A THOUGHTFUL & SARCASTIC ARTICLE

Sarcasm is a literary form. Here is a good example of it. It is used to drive home a point without specifically stating it. It is by Dr. Carl Trueman, a scholarly and thoughtful man.

Read it here.

JESUS IS SUPERIOR TO MOSES - Hebrews 3:1-6

Hebrews 3:1-6 tells us that Jesus is greater than Moses. Why does that matter? It matters because the writer of Hebrews did not want Jewish believers to abandon Jesus for Moses. Because he did not want them to abandon Jesus, he tells them to consider Jesus compared to Moses. 

He calls them holy brothers (3:1) and those who share the holy calling. He is saying those of you who believe. "Calling" here is not a ministry or a vocation. It is the calling of God to a person to draw him into salvation and God's kingdom. For example, Romans 8:30 says "and those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified and those whom he justified he also glorified." The writer wanted those who believed, but were susceptible to pressure from their Jewish community, and those who professed to believe but might not, to see that Jesus is superior to Moses so they will cling to Jesus.

Now, Moses and Jesus were similar in many ways.  Moses was the apostle of redemption in the Old Testament. "Apostle" means one who is sent.  God sent him to Israel. Moses lived in Midian, but God appeared in a burning bush (Exodus 3) and sent him to Israel to tell of God's coming redemption and to lead them into it. 

He was also the mediator between God and man when God established the Old Covenant with Israel. The Israelites were afraid to be in the presence of God at Sinai. They asked Moses to go for them. God allowed this to be so. Moses receieved the law of the covenant and taught it to the people. He mediated between Israel and God. 

He is great in the religion of Israel. In New Testament times, he was greatly revered by the Jews. The Pharisees told Jesus, in John 9:28, that they were disciples of Moses. The Jews to whom this book was written were thinking about returning to Moses. That is, they were thinking about returning to Judaism. So the writer of Hebrews wanted to show that, as great as Moses was, Jesus is greater. And because that is so, the New Covenant he brings is superior to the Old Covenant Moses brought.

Hebrews 3:1 says Jesus is the apostle and the high priest of our confession. "Our confession" means our faith. It means our belief that Jesus is the Son of God who is the only way to salvation. This verse is the only time the New Testament calls Jesus an apostle. He is the apostle because God the father sent Jesus the son to mediate the New Covenant between God and his people. 

This verse also says Jesus is  the high priest of that covenant, having offered the sacrifice that made it possible. This theme will be developed in great detail later in the book.

Not only was Jesus the apostle and the high priest, he was faithful. Verse 2 says he was faithful to him who appointed him. By this he means God the father appointed Jesus the son to take on human flesh and die for us. Jesus repeatedly said the Father sent him (apostle), gave him work to do (appointed him) and that he did all the Father said to do. In John 17:4, Jesus told the Father he accomplished all the work the Father gave him to do. 

Just as the writer did not denigrate (put down) the angels, he does not denigrate Moses. He says Moses was faithful in all God's house. (2) He was more faithful than anyone. This is a reference to Numbers 12:7, where God chastised Aaron and Miriam for opposing Moses. They did not like being subordinate to Moses. 

God reminded them that God did not speak to Moses in dreams and visions, but mouth to mouth. He also let Moses observe his form. These show us the special relationship God had with Moses. As far as we know, no one else on the face of the earth had this close relationship with God. 

We also know that Moses did great work. The book of Exodus tells us Moses left his job as a shepherd,  marched into the presence of the most powerful man on earth, and told him to release the Hebrews. He led them out of Egypt. He led them through the wilderness. He taught God's law and covenant to them. He worked miracles. 

So, Moses was a great man. But, even so, Jesus is worthy of more glory even than Moses according to verse 3. The writer used an example of house building to explain this. The builder of the house gets more glory than the house itself.  In our time, for example, Falling Water is a famous house in Pennsylvania U.S.A. But Frank Lloyd Wright, who designed and built it, gets more glory than the house does.

Although Moses was a great leader, he was still a member of and a servant to God's household (or house). The house is God's family, the people of God. In the Old Testament it is the group of believing Jews in ethnic Israel. But God built the house. The Father and the Son were both involved to build this house. They created believing Israel. Isaiah 43:7 says "But now thus says The Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel". 

Under the new covenant, God expanded his house to include both Jews and Gentiles, anyone who believes in Jesus from any nation or race. Those who believe in Jesus are his house. We call those people the church. Jesus said "I will build my church". 1 Peter 2:5 says "you (believers) like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house...". 

Jesus is faithful over this house. But he is not just a faithful servant.He is a faithful son. Son is a higher position than servant. Moses was a servant. Angels are servants. Jesus, however, is the son. He has an exalted position and an exalted title. He has more glory than Moses because of this.

Now look back to verse 5, where it says Moses was faithful in God's house. It goes on to tell us how he was faithful. He was faithful to "testify to the things that were to be spoken of later". What things did he testify to? He testified to the coming of Jesus as savior. 

For example, In Deuteronomy 18:15, Moses said "The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers - it is to him you shall listen..." Then in verse 18, Moses recounts what God said to him. He said 'I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth and he shall speak to them of all that I command him. And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require of him." 

The Jews understood this prophet was special and looked for him. For example, when John the Baptist arrived on the scene and preached  the coming of the kingdom, people asked him "are you the prophet?" John, of course, said no, because Jesus is this prophet and fulfilled this scripture.

Moses also taught the Jews about the Passover lamb which was a type, for a picture, of Jesus coming and dying a sacrificial death.

Not only did the writer of Hebrews teach this about Moses, Jesus did. In John 5:46, Jesus said "For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?" When the resurrected Jesus taught the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, Luke 24:27 says "And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself". 

Moses taught the Israelites to look forward to the coming of Christ. You might note that verse 6 is the first time in the book the writer uses the term "Christ". This is his subtle way of reminding his Jewish audience that Jesus is the Messiah, the annointed one, promised by the prophets of the Old Testament, including Moses.

Now, the herald is inferior to the king he heralds. The announcer is inferior to the speaker or performer he announces. Moses, as great as he was, is inferior to the Christ about whom he talked. John the Baptist, another prophet, understood this. When his followers told him that some were leaving to follow Jesus, John said Jesus must increase and John must decrease. (John 3:30)

Verse 6 says we are God's house. The "we" means those who believe in and follow Christ. Ephesians 2:19-22 teaches this truth also. It says "Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prohets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together..."

This house is special. The phrase "God's house" was used by Old Testament Jews to refer to the Temple. God's presence dwelt there. However, the New Testament tells us there is no longer a temple that is a building built by human hands. Instead it is the body, the congregation, of all believers. Jesus dwells in his believers. Ephesians 2:21-22 goes on to say "...in him the whole building is joined together and rises to becme a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit." The presence of God between the cherabim in the holiest place in the Old Testament temple was a picture of this. 

But the last sentence of Hebrews 3:6 is a qualification. It is also a transition to the second warning of the book. It says we are his house if we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope. The proof that one is saved is that he or she holds fast to the faith. God preserves those who believe forever. They are never lost to him. 

Baptists call this "once saved always saved". Traditionally, this doctrine is known as the preserverence of the saints. They preservere in the faith to the end. But it might be more accurate to speak of the preservation of the saints, as God preserves those who truly believe. This does not mean you will never have doubts, but you will not abandon the faith if you truly believe.

Section V of the Baptist Faith and Message says:

All true believers endure to the end. Those whom God has accepted in Christ, and sanctified by His Spirit, will never fall away from the state of grace, but shall persevere to the end. Believers may fall into sin through neglect and temptation, whereby they grieve the Spirit, impair their graces and comforts, and bring reproach on the cause of Christ and temporal judgments on themselves; yet they shall be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.

Chapter 17 of the Westminister Confession says:

They, whom God has accepted in His Beloved, effectually called, and sanctified by His Spirit, can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace, but shall certainly persevere therein to the end, and be eternally saved.

John observed that some had left the church and said "They went ourt from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out that it might become plain that they all are not of us. Some may claim to be believers, but are not. Jesus said "not everyone who says to me 'Lord, Lord' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 7:21)

The writer of Hebews does not want these Jews to go back to Judaism. He did not want believers to fall into sin. He did not want others to show they were not true believers by abandoning the faith for the law. He did not want those who heard the gospel and understood it to be true, even if they had not committed themselves to Christ, to walk away and be damned. So, he exorted them to focus on Christ and believe.

He was doing what Jude did at the end of his letter. He wanted to "save others by snatching them out of the fire". 

I urge the same to you today. Even if you have doubts, even if you have problems, do not abandon Christ. Rather, cling to him even more tightly. 

And if you have never really believed in him and committed yourself to him, do so today.

   



THE PERFECT SAVIOR (PART 2) Hebrews 2:14-18

Today we study the last part of chapter 2. The writer is concluding his argument that Jesus is greater than angels. The question the writer answers in these verses is: if Jesus is greater than angels, why did he suffer and die?

Verse 9 tells us that Jesus was crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death. Philippians 2:7 says Jesus was obedient to the point of death on a cross. Acts 2:23 says Jesus was delivered to death by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God.

But, why did he come to die? He came to die on our behalf. Verse 9 says he suffered death so that he might taste death for everyone. First, to completely identify with us men and women, he had to experience all that we experience, including suffering and death. The writer will explain this in more detail in verses 14-18.Second, he dies for us. It says “that he might taste death for everyone” in verse 9. 1 John 3:16 says “he laid down his life for us”.

So, why would God the Father send his son to die this way? Verse 9 says it was by the grace of God. He did not do it because we deserved it. We did not deserve it. Romans 5:6 says Christ died for the ungodly. Romans 5:8 says he died for us while we were yet  sinners. Romans 5:10 says he died for us while we were his enemies! So, Christ died for us out of God’s grace. Therefore, Ephesians 2:8 says we are saved by grace. Grace means he gave us something we did not deserve. God displayed his glory in grace by sending Jesus to die and give us salvation.

Verse 10 says this was appropriate or “fitting”. This verse has a lot going on. So, first, let’s look at it without the descriptive phrases and then come back to those. Without the descriptive phrases, this verse says it was fitting that the Father, in bringing many men and women to salvation, should make Jesus perfect through suffering.

The writer uses the word “perfect” here to mean completed. It does not mean Jesus was sinful until the Father made him perfect. We know this because the writer later says Jesus was without sin. But Jesus’ incarnation, his becoming human, was completed in suffering in death. He experienced all the sufferings we experience. There is a sense of qualification here, also. God qualified Jesus through suffering and death to come before him as our high priest.

Now, let’s look at those descriptive phrases. The first one is “for whom and by whom all things exist”. The “he” form whom and by whom all this exist” is God the Father. He made all things and all things exist for him. Everything is to bring him glory. His display of love and grace in bringing men and women to salvation also brings him glory by showing how great his love and grace is.

But this phrase also explains why “it was fitting” that God sent his Son to die. Since God is the one who created all things for his purposes, he works to bring about his purposes. One purpose was shown in Adam. He designed Adam to rule over the earth. Adam failed to bring about the purpose. So, it is appropriate, or fitting, that God send another who will accomplish God’s purpose of having man rule over the earth. God the Father would accomplish this great goal by sending his Son to accomplish it through a great action: his death for our sins. He appointed his Son to accomplish his redemptive mission.

Second is “the founder of their salvation”. Here he refers to Jesus. Some versions say the author of their salvation. What does this mean? It means he started it or he led the way. His present glorification will lead to our glorification. We are some of the many sons.

We see, then, that Jesus completely identified with us. He was fully God, but he was also fully man. Verse 11 says Jesus and his followers have the same origin. That source is God the Father in the sense that he created mankind and Jesus became a man. In this verse, Jesus is the one who sanctifies and his followers are those who are sanctified. He says this is why Jesus is not ashamed to call us brothers (and sisters). He shared our humanity, but also brought us into God’s family as sons of God and brothers of Christ. 

In verse 12, the writer dips back into the Old Testament again to prove his point. He uses three verses.

First, he quotes Psalm 22, a Messianic Psalm. And Psalm 22:22 is the exact quote. Psalm 22 is a Psalm of David and is a lament of one who is suffering deeply. He cries out to God. He anticipates vindication from God. And after he is vindicated, he will worship God with God’s people.

Matthew 27 says that this psalm finds greater fulfillment in the death of Christ. He quotes specific phrases from the Psalm and shows them as fulfilled by Christ. Although he does not cite the Psalm by name, the Jews who knew this Psalm well would catch the references.

The writer of Hebrews does the same. He quotes the Psalm without naming it, knowing that his audience of Jewish believers would understand the reference. The picture here is of the ascended Christ, in the midst of the congregation of believers in heaven, singing the praises of the Father.

Second, (in verse 13) the writer quotes Isaiah 8:17 in the Septuagint: “I will put my trust in him”. The NIV uses this exact reading in Isaiah 8:17, also. The literal translation from the Hebrew to English seems to be “I will wait for the Lord”. The KJV, NKJV, RSV, ESV, and NASB all use this language. The context is that God hid his face from Israel because of its idolatry. But Isaiah and the believing remnant trusted God for deliverance. The application by the writer of Hebrews seems to be that Jesus trusted the Father to deliver him and so do all of his brothers and sisters (those who believe in and follow Jesus).

Then the writer quotes the next verse in Isaiah (8:18) to say that Jesus presents himself before the father with all the children (believers) God gave him.

Now, in verse 14 of Hebrews 2, the writer returns to his theme in verse 10 of the need for Jesus to identify with men and women in all respects to be their savior. Here he explains the concept in more detail.

First he states a fact. The children are flesh and blood. This is just another way of saying we are human.  We are mortal (we will die). We are not spirit beings like angels. Although we are made in God’s image, we are not divine. We are not gods.

So, because we are human, Jesus became fully human (“partook of the same things”). The NIV explains this to you by saying “he too shared in their humanity”.

Let’s stop here for a minute. It has always been the orthodox position of the church that Jesus was fully human and fully divine. The New Testament makes the point that Jesus was fully human in several ways. Here are some.

First, Matthew, in the first chapter of his gospel, traced Jesus’ human lineage back to David and then to Abraham. Luke 3 traces it all the way back to Adam. John 1:14 says he took on flesh and dwelt among us. All of the gospels show that Jesus died. Peter, in Acts 2:22, said “ Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God”. In Acts 17:31, Paul said God would judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed”.  There are many more references to this fact. John felt so strongly about this doctrine that he wrote: “By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist…” (1 John 4:3)

And yet, men throughout history have tried to deny this. Therefore, the creeds of the Christian church have stated its truth as necessary to the faith.  For example, the Apostles Creed says “I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth,     And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,     Born of the Virgin Mary, Suffered under Pontius Pilate, Was crucified, dead, and buried.” All of the traits of Christ are human traits.

Hebrews tells us in several places why the humanity of Jesus is important. Today’s passage is one of these. So, why is it important that Jesus became human or took on human flesh? He did this so that, by dying, he could destroy Satan, who had the power of death.

Remember the battle of the seeds? When Satan lured Adam and Eve into sin, God told him a seed (or descendant) of Eve would crush or bruise his head.  (Genesis 3:15). God cursed Satan with this and at the same time delivered a promise to us. One would come who would defeat Satan. In this passage, the only clue is that the person would be a human being. He would be born of woman. Later God would narrow the promise to the descendant of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, then of Judah, and finally of David. At the very time the fist man sinned, God told him that a deliverer would come and defeat the adversary, and that deliverer would be a human being.

The devil believed God. All through the Bible the devil tried to evade this curse by destroying the one who would defeat him. He killed the seed of the woman when Cain slew Abel. He had the babies in Bethlehem killed but Jesus escaped harm. But the devil could not escape the curse or thwart the plan of God.

Satan worked to have Jesus killed. Luke 22:3 says that Satan entered into Judas before the Passover and led him to betray Jesus. When Satan was able to have Jesus killed on the cross through the betrayal of one of his disciples, it was his worst mistake, for Jesus’ death as the perfect sacrifice and his resurrection defeated death and Satan. It was the plan of the Father all along and he used Satan and Judas to carry it out. Peter in “Acts 2:23 said that Jesus was delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God.

Satan helped to bring about his own destruction, for verse 14 says that Jesus destroyed Satan by his death. Jesus invaded Satan’s kingdom of earth during is ministry, began its destruction on the cross and will seal it at the end of this age. Why did Jesus cast out demons? He did it to break Satan’s power over the world. When Jesus sent out the 72 disciples, they returned amazed that demons were subject to them in Jesus’ name. (Luke 10:17) When they reported this to Jesus, he said “I saw Satan fall like lighting from heaven”.

The destruction of the power of Satan benefits us. Verse 15 says we are delivered from the slavery of the fear of death. All over the world, you see the effect of the fear of death. People will do anything to stay alive. Relatives will try desperate measures to keep a loved one alive. Hospitals constantly deal with families who keep the bodies of loved ones working after their brains are dead because the families cannot bear to let them go.

But Jesus’ brother and sisters are delivered from this. We will grieve the loss of a loved one, but say that they are better off now because they are with Jesus and not suffering in the flesh. We have all heard stories of believers who died at peace and of those who seemed to be allowed to see through the veil at the last moment into heaven. Jesus has disarmed Satan. He has taken away the fear of death.

In verse 16, the writer makes a parenthetical statement to show that it is human beings that Jesus helps, not angels. Specifically, it is men and women who believe in Christ. The writer uses the term “the offspring (or seed) of Abraham”. Is he saying here that angels only help Jews? He is not. The New Testament teaches us that believers are the true seed of Abraham, not those who are Hebrew by race. In Galatians 3:7, Paul wrote “Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham”.

Verse 17 says “therefore, he had to be made like his brothers in every respect”. In other words, “therefore he had to be made fully human”. What does “therefore” refer to? It refers to the preceding sentence, that Jesus helps men and women, not angels. Then it goes on to say he had to be made like us in order to become a merciful and faithful high priest.

Verses 17 and 18 go on to explain this. Jesus identified with us in his death, but also in his life on earth. He did this so that he could serve as a high priest for us. First, He became like us to die in propitiation of our sins. What does “propitiate” mean? It means to make peace by satisfying a demand. It may also mean to appease an offended person. God is offended by our sin. God demands death as payment for sin. Jesus satisfied that demand by dying for us. Once the demand was satisfied, we were at peace with God. God is no longer angry at us or offended by us.

The Old Testament high priest offered sacrifices for God’s people. He killed animals to propitiate the sins of Israel at least on a temporary basis. Jesus is our high priest in that he offered himself as the sacrifice for the sins of his people, those who believe in him.

He also became a merciful and faithful high priest who helps us live according to God’s standards of holiness. He helps us because he suffered all the temptations and trials we do. He did not sin like we do, but he felt the temptation and the trial. So, he knows how it feels to be tempted and he is here to help us resist temptation.

How was Jesus tempted? We saw him tempted directly by Satan right after his baptism. Matthew 4 records this is detail. He offered Jesus’ short cuts to achieve his goal, either by putting on a show or by worshipping Satan as the Lord of the earth. He tempted him to meet his own physical needs by using his power as God rather than depending on God. But Jesus also suffered physical trials as we do. He was hungry, thirsty, tired and hot.

Jesus felt our emotions. He felt frustration at disciples who could not learn, he felt betrayal as his disciples let him down. He felt anger. All the same things we feel, he felt. And because he experienced the temptations and the trials, he is able to help us when we are tempted.

Let’s think for just a minute what that means for you. 

What do you do when you are tempted to sin? Some just give in and hope God does not care. He does care, however. He commands us to be holy. Some resist as long as they can in their own strength. Some deny that they sin.

But, this verse says Jesus is able to help us when we are tempted. So, we can go to him and ask for help. Do you do this?

Sometimes Jesus just helps us without being asked. 1 Corinthians 10:13 tells us God will provide a way out. When you are tempted, look for the way out!

But sometimes Jesus waits until we ask. So, when you feel weak and tempted, go to him and ask for help. Be honest. Say, I really feel tempted to commit this sin. I cannot fight it off. Please help me! Provide a way out and give me the strength to take it.

THE PERFECT SAVIOR (PART 1) HEBREWS 2

THE PERFECT SAVIOR

Part 1

HEBREWS 2:9-18

Today we study the last part of chapter 2. The writer is concluding his argument that Jesus is greater than angels. The question the writer answers in these verses is: if Jesus is greater than angels, why did he suffer and die?

Verse 9 tells us that Jesus was crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death. Philippians 2:7 says Jesus was obedient to the point of death on a cross. Acts 2:23 says Jesus was delivered to death by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God.

But, why did he come to die? He came to die on our behalf. Verse 9 says he suffered death so that he might taste death for everyone. First, to completely identify with us men and women, he had to experience all that we experience, including suffering and death. The writer will explain this in more detail in verses 14-18.Second, he dies for us. It says “that he might taste death for everyone” in verse 9. 1 John 3:16 says “he laid down his life for us”.

So, why would God the Father send his son to die this way? Verse 9 says it was by the grace of God. He did not do it because we deserved it. We did not deserve it. Romans 5:6 says Christ died for the ungodly. Romans 5:8 says he died for us while we were yet  sinners. Romans 5:10 says he died for us while we were his enemies! So, Christ died for us out of God’s grace. Therefore, Ephesians 2:8 says we are saved by grace. Grace means he gave us something we did not deserve. God displayed his glory in grace by sending Jesus to die and give us salvation.

Verse 10 says this was appropriate or “fitting”. This verse has a lot going on. So, first, let’s look at it without the descriptive phrases and then come back to those. Without the descriptive phrases, this verse says it was fitting that the Father, in bringing many men and women to salvation, should make Jesus perfect through suffering.

The writer uses the word “perfect” here to mean completed. It does not mean Jesus was sinful until the Father made him perfect. We know this because the writer later says Jesus was without sin. But Jesus’ incarnation, his becoming human, was completed in suffering in death. He experienced all the sufferings we experience. There is a sense of qualification here, also. God qualified Jesus through suffering and death to come before him as our high priest.

Now, let’s look at those descriptive phrases. The first one is “for whom and by whom all things exist”. The “he” form whom and by whom all this exist” is God the Father. He made all things and all things exist for him. Everything is to bring him glory. His display of love and grace in bringing men and women to salvation also brings him glory by showing how great his love and grace is.

But this phrase also explains why “it was fitting” that God sent his Son to die. Since God is the one who created all things for his purposes, he works to bring about his purposes. One purpose was shown in Adam. He designed Adam to rule over the earth. Adam failed to bring about the purpose. So, it is appropriate, or fitting, that God send another who will accomplish God’s purpose of having man rule over the earth. God the Father would accomplish this great goal by sending his Son to accomplish it through a great action: his death for our sins. He appointed his Son to accomplish his redemptive mission.

Second is “the founder of their salvation”. Here he refers to Jesus. Some versions say the author of their salvation. What does this mean? It means he started it or he led the way. His present glorification will lead to our glorification. We are some of the many sons.

We see, then, that Jesus completely identified with us. He was fully God, but he was also fully man. Verse 11 says Jesus and his followers have the same origin. That source is God the Father in the sense that he created mankind and Jesus became a man. In this verse, Jesus is the one who sanctifies and his followers are those who are sanctified. He says this is why Jesus is not ashamed to call us brothers (and sisters). He shared our humanity, but also brought us into God’s family as sons of God and brothers of Christ. 

In verse 12, the writer dips back into the Old Testament again to prove his point. He uses three verses.

First, he quotes Psalm 22, a Messianic Psalm. And Psalm 22:22 is the exact quote. Psalm 22 is a Psalm of David and is a lament of one who is suffering deeply. He cries out to God. He anticipates vindication from God. And after he is vindicated, he will worship God with God’s people.

Matthew 27 says that this psalm finds greater fulfillment in the death of Christ. He quotes specific phrases from the Psalm and shows them as fulfilled by Christ. Although he does not cite the Psalm by name, the Jews who knew this Psalm well would catch the references.

The writer of Hebrews does the same. He quotes the Psalm without naming it, knowing that his audience of Jewish believers would understand the reference. The picture here is of the ascended Christ, in the midst of the congregation of believers in heaven, singing the praises of the Father.

Second, (in verse 13) the writer quotes Isaiah 8:17 in the Septuagint: “I will put my trust in him”. The NIV uses this exact reading in Isaiah 8:17, also. The literal translation from the Hebrew to English seems to be “I will wait for the Lord”. The KJV, NKJV, RSV, ESV, and NASB all use this language. The context is that God hid his face from Israel because of its idolatry. But Isaiah and the believing remnant trusted God for deliverance. The application by the writer of Hebrews seems to be that Jesus trusted the Father to deliver him and so do all of his brothers and sisters (those who believe in and follow Jesus).

Then the writer quotes the next verse in Isaiah (8:18) to say that Jesus presents himself before the father with all the children (believers) God gave him. 

Those children are us! They are those who believe in Jesus as the son of God and savior. We have eternal security, for John 10 tells us Jesus will not lose any of us. He will stand with us and the Father will accept us as he accepts his son.

Jesus Exalted

HEBREWS 2:5-9A

THE EXALTATION OF JESUS

In these verses, the writer picks up the theme of the superiority of the Son (Jesus) to angels. The warning of verses 2:1-4 is a sort of parentheses. Verse 5 picks up as if it came immediately after 1:14. That is why he says “of which we are speaking”.

So, to add to the list of reasons Jesus is superior to the angels, the writer says the world to come will be subjected to Jesus, not angels. Read verse 5. He says it is not to angels he (the Father) subjected the world to come. The writer implies that God has subjected the world to come to Jesus. Later he will say that expressly. He already said it in chapter 1, when he quoted God saying “sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”.

In contrast to Jesus’ reign in the world to come, this present world is ruled, in a sense, by angels. It is ruled by fallen angels. We sometimes call them demons. Satan is a fallen angel and the leader of all fallen angels. Jesus called him the ruler of this world (John 12:31 and 14:30). Ephesians 6:12 tells us our real enemies are not human (flesh and blood) but principalities, powers and rulers of darkness in this world. In Daniel 10, the angel sent to Daniel was opposed by the Prince of Persia, which appears to mean a fallen angel which controlled Persia. So, angels rule this world, but Christ rules the world to come.

To prove his point to his Jewish readers, the writer again goes to an Old Testament passage and applies it to Jesus. This passage is Psalm 8:3-8. Let’s look at it.

In this passage, the Psalmist marvels that God pays any attention to man. He looks at the majesty of creation and realizes God is really big and powerful. In contrast to the smallness and weakness of man, it is amazing God pays man any attention at all. This is verses 3-4.

Yet God not only paid attention to man, he gave man dominion over the earth. The Psalmist mentions the animals, birds and fish. (6) He has in mind the mandate of Genesis 1. It is spelled out in Genesis 1:26-28. God gave man and woman dominion over all the living things on earth and told them to fill the earth and subdue it. He was crowned with glory and honor because he was made in God’s image and acted as his representative to rule the earth.

Adam failed, of course. He did not fulfill his mandate. By disobeying God, he lost his place as ruler of the earth. He became subject to death and the earth became subject to the curse of sin.

Verse 5 says that God made man a little lower than the heavenly beings or angels. He was lower than God and lower than angels, but above the animals.  

How was man lower than the angels? Man was bound to earth. Angels resided in heaven, but also could come to earth. Man has gone through much of history without any direct access to God and now has it only in the spiritual since through prayer. In contrast, angels reside in heaven with God and have access to the throne of God.

Angels were made perfect, at least those that did not follow Satan in rebellion. Man was created innocent, but not perfect. He had the ability to sin.

The writer of Hebrews applied this passage to Christ. He says, in effect, Christ fulfills all of man’s original destiny, as described in the Psalm, but in an even greater sense. Some believe this passage in Hebrews speaks of mankind in general. However, we can see that it speaks of Christ, not of man in general, as we see he says “namely Jesus” in verse 9. Then he applied the words of the Psalm directly to Jesus, saying he was for a little while lower than the angels and that he was crowned with glory and honor. In addition, the whole passage from chapter 1 on is about Jesus as compared to angels, not mankind compared to angels.

In thinking of the meaning of this verse, remember that Jesus came to earth in the form of a man. Philippians 2:7 says he was born in the likeness of men. He was fully man and fully God.

When he took on the likeness of men, he did not count equality with God a things to be grasped, but took on human form to carry out his mission. (Philippians 2:6-7) The writer of Hebrews makes this same point by making a small change to the words of the Psalm. He says God made him “for a little while” lower than the angels. So, while the Psalm is qualitative, saying man is lower than angels in status, this passage in Hebrews is temporal; it says Jesus was lower than angels for a short time. That is true because he is exalted over the angels upon his ascension. 

The NIV does not make this the primary reading, falling back on the wording of the Psalm in Hebrew and applying this passage to mankind in general rather than Jesus. Some commentators take this approach also. However, it does not fit the context of the passage, which is talking about Jesus, not mankind in general.

So, verse 8 tells us Jesus rules over everything. Everything is under his control. This point is made in Philippians 2 as well, where verse 9 says God highly exalted him and gave him a name above all other names such that all people will acknowledge him as Lord.

Paul also conveyed this idea in 1 Corinthians. Read 1 Corinthians 15:23-28. All things are subjected to Christ. This is also the point of the language that Christ is exalted to the right hand of the Father. Peter used this language in his first sermon in Acts 2:33. The writer of Hebrews also used it in 1:13.

Yet, the writer acknowledges the truth that we do not yet see everything under subjection to Jesus. This is the obvious objection to the truth of these statements. The world is full of sin and rebellion against God. The writer is telling us that the defeat of Jesus’ enemies is not yet complete, but he still reigns. So, we do not see all under his feet yet, but we see Jesus (the one who was made lower than the angels for a little while) crowned with glory and honor. (This is another reason to see that the passage is speaking of Jesus and not humanity in general, because he takes the words of the Psalm again and specifically applies them to Jesus.)

Of course we do not see Jesus crowned with glory and honor with our own eyes while we are alive in the body. We shall see him in heaven when we die. But we know now from the Scripture that he is indeed in heaven, reigning over all, including the angels, and defeating all of his enemies. He must reign in heaven until he has put all his enemies into subjection. (1 Corinthians 15:25)

Why is this so? It is because he will come again as a king. 1 Thessalonians 4 says he will come with a shout and the sound of a trumpet. This would have been understood in the Roman world as the coming of a king or ruler. He is first announced by a herald, then by the sound of trumpets. 1 Corinthians 15 paints the picture of Christ returning after defeating all the enemies of God, then raising his people in bodily resurrection, and finally delivering the kingdom to the Father. (1 Corinthians 15:20-28)

Revelation paints this picture for us with vivid imagery in chapter 20. Satan will lead a final rebellion at the end of this age, but Jesus will defeat him and thrown him and his supporters into the lake of fire where they will be tormented forever. Then the new creation, the new heavens and earth, the New Jerusalem is established. In other words, the kingdom is completed. Chapter 21 tells us that God the Father and God the Son will dwell among the believers.

Not only will they dwell, but Jesus the Son and the Heavenly Father will reign in the new creation. Revelation 22:3 says they sit on thrones and are worshipped by all. In other words, all things are subject to Jesus, as the writer of Hebrews said.

And believers will reign with Jesus. 1 Timothy 2:12 says if we endure, we will also reign with him. Because Jesus fulfilled the task at which Adam failed, he reigns over the world to come. Because we are in Christ, we will share this reign over the new creation, although subject always to him.