Hebrews 1:1-14
God's Final Word is His Son
1 In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. 3 The 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.4 So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.
5 For 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”?
6 And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says,
“Let all God’s angels worship him.”
7 In speaking of the angels he says,
“He makes his angels spirits,
and his servants flames of fire.”
8 But about the Son he says,
“Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever;
a scepter of justice 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.”
10 He also says,
“In the beginning, 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.”
13 To which of the angels did God ever say,
“Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet”?
14 Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?
The Nature of Jesus is most profoundly unveiled in the opening of Hebrews 1, where we see Him not merely as a Messenger, Teacher, or Servant, but as the final and Supreme Word of God...For centuries, the Father spoke in "various ways" through the prophets, but in these last days, He has spoken to us through His Son—the radiance of His Glory and the exact representation of His Being...This chapter establishes the "Logos" as the eternal Architect who, in the beginning, laid the foundations of the earth and crafted the heavens with His own hands...While the universe itself may wear out like an old garment, Jesus remains the same, His years never ending...His authority is so absolute that even the angels of God—mighty beings who serve as ministering spirits for those inheriting salvation—are commanded to worship Him...
He is not just a spiritual guide; He is the Sovereign King who is superior to any heavenly or earthly power...Before taking His seat at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven as our Continuous Advocate, He first provided the purification for our sins, proving that His Majestic Authority is forever entwined with His sacrificial LOVE on the Cross...When we read the Words of Jesus, we are not just reading history; we are looking into the very heart of the Living God, seeing a nature that is both Eternally Sovereign and deeply, lowly accessible... He invites us to "access" Him because He is so LOVING, offering a Comforting Presence that thaws the "apathy" of our hearts...By understanding that the One who "laid the foundations of the earth" is the same One who invites us to walk the road to Emmaus, we find a bridge between the vastness of creation and the intimacy of the "Comforter" promised in John 14...
There is a Sacred and Holy nature in the Words of Jesus throughout the four Gospels...And when reading His Words we come to see Divinity...The words He spoke tells us about His majestic and compassionate nature...There are several profound dimensions in His Words that speak of His character that complete the portrait of the "Logos" in action...One of the most striking characteristics often overlooked is Jesus as the "Provocative Truth-Teller" and "Social Disruptor that He is"...While He was indeed "gentle and lowly," as we read Matthew 11:29, He is not lowly in a negative way...He says "Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls"...Here is what it means for Jesus to be lowly as Matthew writes about Him...He is accessible to the "Little Ones"...In the original language, "lowly" (tapeinos) refers to someone who is unpretentious and level with the ground...It means Jesus doesn't position Himself on a high pedestal where we can't reach Him...He is the God of the universe, yet He is "low" enough that children felt comfortable climbing into His lap and outcasts felt safe sitting at His table...He isn't "high and mighty" in a way that intimidates those who are struggling...So since He does not see Himself as High and Mighty, as He certainly is, He is humble and uses the term lowly to help us better... The is no pride in Him...To be lowly is the opposite of being "puffed up"...Jesus had no need to impress anyone. He didn't come with the flash and ego of a worldly king...Being lowly means He is completely free of the "inner courtroom" of pride...He doesn't look down on us for our failures because He has lowered Himself to walk alongside us in them...He always too a Servant’s posture...Think of the scene where Jesus washes the disciples' feet...That is the ultimate act of being "lowly"...He took the lowest job in the house—the job of a servant—to show that His power is expressed through service, not through demanding to be served...He meets us at our lowest point rather than demanding we pull ourselves up to His level first...We see why His Words will never pass away...
In the context of the human's "inner courtroom", Jesus being lowly is what allows us to step out of the dock...If He were a distant, "High" Judge, we might stay in fear...But because He is lowly, He enters the dock with us...He understands our weaknesses and our "apathy" because He experienced the weight of human life..."He does not just watch our journey from a distance; He walks the dusty miles with us because His heart is lowly enough to share our path"...
Jesus was simultaneously also fierce opponent of religious hypocrisy and legalism...In the Gospels, we see a Jesus who was not afraid to overturn tables or call out the "white-washed tombs" of the elite...This reveals His zeal for the purity of God’s house and His commitment to a justice that transcends mere rules...He was a master of the "Paradoxical Mind," teaching through parables that forced His listeners to abandon their own "inner courtrooms" of judging others and see the world through the lens of upside-down Kingdom values and how they are different in what we value on earth, where the last are first and the weak are made strong...
Another essential attribute to include is His "Radical Inclusivity"...Jesus consistently moved toward the people whom society—and the religious establishment—had pushed to the margins....Whether it was the Samaritan woman at the well, the leper who was deemed untouchable, or the tax collector sitting in a tree, Jesus’s character is defined by a "Proactive Seeking"...He did not wait for the brokenhearted to find their way to the temple...While He was on earth, He showed all that He is our New Temple of God...He went into their streets, sat at their tables, and touched their wounds...This demonstrates His role as the "Bridge-Builder," closing the gap between a Holy God and a fractured humanity...His inclusiveness was not a sign of weakness or a compromise of Truth, but rather the ultimate expression of His "Agape LOVE," which values the soul of the individual over the expectations of the crowd...
We must also consider the "Vulnerability and Emotional Depth" of Jesus...While He is the eternal Living God, the New Testament provides a window into His deeply human emotional life...He is the God who "wept" at the tomb of Lazarus, showing His capacity for shared grief...He is the God who felt "distressed and troubled" in the Garden of Gethsemane, demonstrating a "Courageous Submission" to the Father’s will despite the agony it caused Him...This human vulnerability makes Him a "Sympathetic High Priest" who is not distant from our suffering but has walked through the valley of the shadow of death Himself...By experiencing hunger, fatigue, betrayal, and physical pain, He transformed His "Holy and Sinless" nature into a relatable anchor for every person facing a trial...
Through His nature and words we find that life is found through the Way of the Cross...That is the foundational truth of the Gospel...It perfectly summarizes everything read in the ew Testament...When one speaks of the Way, the Truth, and the Life, we are essentially describing the "Key" that unlocks the entire Bible—from the hidden protection in Esther to the "infallible proofs" of the forty days in Acts...The "hidden protection" in the Book of Esther is one of the most unique concepts in the Bible because it illustrates God’s Providence—His ability to work behind the scenes even when He seems invisible and so subtle...In the original Hebrew text of Esther, the name of God is never mentioned once, yet His "fingerprints" are on every page...This Hidden Protection is how we are ensured of the "Way, the Truth, and the Life" could eventually enter the world...
The most critical aspect of the hidden protection, when sometimes we think God hides, was the survival of the Jewish people...As we read about Haman and his decree and the need for it to fail...If Haman’s decree had been successful, the Jewish people might be gone and the line of David would have been wiped out...This means the human ancestors of Jesus would have perished...The "hidden" protection was God ensuring that the "LOVE Letter" of the Bible wouldn't end in a Persian grave, but would continue toward the manger in Bethlehem...In Esther, protection doesn't come through a parting of the sea or fire from heaven; it comes through "coincidences" that are actually Divine Appointments...The King’s Insomnia was at the exact moment Haman was planning to hang Mordecai, the King couldn't sleep and asked for the chronicles to be read, which reminded him that Mordecai had saved his life...Esther’s position in the King's court...As Mordecai famously said, she was placed in the palace "for such a time as this"...Her beauty and favor were the "shield" God used to get an advocate into the inner circle of power...When the King reversed the verdict ties perfectly into Jesus and why David's lineage would produce the Messiah...Haman had secured a legal "verdict" of death against the Jewish people...It was signed with the King’s signet ring and could not be revoked...Since the first law couldn't be deleted, a second law was written that gave the people the power to defend themselves and overcome the enemy...
We can read into Esther a Jesus Connection...This is exactly what happened at the Cross...The "law of sin and death" demanded a verdict against us, but Jesus didn't just break the law; He fulfilled it and gave us a "new law" of Grace that protects us from the accuser...
Theologians often refer to this as Hester Panim, which means "The Hiding of the Face"...It teaches us that even when we feel "apathy" or feel like God is silent or hidden (as I feel sometimes), His protection is still active...Just as God was protecting the future of the Messiah in the silent halls of a Persian palace, He is protecting our hearts and our peace even when we don't "feel" His Presence...It proves that the Father is always working, as Jesus says, and is "behind the scenes of not only the present, but also the history all along," to ensure that the road to Emmaus—and our own journey—remains open and safe...
Jesus tells us that He is the Way...This is the path out of our judging others and struggling to make forgiveness a part of our lifestyle...It is the decision to stop being the prosecutor of your past and start walking the road to Emmaus with Jesus...It’s the "how" of moving from emptiness and apathy to peace...He tells us the He is the Truth...The Truth is not a list of rules you failed to keep; the Truth is a Person who says your debts are paid and all your sins are forgiven...It silences the accuser by pointing to the "Yes and Amen" of the Cross...He says He is the Life...This is the result of the adjournment of our inner self not wanting to forgive and serve and help others...This is the "thawing" of our emotions which helps let the Holy Spirit—the Comforter—breath vitality back into those parts of your heart that felt numb, alone, asking why, or "apathetic"...In His Nature and All His Ways, we see Great LOVE, Great forgiveness, and Great Empathy...
We often search for meaning in the ruins of our past or the complexity of our rules, but the Gospel simplifies our journey into three divine realities: the Way, the Truth, and the Life...Through the Way of the Cross, we find the courage to leave our inner courtrooms behind...Through the Truth of His Word, we find the evidence of our total forgiveness...This forgiveness and the Cross shows we are 100% forgiven...And through the Life of the Resurrected Christ, we find the power to truly feel and love again...It is at the foot of the Cross where the gavel finally falls, not in condemnation, but in the final declaration that we are home, we are whole, and we are His...
Furthermore, Jesus is characterized by His "Intercessory Heart"...Even now, the scriptures describe Him as seated at the right hand of the Father, "always living to make intercession" for us...This reveals a persistence in His character; He is not a Savior who finished a task and then retired, but a "Continuous Advocate"...In the context of our own "inner courtroom" metaphor, Jesus is the one who stands beside us when the accuser speaks...He is the "Prince of Peace" who actively works to reconcile our internal chaos with the Father’s rest...His faithfulness is not just a historical fact but a "Present-Tense Reality" where He holds all things together by the power of His Word...
Finally, we should acknowledge His "Subversive Humility" as the "Suffering Servant" and His calling Himself "Lowly"...While He possessed "Wise and Authoritative" power, He chose to exercise it through service—most notably when He washed the dusty feet of His disciples, including the one who would soon betray Him...This "Servant Leadership" is the hallmark of His Kingdom and provides the ultimate blueprint for how we are to live and treat one another...He did not use His Divinity as a shield against the world’s darkness, but as a Light to guide us through it...By adding these layers—His disruptive zeal, His radical inclusivity, His emotional vulnerability, His ongoing intercession, and His subversive humility—we see a Jesus who is not only a Savior to be worshipped but a Friend to be followed into every corner of human experiences -good, bad, or indifferent...So we understand better the verse for God so LOVES the world that He gave His One and Only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life...