Hebrews 1:1-2:4

The Supreme Son

The Supreme Son has spoken, so be careful to pay attention so you do not drift away from his Word of Salvation.

Introduction to Hebrews
Because of the events of this week, time has got a little away from me, so rather than having a detailed sermon today, and we will be having a talk that focuses on the main theme of chapter 1, but also introduces us generally to the book of Hebrews and some of the themes we will find as we look this book over the next 10 weeks or so.

The book of Hebrews is often one that is not that familiar to Christians as many of the images used to convey the message, rely heavily on having a good understanding of the old Testament, which lets face it a lot of Christians today do not have.

But Hebrews is a book of gold and I’m excited about studying it for the rest of the year.
It is a profound book with depth because it ties together so many themes of the entire Bible, and it does this to point out the author’s great point, (and his main point) which is the supremeness of Jesus in every way!

Jesus is superior to the prophets; superior to the Angels; superior to Moses; superior to the word that Moses brought, the law; Jesus is superior to the high priests of the old Testament, and he is superior to all of the creation, because he is in fact the creator.

Jesus is superior in every single way, because Jesus is the supreme son of God.

The book of Hebrews is written in the form of the sermon and this can be detected not just by the style but also at the end in chapter 13 the author says as his book is a ‘word of exultation’, the author is calling them to hear the truth about the Son, and act in response.

The book itself seems that it is written as a profound apologetic or defence for the Christian faith, in the face of opposition for this small Christian house church. This small house church it seems was being pressured and ridiculed and potentially even persecuted (which the author tells us was not yet to the point of shedding blood in 13:4, but it has an ominous tone about as to how far their discipleship will take them).

The temptation for them was to drift back into their former way of life of Judaism. Judaism was an expression of religion that would have been more socially acceptable to their families, but also a form of religion that had special protection rights under the Roman Empire. Christianity shared neither of those things, they had no standing in the Roman Empire and a were essentially regarded as outcasts by society, with weird religious practices.

The temptation to the recipients of the letter to the Hebrews, was to drift back In to a way of life that was just a little bit more socially acceptable, and just a little less difficult.

The Question
It seems to me that the background to the sermon to the Hebrews, is that it is an answer to the question, ‘why would you want to bet everything you have on following Jesus, he is just a man?’

And you know what, that’s the question people have always asked, and they still ask it today, and they ask it of you and me. The sermon to the Hebrews, is a living and active word of God to us today, and it remains a powerful apologetic into our world as well, you see the question people still ask today is,’ why would you bet everything you have on following Jesus he is just a man?’.

I mean that’s what the Jewish people say today don’t they?
And that’s what the Muslim people say today don’t they?
That’s what the Jehovah’s Witnesses say today they?
That’s what the new-age religion says today that they?
That is what Oprah says today doesn’t she?
That’s what the secular world says today don’t they, Jesus is just a man?
Exception to that of course is, that for Monty Python, he is merely a naughty boy!

Our world has a vested interest in not wanting to hear about the Lordship of Christ, but the writer of the sermon to the Hebrew argues for Christ with a poignancy and passion that makes getting away from his argument, well it is like trying to out flank and avalanche. He gives a full throttle, tour de force, double-barrelled argument as to the truth that Christ is the Lord, he is the supreme son of God in every single way. And this is the truth on which the writer wants us to take our stand, and then to stand firm.

To use rugby league parlance, this book is theologically, the hard yards up the middle of the ruck, the author is not afraid of some world view biff, there is no post-modern mincey relativism here, just hard true truth from God, about God the Son, but he does it to encourage his hearers to go on to complete what they started despite the hardship because, it will end in victory.

Today we are going to briefly focus upon two section of our reading today, on verses 1-4 in each of chapters 1 and 2.

First Point, Jesus is not just a man but the Supreme Son of God (V1-4)
[and that changes everything]

NIV Hebrews 1:1

In the past God spoke
to our forefathers
through the prophets
at many times and
in various ways,
2 but in these last days
he has spoken to us by his Son,
whom he appointed heir of all things,
and through whom
he made the universe.
3 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.
4 So he became as much superior to the angels
as the name
he has inherited is superior to theirs.


~ Jesus is the creator of all things so he is above all things – His not just a man but the Son of God

~ Jesus is The revelation that surpasses the revelation of the Prophets (OT) because he is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being. He is not just a man but the Son of God.

And I’d like to expand on this one idea a little. This truth claim of the preacher to the Hebrews means that God existence and character is not proved by extrapolating from the actions of some Intelligent design of microbes in a laboratory, in this slightly presumptuous jump of logic, they are ordered and designed, therefore God exists.

I don’t get that approach at all to be honest!


It’s like looking at my child Emma and deducing there is must be a mother and we can guess some things about her because of the child’s appearance. And I think, ‘that’s a nice deduction poindexter, but you could Just go over there and talk to Kath and not worry about speculating about some general mother at all, but instead just meet the personal and particular mother of Emma, and save us all a lot of effort because of unclear and unhelpful speculation.’

The Supreme Son is the Supreme revelation of God, the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being. Can you imagine the same poindexter talking to the apostle John, ‘I can prove there is a creator’.

And John could reply,’ No kidding Freddie he is standing over there feeding 5000 and healing the sick, and his name is Jesus, and if that is not enough, we already met God when he spoke to us in the Old Testament’.


Jesus is the supreme Son of God, the supreme revelation of God, and it changes everything, especially how we know that God exists and what that God is like. We meet him in his word of salvation the Gospel, found in his living and active word the Bible, and because of this we can confidently and faithfully not only share the truth with people that God exists, but also share the truth what God is really Like. God in Jesus did become man, but he was never just a man.

~Jesus provided purification for sins- He is not just a man but the Son of God

~ Jesus inheritance, his name and his position in glory is greater than even the angels who worship him as the unique son. Because he is the Son of God.

Jesus is the unique son of God, that is the truth, but do you live more like it was a useful fiction?

Jesus is the Son of God is the truth claim that must change everything about our lives. The truth about the Lordship of Jesus are like glasses that we must out on to see his world rightly.

[Illustration] My Mum’s good room.

The world thinks the Christian faith is like a good room, something you are allowed to have but you keep to yourself, you compartmentalize it off from the rest of your existence and it isn’t supposed to be used in day today life. But our preacher to the Hebrews is reminding us that the Lordship of Christ is not just restricted to some personal realm, but he Lord over everything because he is superior to everything; Jesus is not just a man but the Supreme Son of God (V1-4)
[and that changes everything]


Christianity is not just a private opinion; but a truth, the true truth, that God has placed over and through all reality. Christianity is not just a faith or religion, It is also essentially world view, in fact THE world view, that we should be willing and able to contend for in the marketplace of ideas about the world, because not only is it reasonable but it is also true isn’t it?
And because it is true, it is able to make sense of our world in a way that untruth will not.

Jesus isn’t just a man but the Supreme Son of God and that changes how we view all of life, from how we use our time, to what we think of stem cell research, from how we conduct our business, to the words that we speak, to how we raise our children, to what the who world is about and how we can and should live the ethical life in response.

Christianity claims for itself a unique truth, that Jesus is not just a man but the supreme son of God, and we must be changed in all our lives as a response if we understand that truth.

But as we go on in the chapter the writer seems to anticipate his questioners objections, the objection, ‘how can you claim these things?’.
Now in the next section from v5-14, the writer supports the first 4 verses and explains the sure grounds on which his is able to claim that Jesus is the Son of God, is in fact the Old Testament message, that trustworthy word of Moses that you think invalidates him actually proclaims and validates him.

Now as an aside, what is the big deal about Angels and the like?
Well the law was thought to have been mediated as revelation and then held in effect by the angels of God. And we learn this later in the book of Hebrews, but also in Acts 7 and Galatians 3:19. But we will get a chance to look more at the role of the angels in the argument of Hebrews in the coming weeks.


5 For to which of the angels
did God ever say,
"You are my Son;
today I have become your Father"?
Or again,
"I will be his Father,
and he will be my Son"?

6 And again, when
God brings his firstborn into the world,
he says,
"Let all God's angels worship him."
7 In speaking of the angels
he says,
"He makes his angels winds,
his servants flames of fire."
8 But about the Son
he says,
"Your throne, O God,
will last for ever and ever,
and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom.
9 You have loved righteousness
and hated wickedness;
therefore God, your God,
has set you above your companions
by anointing you with the oil of joy."

10 He also says,
"In the beginning, O Lord,
you laid the foundations of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
11 They will perish,
but you remain;
they will all wear out like a garment.
12 You will roll them up like a robe;
like a garment they will be changed.
But you remain the same,
and your years will never end."
13 To which of the angels did
God ever say,
"Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet"?

14 Are not all angels ministering spirits
sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?

The preacher to the Hebrews is challenging his opponents; who are saying that the prophet’s and the message of Moses is a better and more trustworthy word than this man Jesus.

But our preacher of the book of Hebrews confidently claims the same message of truth that Jesus did about these trustworthy words of the Old Testament, that they are a good and proper word from God, but they are not a superior revelation to Jesus, they in fact the OT purpose is primarily to testify clearly to the fact that Jesus is not just a man, but the supreme Son of God. So the preachers oppositions argument is standing on very sandy ground isn’t it?

This section of the text from 5-14 reinforces the truth that Jesus is not just a man but superior to the Angels because;
~ Jesus is God’s Son and because of that the Angels worship him, and no body worships someone who is lower than them do they?
~ Jesus is eternal, but angels are created by Jesus just like the heavens, and the heavens will be rolled up and be changed, but Jesus will remain.
~ Jesus is God’s anointed Son and king, who has all of God’s authority as he sits upon his throne with his servants the messengers or angels at his service.
~ Jesus is the saviour who won his people’s salvation, Angels are just God’s servants sent to serve men, to dish out the portions of salvation as it were, the salvation that Jesus the Supreme Son of God has won for his people.


Second point, Pay attention to the message of Salvation we have heard, (because we know who we heard it from), so we do not drift from it into judgment! (2:1-4).

NIV Hebrews 2:1

We must pay more careful attention,
therefore,
to what we have heard,
so that
we do not drift away.

2 For if the message
spoken by angels was binding,
and every violation and disobedience
received its just punishment,
3 how shall
we escape
if we ignore such a great salvation?
This salvation,
which was
first announced by the Lord,
was confirmed to us
by those who heard him.
4 God also testified to it
by signs, wonders and various miracles,
and gifts of the Holy Spirit
distributed according to his will.

In the testimony about Christ from Christ, we have all received a sure word of salvation from God. We have received the true truth from God about God and about ourselves. We have been saved from the mire of our own sin, how can we now just slip back into it again?

God’s word of salvation to us is gracious, but it is binding, no exceptions. This is the heart of the preacher to the Hebrews message, ‘hear the word of the Lord, the word found in Christ and testified to by the witness of the scriptures, the Apostle’s and the Holy Spirit of God himself. Hear the word of the Lord, and do not be stubborn like Israel was in the wilderness, do not let yourself be distracted, and do not drift away from Christ by one little compromise on top of each other. But set your eyes, your hearts desire, your will and purpose in this life upon Jesus the author and perfector of your faith. The true and trustworthy word from God, the rock upon which you will stand. Because every other alternative the world throw’s at you is refuse that will be shown for what it is, just in the hard places of this world, how much more so when we meet a holy and just God face to face at the end of our days.’
Pay attention to the message of Salvation we have heard, (because we know who we heard it from), so we do not drift from it into judgment! (2:1-4).

Heb 12:1-3,
‘Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.