A series on the book of Hebrews:
Christ is greater than the prophets and angels
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Hebrews 1-2:18
Christ is greater than the prophets and angels
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Hebrews 1-2:18
[When you first
start to follow Christ, often it’s done with great excitement. It’s like
falling in love when all you can think about is the other person, and you want to
tell everyone you know. But then life settles in and can push out those
feelings. The day-to-day pressures of living can dull your enthusiasm. In this
series, we will look at how the author of Hebrews tried to counteract falling
out of love with Jesus.]
The referees are the authority in every game. They
have a whistle and a striped shirt. They have access to replay monitors. They’ve
been trained and are certified by the WNBA. They have the final word on what
gets called… or not called.
Jesus, the Son of God, was the final word from God. In
the past, God spoke to the nation of Israel through the prophets and his nurturing angels. But now he
spoke through his Son who has the authority that goes far beyond a striped
shirt.
3 The Son radiates
God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains
everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our
sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God
in heaven. NLT
The letter to the Hebrews was written during the
first century to Jewish Christians who were struggling possibly because of
being persecuted. They had come to a crossroads in their faith where they were
considering whether it would be better to return to their old religion of
Judaism, or continue to follow Christ.
1 Therefore, we
must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from
it. ESV
And what was it that they had heard? Based on the Law
and the sacrificial system that God instructed Moses to set up, the High Priest
was the only person who could enter into the presence of God in the Temple. He
did so to offer sacrifices for the sins of Israel.
However, what they had heard was that Jesus changed
everything. He was the fulfillment of that ritual. He was the High Priest in
the New Covenant. He made the sacrifice for sins so that no further sacrifices were
needed.
17 Therefore, it was
necessary for him to be made in every respect like us, his brothers and
sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before
God. Then he could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the
people. NLT
Jesus did this not just for the Jewish Christians in
the first century, but for all of us. It was the only way to provide forgiveness
of sins once and for all. Jesus had the final word.
14 Because God’s
children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and
blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break
the power of the devil, who had the power of death. 15 Only
in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the
fear of dying. NLT
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