Hebrews 1
1:1-2:18 Everything in creation and everything in redemption history is centered in Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the Son of Man. The author was convinced that Jesus was the focal point of all that God had done and, therefore, that he was the focal point of the faith of the church. Jesus Christ is the agent of creation, the height of revelation, the mediator of redemption, and the judge of history.
1:1-2a These verses relate the revelation of Jesus Christ to God’s previous revelation to the OT prophets. God spoke in past ages by the prophets in a variety of ways and times, but he has now progressed past this former revelation and spoken directly to humankind by his Son. The doctrine of progressive revelation recognizes the prophets’ words as divine revelation, but their words pointed ahead to the promise of a Messiah. This Messiah has now come—Jesus Christ.
1:2b-4 Seven praises start the letter’s argument that Jesus Christ and everything connected with him is superior to all that had come before and all that will come after him. (1) Jesus Christ is the heir of creation for whom all things have been made. (2) He is the Creator through whom all things have come into existence. (3) He is the radiance of the divine glory toward which all of creation looks for fulfillment. (4) He is the exact expression of the nature of God the Father. This means the Son participates in the divine nature with the Father. (5) He is the “Word” of God, the only prophet of God who is also God himself. (6) He is the priest of God who has provided the perfect sacrifice for all human sins. (7) He is the king who sits on the throne at the right hand of the Father. Jesus is, therefore, more excellent and superior to those high beings of creation known as angels.
1:5-14 The author teaches his readers about the divine and human natures of the Son of God by establishing his superiority to the angels and to Moses. It would have shocked the typical Jewish reader to hear that a man was higher in rank than angels. Jesus Christ was fully human, but he was fully divine. This makes him superior to the angels.
Drawing on a series of OT quotations attributed to God, the author demonstrated how God the Father had addressed his Son as divine. God the Father addressed him uniquely as my Son (2Sm 7:14; 1Ch 17:13; Ps 2:7), God (Ps 45:6-7), and Lord (Ps 102:22). Moreover, God the Father attributed divine activities to his Son. He is the firstborn and “begotten” Son who was brought into the world so that all the angels must worship him (Dt 32:43; Ps 97:7). He is the Son who made the angels his angels and his servants (Ps 104:4). He is the Son who sits on the divine throne and rules with the divine attribute of righteousness (Ps 45:6-7). He is the Son who created heaven and earth in the beginning, and who will remain the same when creation is consummated, because he shares in the divine attribute of the eternal (Ps 102:25-27). These examples show that God the Father declared Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah, to be the eternally begotten Son of God.
