Hebrews: The Daily Discipline of a Devoted Lifeنموونە

'I believe in angels’ sang the Swedish pop group Abba. For many today, angels are only the figment of an overactive imagination. But for the Old Testament Jews, angels were awesome beings who provoked fear in their hearts. Jewish tradition said it was angels who delivered the Ten Commandments to Moses at Sinai. 

So it was a huge thing for the writer to say that Jesus is greater than the angels. But that is the theme of this amazing passage: Jesus is greater than angels:  

• In his identity. Angels are ‘servants’ of God (v. 7), but Jesus is God’s Son (v. 5). Before Jesus became human at Bethlehem, he enjoyed an eternal relationship with the Father. The writer calls Jesus the ‘firstborn’ (v. 6), which does not mean he was created, but that Christ rules over creation. Jesus is the eternal Son who holds the cosmos in his hands.  
• In his purity. Jesus ‘loved righteousness and hated wickedness’ (v. 9). The angels are holy, but Jesus is the essence of purity. Purity is considered quaint and old-fashioned today, but purity delights God, and Jesus’ purity is the theme of angel worship. God calls us to reflect Christ in the purity of our thoughts and motives.  
• In his eternity. Jesus’ throne is ‘for ever and ever’ (v. 8) and his years ‘will never end’ (v. 12). We limited humans have only ever known time, and see our brief lifespan as a series of moments. But Jesus is eternal, and stands outside of time. He has always existed, and will always be!  
• In his authority. This passage says Jesus has a throne and a kingdom for ever (v. 8), and one day God will put all his enemies under his feet (v. 13). We cannot fully see Jesus’ authority in our world now, but in a coming day, all of creation – angels and demons and human beings – will bow and accept that Jesus is Lord. 

Whatever we think of angels, we should fall down in wonder at the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son, for whom the universe exists, and who holds our breath in his hand.

Reflection

Have you lost your awe for Christ? Are you purifying your thoughts and motives (see Phil. 4:8)?