Hebrews 1:1-3

Turn with me to Hebrews chapter 1. 

I am so excited to begin this journey as a church because I believe God will use the book of Hebrews to help us love and revere Jesus more.  

Jesus is supreme, and Jesus is sufficient. That is the big message of Hebrews. 

Authorship

Can anyone here tell me who wrote the book of Hebrews?

Trick question.  The authorship of the book of Hebrews is unknown.  What I should say is that the human authorship of Hebrews is unknown. We know that God is the divine author.  

• 2 Peter 1:21 (ESV): 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

• 2 Timothy 3:16 (ESV): 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

But, as far as the human whom God used to pen Hebrews, history is unclear, and the book itself does not provide a signature.  

There have been many speculations over the centuries. 

• Some say Paul wrote it. But the grammar and construction of arguments is not Pauline.  

• Some say perhaps it was Barnabas, or Apollos.  

• Some think it may have been the woman Priscilla (with her husband Aquilla), and it remained anonymously authored because she was a woman. Sounds clever, but in Hebrews 11:32 the author expressly uses masculine grammar to refer to himself, so we know that can’t be the case. 

The reason I mention this at the outset is because from this point on, you’re going to repeatedly hear me use the phrase, “the author of Hebrews”... and this is why. But the important thing to remember is that this is God’s word to us, and it is trustworthy and true.  

Date

We know the letter to the Hebrews was written very early, definitely during the first century, because there is no mention of the destruction of the Temple which happened in AD 70.  And since much of the letter is aimed at demonstrating that the Old Covenant had passed, along with its practices, there’s no way the author would fail to mention the destruction of the Temple if it had already happened. 

Audience and Purpose

This letter was written to first century Jewish Christians (former Jews who had converted to Christianity) who were under severe persecution.  Following Jesus in those days was as hard as it is for some in our day.  

• They faced physical assault, the plundering of their homes, some had been cast into prison because of their faith. 

• We’ll see eventually in chapter 10 that some of them had been publicly humiliated.  

• They had not yet faced martyrdom (according to chapter 12), but they had pretty much faced everything up to the point of death. 

• All because they chose to follow Jesus as their Messiah.  

Beyond that, there was the pressure from their Jewish brothers to abandon this ‘new way’ and revert back to Judaism. 

For this reason, the author of Hebrews writes, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to encourage these believers to persevere. 

But… the author doesn’t just tell them to persevere. 

• Think back to a time in your life when you felt stuck, or discouraged.  Imagine if someone just came along and said, “keep going! Don’t give up!” 

• Would that be helpful? Maybe marginally.  

The author to the Hebrews doesn’t just tell them to continue persevering their circumstances for the cause of Christ. 

He shows them Christ, who persevered for them.  

• Hebrews 12:1–3 (ESV): 12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.

The way you and I grow in Christ and endure in Christ is not just by trying harder to behave like Christ; it’s by being enamored with Christ Himself who endured the cross for us!  

• Raymond Brown: no believer can cope with adversity unless Christ fills his or her horizons, sharpens his or her priorities and dominates his or her experience.

So in the coming weeks and months, that is our aim: that our horizons would be filled with Christ. That He would be what we gaze upon. That He would be who we would be enamored with.  And that as we see Him in all of His majesty, our hearts would be encouraged, our problems would seem small next to His awesomeness, and our lives would be transformed for His glory. 

Let’s begin. 

Hebrews 1:1–3 (ESV): 

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

I want to pause there and make several important observations.

First, notice that the book of Hebrews, just like the rest of scripture, simply assumes the existence of God.  

There is no attempt to prove His existence; just an assumption that He exists.  

Now, there are all kinds of scientific and rational arguments for the existence of God…

• Cosmological argument (which says there needed to be a cause to everything)

• Teleological argument (which appeals to intelligent design, and how the universe is fine tuned for life)

• Moral argument (which argues that objective morality points to a divine lawgiver outside of ourselves)

• Ontological argument… and so on… 

But the Bible really doesn’t rely on those proofs… it simply assumes the obvious: that God exists, that He is our Creator, and that He is completely sovereign; He is self-existent, from eternity past.  

• Remember, when God revealed Himself to Moses, and Moses asked how He should refer to Him…? God said, “I AM”.  That means He relies on nobody and nothing for His existence… He simply IS.  

• Romans 1:20 tells us that God’s invisible attributes, namely His eternal power and divine nature have been clearly perceived through what has been made, so that we are without excuse.     

If we are to rightly understand and apply the content of Hebrews, we need to assume the existence of God. 

• Hebrews 11:6 (ESV): 6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Second, notice that verse 1 doesn’t just assume God’s existence, it tells us something very significant about how He relates to His creation… 

It says God speaks. 

• 1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke…

This infinite, all-powerful God who created us didn’t just abandon us… he communicates with us!

This is a vital truth in an age where 70 percent of Americans believe there are no absolutes when it comes to truth or morality.  

The Bible asserts the opposite: God is absolute, and He is the standard and source of truth. 

Not only has He spoken and revealed Himself, but He has done it in a way that we can understand.  He has condescended to our level and spoken to us in human terms, at many times and in many ways… by the prophets.  

And that’s exactly what we see throughout the Old Testament. 

• He spoke to Moses by a burning bush

• He spoke to Elijah by a still, small voice

• He spoke to Hosea through a family crisis

• He spoke to Isaiah by a powerful vision of Heaven

• He spoke to Balaam through a donkey!

• He spoke to Amos by a basket of fruit! 

But notice, that was all in the past.  Or, as verse 1 puts it, “long ago… to our forefathers”. 

That was back then.  What about now?  

2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, 

You might say it like this: 

God told us who He is through the prophets… But now, He shows us who He is through Jesus Christ. 

Jesus came to us as the full and final revelation of God. 

By the way, this is the reason Christianity is different from every other religion. 

Every other religion is about man trying to ascend to God; Christianity is about God descending to man.  

God stepped into our reality, became one of us, walked in our shoes… ate and drank with us…  

• Jesus said, I have come to seek and save the lost. (Luke 19:10)

• Philippians 2:6–7 (ESV): 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

When Jesus came, a new era of revelation dawned on humanity.  Because now we can look at Jesus and know exactly what God is like.  

• From humble baby in the manger

• To compassionate healer and the one who met practical needs

• To the One who dined with sinners

• To the One who opposed legalism and embraced the lowly of heart

• To the One who died a sacrificial death to show ultimate love for those He would redeem… 

Colossians 1:15 tells us that Jesus is the image of the invisible God.  What was previously invisible and mysterious is made visible and knowable in Jesus Christ. 

In Matthew 14:8 Jesus’ disciple Philip famously declared, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us…” And Jesus’ answer to him was, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” 

Jesus is the full and final revelation of who God is… 

Because… Jesus IS God.  

That is why… to reject Jesus is to reject God.  To accept Jesus is to accept God.  To love Jesus is to love God. There is no other way to God except through Jesus Christ.  He is the one and only, the supreme and sufficient pathway to God.     

And that is more or less what the following phrases are meant to convey… 

whom he appointed the heir of all things, 

That means Christ owns the universe.  All people, all animals, all things, past, present and future… Christ owns it all.  

• This is probably an allusion to Psalm 2:8 which says of the Lord’s anointed, “ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.”

• We will see TONS of Old Testament references as we go through Hebrews, since the letter was written to those with Jewish background.  They would have understood these powerful textual connections. 

What does it mean for you, that Jesus is heir of all things?  It means your entire existence belongs to Him. Your family belongs to Him. Your money and resources and talents and abilities belong to Him.  He owns literally everything.  

through whom also he created the world. 

In other words, Jesus is not only the owner of all things, He is the creator of all things. 

• John 1:3 (ESV): 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

• Colossians 1:16 (ESV): 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.

To the best of our limited understanding, the observable universe is 93 billion light years wide. 

• By conservative estimates there are more stars than there are grains of sand on all of Earth’s beaches combined.  

• And now, astronomers believe there may be even more planets than stars. 

• Even our galaxy alone (the Milky Way) has roughly 100 billion planets.

• If you traveled at the speed of light, crossing the Milky Way would take roughly 100,000 years.

• And that’s just our galaxy… there are potentially trillions of galaxies. 

And Jesus not only owns them all, but created them all. And not just the galaxies at large, but the most microscopic atoms and molecules that comprise them. 

The same Jesus who walked this Earth.  He is the heir of all things and the creator of all things.  

3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. 

We need to make a careful note here of the fact that Jesus doesn’t reflect the glory of God… He radiates it.  

There is a big difference.  

The moon reflects light from the Sun.  The Sun radiates light in and of itself.  The Bible is clear that Jesus is not just a reflection of who God is; He IS the very nature of God made visible.  

There is a moment in Mark chapter 9 that illustrates the radiance of Christ so well. 

Jesus has taken his small circle of guys, Peter, James and John up a mountain.  

While they are there, He is transfigured before their eyes… he becomes radiant and shining like the sun… His eternal glory is revealed visibly.

And with Him appear Moses and Elijah, the two heroes of the Old Testament. 

Moses was the giver of the Law, and Elijah was the most recognizable prophet. Together the represented the totality of the Old Testament: Law and Prophets.  

Peter is so overwhelmed that he wants to build three tabernacles, one for Moses, one for Elijah, and one for Jesus, so that these great icons can be appropriately honored.  

Then something even more shocking happens.  

While Peter is still making his suggestion, a cloud overshadows them… likely a cloud of God’s glory… and a voice comes out of the cloud saying, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.”  And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only. (Mark 9:7-8)

It’s as if God was making sure that they understood… Moses and Elijah fade away… law and prophets and the Old Covenant fade away… but Jesus alone remains. Jesus is the final and full revelation of God. He Radiates God because He is one in essence.  Listen to HIM. 

And yet, notice it also says he is the exact imprint of God. 

This term imprint is how you’d talk about a coin being stamped with a likeness of someone. The coin and the stamp they use to imprint it are identical yet distinct.  In this way, we see that while Jesus is one in substance with God the Father, He is also a distinct person from the Father.  He is God the Son.  The same, but distinct.  

The last phrase we will look at, in Hebrews 1:3, says this… 

After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

At first glance, this almost feels like an aside, or a departure from the topic at hand. We think, hang on… We aren’t talking about Jesus’ sufficiency as Savior, we’re talking about His supremacy as cosmic Creator.  

And yet the paradox of those two identities is kind of the whole point.  

This same Jesus who created and controls the universe loved you so much that He came down to your level, to seek and save you, and He was successful when He made purification for your sins.  That’s why it says he “sat down”.  The work is complete.   

His perfect, sinless life… His sacrificial death on the cross… His resurrection… 

He finished the job.  So that, having your sins removed, you could know Him and be in His presence, in which there is fullness of joy, for all eternity. 

Jesus is both supreme sustainer AND sufficient savior, all wrapped into One. 

In other words, He is everything you could ever need. 

This is why Paul could exclaim with confidence…

• Romans 11:36 (ESV): 36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

What part of today’s message stood out to you the most?