HEBREWS: Lesson 3 - Jesus Is Better Than Angels

VIDEO REVIEW

Or link to YouTube - Hebrews 03

Today we looked at Chapter 1:4-14 and Chapter 2:1-18. The main argument the author is making with his audience is that JESUS IS BETTER THAN THE ANGELS. He also gives the first of five warnings.

ANGELS: "...having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they." (v. 4)

The word angel means messenger. Angels were a prominent part of Jewish religious life. They were second in importance only to God Himself. By the time Jesus came to earth, Jewish culture had practically venerated angels, as can be seen in the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Essenes (a sect of Second Temple Judaism) even possessed a book called the "Angel Scroll" which is filled with mystical imagery and descriptions of angels.

The Jewish culture became fascinated by angels, mostly due to the numerous stories of God using angels throughout the Old Testament (see examples in slide #7). They usually appeared to men in powerful and imposing ways as they came bearing a message from God. They normally appeared as brilliant light or in mysterious dreams. They had powers and knowledge beyond men and didn't die, get sick, or suffer like a sinful man suffers. Jews respected angels.

The Jews struggled with where to rank Jesus as a messenger of Christ. He was a man, fully human yet fully God. His humanity presented a dilemma for many Jews in the early church. Can a message delivered by a man be greater than the message God entrusted to angelic beings? The value of a message often depends on the reputation of the messenger. The writer of Hebrews must convince his Jewish audience that Jesus (the Messiah) is greater than the angels, otherwise, he has no hope to convince them that Christ's message is greater than the ones delivered by angels.

To do this, the writer draws his proof from the Jew's own scriptures, the Old Testament (the Septuagint). He knows he will be more likely to win his argument if he uses a trusted source. Quoting form the OT is a common practice the author uses throughout the book of Hebrews.

The pieces of "evidence" used to prove the argument that Jesus is better than the angels are found in Hebrews 1:5-13. The author sets off the entire section with an inclusio (bracketed by vs. 5 and 13), which is a literary device intended to highlight a section of the text. "For to which of the angels did He ever say:" (v. 5) and "But to which of the angels has He ever said:" (v. 13). Everything said between the inclusio, verses 5-13, is in reference to the two bookend statements. Here is the evidence given by the author as he quotes from the OT.

"For to which of the angels did He ever say:"

(v. 5) "You are My Son..." (Psalms 2:7; Acts 13:33)

(v. 5) "I will be to Him a Father, And He shall be to Me a Son.?" (2 Samuel 7:14)

(v. 6) "Let all the angels of God worship Him." (Deuteronomy 32:43; Psalm 97:7)

(v. 7) "Who makes His angels..." (Psalm 104:4)

(vs. 8-12) Jesus has a throne and is worshiped; He is anointed by God. (Psalm 45:6, 7; Isaiah 61:1, 3; 34:4; 50:9; 51:6; Psalm 102:25-27)

(v. 13) "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool"? (Psalm 110:1; Matthew 22:44)

Using the Old Testament, the writer of Hebrews worked carefully to explain that the Father has always declared His Son to be superior to angels.

In verse 14, the author closes Chapter One by telling his audience that angels are ministering spirits sent out to serve us. They are not ruling agents. They are not judging agents. They are ministers, which is the Greek word for servants. Their principle mission is to serve those who are appointed to inherit salvation.

LEST WE DRIFT AWAY: "Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away." (v. 2:1)

In the beginning of Chapter 2, the author begins to transition to his first WARNING. This warning is built on the premise he has presented in Chapter 1, that is the superiority of Christ to anything in creation. If Christ's message is superior to that of the angels, we must pay much closer attention or we will "drift away." 

When something drifts away, it soon gets farther and farther from the edge of the shore. Soon, the shore is no longer in sight. The shore represents the message of the Gospel that declares Jesus as Lord. The author is concerned that the evidence of their unbelief is found in their unwillingness to consider that Jesus is above the angels. They were letting the truth of the Gospel pass them by. They may have been assembling in the church but they were not yet part of the church spiritually speaking.

This has always been a reality in the church; people attending church but never knowing Christ as their Lord. The author begins by calling out those in the church who continue to live in unbelief, citing as his proof their continued reliance on angels over a reliance in Christ. To that group, the writer issues a WARNING in verses 2-4.

Is our modern-day culture drifting away from Christ? Statistics say that we are. Statisticians report that it is no longer a priority among most Christians to regularly assemble together. Those gathering statistics say that a "regular church attender" is someone who attends church only twice a month. In addition, statistics tell us that many of those who call themselves Christians rarely read their Bibles, pray only in times of crisis, tragedy or when there is a personal need, and minimize sexual sins such as premarital sex and homosexuality. Not to mention the apathy towards anger, unwillingness to seek forgiveness, hateful gossip, and other sins that rob Christians of the peace Christ offers (see 1 Corinthians 6; Romans 1). Just as the writer of Hebrews warned his audience, we too should heed the warning that any compromise with sin in our lives will result in a "drifting away."

Note: "There is always a tremendous battle before sanctification is realized--something within us pushing with resentment against the demands of Christ" Oswald Chambers

LOWER THAN THE ANGELS: "You have made him [for a little while] a little lower than the angels..." (v. 7) "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone." (v. 9)

The Jews might think: If Jesus is to be so powerful and His message so important, then why did he appear in such a lowly way--lower than the angels? This was the problem that the Jews in the early church were struggling to answer.

During the time that Jesus spent as a man walking the earth, he was no less God, yet He willingly took the lessor form of man for several reasons (see slide # 12). Becoming lower than the angels was only for a short time in order to give way to an eternity of glory and honor. By His suffering, He was perfected--meaning, brought to an end, or accomplished. His suffering didn't make Him perfect--He was already perfect. It accomplished something that could only be accomplished through His death.

SO GREAT A SALVATION: "...how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation..." (v. 2:3)

When His suffering was done, He rose from the grave, promising His brethren we would be sanctified in the same way. If you have placed your trust in Jesus Christ, then the devil has been rendered powerless over you because of Jesus. You are free to live for Christ without fear of death. You can live out the rest of your days knowing that death simply ushers you into glory as it did Christ. The Lord humbled Himself to grant you that victory!