Jesus is Better than Everything! —The Message of Hebrews pt.1

  • Jesus is far better than everything else we could possibly have. Incomparably better!
  • So hold fast to him and don’t allow yourself to be pulled away by other attractions.

Play Audio:

  • New series on the book of Hebrews.

Jesus is Better than Everything!

  1. Let’s Focus on Jesus: God perfectly revealed to us
  2. Jesus became Human, Now Raised above All
  3. Our Destiny as his Brothers & Sisters

1. Let’s Focus on Jesus: God perfectly revealed to us

  • The issues facing the readers of the book are very similar to us today: not outright persecution,
    • but a tendency to be worn down by the pressures of the world,
    • and lose the fire and excitement about what we have.
  • The response is to have faith, to:

Hebrews: Be strong in our faith!

  • “find strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us” [6:18]
  • “hold firmly to our confidence and the hope we take pride in.” [3:6]
  • “let us hold unwaveringly to the hope that we confess, for the one who made the promise is trustworthy.” [10:23]
  • Jesus is so superior to everything else and it’s by catching a vision of him that we can
    • “run the race.” [12:1]
    • and enter into a destiny that fills us with awe. [12:29]
  • The best antidote to the pressures of the world is to be on fire for Jesus!
  • But first, has anyone come across this expression?

SBNR

  • Many people today would define themselves as “spiritual”
    • concept of SBNR really means spirituality with no commitment
    • a refusal to be accountable to any God, so Jesus’s demand to be our Lord is not acceptable
  • The Roman world at that time was very “spiritual”
    • Everyone was “spiritual” (very few atheists, if any)
    • They had all kinds of spiritualities and were very multicultural—a port with people from everywhere
    • If you were to tell them about Jesus, they were the kind of people who say “oh yea, Jesus. Cool!”
      • Just like today
      • The majority of people today are comfortable with you saying you believe in some kind of God out there.
      • If you ask them about Jesus, they would usually say he was probably a good guy
        • “oh yea, Jesus. —he’s Cool!”
      • But if you say, “Jesus is the only way, he is ultimate and final revelation of God”
        • You sound arrogant!
  • But the book of Hebrews starts out that way with a bang
  • It has a reputation for being a hard book, but when you break it down, it is not that hard.
    • Next time we will look at how it all fits together
    • But this week I am going to simply pick out the main theme

Hebrews 1

  1. Long ago God spoke to our ancestors by the prophets at different times and in different ways,
  2. but in these last days he has spoken to us in a son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he created the world.
    %A new revelation through Jesus (far superior to previous revelation)%
  3. The Son is
    the radiance of his glory
    and the representation of his essence
    %In other words, when you look at Jesus, you are having a perfect and exact view of God%
    and he sustains all things by his powerful word,
    %He keeps the stars in the sky, the leaves growing in the spring%
    and so when he had accomplished cleansing for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
    %He’s now in the position of power, ruling in glory%
  • The contrast between how God spoke long ago and how he has now spoken
    • In both cases there were prophets and others inspired to write Scriptures, so what is the difference?
    • Clarity: God himself walked this earth and so we have a vastly superior understanding of what he is like
    • Intimacy: A “son”-type of revelation means he opened his heart to us. He came to us in a much more personal way than even to Abraham or Moses, who spoke with God face to face.
    • Directly: We do not need a human priest or prophet but hear God’s voice directly through the Spirit, sent by Jesus to manifest his presence to our hearts in an intimate way ([Rom 8])
  • This explains the apparent severity of some of the statements—
    • When God has opened his heart to us, it is much, much more serious to reject him
    • The purpose is not to scare us into performance but to stir us up to the wonder of the gift

2. Jesus became Human, Now Raised above All

  • Just skipping forward to Chapter 2 for context:

Hebrews 2

  1. but we see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while,
    now crowned with glory and honor
    because he suffered death,
    so that by God’s grace he would experience death on behalf of all.

Hebrews 1 cont’d

  1. Thus he became positioned so much higher than the angels as he has inherited a name superior to theirs
  • So, Jesus is God in full glory, so he begins to compare him:
  • The angels are a marker for a level of glory. Jesus is much better in every way:
    • [v.3] Exact representation of the Father
    • [v.3] Creator / Sustainer (by his speaking)
    • [v.3] Now at the right hand of all power
    • [v.4] and therefore Jesus is far higher than the angels
  • 1:1–4 is Exactly 72 words in the Greek. All one sentence of beauty and balance.
  • 31 words concerning how God has spoken to us
    • 5 words describing Christ “The heir of all things”
    • 5 words describing Christ “through whom he created the world”
  • 31 words concerning Christ’s beauty, work and power
  • We’re not in a culture that over-emphasizes Angels, what’s equivalent for us?
    Markers for success in our culture:
    • The dream lifestyle in TV and adverts
    • Financial security
    • Perfect home and family
    • Fame and fortune
    • Becoming the “me” that I want to be
  • [1:5–2:4] Exhortation to pay attention
  • If Jesus is so much better than the angels, -and he has brought a new revelation
    • beware that you don’t drift away into some other “spirituality”
    • or neglect following Jesus

Hebrews 2 – Warning

  1. For this reason, we must pay attention all the more to what we have heard, so that we will not drift away.…
  2. how will we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?

3. Our Destiny as his Brothers & Sisters

  • Going back to the verse we read in Heb 2 about Jesus’ humanity, and then continuing...

Hebrews 2

  1. but we see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while,
    now crowned with glory and honor
    because he suffered death,
    so that by God’s grace he would experience death on behalf of all.
  2. For it was fitting for him, for whom and through whom all things exist,
    in bringing many sons and daughter to glory,
    to make the pioneer of their salvation complete through sufferings.
  3. …and so he is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters
  • Note: The Father’s sons & daughters = Jesus’ brothers and sisters

Hebrews 2 cont’d

  1. Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, he likewise shared in their humanity, so that through death he could destroy the one who holds the power of death (that is, the devil)
  2. and set free those who were held in slavery all their lives by their fear of death.…
  3. Therefore he had to be made like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he could become a merciful and faithful high priest in things relating to God, to make atonement for the sins of the people.
  4. For since he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted.
  • This is going to be a big point later in Hebrews
    • Jesus knows what it is like?
  • What do you beat yourself up for?
    • Did Jesus ever forget important things
    • or get distracted (e.g. hammering a wooden post. a bird flies by and he slips and hits his thumb
      • Inner voice “you stupid person, why can’t you pay attention?
  • Do you know that voice? —he did!

Destiny: Our destiny is to be with Christ in glory

  • Heb 12:28 —we will receive a kingdom
  • Our destiny is to be rule with Jesus, to rule over angels,
  • Rev 3:21 —one of the most striking: “I will grant him to sit on my throne as I sat down with my Father on his throne”
  • “As the Son, so with the sons and daughters” (Church fathers)

Summary of Today

1. New Revelation through Jesus

  • God has spoken to us in an entirely new, and infinitely superior way, through Jesus.
  • Jesus is not just a spiritual being, like the angels, but God the Son
  • So if it was serious to ignore God speaking in the past, how much more serious is it now!

2. New Destiny in Jesus

  • Jesus fulfills God’s original destiny for humanity, being raised higher than the angels
  • As his brothers & sisters we share his destiny
  • He is not ashamed of us, but trusts us
  • This puts into perspective the “shaming” society gives us

Two arguments in Hebrews:

  • negative: If you stop following Jesus, there isn’t anything else
  • Positive: What you have in Jesus is so much better than what you might lose
  • We are being challenged to give Jesus exclusive value.
    • Why do people need a message like this?
    • Some here maybe are not 100% committed to putting him first
  • What we have in Jesus is extraordinary!
  • Assignment this week. Listen out for the messages you are getting from society.
  • When you identify one of them, compare it with Jesus:

Listen and compare with Jesus:

  • The dream lifestyle in TV and adverts
  • Financial security
  • Perfect partner, home and family
  • Fame and fortune
  • Becoming the “me” that I want to be
  • Remind yourself of how much better Jesus is!

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