Sojourn New Albany Podcast

This week my daughter turned 14.  My wife and I took her out to eat and I asked her two questions.  The first was, what was the best thing about being 13?  Now there was a right answer to this first question about the best thing about being 13.  And that right answer is found in two words: you dad.  The answer to the question also was going to determine if I was going to pay for her meal and give her a ride home.  And she answered with two sounds.  A letter and a number.  I guess you could write them out as words: S 2.  I hope you have some birthday money and you are wearing your cute birthday shoes sister.  Just kidding, she didn’t walk home, my wife and I drove separately.

Then I asked her a second question: what do you want for your 14th year of life?  And she responded with one word: better.  I asked her a follow up question but she simply said better.  I was asking her to compare and contrast what was in the past with what will be in the future.  I was calling her to give her attention to this moment compared to the past.  I was asking her to take perspective.  In her answer, she was simultaneously drawing attention towards some things and making a comparison to others.  

Perspective-taking is a skill that people can engage in and can be taught.  My dad used to engage in a lot of perspective-taking.  He would say, “Well if I knew then what I know…”  And he would say, “Now son, if I were you….”  Or he would say something like, “Now that is easy to say from over here.”  Notice the perspectives: now and then, you and I, here and there.  What we call our attention to points out what is important to us.  But as words like now, then, you, I, here, and there show us, what is important to us can change.  Now and then shows us that what is important to you changes over time and experiences.  Words like you and I show us that what is important for one person may or may not be important for another person.  Here and there shows that your location, your environment, your place in the world changes what you pay attention to.  When my dad did the perspective-taking thing, he was doing something similar to my daughter, he was drawing attention to and making a comparison at the same time.  

Perspective-taking is important for deep relationships with other people.  To understand where they are coming from, where they came from and where they need to go.  Drawing attention to something or someone or some place or some time reveals its importance but also clarifies its place in the world.  Christianity is a faith that calls people to take a perspective.  In fact, the Christian message says that One should occupy our attention whether you are standing here or sitting there.  Whether it is you or I.  One should occupy your attention in the past, today, and in the future.  Christianity says whether you're 4, 14, 44, or 84, Jesus Christ deserves your attention and for that matter your affection.  Whatever perspective you have, be it temporal, spacial, or something else, Jesus Christ our Lord deserves your attention.  And when you give your attention to him you also compare him to others.  

And what are the reasons from this passage that show us that the Lord Jesus is still better than the angels?

First, because of the name God gives him.

Second, because of the way the angels serve him.

Third, because of the duration of his kingdom.

Explanation --  Hebrews is a sermon.  And it's a great one.  A good sermon will draw God’s people to God’s Word to serve God’s Son through God’s Spirit.  And that is what Hebrews does over and over again.  He continues his sermon by demonstrating what he has declared that Jesus is better than the angels.  And we might finish by saying, “For the Bible tells me so.”  Look with me at verse 5, “For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father”? Or again, “I will be his Father, and he will be my Son”?  Here Hebrews quotes from Psalm 2:7 and 2 Samuel 7:14.  You might be more familiar with another translation of Psalm 2:7, “You are my Son today I have begotten you.”  These are famous and important verses for Jewish Christians.  They are verses that speak of God’s king from the line of David.  2 Samuel 7:14 is spoken of David.  In the Old Testament one of the meanings of the son of God is that he is the king of God’s people.  These verses were promises that were made in the past and the writer of Hebrews is saying, “Which one of the angels have ever been called the Son of God?” and the answer is “None!”  

Illustration -- Remember what I said earlier about when my dad would do the perspective-taking thing.  Now I knew when he was doing the perspective-taking thing what place he was coming from by his opening words.  If the opening words contained, “Well son…” or “Now son…” then I knew he was going to give me his perspective out of a place of affection.  If he didn’t open up with “son” then I knew the perspective was one of regret or displeasure or something.  Based on my relationship with my dad, when he called me son he was drawing our attention to something from a place of affection in contrast to when he opened up with another statement or word.  

Argumentation -- Now how much more is God’s love for the Lord Jesus highlighted when he calls him Son.  When God speaks, he calls the Lord Jesus the Son of God to emphasize his relationship to him.  That he is God’s promised King.  That the Scriptures point to him.  That the saints of old long for him.  That all Christians in all times and all places.  That all people in all times and all places.  That creation in heaven, on earth, and for all time draws their attention towards God’s Son Jesus Christ.  None of the angels are called the Son of God.  God the Father at the baptism of our Lord opens up heaven and says publicly that this is his Son.  When Peter, James, and John see the glory of Christ in Matthew 17 the Father speaks again and calls him the Son.  When there are public events and God the Father will speak about Jesus he calls him his Son.  Now when does he ever do that to the angels?  And the answer is never.  Look at what God calls him.  Look at the name that God gives him and there you will know God’s opinion of him.  

Application -- What do you call Jesus?  What is the name that you give to him?  When my grandmother spoke to me she would say, “My son” as an act of affection.  But when she spoke about Jesus he would say “the Lord” as an act of submission.  He is her Lord and she relied on his mercy to sustain her.  What do you call Jesus?  If you knew now what you knew then, what would you call Jesus?  If you were me and I were you, what would you call Jesus?  If you were standing here and I was sitting there, what would you call Jesus?

This verse teaches us a truth that regardless of if we knew then what we know now, Jesus is still the Son of God.  Whether you are standing here in my spot or I am sitting there in your seat, Jesus still is the Son of God.  Whether I were you or you were me, Jesus is still the Son of God.  In all places, at all times, for all people.  You and I, here and there, now and then, Jesus is still the Son of God.  

God doesn’t give us the chance to name Jesus, he says before us, “This is my Son” and he is.  The wise person will repeat these words and say, “Yes indeed Jesus is the Son of God.”  This is what makes us different from Judaism, Jesus is the Son of God.  This is what makes us different than Islam, Jesus is the Son of God.  This is what makes Christians Christian, Jesus is the Son of God because that is what God himself calls him.  

Explanation -- Look with me at verses 6-7, “And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.” In speaking of the angels he says,“He makes his angels spirits, and his servants flames of fire.”  The writer of Hebrews continues his quotations from the Old Testament.  This was their Bible, as it is a part of ours.  These are Bible-believing Christians but they were tempted to walk away from the faith because of the persecution that some were experiencing.  “Maybe we were wrong about this whole Christian-thing.  I mean, we were given the words of God from the hands of the angels after all.”  They may have been influenced by a group of Jewish people who believed that two messiahs would come, one priestly messiah to offer sacrifices and another kingly messiah to rule over God’s people.  And these two messiahs would be supervised by an angel, the arc angel Michael spoken of in Scripture.  This was one of the beliefs among some of the Jewish people at this time.  

If this was the case, Hebrews says, “Well look at the Bible.  What does it say that the angels do when the Lord Jesus appears?”  They say to one another, “It’s time to sing.  It’s time to gather the choir.”  The angels serve the Lord Jesus through worship.  The specific verse that Hebrews is referencing is either in Psalm 97 or in Deuteronomy 32.  And there are some difficulties knowing if he is referencing when the Son of God was born.  You may remember that the angels scared the shepherds about half to death with their praising of the newborn King.  Or it is possible that Hebrews is referencing not the First Coming of our Lord but his Second Coming.  To be honest, regardless, the fact remains the same, as he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.”

Illustration -- TBA.

Argumentation -- And which one of the angels do other angels say, “Worship him.”  Not one.  In fact, when angels appear in the Scripture, their consistent message is, “Don’t worship me.  Worship God!”  The way one serves another indicates the value of that person.  The importance of that person.  You serve those you are important.  We serve those who are worthy of service.  And we can take a cue from the angels and say that Jesus is worthy.  It is he who deserves all worship.  It is he who deserves all praise.  

This is something about the Christian faith, we say that One is worthy of .  worship.  And for that matter, no one else is.  Only our Lord Jesus is worthy of worship.  Only he is worthy of praise.  It is only he, and no other person, thing, place, event, deserves our worship.  If we follow the example of the angels, then we will worship Jesus our Savior and Lord.  When the angels see Jesus, they say, “Thanks be to God!”

Application -- In your mind’s eye, when you see Jesus, what do you say?  Whatever it is you say, let us follow the example of the angels, and echo their words by saying, “Thanks be to God!”

Illustration -- I mentioned last week about discussions with my mom about legal documents, addresses, inheritance, and such.  Because we are in a time in our family where we discuss, “How long?  What’s next?”  The way my mom tells the story of the last day of my dad's life, he mentioned his grandkids before things went awry.  He mentioned them in a specific way, “My name will go on.”  There is something powerful and personal in such a brief statement, my name will go on.  You could say that it links multiple people to one person.  But it not only roots multiple people to one person, but all future events.  Unknown events at that, to one person.  It acknowledges the brevity of his life and the future lives and lineage of his family.  

Explanation --  The joining together of what is right now and what will be in the future could be done in many ways I suppose.  In the statement, “My name will go on” you hear the sound of comfort in what the future holds.  Taken out of his own hands and placed in the hands of others.  People long for permanence.  The writer of Hebrews says that those longings are found in a Person.  Look with me in verse 9, “But about the Son he says,“Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.  You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.”  Did you notice that the throne of the Lord Jesus, it will last for ever and ever?  It never comes to an end.  How come?  Well, did you notice what God himself calls the Son?  He calls him God.  To contrast the Lord Jesus with anyone, angels or humans, is comparing creatures, created, to God himself.  The throne of the Lord Jesus.  His kingdom.  Will have no end because it cannot have an end.  Because he is God Almighty.  

Argumentation --  His name will go on.  His kingdom will never end.  His dominion is from everlasting to everlasting.  From the heights of the sky to the depths of the sea.  To the sun and stars and the planets.  As the songwriter said, “Come Lord Jesus!  All kingdoms are Your Own!  Come Lord Jesus!  Ascend Your Throne!”