Jesus, Greater than Angels (Heb.1:4–2:4)

 There are two usual ways of making comparisons. We either can compare ourselves with someone who is better than us or with someone who is inferior to us. I can imagine correctly that I understand the economy better than a child, but I imagine incorrectly if I think I understand it as well as the government. It is similar when thinking about angels and comparing them with others. If we compare them with humans, then we conclude that they are more powerful than all humans. Yet if we compare them with God, we see that they are only creatures who are infinitely inferior to him. Yet how do they relate to Jesus who is both God and man? That might not be a problem for us, but it was a problem for converted Jews in the first century, which is why the writer of Hebrews takes two chapters in his letter to deal with the matter.

Why did the Jews give angels a high position? Several answers can be given to that question. One is mentioned in Hebrews 2:2 where the writer says that the angels were involved in the giving of the law on Mount Sinai (Stephen refers to their role in his speech recorded in Acts 7:53; Paul also refers to this angelic role in Galatians 3:19). It is the case that their involvement at Sinai is not mentioned in Exodus 19 which describes the giving of the law. Yet they are referred to in Deuteronomy 33:2: ‘The Lord came from Sinai and dawned from Seir upon us; he shone forth from Mount Paran; he came from the ten thousands of holy ones, with flaming fire at his right hand.’ And also in Psalm 68:17: ‘The chariots of God are twice ten thousand, thousands upon thousands; the Lord is among them; Sinai is now in the sanctuary.’ While we don’t know their precise actions at that time, the role was obviously a very important one. The time of the giving of the law is regarded as the commencement of Israel as a nation. So we should not be surprised that the Jews had a high regard for angels because of their involvement at that glorious event.

We can add to that answer the involvement of angels at the time of creation and in their numerous actions in divine providence. Job tells us that angels were present at the onset of the created world and praised God rapturously for what he had made. That was a great privilege and honour for them to observe his wisdom and his power. So also was their role as God’s agents in the creation afterwards throughout time. Many kinds of activities are connected to them in addition to passing on messages from heaven. They could punish individuals and large armies, and they could help provide the needs of individuals and groups, even the nation of Israel. The book of Zechariah mentions some of their global activities. In addition to those reasons, the good angels would have been highly regarded for having remained loyal to God when Satan led his rebellion in heaven.

So how did the author of Hebrews explain the difference between angels and Jesus? He turned to the Old Testament and used several verses from there, but he interpreted them in the light of the coming of Jesus and its consequences, especially after his death on the cross. He refers to three events in the experience of the Saviour, each of which highlights his superiority over the angels.

The resurrection of Jesus (vv. 4-6)

The first verse that the author quotes is Psalm 2:7: ‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you.’ Theologians have argued about the meaning of ‘begotten’ in various contexts, but Paul in Acts 13:32-33 tells what the quotation from Psalm 2 means: ‘And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you.”’

Connected to that quotation by the author of Hebrews is another one from 2 Samuel 7:14: ‘I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son.’ The context in 2 Samuel is a prophecy of the Messiah that the Lord gave to David: ‘When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son’ (2 Sam. 7:12-14). That prophecy may have had an initial reference to Solomon, but its ultimate reference is to Jesus.

The prophecy points to something intimate and glorious between the Father and the Son. Obviously, the Father and the Son have an eternal relationship that is above anything that is revealed within time. Yet there are other ways of looking at their relationship. For example, what was the relationship like when Jesus was here on earth? Many references in the Gospels allude to it as well as those which describe aspects of it. We can ask if there are differences between the way(s) they related during those years on earth and the way(s) they relate now in heaven.

When we think of the relationship between a father and a son, what idea may be at the forefront? I would suggest that the idea here is inheritance. When Jesus rose from the dead, he ascended to heaven as the forerunner to claim the inheritance for his people. At the moment, he is building a house for his Father, and the Father is establishing his throne as Jesus reigns over and defeats all his enemies. This double process happens continually.

One day, the inheritance will be ready and what will happen then? In order to tell us, the writer cites another verse from the Old Testament, this time from either Psalm 97:7 or Deuteronomy 32:43 (both of those verses contain this quotation, which the author of Hebrews cites from the Septuagint, the Greek version of the Old Testament). On that great future day, when the Father tells his firstborn Son to return to the earth, all the angels will be worshipping him. What he will have done in bringing into existence a people to share the inheritance will be a cause of angelic adoration.

The reign of Jesus (vv. 7-9)

The writer points out a reference to how God regards his angels: ‘He makes his angels winds, and his ministers a flame of fire’ (Ps. 104:4). This is a description of their service. Maybe calling them winds (plural) highlights their different actions and calling them fire (singular) highlights their purity. Winds could also indicate their speed and fire reveal their energy. Yet whatever that description indicates, it stresses that they are God’s servants. In contrast, Jesus is regarded by the Father as the king. Yet since God has placed many kings in authority, we should ask if he says anything different about the kingship of Jesus. The writer uses a quotation from Psalm 45:6-7 to tell us.

First, we should note that the Father addresses the Son as divine (‘O God’) which is a recognition of the full deity of the Son. Second, the Father mentions the length of the reign of his Son, which will be eternal. Third, the Father points to the quality of the reign, which is constant uprightness. Fourth, the Father states the character of the King – he has loved righteousness and hated wickedness. Fifth, the Father describes his action in anointing the Son at his ascension when he received the Holy Spirit in greater measure than anyone else.

What effect do these five descriptions of Jesus by the Father have on us? What effect should it have had on the first readers of this letter when they were challenged about wondering where angels stood in comparison with Jesus? After all, who is as glorious as the Son of God?

The Son and the future (vv. 10-12)

The writer gives another quotation to his readers, this time from Psalm 102:25-27: ‘You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands; they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment, like a robe you will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will have no end.’ Here we have a conversation between the Father and the Son in which the Father mentions what the Son did at the first creation (made the universe) and what the Son will do at the second creation (change the universe and remake it). Obviously, no angel or any number of angels brought about the first creation and nor will they be able to bring about the new creation. But Jesus did and will do. But he does not change, and he will not depart from the scene. He is the controller of time and space, forever.

Arthur Pink beautifully describes the wonder of this reality when he writes: ‘Do we really grasp this? For nineteen hundred years since the Cross, men have been born, have lived, and then died. Statesmen, emperors, kings have appeared on the scene and then passed away. But there is one glorious Man who spans the centuries, who in His own humanity bridges those nineteen hundred years. He has not died, nor even grown old; He is “the same yesterday, and today, and forever!”’

The final quotation (vv. 13-14)

The author has one more quotation to use in this section about the greatness of Jesus. This time he cites from Psalm 110:1: ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.’ That statement is deserved promotion connected to his glorification after his humiliation, an announced prophecy of his eventual triumph, and a personal Fatherly promise combined. Angels heard many truths from the mouth of God, but they never have or never will hear such words about themselves.

Since he has wonderfully described the greatness of Jesus, what does the writer have to say about the role of angels? They are servants of Jesus whom he sends to serve his people. They do help us, but we are not their masters. It is only Jesus that they obey. And he always knows what they should do for his people.