Hebrews 1 (Kyle McCallum)

by Opcomm · Published November 15, 2011 · Updated March 17, 2016

Teaching 11.15.11

What makes Jesus so special?
- What makes the Bible so special?
- Information about Hebrews
  - Who wrote it?
    - Paul
    - It is different because there is no introduction in the beginning of the book
    - Not the same style like the rest of Paul’s letters
    - Talked about a lot of the same things that he always talks about
    - He did not identify himself because people would disregard him
    - He wrote it in Aramaic
The whole point:
- Writing it to Jewish Christians
- Trying to make sense of their new faith
  - They were used to adopting the commandments and laws to their life
  - But when Jesus came, he shattered those laws
  - This blew their mind and they had trouble with the transition
    - They were still following their traditions
  - They were also getting persecuted by the Romans and the Jewish community
    - They were not dealing with the persecution properly
  - He wants to connect the two worlds
  - Paul is letting them know the TRUTH ABOUT JESUS
    - God has a plan to save us from the world
    - Hebrews 1:1-2
      - “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.”
        
        He opens it up with God has spoken
        
        God revealed to us what His plan is to save us
        
        He provided a revelation to us!
        
        We have hope now!
  - God has answers for us
  - The Bible is alone claiming revelation from God
    - The word is from God
    - This is God’s word!
  - This is important
    - Nothing comes into comparison to it
    - This is worth looking in to
  - How do we know then that God spoke to us?
    - God is personal
      - This makes sense because He made persona beings
      - We are able to rationalize, think and love
      - With Eastern religions
        
        They teach that God is like a force
        
        God is all
        
        Complete disregard for individual personalities
        
        The same as Atheism, at the end you become nothing
        
        We each have personalities and are unique
        
        In Genesis it says that God made us in His image
        
        It would be silly to assume that He was silent
      - If He did communicate to us, then where did He talk to us?
        
        Prophecy in the Old and New Testament
        
        A lot of them have come true!
        
        In Daniel 9 it talks about Jesus coming and it happened!
        
        There are even sources outside the Bible
      - The Bible explains the real world really well
        
        Not just stories
        
        It speaks straight about how human beings act
        
        It explains how we work
      - The Bible sets itself in history
        
        It lines up with historical happenings
        
        People have tried to disprove the Bible
        
        But with all of the evidence the Bible has, it has not been proven false
      - The Bible should not be easily dismissed
        
        The most unique, influential book in our lifetime
        
        There is something about this book that you cannot ignore
      - The Bible is one unified story
        
        66 books, different authors wrote in it over thousands of years…
        
        And yet it all makes sense and is cohesive
        
        You do not see this with others religious texts
        
        It has had such huge impacts on peoples’ lives
  - What is it that God revealed to us?
    - His great revelation/plan is Jesus Christ
      - Most important climax in history!
      - He is the very point of God’s plan
      - Why is Jesus so special?
        
        Hebrews 1:3
        
        “And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,”
        
        Jesus is the exact representation of God
        
        He is not just another prophet or a good dude who did good things
        
        HE IS GOD
        
        “God clothes in humanity”
        
        Jesus had to be God because He is trying to show us how to be saved
        
        God had to come into the world to save us
        
        Colossians 2:9
        
        “For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form,”
        
        God in bodily form
        
        John 17:5
        
        “Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.”
        
        Jesus existed before the world came into being
        
        He existed forever
        
        He was not just born as a man in the beginning
      - What is it that Jesus accomplished?
        
        Isaiah 9:6
        
        “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.”
        
        These labels are not put on any regular dude
        
        Jesus granted purification of sins
        
        The world is messed up, we need help, and we are separated by God
        
        This gap had to be filled by Jesus Christ to reconnect us with God
        
        John 3:16
        
        “’For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.’”
        
        Jesus paid for our sins
        
        God loved us that much!
        
        Jesus had to be both God and man
      - He did accomplish his mission!
        
        The only step that is left is if you want to be reconnected with God
        
        If you accept Jesus’ death on the cross, it is only a prayer away
        
        This is EXTREMELY HOPEFUL!
        
        This is why this is called the Good News
      - The Jewish Christians were struggling with the law and Jesus
        
        John 1:17
        
        “For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.”
        
        Jesus is truth
      - Jesus had His victory over death
        
        He was raised from the dead and we have hope
        
        We have a future to look forward to in eternity with God
        
        Hebrews 1:4
        
        “Having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.”
        
        Jesus is far more powerful than the angels
        
        The angels were God’s primary way of communicating
        
        Angel literally means messenger
  - The only thing more powerful than an angel is God
    - Since Jesus is also more powerful than the angels, He is God
  - To these Jewish Christians, this idea blows their minds
  - No longer is God revealing Himself through angels, He has Jesus as His representative
  - As we get more into Hebrews it does get confusing
    - But it is worth learning about because we are learning about the Holy Spirit
    - Are there three Gods?
      - No!
      - There is only one God, but there is a complexity
      - One God, three persons
        
        Father, Son and Holy Spirit
        
        The Trinity
  - God would have to be three persons to be all powerful and all loving God
    - If God was just alone, He would need people to relate and love
    - Hebrew 1:5-8
      - “For to which of the angels did He ever say, ‘YOU ARE MY SON, TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU’? And again, ‘I WILL BE A FATHER TO HIM AND HE SHALL BE A SON TO ME? And when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says, ‘AND LET ALL THE ANGELS OF GOD WORSHIP HIM.’ And of the angels He says, ‘WHO MAKES HIS ANGELS WINDS AND HIS MINISTERS A FLAME OF FIRE.’ But of the Son He says, ‘YOUR THRONE, O GOD, IS FOREVER AND EVER, AND THE RIGHTEOUS SCEPTER IS THE SCEPTER OF HIS KINGDOM.”
        
        Jesus is obviously more powerful than the angels
        
        Hebrews 1:9-12
        
        “’YOU HAVE LOVED RIGHTEOUSNESS AND HATED LAWLESSNESS; THEREFORE GOD, YOUR GOD, HAS ANOINTED YOU WITH THE OIL OF GLADNESS ABOVE YOUR COMPANIONS.’ And, ‘YOU, LORD, IN THE BEGINNING LAID THE FOUNDATION OF THE EARTH, AND THE HEAVENS ARE THE WORKS OF YOUR HANDS; THEY WILL PERISH, BUT YOU REMAIN, AND THEY ALL WILL BECOME OLD LIKE A GARMENT, AND LIKE A MANTLE YOU WILL ROLL THEM UP; LIKE A GARMENT THEY WILL ALSO BE CHANGED. BUT YOU ARE THE SAME, AND YOUR YEARS WILL NOT COME TO AN END.’”
        
        Here, Paul claims that Jesus is God, Yahweh
        
        Yahweh: I am
        
        Hebrew 1:13-14
        
        “But to which of the angels has He ever said, ‘SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET’? Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?”
        
        Jesus is not an angel
        
        Jesus has supreme authority and power
        
        He will win at the end!
        
        Jesus is offering the Holy Spirit to give us a way to reconnect with God
        
        He wants to save us!
        
        This is why God came down from heaven as Jesus and died for us!
        
        He loved us that freakin’ much!
        
        Jesus is God’s revelation and it is so worth telling others about this!