Hebrews 1

It's good to be with you tonight, IBC. Very good to be here. As I said earlier, I spend most of my year teaching teenage boys religion, theology, philosophy, and one time I gave them this assignment that they had to find a few lines of a text, whether it was the Bible, another religious text, or philosophy of some sort.

And they had to present it to the class and spend about two minutes telling us how it related to what we were talking about.

So I got all sorts of lines of text coming from certain boys, and then a quieter boy comes up to the class, so he's maybe 15 years old, and he walks up, and he reads three passages from the Bible.

And one of them is from Leviticus, talking about the punishment for homosexuality.

If any man or woman has a sexual act with another man or woman, their sin is upon their heads, they shall be stoned.

Then he proceeds to read from Joshua, and talk about God commanding the Israelites to kill the Canaanites.

And then he goes on to a New Testament verse, making various comments about slaves and women.

And he says, based on these passages, I conclude that God, or the people who wrote the Bible, is a racist, bigot, homophobe.

A racist, bigot, homophobe.

Now the whole class looks at me, sort of stunned, a little bit like you're looking at me now.

I'm just going to stare at me thinking, what are you going to say to that?

And then I, I think to their disappointment, said, well he makes a fair point, and we have to consider this.

Now, this boy had taken a few select passages from the Bible as his source for knowledge about God.

His vision of God, what he saw of that person or that idea, was based on these few select passages.

He didn't see God as a nice person, a caring father, a shepherd of the sheep.

As a kind king.

And certainly not as someone who walked among us to cleanse us of our sin.

And restore the world from evil.

No, he overlooked certain parts of the Bible and focused on these.

Misprioritizing certain sources.

Selecting certain sources at the expense of others.

Now, as a church, I don't know that that's always our problem.

That we're sort of overlooking.

If anything, we're overlooking those passages that he's quoting.

And we need to take those seriously.

But, our problem is slightly different.

But in the same kind of way, we're misprioritizing certain texts or certain sources.

Sort of streams of information about God.

About how we get to know who God is.

What we listen to.

What we decide not to listen to.

And the author to the Hebrews is very aware of this issue.

He's very aware of how we get to know who God is.

Of how the church is learning about God.

How their vision of God is changed or distorted by prioritizing different sources.

Hebrews, as many of you will know, is probably written to a heavily Jewish audience.

And so, or people, I'm sorry, that at least were formerly Jews and now have become Christians.

So, they were formerly Jews, now have become Christians.

And the unique thing about them is they're quite tempted to return to their Judaism.

Right?

It's sort of like you've changed jobs.

And you're thinking, well, this new job doesn't give me the privileges or the prestiges I had at that other job.

And some things I don't really like about it.

It's not as comfortable.

And I'm thinking about going back, actually.

I'm thinking about going back.

And so, that's why Hebrews deals with things like apostasy.

That's a theme that's going on here.

And that's why the author is drawing on the Old Testament so much.

And not just drawing on Old Testament imagery to help people make sense of Jesus or God in his current work.

It's drawing on the Old Testament almost as a necessary framework for understanding who Christ is and what God is doing now.

But it would have carried a lot of weight with that audience.

So, the first verse says,

Long ago, at many times, and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets.

Long ago, at many times, and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets.

And any formerly Jewish audience would have readily agreed with this statement.

That's right, the prophets.

They spoke to our fathers, to our ancestors.

When we think about the prophets, we can think about the sort of prophets who have a book named after them.

But there are many other people functioning as prophets.

And Moses was one of the first prophets.

God spoke to Moses and gave him the law in Sinai.

And Moses speaks to the people.

Oftentimes, Christians think of David as sort of the main man of the Old Testament.

As sort of the leading figure.

But Jews often think of someone else.

Jews often think of someone else as the main man.

The main kind of prophet.

I was chatting with someone.

I don't think he's a Jew.

But he was a university professor in Old Testament.

And I'm sitting in his office.

And we're chatting.

And I gradually start to kind of look through his head.

And then I start to kind of draw my attention up his bookshelf.

And in his bookshelf, there was a small toy that's still in its package.

And it's an action figure.

It's an action figure of Moses.

It's a Moses action figure.

And he's standing there probably with a staff and a small robe.

So, Moses.

Moses is the main man.

Main man for Jews.

Because he received Torah on Sinai.

And he gave God's people the law.

It's not to say that other people aren't very important.

Or all Jews would say that.

But Moses is a prophet.

And God spoke so definitively on Sinai to Moses.

That was one way in which he spoke.

The New Testament Gospels are framing the whole story of Jesus in the promises of the prophets.

You can't get very far in Matthew without Isaiah saying something that Jesus is now fulfilling.

And this is why Jesus causes so much religious turmoil.

Well, one of the reasons.

Because he's acting like a prophet.

And then he's acting like more than a prophet.

And he's taking the teachings of the prophets that the Pharisees would have known.

And he's challenging them.

And he's talking with the Pharisees about them.

There's a nice passage in Luke 7.

Jesus is talking to a Pharisee at the Pharisee's house.

He's having dinner, actually.

And this woman, this sinful woman, comes over.

And she starts anointing Jesus with oil.

And visibly and physically showing her affection for him.

And this Pharisee leans over.

And you can imagine him kind of whispering to someone else at the table.

If this Jesus guy really knew what kind of woman that was, he wouldn't be a prophet.

A real prophet would know what kind of woman she is.

A real prophet would know what kind of woman she is.

And you may know what Jesus said then.

Those who are forgiven little love little.

Those who are forgiven much love much.

This woman is a sinner and she knows it.

This woman is a sinner and she knows it.

Jesus was a challenge to the sources of authority that these people in the first century were accepting.

That the Jews particularly.

And Jesus is saying, you have got to take me seriously.

You've got to take me seriously.

Because I'm not just a prophet.

I'm acting like a prophet.

But I am more than a prophet.

I am more than a prophet.

And that is the point that we get in Hebrews.

Long ago, at many times, and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets.

But, in these last days, he has spoken to us by his son.

Whom he appointed the heir of all things.

In these last days, he has spoken to us by his son.

What the author is saying, if you want to get to know God,

don't not look at the prophets.

Don't not read the Old Testament.

But if you want to get to know God, you've got to look at Jesus.

You've got to look to Christ.

That's what I'm going to be unpacking.

There are quite a few phrases here that explain that.

You'll see he's the radiance and the glory of God.

The exact imprint of his nature.

One more example that's maybe a little more relatable.

Parents are a source of knowledge about God.

We acquire our view, maybe initially, first and foremost, many of us from our parents.

We almost can't quite completely get away from that for much of our life.

Dad may have said God hates Roman Catholics.

Mom said they're not Christians.

They're not real Christians.

So we need a Roman Catholic.

I think you're not really a Christian.

I mean, you do a kind of church-like thing, and you're a little more serious about that than I am.

I don't really know.

Dad said you're not really a Christian.

I'm not going to take up the whole Roman Catholic thing and unpack that at the moment.

But you get the point, right?

Our parents are very, very informative in terms of how we see God for both good and bad.

And we've got to at least put that to question.

And we've got to remember that often we might misprioritize certain sources of knowledge about God and how we view Him.

I wanted to give an example from Christian blogs, from the blogosphere, but I'm really not that plugged in.

And when I did go to visit some blogs, I was impressed, actually, with quite a bit of balance.

It's sort of the main impression I got from the articles.

It wasn't really one-sided.

It was saying, well, maybe we need a little bit more of this or some of this at this time.

But maybe you all can come up with an example.

You would know how blogs can be both nourishing but also slightly dangerous if we put too much weight on the message.

So God reveals Himself.

He reveals Himself most clearly.

He speaks in the loudest way through Jesus.

In these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son.

And we get about four or five descriptions here.

So I'm just preaching the first four verses of this chapter.

He appointed Christ the heir of all things.

He appointed Christ the heir of all things.

So the heir implies inheritance.

Christ has inherited at God's appointment.

He's been given all things.

They are His.

He is the firstborn.

That's the language that is related to this, that the Bible uses.

He's the firstborn.

He is, in the way, the firstfruits.

In this way, He sort of sets a model for what His followers will experience.

He's the firstfruits of the resurrection from the dead.

So as Christ was raised from the dead, so shall His followers be raised.

He's over all creation.

There's no one like this.

None of the prophets in the Old Testament were the heirs of all creation in this way.

Only Christ receives that sort of description.

God appointed Him the heir of all things through whom He also created the world.

Jesus was working with the Father in the creation of the world.

The Son and the Father were co-creating.

They were working together in the creation of the world.

And the Son took part.

What's the implication of this?

If you create everything, then you're not created.

If you created everything, you are not created.

You're not like the prophets.

You're not like the angels.

You're not like these other things and aspects in creation.

Christ is above those things.

He is one with the Creator.

The Greek word is actually worlds.

I don't know how much stock to put in this, but it could be a sense of worlds accentuating

kind of all things.

It's just the world that you see, but all things.

The other things that you don't see.

I don't know if you're into a multiverse theory.

I'm particularly not.

I think I would find it interesting if I knew more about it.

But if you are, then this would be an interesting passage to look at.

He also created the worlds.

The point is that Christ created them and he created all things.

And it might be just more than the first century audience experienced on a day-to-day basis.

He also upholds, related to this, he upholds the universe by the word of his power.

If you're following along in the text, notice I skipped down.

We'll come back.

But he upholds the universe by the word of his power.

So he not only created these things, he not only inherited all things.

He also actively sustains all things.

He sustains all things.

Jesus is acting like God the Father because he is God.

He is God.

He governs with God.

He governs for God.

He's the heir of all things through whom God created the world

and upholds the universe by the word of his power.

One very interesting thing here is verse 3.

Christ is the radiance of the glory of God

and the exact imprint of his nature.

He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature.

This language for imprint, the imprint of someone's nature,

was a word used for stamps.

Like a, yeah, you could stamp like a seal or an engraving upon something,

like a coin or stone or something else.

You could engrave upon a coin the exact image of something.

You could put a brand on a camel.

That's an imprint, a brand on a camel.

You could also have, say, an imperial seal.

If you had something and you had to put the stamp on there.

Now you're thinking, well, that doesn't sound like an exact imprint of something.

That's sort of nothing compared to our digital printer.

That really could give you an exact imprint of someone's face.

But in the first century, the sense is it's sort of this authoritative mark

that is a representation of the person whom it represents.

This imprint, this seal, it's engraving.

It's engraving.

It's representative of that person in an authoritative way,

in an individual way.

More abstractly, we get this, in this Greek text,

we hear that these two men,

so the excellent character of Heracles and Theseus,

impressed upon their exploits,

so clear a stamp of glory.

The excellent character of Heracles and Theseus,

impressed upon their exploits,

so clear a stamp of glory.

A stamp, that's the imprint.

So clear a stamp of glory.

And it was their character that leapt upon their actions,

this stamp, this imprint.

This imprint of glory in their case.

So when the letter says that Christ is the exact imprint of God's nature,

he's this stamp, he's this seal,

he's this exact representation of who God is.

And the implication is, if you want to know God, you look at Christ.

If you want to know who God is, you look at Christ.

He is the imprint of his nature.

I won't rattle through the alternatives,

but the author could have written so many things.

What else is the exact imprint of God's nature?

Well, we learn from God all over the place.

It seems a little bit simple to say this man from the first century,

we really have, you know, he lived 33 years,

but if we really have about three years of his life,

that's the exact imprint of God's nature?

That's the radiance of God's glory?

What about all creation?

All creation does speak about God.

What about God's word?

God's physical word does speak about God.

We'll question the authority and the scope to which you can speak about God.

But the author knows these things.

He says, look to Christ.

He's the radiance of God's glory.

He's where God really shines.

Maybe you get the most reliable.

The clearest signal of who God is.

This isn't as limited or as strange as you might think.

If we think a little bit about how we get to know other people, actually.

How we get to know other people.

And one way, we often say,

so-and-so shines in this activity,

or in this role,

you really see them shine.

So, I'll give you an example from the athletic world,

which isn't really my specialty,

but I do enjoy it in different ways.

There's an author called David Foster Wallace,

about maybe ten years ago.

And Wallace writes, wrote fiction,

and a lot of really, really good essays,

non-fiction essays.

And he reflects on,

he himself actually was a,

sort of a novice tennis player,

but like a good novice tennis player.

Serious.

And so, he reflects on how athletes

struggle to express themselves verbally in interviews.

They present one way,

which we've all seen,

an athlete interviewing,

sort of after a contest.

And then he says,

but how do I align that with people playing sports

that require a lot of extreme intelligence?

How do I compare these things?

He doesn't give these examples,

but I found some.

Here's the first.

I owe a lot to my parents,

especially my mother and father.

That's golfer Greg Norman.

Reflecting on the match to come,

this is the English footballer.

Well, either side could win it,

or it could be a draw.

If you're curious,

it's Ron Atkinson.

The last one is,

I feel like I'm the best,

but you're not going to get me to say that.

I feel like I'm the best,

but you're not going to get me to say that.

That's an American football player,

one who catches the ball of the receiver.

Here's what Foster Wallace says.

We prefer not to consider closely

the shockingly vapid and primitive comments

uttered by athletes in post-contest interviews,

or to consider what impoverishments

in one's mental life

would allow people actually to think

the way great athletes seem to think.

And then he goes on to say,

I submit that tennis is the most beautiful sport there is,

and also the most demanding.

It requires bodily control,

hand-eye coordination,

quickness,

flat-out speed,

endurance,

and that weird mix of caution and abandon

we call courage.

It also requires smarts.

Just one single shot

in one exchange

in one point

of a high-level match

is a nightmare

of mechanical variables.

Given a net

that's three feet high

at the center

and two players

in unrealistically

fixed positions,

the efficacy of one single shot

is determined by its angle,

depth,

pace,

and spin.

And each of these determinants

is itself determined

by still other variables.

I'm not knocking athletes,

but I am saying

that if you really want

to get to know an athlete

and you haven't seen them play,

then you're missing out on something.

If you just listen to them

give a post-contest interview,

if you just select a few passages

from the Old Testament,

if you just listen

to what your parents say

is scripture,

you don't get a whole

complete sense

of who God is.

You don't get a whole sense

of who God is.

You must look to Christ.

The last thing here

is this interesting attribute here.

We get all these sort of

what I would call

like power attributes

throughout this passage.

He's the heir of all things,

created the world,

the exact imprint

of God's glory and nature.

He upholds the universe

by the word of his power.

And then what do we read?

After making purification

for sins,

Christ sat down

at the right hand

of the majesty on high.

Now the right hand

of God

is a place of authority,

but Christ came from a place

of making purification

for sins.

He came from a place

of making purification

for sins.

These are distinct

attributes of God.

Distinct attributes

of God.

These are distinct things

even that he does.

Their functions,

their roles,

that no one else,

no one else does.

No one else makes

purification for sins

except Christ.

In a way,

it's not that Jesus,

this might sound

a little bit cheesy,

but it makes the point.

Jesus didn't bring

God's message.

Jesus was God's message.

He didn't just bring

and speak on God's behalf

like the prophets did.

He himself

was God's message.

He himself was

God's message.

Unless we think

that the radiance

of God's glory

is just a good thing,

that it's just good

in the sense of

it's happy news.

It's palpable.

We have to remember

that Christ

had to make

purification for sins.

Sin is not good news.

It doesn't really

associate it with radiance,

but in this case

it does,

because purification

is good news.

Purification of sins

is good news.

This is really

set Hebrews up.

The book is going

to go on

to talk about

further aspects

of Christ being

greater than things

in the Old Testament.

He's a greater priest.

He's a greater prophet.

He's a greater sacrifice.

It's going to inform

God's people

about what that means

for their faith,

what it means

for their faithfulness,

especially.

If you're thinking

about leaving Christianity,

faithfulness is a big issue.

In chapter 10,

we're going to be looking

at chapter 10,

verse 11,

if you are

keeping track.

we get this wonderful image,

this wonderful,

again,

more than an image,

this wonderful description

of Christ

and how he purified sins.

How he purified sins.

Again,

chapter 10,

verse 11,

and every priest,

that's the Levitical priest,

like if you think of

an Old Testament priest,

like Aaron,

stands daily at God's service,

offering repeatedly

the same sacrifices,

which can never

take away sins.

Right?

The priest's role,

day in and day out,

sometimes two sacrifices

a day,

sacrificing to God

repeatedly.

Same thing,

same sacrifice,

an animal of some sort.

But this sacrifice

couldn't take away sins.

Hebrews will tell us

that it was

to bring about

a memory of sins,

to remember

someone's sins.

And I'm sure you

would remember sins

if you walked up

to a priest

on this stone altar

and you brought

some animal

and you put your hand

on the animal's head

and the priest

went down with a knife

and he cut the animal's throat

and the blood would go

probably on you.

That would be

quite a way

to remember,

remember

your sin before God.

Verse 12,

but when Christ

had offered

for all time

a single sacrifice

for sins,

but when Christ

had offered

for all time

a single sacrifice

for sins,

he sat down

at the right hand

of God.

The picture is

that Christ

walks up

to the temple,

to the temple court.

Before the temple,

you can imagine

this big,

big area

and there would be

something higher

than your head.

It would be

a big stone

platform,

stairs walking up

to it.

You can imagine

Christ coming in.

he presents

as a priest.

Here is this priest

and he walks

upon the altar

and he realized

that he is the priest

and he is also

the sacrifice

and he is coming

to lay his life

down for the people.

He's coming

to lay his life

down for the people.

And he doesn't

have to do that

every day.

He doesn't have

to do that

for his own sins.

He doesn't have

to atone

for his own sins.

He doesn't need

his blood

spring upon himself.

He comes

to lay

his life

down for the sheep

and make

a single

sacrifice

for sins.

And now

he's at the

right hand of God

and he's waiting

from that time

until his enemy

should be made

a footstool

for his feet.

For by a single

offering he has

perfected for all

time those

who are being

sanctified.

He has perfected

for all time

those who are

being sanctified.

And there is the

story of the

Christian life.

Are you perfect

or are you

in process?

You will be

perfect.

You are not

perfect.

You are in

process.

The perfection

is secure.

The purification

is secure.

And we are

just getting

cleaned up

and it's a

long, long

bath.

It's a long

process.

It's a

lifelong

process.

And the

Holy Spirit

also bears

witness to us

for after saying

this is the

covenant that I

will make

with them

after those

days,

declares the

Lord.

I will put

my laws on

their hearts

and write

them on

their minds.

Then he

adds,

I will

remember

their sins

and their

lawless deeds

no more.

I will

remember

their sins

and their

lawless deeds

no more.

For where

there is

forgiveness

of these,

there is no

longer any

offering for

sin.

There is no

longer any

offering.

Someone at

some point in

the last hour

said that we

don't have to,

or maybe in the

morning said that

we don't have

to bring Christ

back up upon

the cross for

him.

Jesus doesn't

need to be

sacrificed again.

Only once.

Only once does

not Christ need

to be sacrificed.

And when God

says something

like, I will

remember their

sins and their

lawless deeds

no more, he

is very aware

of our sins.

But with a

sacrifice like

Christ, with a

mediator, with a

priest like

Christ, we can

now come in

confidence to

God.

We can now

come in

confidence to

God.

And that

looks like

knowing and

being aware

of and

repentant of

our sins.

We have

come and we

are not

perfected.

We are being

sanctified.

But it also

comes with a

level of

confidence to

say, I can

draw near to

God because

none of those

sins, none of

those sins

keep me from

God.

Not one.

God.

And that's

why we hold

our heads

up in the

benediction

because we

have confidence

to approach

God, to

approach the

throne.

Let us

pray.