Son of God, Son of Man, Divine Priest, and the Christ

 Read Hebrews 1

You will get this in a slightly different way at the next service, but for now, we are going to do some big-picture stuff from Hebrews.

We don’t know who wrote it. Some say Paul with good reason, but there are as many reasons it wasn’t him.

The beginning of the book sounds like the classical poetry of Luke’s gospel.

We believe that God guided men in the Council (Synod) of Hippo About 1600 years ago to canonize this book. It’s part of our Bible and it has a lot to say, mostly about how everything is centered on, related to, or because of Jesus.

Here is a little big-picture stuff. What do we have in Jesus?

As we go through Hebrews we will see Jesus as Divine Priest, Redeemer Priest, Apostle Priest, and Eternal Priest.

Christ is the Son of God. He is the Son of Man. He is Christ the Priest.

We will come to these words.

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

We have such a priest!  So What do we do in response?

Draw near to God.

Believe.

Endure.

Love.

What themes will we encounter?

Son over the angels.

Jesus as Redeemer.

Christ over Moses.

Christ is greater than Aaron.

Jesus as Priest forever.

Assurance in our faith.

Examples of faith.

The endurance of our faith.

Workings of our faith.

So, who is Christ?

What is his relationship to us?

What is the why of this message?

Can we not respond in faith and receive the assurance of our pardon?

That’s where we are headed over the next few weeks.

For now, let’s just consider the first few words of this book.

In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.

In the next service, I will note how this short section is harmonious with so many other points of the full biblical witness. It’s something of a connect-the-dots sort of expose.

Get ready to see the superior person and personage of the Christ and the superior life that putting your faith fully in him will bring.

Amen.