Friday, August 23, 2013

Hebrews 1 - Jesus > angels

If you enjoy unsolved mysteries, then the New Testament letter to the Hebrews is a great one.  Scholars debate, but nobody has been able to conclusively show who the author is.  Priscilla, Luke, Apollos, Barnabas and Paul himself have all been suggested as possibilities.  But nobody knows for sure.

The letter was written to Hebrews, Jewish Christians, who at the time were experiencing tremendous persecution at the hands of both the Roman Empire and the traditional religious establishment.

In chapter 1 we read a case for the deity and supremacy of Jesus Christ.  He has been "appointed heir of all things", and the universe was created through Him.  (v. 2).  He is the "exact representation" of God's being and "sustains all things by his powerful word". (v. 3).  Heavy stuff indeed.  In verses 4-13, He is positioned as being greater than angels, using a number of references to Psalms, which the Jewish readers should have been quite familiar with.

I love verse 12, which in describing Jesus, the Son, we read "But you remain the same, and your years will never end."  To know we worship an unchanging, everlasting God is powerfully comforting in a world that is ever-changing and exhausting.

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