One of the most fascinating moments of Jesus’ teaching ministry is when, according to Matthew 11, he pauses to pay tribute to John the Baptist. It’s the Son of God, on a redemptive mission to lay down his life so that the church might inherit eternal life, and he stops to talk about how great John the Baptist is. In fact, he says of John the Baptist, “Among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist” (11:11). In one swooping sentence David is trumped, Isaiah is eclipsed, and Moses is left in his shadows. But the overwhelming question I had was, “Why take the time to pay tribute to John the Baptist anyway?” Why did Jesus find it so important to tell everyone how great John the Baptist was?

It was not until I read Don Carson’s commentary on the book of Matthew that I realized that Matthew 11:7-19, though it may carry the heading, “A tribute to John the Baptist” was really not ultimately about John. For Jesus was saying that John the Baptist was the greatest born of woman because he was able to be the final prophet before Jesus came. In essence, Jesus was saying, “John is the greatest person I know in the world because he has had the great privilege of introducing me.” Therefore, all my questioning about why Jesus spent all this time talking about John’s greatness all of the sudden disappeared as I realized I had been making a mistake in thinking this was a text about John’s greatness when it was about Christ’s greatness.

As you turn to Hebrews 1:5-14 it is easy to make the same kind of mistake I made in understanding Matthew 11. In fact, you could see it wrong in a couple of different ways. First, you could think that this section of Hebrews is a section of the text concerning angels, even if its concern in these verses is to show their inferiority. It does speak much of angels, mentioning the word numerous times throughout these ten verses, and it does spend much time showing they are inferior to the Son. However, angels are not the ultimate focus of the text. Second, you could misunderstand the text in thinking that the author is concerning himself to show how bad angels are. He is doing no such thing. In fact, he says many good things about angels, including the fact that they are ministers of God and “ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation” (14). And if the Hebrews had a high regard for angels prior to these verses, I do not see such statements swaying them from thinking angels are indeed great beings.

In fact, the angels being great beings is the platform from which we hear the message of Hebrews 1:5-14. For the point of this text is not that angels are bad but that though the angels are great beings they do not hold a candle to the Son, for he is superior to them. Therefore, the setting is not saying that Christ is greater than something that is anything but great, but that he eclipses even the angels. Thus, the message of this text is that Christ is superior even to the angels.

But this text teaches us much more than simply that Christ is greater than the angels, it teaches us very specifically some aspects of his person and work that demand that Christ be seen as greater than the angels. Therefore I want to us to reflect on these aspects of Christ this morning that we might rightly perceive his greatness.

First, we see that the Old Testament is clearly God’s word and that Christ is its focus

The reason I say that the Old Testament is clearly seen to be God’s word in our text is because texts of the Old Testament are quoted throughout these verses (at least 7 different references) and are prefaced as being that which God has spoken. Thus, we read before the quotation of Psalm 2:7 and 2 Samuel 7:14 in verse 5, “For to which of the angels did God ever say … ” Again, before the reference to Deut. 32:43 in verse 6 we see it prefaced as that which God has said. The same thing is true in verse 8 and verse 13. Throughout our text, the Old Testament is seen as God’s very word. Therefore, it is not simply the New Testament that should be regarded as God’s word but the Old as well. And therefore, our statement on the truthfulness, authority, inspiration, and inerrancy of Scripture should be that for one to say the Bible says something is equivalent to saying that God says something.

Moreover, seeing the Old Testament as God’s word, we see that Christ is the focus thereof. According to the New Testament witness, the bible is probably best understood to be like a mystery novel in which Christ is the answer that solves the puzzle as he is climactically and clearly shown in the New Testament. Thus, as you read the Old Testament, you read all kinds of promises and clues of one coming. At times it is spoken as David’s greater son coming, at times Abraham’s offspring, at times a reigning king, and at times God himself. Hebrews 1:5-14 serves as another reminder that Christ is the fulfillment of the prophecy of this great one who was prophesied to come and deliver his people from enslavement to sin. He is the answer to the mystery novel if you will.

And with any good mystery novel you want to turn back to the early pages once you see the answer and show yourself and others clearly that you should have seen it coming, for there were very clear clues that it could have been only answered as it was. That is what the author of Hebrews is doing. He is taking text after text in the OT and saying that God spoke this concerning Jesus Christ. Thus, according to Hebrews 1:5, when God spoke of the anointed one who is his Son in Psalm 2:7, he was talking about Christ. And when he promised David that he would have a son who would reign on the throne of an everlasting kingdom to whom he would be a father and who would be God’s son, he was talking about Christ, ultimately. In fact, in Psalm 45, when the Psalmist speaks of the King and says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom” he was speaking ultimately about Christ. Thus the prophecies and promises in the OT about the great God-shepherd-King coming to save his people were speaking about Jesus Christ. He is the one to whom God said, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet” in Psalm 110:1.

This is an important reality for us, for if Christ is the fulfillment of the prophecy of salvation that God would bring to his people, then it means that salvation is through him alone. To say anything other than this is to deny the position that Jesus Christ holds.

Yet, if saying that Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophetic hand of the OT is not seen as a captivating reality, then the next reality should. For Hebrews tells us more of Jesus Christ.

It shows us that Jesus is greater than the angels because he is the Son of God, that is, he is God, the Son

Several times throughout this text it is clear that Jesus is God’s Son, and yet he is himself God, the Son. In verses 8-9 we read, “But of the Son he says, ‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.’” Again, in verses 10-12 we read, “And, ‘You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands; they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment, like a robe you will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will have no end.’”

Thus, he is called God and Lord, we see that he created the world, that he reigns on the throne of his everlasting kingdom, and that he reigns over all of his enemies. He is nothing less than God. He is of the same essence of the Father. Yet, texts like those in verse 5 can be confusing as the Father says, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you.” Does this mean there was a time when the Son did not exist? Some historically have argued that, such as Arius in the 4th century. He argued that there was a time when the Son was not.

However, if this were the case, then he could hardly be referred to as God as he is here and as he is in John 1. In addition, Jesus would have been very misleading in telling those listening to him in John 8:58, “Before Abraham was, I am.” This was clearly a claim to being eternal and being nothing less than God.

Therefore a council of believers in 325 gathered at Nicea and articulated that to be begotten of God does not mean that the Son was made or is less than God but that he is “of the same essence of the Father, God of God, Light of Light, God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father …” It simply means that his substance is the same as that of God the Father. Therefore, it is from wrestling with texts like this that we have developed our doctrine of the Trinity, which though it is beyond comprehension, we confess by faith that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are distinct persons, and yet there are of the same substance, being God very God. Consequently, there is one God, the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Spirit is God, with the three being distinct. Thus, there is one God existing in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we see from Hebrews 1:5-14 that Jesus is the Son of God, that is, he is God, the Son.

So, we see that he is the climactic fulfillment to the Old Testament proclamations about the coming anointed one, the Christ, the Messiah. We see that he is God the Son. And yet I want to point out one more thing, which demonstrates his superiority to the angels.

Finally, Jesus is to be worshiped

In verse six we read, “And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, ‘Let all God’s angels worship him.’” Again this is a claim to the deity of Christ for only God is worthy of worship, and Jesus is to be worshiped, even by the angels.

Thus, you cannot think of rightly worshipping God without worshipping Jesus Christ. To attempt to despise the Son and to worship the God of the universe – the God who is there (as Schaeffer has said) – is impossible. Worship of God must be worship directed through Jesus Christ. In fact, the use of the Old Testament in Hebrews 1:5-14 should serve as another reminder to us that the whole bible is directed to the end of making us passionately devoted to the glory of Jesus Christ. This is the purpose of the Scripture, to transform people in such a way that they are made to be passionately devoted to the glory of Jesus Christ.

And even though the angels are great, they are not worthy of the worship that Jesus alone is due. Thus, this should serve as a warning to us that though there may be a number of good things in our life, there is nothing that is on-par with the worship of our Lord and nothing worthy of such worship. Consequently if you are more passionately devoted to anything than you are Christ and his glory, you are sinning. If even the angels are to worship him, then so is the church.

Thus, Hebrews tells us much about Jesus Christ. He is the object to which the OT points. He is God, the Son. And he is to be worshiped. But how should this affect us? What should we do with this knowledge? Well, primarily we need to ensure that we have placed our faith in Jesus Christ as our only hope for salvation. Salvation is found in him and his work on the cross, and there is no other hope. Therefore, if we are to know eternal life, we must know it through Jesus Christ alone.

But if you are believers I want to ask this morning two questions: 1) How should this knowledge of Jesus Christ comfort us and 2) How should this knowledge of Jesus Christ convict us?

First, where does this comfort us?

1) It is a reminder to us that our Redeemer is the one who laid the foundation of the earth, so our salvation is sure.

2) It is a reminder that though obedience to Christ may be quite difficult in this life, there will be no disappointment after this life, for your life will have been lived according to God’s very word.

3) It is a reminder that sin will ultimately be conquered under the feet of Christ. Thus, as sin has brought great agony and continues to do so, it will one day be set aside, permanently.

4) Since Christ reigns over the earth, it is a reminder that nothing in our lives comes to us outside of the power of the one who has already died for us.

And where might this convict us?

1) It makes us have to ask ourselves if we are passionately devoting ourselves to the glory of Christ, worshipping him with our very lives? If not, we are despising God himself.

2) It makes us have to examine our lives to see if we are seeking to make him known to others. Now, yes, we know evangelism is difficult and intimidating at times, but Jesus has told us that he will be with us.

3) Finally, it makes us ask ourselves if we have allowed ourselves to be humbled and grateful at the reality that this great God, God, the Son has died for us?

May we answer these questions in obedience this morning as we come to the table.

Grace be with us. Amen.

CHRIST, SUPERIOR TO THE ANGELS