Jesus is Creator and Re-creator (Heb. 1:10-12)

This sermon was preached on 20/1/2013

Sometimes when a biographer wants to show the greatness of his subject he will give a chapter to each aspect of the individual’s greatness. So if the subject is a politician, there may be chapters on each stage of his rise to power and how he prepared himself for his future roles. Or if his subject is an athlete there may be chapters on the various circumstances the person went through, the barriers he overcame, and the achievements he attained. With regard to such books, the longer each chapter the more impressive the subject will appear. 

We can liken this section of Hebrews to a book called Why Jesus is Greater Than Angels. The author lists several ways in which that is the case. We have already noticed two of his arguments: first, he used the resurrection of Jesus and, second, he used the subsequent reign of Jesus from the divine throne. He now gives a third argument: the creative and re-creative power of Jesus Christ. And there are more to come. Yet the striking feature of each argument is how short they are, with only two or three verses given to each. In other words, he does not use a lot of words to describe the greatness of Jesus. After all, how many words can one use to describe the indescribable!

Learning how to use the Bible

As with the two previous proofs, the author cites an Old Testament reference (Psalm 102:25-27) in explaining his third argument. In fact, he states the Old Testament passage as his argument. There are two lessons that we can note from his use of the Old Testament in this chapter. 

The first is that we must have a scripture basis for our views of who Jesus is and what he has done. We cannot base them on other sources, including the opinions of the church, the opinions of other religions or even our own subjective experience. Within the church, there is a variety of opinions as to Jesus is and what he did. For example, liberal churchmen will say much about the example of Jesus in helping the outcasts, but nothing about the supernatural elements in his life and work. In Islam, respect is given to Jesus as a great prophet, but it does not accept that Jesus is the divine Son of God. Regarding subjective experience, one popular song says, ‘You ask me how I know he lives, he lives within my heart.’ The fact that we can sense some kind of spiritual experience does not tell us what has happened to Jesus, that he is now risen from the dead. The only authority for discovering the truth about Jesus is the Word of God.

The second lesson from the author’s citation of Old Testament texts is the sufficiency and clarity of the Word of God. He does not give an explanation of the verses he quotes from Psalm 102, which means that he expected his readers to look at the verses from the psalm and realise what they meant. This does not mean that it is illegitimate to enlarge upon biblical passages, and the author himself will do so in the next chapter when he deals with a quotation from Psalm 8. But the Bible is usually straightforward and clear in what it says. This is why the Bible can be handed out to people, and why people with no previous background can pick it up and understand much of what it says. 

Perhaps we want to then ask the question, ‘Why does everybody not believe what it says?’ The answer to that question for many is simple: for one reason or another, people don’t like what it says, but it is not because they cannot understand what it says. Of course, there is the danger of a preacher or commentator, instead of being helpful, confusing his listeners or readers with his comments. Yet in the main, the Bible is clear. So hopefully what I say regarding these verses will not hide the splendour of Jesus Christ from your view.

Why Psalm 102 speaks of Jesus

The author of Hebrews applies the quotation from Psalm 102 to Jesus. His quotation comes from the closing verses of the psalm. In the psalm an afflicted person is praying to God aware of being isolated and experiencing rejection (vv. 1-11), perhaps caused by reflecting on the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. Yet he gets comfort from the future prosperity of Zion (vv. 12-22). In verses 23 and 24, he resumes his complaint and prays for deliverance. As we read the psalm, we might assume that verses 25 to 28 are only a description of the God to whom the psalmist was praying. 

Yet the author of Hebrews reveals that these verses are actually a promise from the Father to the Son, which raises the possibility that it is the Son who is praying in verses 23 and 24, perhaps in a situation such as Gethsemane where he sensed that his life was in danger. Several commentators have suggested this link. Since this part of the psalm is Messianic, it may mean that the whole psalm is also Messianic, with verses 1-11 being a prayer of Christ, and verses 12 to 22 the comforting response of the Father that his Son would rebuild Zion. 

Jesus is the Creator of the universe

Quoting these verses from the psalm enables the author to takes his readers back to the accounts of the creation of the universe in Genesis 1, which describes what took place at the beginning. Our universe, which is great in size, was brought into existence by Jesus Christ (the author is not denying that the Father and the Holy Spirit were also involved). He was active participator in the formation of our planet and all the other heavenly bodies. It is good for us, on a clear evening, to look up at the sky and see the handiwork of the Son of God. Or to take a telescope and see further into space, with all its galaxies, and realise again that Jesus did it all. When we do so, we should engage in worship of the Saviour and remind ourselves that the universe is a display of his wisdom and power.

Jesus is the Controller of the universe

The writer then assesses the state of the universe and says that it is becoming old. He likens it to a garment that begins to fade and fall apart with age. Perhaps the phenomena called Global Warning, with all its threat to human civilisation, is merely an expression of this ongoing reality. In a similar sense, Paul writing in Romans 8 says that the whole creation is groaning because of the state that sin has brought about. 

Yet although the universe is growing old, it will not come to an end because it has experienced a gradual decline. Instead Jesus is going to intervene and display his power by changing it. The author likens the entire universe to a garment that is going to be folded up by Jesus Christ. What a picture of the bigness of our Saviour! This earth, with its mountain ranges, oceans and seas, cities and towns, is going to be folded up by Jesus Christ. Not only will our planet be folded up, so also will all the innumerable galaxies, with all their stars and planets. 

What power belongs to Jesus Christ! When he said to his disciples that all authority was given to him in heaven and earth, he meant authority over every inch of it, including the authority to be in charge of its cataclysmic end. The Bible elsewhere gives other pictures of this tremendous day. For example, Peter describes it in this way: ‘But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?’ (2 Pet. 3:10-12).  It will be good on that amazing day to know that we are safe in the hands of the One who is causing this cosmic upheaval.

Jesus will be the Re-creator of the universe

The author of Hebrews does not say that the universe will be destroyed; instead he says it will be changed. Other biblical passages affirm the same. Peter, in the passage mentioned earlier, goes on to say: ‘But according to his promise, we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells’ (2 Pet. 3:13). 

Paul writes in Romans 8:18-21: ‘For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.’ 

Peter in Acts 3:19-21 says: ‘Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.’ So the universe is going to appear in a new form, suitable for Christ and his redeemed to live in it for ever.

We get a pointer to the Saviour’s activities on this wonderful future day when we consider his miracles. These works of wonder can be interpreted as stating various truths about Christ. They declare his deity because he performed miracles that only God could perform such as when he raised people from the dead. They also declare his calling to be the Messiah because such signs were predicted by the Old Testament prophets when they described his appearing. And they are foretastes of the future world for which he had come to find inhabitants. 

When he turned the water into wine, he was saying that he would create a world in which there would be no disappointments, a world where its great joy would more than make up for the sorrows of life. When he healed the lepers, he was giving an example of a world where there is no disease and isolation. When he raised individuals from the dead, he was saying that there is a world where there is no separation and sorrow. When he fed the thousands from small resources, he was declaring that there will be a world where there will be no shortages and where all the inhabitants will be satisfied with his bounty. When he calmed the storm on the sea, he was giving a foretaste of a universe without storms and danger.

We cannot say what this new world will look like. But we can say that it will be superior to the one we currently know. Even the wonderful reality that sin, and all its sad effects, will be gone tells us that this new world will be much better. Paul informs us in 1 Corinthians 15 that redeemed humans will have increased capabilities and potential for life in this new world because they will be raised immortal with greater powers than they currently have. Further, in line with the point being made by the author of this book, we can say that the new world will not be achieved even by the creatures with highest abilities, the angels. Only Jesus is able to bring in the new world and bring us to the new world.

Application

I want to make three brief words of application, based on the remaining lines of this quotation: ‘But you are the same, and your years will have no end.’ Since Jesus retains his power, wisdom and other abilities (although he has also been a man for over two thousand years, his deity has not become weaker or deficient in any way), it means that his power as Creator, Controller and Re-creator, which have been described in a universal sense, can also be experienced in a personal sense.

Since Jesus is the Creator of all things, it means that he has made each one of us. The same power and wisdom that was involved in creating and forming the galaxies was involved in creating you. These other creatures have their unique features, and so do you. Just as they were made to use these features for the glory of God, so were you, and so should you. Your mind, your character, your abilities came from Jesus and should be used for Jesus.

Since Jesus will be the Re-creator of all things, it means that he can remake your life. Just as on a cosmic scale, he will remove sin and its effects, so he can remake your life by removing the penalty of sin, reducing the power of sin and replacing it with a new life in your soul in which you enjoy his pardon, presence and peace.

Since Jesus is the Supervisor of all things, it means he can take care of your life. If you trust in him, he will be your protector in whatever comes your way and on each step that you will take, even through death to the resurrection, and then through the final upheaval into the safety of the heavenly country.