Greetings, Folks. And Happy 2026!
Last time we ended our session on Hebrews chapter 1 with this comment about verses 4 and 5:
These verses describe a Father bestowing upon His Son the divine inheritance of kingship. This change in status didn’t make Him better in the sense of becoming a better God but rather to become better than the angels in a new sense. Because He did something that no angel could ever do. He absorbed on the cross the punishment for every sin ever committed by every member of the human race who accepted Him or would ever accept Him and by so doing became better than the angels and by so doing pleased His Father to an extent that we can’t fully appreciate. Now regarding angels and their status, we need to talk about that and we will next time.
Now Folks, we will talk about angels today but first let’s talk about something else. We know that Hebrews was written to encourage Jewish believers in Jesus who were feeling a pull back toward traditional Judaism. And I believe this letter to the Hebrews was also intended to be read by Jews who did not yet believe in Jesus.
Now what about these different groups of Jewish people? The way I see it, things back then were not all that different than they are today, at least among Jewish people brought up in traditional Jewish homes, homes where God was honored. You would have some people who fervently believed that God was real, some people who believed that God was real and that He had a Son – Yeshua the Messiah – and you would have some people who did not believe in God at all whether they openly admitted that or not. Chances are that in those days in the land of Israel when the Temple was still standing there were not too many Jews who openly admitted literal disbelief in God. Some of this last group would have been of the Priestly families, the Sadducees. Would the encouragement of this letter to these different groups of Hebrews have varying effects in drawing them into the faith? It would all depend on the Holy Spirit. Because nobody can come to faith in Yeshua, nobody can be born again, on the basis of his own will or decision. And it’s worth restating that no one comes to the Father – no one is saved, no one receives the gift of eternal life – except through faith in the finished work of Jesus on the cross. And that doesn’t just go for Jewish people. That applies to Gentiles as well.
The author of this letter used Biblical truth to show these groups of people the clear advantage of believing in Jesus. And in the rest of this first chapter the truth about the superiority of Yeshua to the Angels was used. Jewish people, particularly Pharisees and those exposed to the influence of Pharisees - surely a substantial number of people even if not a majority - believed in angels and in their superiority over humans. But what if Jesus was superior even to angels? The Scriptures clearly prove that and who better to show us that than the Holy Spirit inspired author of this letter.
And the Old Testament Scriptures were also used to prove that Jesus is God.
Folks, can you use Scripture to prove Scripture? Certainly. God does not contradict Himself. But here is something a little different: Can a divinely inspired writer such as the author of Hebrews use already established Scripture (Old Testament Scriptures) to prove what he is writing (New Testament Scriptures)? Can the Holy Spirit do this? Why not? Of course He can. Remember that although the Old Covenant and the New Covenant are indeed different, the Old Testament and New Testament Scriptures comprise one book. Both are the word of God and God does not contradict Himself, ever. The Apostle Paul, in Romans, used the Psalms to demonstrate that no one can come to God on his own:
Romans 3:10 (NKJV) As it is written: “THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NO, NOT ONE;
is proved by :
Psalms 53:3 (NKJV) Every one of them has turned aside; They have together become corrupt; There is none who does good, No, not one.
And here are two examples from the Lord Himself:
John 5:45-47 (NIV) “But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. [46] If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. [47] But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?”
Jesus is here referring to the Law of Moses, the Torah. One example can be taken from Deuteronomy:
Deuteronomy 18:18-19 (NKJV) I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him. [19] And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him.
And here is another example taken from the gospel of Luke describing the conversation that Jesus had with two disciples on the road to Emmaus:
Luke 24:44 Then He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” 45 And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.
So with this strong supporting background, let’s look at some of the Scriptures used to do this in chapter one of Hebrews:
Hebrews 1:6 (NKJV) But when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says: “LET ALL THE ANGELS OF GOD WORSHIP HIM.”
This is a quote from Psalm 97:7 in the Septuagint version of the Old Testament. Angels worship those who are greater than they are. Jesus is greater than the angels.
Hebrews 1:7 (NKJV) And of the angels He says: “WHO MAKES HIS ANGELS SPIRITS AND HIS MINISTERS A FLAME OF FIRE.”
Angels are very powerful spirit beings whom God uses to serve His purposes and who may be manifested as flames of fire as was the case when horses and chariots of fire were revealed to a frightened young man though the ministry of the prophet Elisha (2 Kings 6:17). Angels are indeed very great.
Hebrews 1:8 (NKJV) But to the Son He says: “YOUR THRONE, O GOD, IS FOREVER AND EVER; A SCEPTER OF RIGHTEOUSNESS IS THE SCEPTER OF YOUR KINGDOM.
Here, God the Father is revealing that His Son is also God and that His Throne and Kingdom is righteous and is forever and ever as prophesied in Psalm 45:6. Jesus is not only greater than the angels, there is no comparison. Jesus is God. The Father says so.
Hebrews 1:9 (NKJV) YOU HAVE LOVED RIGHTEOUSNESS AND HATED LAWLESSNESS; THEREFORE GOD, YOUR GOD, HAS ANOINTED YOU WITH THE OIL OF GLADNESS MORE THAN YOUR COMPANIONS.”
God the Father is anointing this one and only Son because of the Son’s love of righteousness and hatred of lawlessness. That is why He went to the cross. God never said this to an angel. Folks, I thinks Jesus’ companions must be angels. From Psalm 45:7.
Hebrews 1:10 (NKJV) And: “YOU, LORD, IN THE BEGINNING LAID THE FOUNDATION OF THE EARTH, AND THE HEAVENS ARE THE WORK OF YOUR HANDS.
Hebrews 1:11 (NKJV) THEY WILL PERISH, BUT YOU REMAIN; AND THEY WILL ALL GROW OLD LIKE A GARMENT;
Hebrews 1:12 (NKJV) LIKE A CLOAK YOU WILL FOLD THEM UP, AND THEY WILL BE CHANGED. BUT YOU ARE THE SAME, AND YOUR YEARS WILL NOT FAIL.”
These three verses are from Psa 102:25-27. Jesus is able to do what only God can do.
Hebrews 1:13 (NKJV) But to which of the angels has He ever said: “SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, TILL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES YOUR FOOTSTOOL”?
And to which angel did God ever say this, from Psalm 110:1 as written and prophesied by King David. To no angel ever.
So, folks the Son is greater than the angels. And the Son is God. The case for this is established through the Hebrew Scriptures and the Scriptures cannot be broken (John 10:35).
And to finish chapter one:
Hebrews 1:14 “Are they (angels) not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?”
Folks, the angels are mighty and glorious beings. But great as they are, they are created beings and they are in a sense assistants to God. They help believers in Yeshua, Jesus, who will inherit salvation.
Folks, this has been a difficult passage today. I feel that I haven’t said much but I hope that it has been enough. The Scriptures speak clearly. The angels are indeed great. But the Son of God is greater. He is God. Will you not see this, my dear Jewish friend? And the New Covenant is greater than the Old. As we will see in a later chapter, the Old Covenant is obsolete and it completely faded away in 70 AD when the Temple was destroyed. God’s laws are not obsolete but the Old Covenant is. That system of religion no longer has any power. My friend, whether you are Jewish or Gentile, please don’t ignore this. God sent His Son into the world that He might die as the sacrifice for your sins. Call upon His name, the Lord Jesus, and ask Him to give you eternal life. If you are sincere He will not turn you down.
May you be blessed my friends. Until the next time.
