In your life of faith, where do you place Jesus? Do you marvel at the works of our Lord more than the mysteries of angels? Is your heart strengthened and encouraged by the faith of the saints of old or is your focus on the pillars of the pasting distracting you from the one whom they served? You dear friend, might not be in danger of turning from Christ to Judaism like our original readers; however, we must guard against minimizing Christ.
N.T. Wright likens our distraction with angels, prophets, and other things to a child at Christmas more interested in the wrapping paper than the present itself. The wrapping is beautiful. It presents the gift attractively, but we need to set it aside to focus on the gift itself...Jesus Christ. Who is he? What is the role he played and still plays in God's plan? What is his role in your life of worship and what he has called you to?
Hebrews clues us in to some amazing attributes of Jesus. He is the Son of God, heir of all things, the radiance of the glory of God and exact imprint of his nature, the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth, creator and upholder of the universe, purifier of sins, superior to angels and prophets, unchanging, eternal, and seated at the right hand of God.
But if we could sum all these beautiful phrases into one thought, it would be character. Jesus is the character and nature of God wrapped up in human flesh...far superior to any created being, angelic or human, to ever walk the planet.
The wrapping is beautiful, but the gift itself is far superior. Of what angel can God say, "You are my Son"? Of what saint, living or dead, will He say, "You are the radiance of my glory and exact imprint of my nature"? None! Praise God for the prophets, the saints of old, and the angels, but they are not the receivers of our praise. That belongs solely to our Lord.
We might not know the identity of the author of Hebrews, but one thing is certain. He states his purpose clearly....It is ALL about Jesus. His eyes are firmly fixed upon Him. Are yours?
In Matthew 16: 13-16 Jesus asks Peter,
“Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”
So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
So I ask you today, dear friend, "who do you say that he is?"
N.T. Wright likens our distraction with angels, prophets, and other things to a child at Christmas more interested in the wrapping paper than the present itself. The wrapping is beautiful. It presents the gift attractively, but we need to set it aside to focus on the gift itself...Jesus Christ. Who is he? What is the role he played and still plays in God's plan? What is his role in your life of worship and what he has called you to?
Hebrews clues us in to some amazing attributes of Jesus. He is the Son of God, heir of all things, the radiance of the glory of God and exact imprint of his nature, the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth, creator and upholder of the universe, purifier of sins, superior to angels and prophets, unchanging, eternal, and seated at the right hand of God.
But if we could sum all these beautiful phrases into one thought, it would be character. Jesus is the character and nature of God wrapped up in human flesh...far superior to any created being, angelic or human, to ever walk the planet.
The wrapping is beautiful, but the gift itself is far superior. Of what angel can God say, "You are my Son"? Of what saint, living or dead, will He say, "You are the radiance of my glory and exact imprint of my nature"? None! Praise God for the prophets, the saints of old, and the angels, but they are not the receivers of our praise. That belongs solely to our Lord.
We might not know the identity of the author of Hebrews, but one thing is certain. He states his purpose clearly....It is ALL about Jesus. His eyes are firmly fixed upon Him. Are yours?
In Matthew 16: 13-16 Jesus asks Peter,
“Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”
So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
So I ask you today, dear friend, "who do you say that he is?"
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