Jesus, King of All - Hebrews 1:4-14

“For to which of the angels did He 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? … Now to which of the angels has He ever said: Sit at My right hand until I make your enemies Your footstool?” (Hebrews 1:5, 13).

Click / Hover here to read this section’s passage in its entirety – Hebrews 1:4-14.

Click on picture to download a printable handout.

Before we begin, I found another quote this week that answers the question, “Why study Hebrews?” This also comes from commentator David Guzik. He writes, “The purpose of Hebrews is like the purpose of the Transfiguration. Each of them cry out and say, ‘This is My Beloved Son! Hear Him!’(Mark 9:7).” Jesus has come; He has given us the full revelation. He’s given us all we need to know for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). I submit to you that we may solve any of our problems through a personal, intimate, and growing relationship with Him. I don’t say that out of speculation but rather out of experience in my own life. Test Him and see if He doesn’t prove faithful.

In the first section, we saw seven evidences of Jesus’ divine nature from the Old Testament. They proclaimed that He is the Messiah promised throughout the writings of the Law and the Prophets. They simultaneously proclaimed a work of redemption only the Messiah could have accomplished. Jesus accomplished that work of redemption the first time He came to earth.

In this section, we’re going to look back at the Old Testament so we might look ahead to our own future when Jesus will return a second time. If the first seven evidences show Jesus as our Savior, then these seven will show Jesus as our Lord.

Throughout, we’ll also see that Jesus isn’t an angel but is rather far superior to any angelic being. The author of Hebrews wanted to make sure to clear up any confusion on that issue.

Why might they have been confused?

At the end of section one we mentioned a story in the Old Testament about the prophet Micaiah. Micaiah saw into heaven and described the throne of God as surrounded by the angelic host (1 Kings 22:19). However, the author of Hebrews says that Jesus is sitting at the right hand of the throne of God. I believe the author wants to make sure his readers don’t think Jesus is an angel based on His current position at God’s right hand. To prove his point, the author concludes the chapter by quoting seven different Old Testament passages that proclaim Jesus as the promised Messiah who would rule as King.

Seven Prophecies of a Messianic King

Son of God
To read full context: Psalm 2

The first quote in Hebrews 1:5 says, “You are My Son; today I have become Your Father.” It comes from Psalm 2:7, a royal Psalm and Messianic prophecy. God will crown His Son as King on Mount Zion. From there, He will rule over all the nations.

As is often the case, the psalmist reminds us toward the end of the Psalm that we have a choice to make. We may “serve the Lord with reverential awe and rejoice with trembling” or we “will perish in [our] rebellion” (Psalm 2:11-12). It should be an easy choice to make but our pride holds us back too often.

Jesus is the Son of God who is crowned King.

Son of David
To read full context: 2 Samuel 7:8-16

The second quote in Hebrews 1:5 is, “I will be His Father, and He will be My Son.” The original words were written in 2 Samuel 7:14. God promised King David a descendant who would rule the kingdom forever. David’s kingly line ended with King Zerubbabel but this didn’t prove God’s promise to be false. We still await the last and greatest king of Israel who descended from David’s line – the Messiah, King Jesus.

Jesus is the Son of David who will complete David’s kingly dynasty.

King of the end
To read full context: Psalm 97

The third quote is in Hebrews 1:6. It reads, “And all God’s angels must worship Him” which comes from Psalm 97:7. The day will come when His presence will light up the entire world, the earth will tremble, and mountains will melt away. All other glory will pale in comparison to the majesty of the King. At that time, followers of Christ will rejoice with the angels as they all bow to worship Him. Not everyone will be so happy, though. Once again, those who followed the idols of this world will be put to shame.

Jesus is the King who will return a second time in sight of the whole world.

God of creation
To read full context: Psalm 104, especially verses 1-4

The fourth point in a list of seven is often the pinnacle in Hebrew writing; it’s the key point the author wants to make. (This was true in our previous section where we listed seven evidences of Jesus’ divine nature.) Here, the fourth quote steps away from kingly messianic prophecies; instead, the quote comes from a Psalm praising Yahweh for His majesty and splendor especially as they are displayed in creation. Within that context, the author of Hebrews quotes the psalmist to remind us that Yahweh is God, even over the angels (Hebrews 1:7, Psalm 104:4).

Did the author of Hebrews run out of Old Testament prophecies referring to the Messiah as king? No, we have more to come. Instead, the author is taking advantage of this fourth point to show us something different – the key point, if you will. The other six reveal Jesus as King. This one shows Him to be Yahweh God, similar to the main idea in the fourth point of our previous list. We can almost hear the author of Hebrews saying, “Yes, Jesus the Messiah is King, but don’t stop there. Jesus is also God who created the universe.”

Jesus is Creator God, King of the universe.

The Bride-groom King
To read full context: Psalm 45

We again catch a glimpse of our awaited future in the fifth quote from Hebrews 1:7-9. Revelation 19:6-8 reveals a future wedding between the Lamb, Jesus, and His bride. The Old Testament prophesied this event hundreds of years before John ever wrote Revelation, though. Psalm 45 goes into great detail of the wedding between the king and his bride, the queen. The author of Hebrews recalls this context to help us understand that not only is Jesus greater than the angels, He is the King who awaits His promised bride. He is the King who loves righteousness, hates lawlessness, and who will establish an eternal kingdom based on those principles.

Jesus is the promised Bride-groom who will rule over His kingdom with righteousness

King of eternity
To read full context: Psalm 102, especially verses 23-28

The sixth quote from the Old Testament is Psalm 102:25-27. We find it in Hebrews 1:10-12. You and I, we’re all human. As such, we’re limited to a finite number of days. The whole of Psalm 102 reminds us that those days will be days of trouble (vs 2), affliction (vs 4), groaning (vs 5), and loneliness (vs 7). Despite all of that, in the end God will restore us when He reigns from Zion (vs 12-17).

He can make such a promise of hope to us because He is king of eternity. Yes, our lives may be short; sometimes they seem worthless. But God existed before creation (vs 25) and He will continue to exist after creation is gone (vs 26). To Him, time is nothing. Our days may fly by in an instant, but He has always existed and will always exist. In all that awesomeness, He chose to reach into our temporal world and give us significance, holiness, and the promise of eternity with Him.

He is King outside of time who chooses to bring us into eternity with Him.

The Priestly King
To read full context: Psalm 110:1-4

We’ve come to the end of our seven Old Testament quotes that show Jesus as our promised future King. This final quote in Hebrews 1:13 comes from Psalm 110:1, “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies Your footstool.”

For the Hebrew people, a man couldn’t serve as both priest and king. King Uzziah tried to perform the duties of the high priest one time. It didn’t end so well for him, however, as God struck him with leprosy until the day he died (2 Chronicles 26:16-18). During the days of Abraham – before the Law was given to Moses – Scripture tells us of a man, Melchizedek, who did serve as both priest and king. Genesis 14 tells of Abraham’s encounter with him. “Then Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine; he was a priest to God Most High” (Genesis 14:18). Salem is an early name for Jerusalem where this ancient man both reigned as king and served as priest. Psalm 110 ties into this story when it prophesies the Messiah as the king who is also a priest in the order of Melchizedek.

Jesus is the eternal Priest who made atonement for our sins and He is also the eternal King who will rule over His enemies with a “mighty scepter from Zion” (Psalm 110:2). And that is so much cooler than the work of the angels.

Jesus is the priestly King.

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Why do I care?

Almost all of these promises of a messianic king reference a time of judgment. Whether our number of days is long or short, we will all stand before King Jesus. That time will either be a time of rejoicing because we humbly chose to recognize our sin and acknowledge His salvation for us. Or, that will be a day of great shame and horror as we realize our pride kept us from Him. Either way, He will reign as King.

To consider for discussion
Why is the realization that Jesus is King and not an angel important?

Which aspect of Jesus’ kingship is your favorite or holds the most significance for you?

How does Jesus’ kingship impact your life right now?

How does Jesus’ kingship give you hope for the future?

Previous Section: The Divine Nature of Jesus

Next Section: Time to Pay Attention

The Divine Nature of Jesus – Hebrews 1:1-3

“Long ago God spoke to the fathers by the prophets at different times and in different ways. In these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son. God has appointed Him heir of all things and made the universe through Him. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of His nature, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high”
(Hebrews 1:1-3).

Click picture for a printable handout for this section.

Human nature – we all have it because we’re all human. In short, it refers to how we think, feel, and act regardless of the influence of our culture. Because we’re all human, the desire to sin controls our human nature. We all sin; we all fall short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23).

Jesus was fully human but sin didn’t control His thoughts, actions, and feelings. This phenomenon was only possible because He was also fully God. That’s the first point the unknown author of Hebrews made as he began his book and it’s the first area we’re going to discuss in this online study. The Jewish author gave us seven pieces of evidence from key events in the history of the Jewish people. Those seven pieces of evidence cover the range of the Old Testament Law and the Prophets.

Seven Evidences of Jesus’ Divine Nature

God “has spoken to us by His Son…and made the universe through Him” (Hebrews 1:2)
How did God create the universe? He didn’t mix and combine a list of ingredients until He had the perfect concoction. He spoke each part into existence. “Then God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light” (Genesis 1:3). He continued with the same process through the remaining days of creation. See Genesis 1:6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24, and 26. God spoke – He used holy words – to create the universe.

Jesus is the Word of God fashioned into a man. He is the Word made flesh. John began his gospel by explaining this mind-blowing concept. He wrote, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things were created through Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created” (John 1:1-3).

Take a note of verse three from John’s passage. All things were created through the Word made flesh – the Messiah Jesus. Before Jesus took on human form – through the times of the Old Testament – He is the Word of God. When He came as a man, He completed the gift of the revelation of God’s Word so God no longer spoke through prophets.

Jesus is the Word of God through whom God created the universe – Genesis 1.

God “appointed Him heir of all things” (Hebrews 1:3)
Around what promise of inheritance does the entire Old Testament revolve? To answer that question, let’s look at the first use of the word “heir” in Scripture. In Genesis 15, Abram didn’t have an heir so his entire estate would go to his servant, Eliezer of Damascus. God had a different plan, however. He covenanted with Abram that he would have a son. Through that son, Abram’s descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky; they would dwell in the area we refer to as the Promised Land. It spread from modern day Egypt all the way through most of modern day Iraq.

Abram’s son, Isaac, was born later after God had changed his name to Abraham. He was the son which God had promised. He was also Abraham’s earthly heir but God’s promised heir would come through Isaac’s descendants many generations later. The Apostle Paul explained it for us when he wrote, “Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say ‘and to seeds,’ as though referring to many, but referring to one, and to your seed, who is Christ (Galatians 3:16).

Jesus is the promised heir of the covenant made with Abram – Genesis 15.

Jesus “is the radiance of God’s glory” (Hebrews 1:3)
Centuries after Abraham’s death, his descendants through Isaac found themselves slaves in Egypt. God rose up the leader Moses to bring his people out of their captivity and into the Promised Land. God provided a pillar of fire by day and a cloud by night to guide the Israelite people during their journey. The pillar/cloud remained in front of the people at all times (Exodus 13:21-22). During that story, we first read about the glory of God. It appeared within the cloud which guided them (Exodus 16:10).

The author of Hebrews refers to Jesus as the radiance of God’s glory. Radiance is the light shining from a light source. In other words, Jesus is the light shining from the midst of the pillar guiding the people through the desert.

Jesus is the light radiating from the glory of God during the Exodus – Exodus 16.

Jesus “is the exact expression of the nature of God” (Hebrews 1:3)
Fast forward a little bit during the time of the Exodus. God gave the Law to Moses. Although the whole of the Law is quite extensive, an important part of it is what we call the Ten Commandments. The second command states, “Do not make an idol for yourself, whether in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth” (Exodus 20:4).

Not carving any idols was an important thing for the people of the Old Testament. Doing so got them into trouble on more than one occasion. Hebrews’ author, however, wrote that Jesus is the exact expression, literally meaning He is an engraving, carving, or stamped impression of the nature of God. The author couldn’t randomly say such a thing as that would be blasphemy! He would only say that Jesus was the exact expression of God if Jesus actually was God Himself in the flesh.

Jesus is the exact expression of God, not an idol or blasphemous carving – Exodus 20.

Jesus is “sustaining all things by His powerful word” (Hebrews 1:3)
This translation may use the word “sustaining” but the idea here is to carry or bear all things, although the word “things” is added. In short, Jesus bears all.

As part of the Law, God established a plan to make atonement for the sins of the people. That plan included a high priest. Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, the high priest performed a series of rituals which would purify the people of their sin. The high priest wore beautiful, highly symbolic, highly detailed garments when he performed his duties on the Day of Atonement. Those garments included shoulder pieces on which he bore the names of the twelve sons of Israel. They also included a breastplate which bore the instruments for making decisions on behalf of the people. Finally, the high priest bore a gold plate on his turban which bore the guilt of the gifts of the people (Exodus 28:12-38). To summarize, the high priest wore garments symbolically bearing the names of the people, the judgment for the people, and the guilt of the people’s sacrifices. The high priest bore those things as he entered before God to make atonement.

Jesus “Himself bore our sins in His body” (1 Peter 2:24). We no longer need a high priest to enter the Holy of Holies bearing our name, our judgment, and our guilt. Jesus has done so once and for all. I’ll leave that alone for now, though, because we’ll hit on it again throughout our study of Hebrews.

Jesus is the high priest who bears our name, our judgment, and our guilt – Exodus 28.

Jesus made “purification for sins” (Hebrews 1:3)
Beginning in the book of Exodus and continuing through Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, the Law repeatedly outlines the process for purification from things such as infectious skin diseases, feminine and masculine discharge, and outbreaks of mildew. Most importantly, though, the high priest performed his duties on the Day of Atonement to purify the people from their sins (Leviticus 16:30).

Again, we no longer require a high priest to perform the duties necessary for our purification from sin. Jesus accomplished that task for all time.

Jesus performed the duties necessary to purify us from our sin – Leviticus 16 and the remainder of the Law.

Jesus “sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Hebrews 1:3)
The Hebrew prophet Micaiah saw into heaven as he received a word from God. He wrote of that vision, “I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and the whole heavenly host was standing by Him at His right hand and at His left hand” (1 Kings 22:19). Do you notice what’s missing from this description of heaven? From our New Testament perspective, we expect to read that Jesus was at the right hand of God the Father. Don’t you think if He was there, though, that Micaiah would have included Him in his description? I don’t believe the prophet would tell us about the heavenly host at God’s right hand and omit the presence of His glorious Son if He had been there. I believe the pre-incarnate Jesus – the Word not yet made flesh – didn’t yet occupy that place of honor.

The Hebrew prophets knew the Messiah would one day occupy that spot, however. King David prophesied as much when he wrote, “This is the declaration of the Lord to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand until I make Your enemies Your footstool.’” The Hebrew people awaited the promised Messiah who would defeat their enemies and sit at God’s right hand.

The author of the book of Hebrews knew it as well, I promise you. He knew Jesus had completed His work of atonement by bearing the sins of the people and making atonement for that sin. He knew Jesus the Messiah now sits at the right hand of God the Father awaiting the day of the destruction of His enemies.

Jesus is the Messiah who sat down at the right hand of God the Father – Psalm 110.

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Why should I care?

Ultimately, that’s a question you have to wrestle with between you and God. But let me tell you why I care…

I care because when Adam and Eve disobeyed in the Garden of Eden, sin became an inherent part of our human nature. At that time, God made the first prophetic promise (Genesis 3:15) of a Savior who would redeem – or buy us back – from our sinful state so we could once again enjoy a relationship
with Him.

I care because I don’t want to let sin rule in my life and because I want that relationship for which God created me.

I care because the evidence shows that Jesus was that promised Savior.

If you’ve come this far, please join the discussion below with your thoughts, comments, and questions. I welcome hearing from you…

Previous Section: Introduction

Next Section: Jesus, King of All

Welcome to the Study

Welcome to this interactive study of the book of Hebrews. I'm looking forward to studying with you as we approach this New Testament book from an Old Testament perspective. You could say that the Old Testament will be the lens through which we'll try to understand the message of Hebrews. After all, the Hebrew author wrote the book to Hebrew believers who based their understanding on their only Scripture at the time - the Old Testament (aka, the Tanakh or the Law and the Prophets).

Why Hebrews?

David Guzik, one of my favorite commentators, writes, "Hebrews is basically a book that exhorts discouraged Christians to continue on strong with Jesus in light of the complete superiority of who He is and what He has done for us." Let's break that down a little...

I know a lot of "discouraged Christians" right now. Persecution, disease, sickness, and violence are becoming rampant - domestically and internationally. We all see suffering in the lives of our loved ones and even in our own lives. These things are killing our courage.

God calls us "to continue on strong." Over and over the New Testament tells followers of Christ to persevere - to push through until the end. For example, "For you need endurance, so that after you have done God's will, you may receive what was promised. For yet in a very little while, the Coming One will come and not delay. But My righteous one will live by faith; and if he draws back, I have no pleasure in him. But we are not those who draw back and are destroyed, but those who have faith and obtain life" (Hebrews10:36-39).

Life isn't about us. It's about Jesus - "who He is and what He has done for us." Much Christian Bible study has become little more than self-help groups. People attend to be encouraged and find a little nugget of truth that might help them feel better. Like much of our lives, we make it about us. We miss the point though if this is the extent of our reason for Bible study. Yes, Scripture encourages. It does give us little snippets of truth to make us feel better. Sometimes, however, we need to stop focusing on what makes us feel good and start focusing on Jesus. After all, He alone is the Word made flesh who left the glories of heaven, lived as a common man, humbled Himself unto death, and resurrected back to eternal life. He alone is the One who suffered so He might have an intimate relationship with you and me.

How's this going to work?

I'll post a new section each week. I'll be waiting for you to leave your thoughts, opinions, and questions in the comments section. We'll interact together on the passage and then move on to the next section. It's that simple. I'll also be trusting you to spread the word to others you might know who are ready to see the Messiah through the lens of the Old Testament.

Outside of the comment section here on the blog, be sure to use the hashtag #GBHebrews when posting on Twitter, Facebook, or Google+.

Remember, it's not about us. It's about Him - knowing Him and making Him known because people are hurting, society is crumbling, and we need to continue on strong.

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