In 2018 the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency issued the warning: “BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.” While it turned out to be a false alarm, it took the agency 38 minutes to send a follow-up alert correcting the error.
Why did it take so long? Hawaii’s governor, David Ige, reported that he and his team took so long to post a message about the missile alert being a false alarm, because he didn’t know his Twitter username and password. He had forgotten it, so he had to track down his communications staff spokeswoman, Cindy McMillan, to get the message out. (Fox News and The Associate Press, 1/22/2018)
Contemporary forms of communication and technology have advanced our abilities to communicate, but there is a problem of discerning the truth.
God spoke “at many times and in many ways”, He used dreams and visions, stone tablets, and human prophets. But man found ways to disobey. In Hebrews chapter 1 God used the best way to communicate to another person, through a personal approach.
Hebrews 1:1-2 “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds.”
I. A research project explained one reason why the Hebrew writer wrote about Jesus to the Jews. This group of scholars found that there is credence to holding to Jesus and His word, since the Jewish believers were in danger of compromise and lapsing back into Judaism. The believers were under pressure first from the imminent threat of Nero’s persecution for being a Christian. Secondly, they were under pressure of being ostracized from their community and families.
The Jewish believers were being tempted to compromise the truth by saying that Jesus was a good person, maybe an angel, perhaps the greatest angel, but not God, not greater than Moses. They did not have to deny Christ but only make a different affirmation of Him. If they would, then they would be accepted and avoid the awful experiences.
But the writer of Hebrews wants believers to stand on Jesus’ Word. He is the King of kings as they should yield to Jesus not Nero. He reminds them that Jesus is none other than God in the flesh. He owns it all as “heir of all things.” He made it all, and He is Lord of all. Notice the descriptions made:
Hebrews 1:3a “who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power.”
Jesus “is the radiance of the glory of God” – i.e., having God’s brilliance. Jesus is not a reflection of God’s glory; Jesus is that Glory Himself!
Jesus “upholds the universe by the word of His power.” Jesus is God the creator; He continues to holds it all together.
Hebrews 1:3b-4 “when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.”
Jesus is the King of kings because Jesus sits at “right hand of the Majesty” the place of all authority, above the angels themselves. His authority (or name) is far superior than any other being on earth or in heaven. That’s the point and chapter 1 adds the references of 7 Old Testament quotes to back it up.
- Hebrews 1:5a “For to which of the angels did He ever say: “You are My Son, Today I have begotten You”?”
Verse 5 is a quote out of Psalm 2, which is a coronation psalm, celebrating the coronation of Israel’s king. This psalm was sung at the coronation of every Israeli king since David and it describes the moment a king becomes a “son of God” on the day of his coronation. It’s not talking about the physical birth of a king. It’s talking about the moment the king was declared a king.
2. Hebrews 1:5b And again: “I will be to Him a Father, And He shall be to Me a Son”?
The last part of verse 5 is a quote from 2 Samuel 7, where God promises to establish David’s throne forever and be a Father to all who sit on that throne and that’s what the next quote is all about.
Jesus deserves the worship of creation’s highest beings, the angels themselves. That’s what the third quote is all about.
3. Hebrews 1:6 “But when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says: “Let all the angels of God worship Him.”
This is a quote from Psalm 97, is about YHWH, Jehovah God Himself, the writer of Hebrews applies Psalm 97 to Jesus Christ. He is YaHWeH God Himself, who deserves the worship of creation’s highest beings, the angels themselves.
In Hebrews 1:6, the “firstborn” is a title, not a reference to the timing of His birth. It means first in rank and is a title given to the head of the tribe, whether or not that person was actually born first. However, Jesus is not just the head of His tribe; He is the head, “the firstborn”, of the world! And as such, every angel should worship Him.
The angels are but servants, they honor Jesus. That’s what the fourth quote from Psalm 104 is all about:
4. Hebrews 1:7 “And of the angels He says: “Who makes His angels spirits And His ministers a flame of fire.”
This verse does explain that angels are quite spectacular creatures! They are like the flames of fire, but they are only “ministers”, servants of the Lord Jesus Christ.
On the other hand, Jesus is the Sovereign Lord! Notice the next Old Testament quote from Psalm 45.
5. Hebrews 1:8-9 “But to the Son He says: “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your Kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.”
Psalm 45 is a song of praises to Israel’s king. The people praise Him for His greatness, and this King is so great, that they address Him as “God.” Did you see it there in verse 8? – “Your throne, O GOD, is forever and ever.” And then again in verse 9 – “Therefore GOD, your God, has anointed you.”
Ancient Israel recognized God as their true King, Jesus is no ordinary human monarch. Every one of Israel’s kings represented God by virtue of their position. But only Jesus represented God as King by virtue of His nature and position.
Jesus is Israel’s true King! That’s what the 6th Old Testament quote says about Jesus.
6. Hebrews 1:10-12 “And: You, LORD, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but You remain; And they will all grow old like a garment; Like a cloak You will fold them up, And they will be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will not fail.”
This is a quote from Psalm 102 where it talks about YHWH God as the Creator of all, who is beyond it all. Closely, Psalm 102 declares that YAHWEH is Jesus Christ. He is the unchanging, eternal God, who made it all.
That’s counter cultural news we are NOT the product of chance. We are made with a purpose, perfectly designed by our Creator!
Fred Hoyle, once a University of Cambridge astronomer and avowed atheist, performed innumerable computations, Hoyle discovered that the odds of our being accidents of nature are comparable to the likelihood of a tornado sweeping through a junkyard and assembling scrap metal into a fully functioning aircraft. “So small as to be negligible,” he said, following his calculations, “even if a tornado were to blow through enough junkyards to fill the whole universe.” Hoyle said, “One arrives at the conclusion that biomaterials with their amazing measure or order must be the outcome of intelligent design.” (Dr. Michael Guillen, Amazing Truths, Zondervan, 2016, pages 68-69; www.PreachingToday.com)
The designer is identified as Jesus Christ in Hebrews 1.
Unlike the angels, Jesus made it all, sustains it all and He is Lord of all! That’s the message of the 7th and last quote from the Old Testament.
7. Hebrews 1:13 “But to which of the angels has He ever said: “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool?”
This quote is from Psalm 110, where YHWH invites Jesus to sit at His right hand, the place of all power, the place of all authority and importantly sitting implies all the work of His word and work is final.
God never gave any of the angels that kind of authority. In fact, when one of the angels tried to seize that kind of authority, God cast him out of heaven. Lucifer, the highest archangel, lost his place in heaven when he sought the place of all authority (Isaiah 14:12-15).
The exulted position is reserved for only One Person, the God of the universe. And Jesus Christ is this person.
On the other hand, the angels serve those who will “inherit salvation.” In other words, the angels serve us, who have trusted Christ!
Hebrews 1:14 “Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?”
Angels are servants; Jesus is the Sovereign Lord, through whom God in these last days spoke to the world. That is to say God Himself became one of us and paid us a personal visit. Therefore, we better… not dishonor Jesus or disobey what Jesus said.
Hebrews 2:1 “Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.”
This warning said that people might drift away.
Years ago, Charles Paul Conn, president of Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee, talked about seeing a Yellow Pages ad for a restaurant in the Atlanta area called “The Church of God Grill.” He was struck by the unusual name for a chicken restaurant, so he called and asked the manager for the back-story. Here’s what the manager told him:
“We set out to start a church and we started selling chicken dinners after church on Sunday to help pay the bills. People liked the chicken, and we did such a good business, that eventually we cut back on the church service. After a while we just closed down the church altogether and kept on serving the chicken dinners. We kept the name we started with, and that’s Church of God Grill” (Charles Paul Conn, Making It Happen; Charles Tucker, “Remember Who You Are”, Tucks Blog, http://denbigh.org/tucks-blog/remember-who-you-are/)
How sad, especially since the restaurant itself has since closed its doors. You won’t find it listed in the yellow pages anymore. That church drifted from its original purpose and eventually ceased to exist altogether.
That’s the truth of life, we can drift through life, but one day there will come an end to our journey. The Hebrew people were called and we are people who are called to have God (Christ) to be the central focus of all of our life; otherwise 1, we would drift and miss what God has for us.
II. We need to obey to Jesus so we aren’t disciplined. Listen closely to Christ, so you don’t get in trouble.
Hebrews 2:2-3a For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?
These people are described not as those who have rejected salvation. These are people who are in danger of neglecting the salvation they already have from Christ.
The premise is this, the New Testament is a record of God’s word; and with God’s help, we must trust in Him for deliverance from life’s troubles.
Dr. Paul Borden, former pastor and seminary professor, talks about getting his first driver’s license. At the time, his father tried to give Paul a short lecture on car maintenance. He told Paul, “There’s one gauge you never have to worry about – the fuel gauge. If you run out of fuel, the car stops.”
Paul’s first car was a ’51 Studebaker – “twenty miles to the quart”, he says, and all he worried about was the gas gauge. He couldn’t let it get past half. Then, a year later, as Paul was going down the freeway, the back wheels locked because the gear box oil drained out and never came unlocked again. That’s when he understood his father’s advice, which he had ignored. Pay attention to the oil gauge; because if you run out of oil, you’re in deep trouble. Pay attention to the temperature gauge; because if you run out of water, you’re in deep trouble. On the other hand, if you run out of gas, the car just stops, but there’s no damage done. (Paul Borden, “Choices,” Preaching Today, Tape No. 68; www.PreachingToday.com)
Are believers paying attention to the wrong gauges: the currency gauge, the culture gauge, or the comfort gauge? If so, those are the ones we are told to not worry about!
Luke 12:4-8 “And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. “But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him! “Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. “But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. ‘Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God.’”
The only gauge we need to watch is our relationship with Jesus Christ. Whatever you do, don’t neglect this “gauge”, because His Word is dependable. That’s why what we have right here in the New Testament is certain. It’s sure because true and faithful men were eyewitnesses.
Hebrews 2:3b-4 which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him. God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?
The New Testament is eyewitness accounts of what Jesus said and did, which God confirmed with miracles. The primary criteria for recognizing a writer of a New Testament book was from a person who had direct contact with Jesus. The authors of the New Testament were eyewitness, whose testimony was confirmed with miracles.
That’s why Peter healed the lame man at the temple (Acts 3) and did many other miracles. That’s why Paul raised Eutychus from the dead (Acts 20). He was a man who had fallen asleep during one of Paul’s sermons and fell out a window. God was confirming their eyewitness testimony with miracles!
And we have their eyewitness testimonies recorded right here in our New Testaments. Unlike any other work of ancient literature, nearly 10,000 manuscript copies attest to the accuracy of those testimonies. So we can be sure that what we read is the truth about Jesus.
God has indeed spoken to us in His Son, so you don’t drift and find yourself wrecked by disobedience.
A few years back there was a rash of flying accidents for single-engine planes. When a comprehensive study was conducted by the FAA and two observations stood out.
First, all but one of the accidents listed pilot-related causes.
Second, and most surprisingly, experienced pilots were responsible for a majority of the accidents. Over 75 percent of the accidents were caused by seasoned pilots. They found that the pilots developed habits of cutting corners and taking risks.
The study concluded by noting two statements: They found that many experienced pilots were allowed to stop pursuing ongoing safety training. Secondly, the research also found that experienced pilots who tend to stop safety training are four times more likely to have a fatal accident. (Dave Hirschman, “Surprising Cirrus Stats,” AOPA Pilot blog, 12-10-09; www.PreachingToday.com)
Maybe we can take that warning for those of us who have followed Christ for some time. Overconfidence that we can handle life, can lead us to neglect God’s safety Book. We stop studying the Word of God. We compromise on spiritual growth… We short cut the standards of Scripture. We go on day after day cutting corners, then wonder why we stall out in our journey.
We shouldn’t let that happen. We must “give earnest heed” to our relationship with Christ, so we don’t crash, but rather stay at the heights we were meant to be at.
Since God made such clear communication to us by becoming one of us, we should listen to Jesus, love Jesus and obey Jesus. He is the Master of Messengers!