord of lords.” The word “name” could also be a more generic reference to Jesus’ identity which includes His honor and His authority and His role as the perfect mediator between God and man.

The point is that Jesus, who came to the world so humbly, and died so shamefully, was exalted, and His true nature was revealed. He has the same name as God. That’s why Jesus could instruct the disciples to baptize in the name (singular) of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

The basic message, however, is clear. Jesus is superior. He is superior to Old Testament revelation, and He is superior to angels.

Now, you need to understand that, for Jews, angels were very impressive and significant figures. For us today, we might equate angels with beauty or power or mystery. But for the Jews, angels were predominantly equated with divine revelation. In fact, both the Hebrew word and the Greek word that we translate as “angel” mean “messenger.” Angels bring God’s message.

Satan himself is a fallen angel. He was created by God. And once Satan rebelled against God and took a group of angels with him, there was a split. We had holy angels who faithfully transmitted God’s truth, and we had fallen angels who brought deception and confusion. Remember, Satan is known as the father of lies. False teaching is referred to as the doctrine of demons.

For today, our focus is going to be on the good angels, those who advance God’s plan and bring God’s message. In reading the Bible, we might feel like angels are all over the place, but over the course of biblical history, angels were not very common. We could say the same thing about miracles. It was an extraordinary and unexpected thing to meet with an angel. Angels were charged with announcing and, sometimes, enacting, God’s plan on the earth.

Job 38 tells us that angels sang at creation. Genesis 3 says there was a special angel, called a cherubim, guarding the way to the tree of life. But once that takes place, when is the next time an angel, or a divine messenger appears?

If you’ve read Genesis lately as part of your Bible reading plan, you might remember the answer, though it’s not a very well known story. It’s not an appearance to Lot or to Abraham. If you know the answer without a digital search and want to feel validated in it, you can come tell me after.

We’re not going to do a theological lesson today on angels, but what I want you to understand most is that the Jews connected angels to divine revelation.

By the way, if you are interested in learning more about angels, I recommend a book from Moody Publishers, written by C. Fred Dickason. It’s called Angels: Elect and Evil. It was written in 1995. It’s a theological book that helps you understand what the Bible says about angels. It’s not a massively large or confusing book. It basically catalogs everything the Bible says about angels, which can help answer some questions while also prompting new ones.

I seem to have misplaced my copy because it wasn’t on my shelf where I thought it would be. If you’ve been at our church for a while, and you find a copy of that book in your house, and you don’t remember buying it, please don’t assume an angel left it there for you to keep.

Anyway, in highlighting for you the connect made between angels and divine revelation, I’d like to point out a passage from Deuteronomy 32. Near the end of the chapter, Moses says this to the people.

Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today, that you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law. For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.

It was and is a serious thing to receive and to obey the word of God. And that word came accompanied by angels.

Just a few verses later, in chapter 33, as Moses blesses the people, he says to them that Yahweh met them at Mount Sinai, and He came in the midst of ten thousand holy ones.

Angels are God’s announcers, God’s heralds. An angel appeared to Zechariah proclaiming the coming of John the Baptist. An angel appeared to Mary and then to Joseph proclaiming the coming of Jesus. We also had angels appear on the day Jesus was born proclaiming the message to the shepherds. We also had an angelic visit proclaiming Jesus’ Resurrection. Again, hearing from an angel was a big deal.

We can see this connection in Acts 7 where Stephen is preaching before he dies. He makes a reference to angels speaking to Moses. And he end with this, Acts 7:53. Stephen rebukes the rebellious Pharisees and their forefathers saying they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.

They did not listen to the words of Moses which had been delivered by the angels, and so they were under divine judgment.

Galatians 3:19 expresses the same idea of the law coming through angels. Paul says that the Law was put in place through angels by an intermediary.

So, what you need to know is this. If want to experience the ministry of an angel this week, if you want to be “Touched by an Angel,” so to speak, open your Bible and read the Old Testament. But remember that that revelation was only the first phase. God spoke through His Son, and He is better than any angel. Jesus is greater. Jesus is superior.

This is the point that chapters 1 and 2 make. No matter how impressive and important angels are in divine revelation and in the progression of God's plan, Jesus is greater. Jesus is superior.

The first part of this argument tells us that unlike any angel, Jesus is the heir of all. Jesus is the heir of all. This is how the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One, is designated in the Old Testament.

Verse 5 opens with a rhetorical question—For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”?

The author of Hebrews recognizes that to hear the words of Scripture is to hear the words of God.

In the Old Testament, on a few occasions, angels are referred to as “sons of God.” We see that, I believe, in Genesis 6, thought that’s a debated passage. But we also see it a few times in Job.

But there is a distinction in the way “son” is used. An older man, for example, could refer to any little boy as “son” or “mijo.” I’ve been called that many times by people who aren’t related to me.

But the use of the word “son” in the passage being cited is distinct. We looked at this passage last time, so I’m not going to ask you to turn there.

This comes from Psalm 2, verse 7. If you were here last week, you might remember that the psalm is describing God appointing His King over all the earth, One who will inherit and rule all of creation.

A king on his throne might refer to his servants or his advisors as “sons,” but that wouldn’t be used in the same way as referring to a rightful heir who had been born, or begotten. This is the image of Psalm 2, which may have been alluded to every time a new heir was born in the royal line of David. A tiny baby was brought into the palace, and he was afforded the honor of the King. This son would inherit the kingdom.

But all those babies in the line of David were pointing to someone greater. This is what God expressed when He audibly proclaimed at Jesus’ baptism and at the transfiguration, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him.” In other words, this One has all my authority and power. To serve Him is to serve Me.

One day, Jesus is going to come back to earth, and everyone will hear God’s declaration: “This is My Son.” And He will take His place on the throne of David ruling over the nations. Jesus is greater. Jesus is superior. He is God’s one-of-a-kind Son.

The language of Psalm 2 is nothing like what God has ever spoken to an angel. God has never indicated that angels, despite how powerful they are relative to us, are going to receive an exalted status. Angels will not rule over the earth. In fact, 1 Corinthians 6 says that the saints are going to judge the world, and we will judge angels.

Continuing on the theme of a promised son of David, we get a second Old Testament passage that not directed at the angels. The second half of verse 5 is a quotation from 2 Samuel 7.

We’re going to close with this, but let me ask you to turn there. Second Samuel chapter 7, and let’s start in verse 12. This, again, is part of the Jewish expectation. It’s called the Davidic Covenant. David was promised that he would have an eternal legacy. One of his sons is going to rule forever, and Israel will live in eternal peace.

Second Samuel 7:12. Here is God’s message to David—When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. [13] He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. [14] I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son.

There will be an intimacy between the promised Son of David and God Himself. God will mediate His rule over the earth, not through an angel, but through a Son, a Son who will also come in the line of David.

The next generation thought it would be Solomon, but that didn’t work out. Solomon disobeyed, and so did every other king in his line, which is what the book of Chronicles covers.

Who is the promised Son of David? It’s Jesus Christ. The Jews don’t accept that. But we know that is who He is. And one day, the world will see it.

The rest of the prophecy is interesting. Go back to verse 14 of 2 Samuel 7. Let’s finish the message to David.

Verse 14—I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, [15] but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. [16] And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.

Why does verse 15 make a reference to the son of David sinning? Some like to say that this is a reference, not to the specific son, but to David’s line as a whole. So, when a king disobeyed, he would be disciplined by God. But I think that’s a rough transition, and it feels out of place.

I take this as a reference to Jesus. And another possible translation here wouldn’t be “when he commits iniquity,” but instead “in the day of his iniquity.” Did Jesus ever sin? No. But was there a day in which Jesus was marked by iniquity? Yes, there was. It was the day he bore in himself the iniquity of His people. And he was stricken with rods and whipped with the stripes of men.

And while the Pharisees saw that as a mark of God’s judgment, we know that the steadfast love of the Father was always upon Him. Before coming to rule forever, before coming in the fullness of His Father’s glory, the Son came to die for the sins of His people.

Why? So that you and I might receive Him and receive the right to become children of God. You are never going to be a son of God the way that Jesus is. But you can become an adopted son of God and receive a share of His inheritance. You can become a child of God by receiving His message and trusting in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

If you will surrender you life to Him as the true King, as the true expression of who God is, your sins will be wiped away by His sacrifice on the cross.

For those of us who have already made that commitment, we need to keep in mind who it is that we serve.

In a world filled with influencers and coaches and lifestyle experts, who are you listening to? Where do you go for validation or for answers to the most important questions? Where do you go for wisdom? Where do you go to find out how to live as a husband or a wife or a parent? Where do you go for power to change? Where do you go for help?

Which voice is the loudest in your ear? If it’s anybody whose origin is of this earth, just know that Jesus is greater. Jesus is superior.