Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.
The book of Hebrews is a bit of a mystery. Scholars are both unsure of its author and its audience.* Though some believe that Paul wrote Hebrews, and the name “Hebrews” (along with its content) indicates that the letter was intended for Jewish believers in Jesus, scholars cannot definitively confirm the authorship or exact audience.* While it may be frustrating for some not to know, it’s almost fitting.
The opening verses of Hebrews serve as the stylistic pinnacle of the New Testament.* The theological arguments presented in Hebrews provide a rich resource for believers in seeking to understand the person and position of Christ.* In a world that constantly tells us who to listen to and who to serve, this is quite important.
The first four verses of Hebrews (written above) were one, long sentence in the Greek.* This sentence is built around the main idea of “God has spoken.”* Isn’t it interesting that the stylistic pinnacle of New Testament thought, in the first sentence of an argument for the supremacy of Christ, and anchored around “God has spoken” lacks known authorship and audience? It’s almost as if God wants the focus of this all-important conversation to be Himself. That’s the point of much of Hebrews, afterall.
The picture that we are given of Christ through the book of Hebrews is the following: Christ Jesus is…
the one God appointed heir of all
the one through whom God made the created order
the brilliant reflection of God’s glory and imprint of his nature
sustaining all things by his powerful word
the one who has made purification for sins
the one who sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high
the one who has become much greater than the angels, as he is the heir of a more distinguished name than they.*
The book of Hebrews provides a series of arguments for the superiority of Christ over all others.* The New Testament believers, like us, were caught up following other voices and allowing those voices to hold more weight in their lives than Jesus Christ.* These voices weren’t bad or wrong, but they were not Christ.* The voices that they were listening to were intended to point to Christ, not to themselves.*
Of these voices in Hebrews we see:
the prophets, God’s ancient spokesmen (1:1–3)
the angels, Israel’s guardians (1:4–2:18)
Israel’s great leader, Moses (3:1–4:7)
Israel’s godly general, Joshua (4:8–13)
the founder of Israel’s priesthood, Aaron (4:14–7:28).*
Each of these provided a necessary voice from Israel’s past but never intended to be followed alone.* Following just one of these voices provides an example of the good being the enemy of the best.*
In our world, the many voices we hear may be helpful or even good, but we must not forget that Christ is supreme. We ourselves may have things to say that are good and helpful, but we must not forget that Christ is supreme. Perhaps the author of Hebrews remained anonymous because they did not want to become another in the long list of those that the early church were placing too much focus on. Regardless, it serves as a reminder to us that our name matters much, much less than the name of Jesus Christ.
Lord, help us to lift you up.
Today, take a step.
Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to remember that Jesus is above all. Perhaps today God wants you to take the voices of others off of the altar of your heart. Maybe today God wants you to allow your voice to submit to His. Perhaps God wants you to become less so that He can be seen more.
Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.
Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus.
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*Stedman, R. C. (1992). Hebrews (Heb 1:1–3). IVP Academic.
Grindheim, S. (2023). The Letter to the Hebrews (D. A. Carson, Ed.; pp. 73–77). William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
France, R. T. (2006). Hebrews. In T. Longman III & D. E. Garland (Eds.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Hebrews–Revelation (Revised Edition) (Vol. 13, p. 37). Zondervan.
Guthrie, G. (1998). Hebrews (p. 45). Zondervan Publishing House.