Therefore.
I’ve decided that “therefore” may be one of the most important words in the Bible, especially when it comes to spiritual growth as a Christian. We usually skim right past it while reading; instead, we should stop reading, circle it in our Bibles, and take a moment to consider what we’ve just read. You see, the word “therefore” is our call to action. “Therefore” says that because of what you’ve read, this is what you should do. Because of this… do this… So begins our current passage of Scripture.
Where have we been?
Our first section of Scripture was Hebrews 1:1-4. In it, we reviewed seven evidences from Old Testament stories that showed Jesus to be the provider of our salvation. The key point in that list – number four – also equated Jesus with God.
Our second section of Scripture was Hebrews 1:5-14. This section contains seven different Old Testament prophetic quotations. We looked at the original prophecies in their context to see that Jesus is King of all, while the fourth point also showed Him to be God. We also looked at this passage a little from the perspective of the quotes themselves as listed in Hebrews 1. From that angle, we saw that Jesus is superior to the angels; again, the fourth point stands out as unique in showing us that Jesus is God.
So in short, we see…
- Jesus is God and the provider of our salvation.
- Jesus is God and King of all.
- Jesus is God and superior to the angels.
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| Click picture for a printable handout for this section. |
Therefore…
Because of these three things ↑, we need to do this →. We should “pay even more attention to what we have heard, so that we will not drift away” (Hebrews 2:1). Here’s our call to action. Here’s the change that should be evident in our lives because of who Jesus is.
We pay attention.
Do you remember your school days? We all knew those easily distracted students to whom the teacher always had to say, “Pay attention!” Maybe you were that student. The teacher wanted the unfocused student to pay attention because he or she knew how important the teaching would be to the student’s life. The teacher also knew the student would be responsible for knowing the information later.
The phrase “pay attention” has a certain level of responsibility attached to it. A student not in your class wouldn’t have to pay attention to the teacher because they weren’t responsible for the taught material. But if you were in the class, you were responsible to know it and you better pay attention.
The author of Hebrews sees you and me as participants in that class. We need to pay attention to the message because we’re going to be responsible for it.
We pay even more attention.
Then it goes a step further. We don’t only need to pay attention to this message, we need to pay even more attention to it than to… Well, I’m getting ahead of myself. We’ll look at the alternate message in a minute. But, for now, more is a comparison word used to compare two different items. Consider this example, sledding is fun but snow skiing is even more fun. This example compared two different winter sports to let you know which sport I think is more fun.
We don’t drift away.
Drift away is the Greek word pararreō; in other Greek writings, it’s often translated as “a thing escapes me” or “it slips from my mind.” I’m sure we can all identify with that! We know we knew a piece of information – the location of our cell phone, the name of an acquaintance, the time of the meeting – but we can’t recall it now. It has slipped from our mind.
Similar to the point earlier about our need to pay attention, this one also implies some level of interaction with and responsibility for the given information. Simply put, we can’t forget something we never knew in the first place.
Why might you be discouraged?
One of the reasons we’re studying Hebrews is to “exhort discouraged Christians to continue on strong with Jesus.” This is a good time to stop and think about that reason.
The admonitions to “pay attention” and to not “drift away” both imply a familiarity with the taught message. This isn’t an evangelistic text; this passage is for you and me as followers of Jesus. If you’re discouraged as His follower, maybe you need the reminder that Jesus is God, He provided our salvation, He is superior to the angels, and He is King of all. Maybe you need to sit up and pay attention to His message rather than the alternative. Maybe you need to keep it forefront in your thoughts rather than let it drift away.
What is that alternative message?
It’s the message of the angels.
Moment of honesty here – I didn’t know what that is at first. A little research into the whole of Scripture helped me out, though.
Let’s start by reading Deuteronomy 33:2-4. This passage is the introduction to Moses’ final words before His death. Earlier in his life, Moses spent time with God on Mount Sinai when he received the Law from God. This passage recalls that during that event, God came “with ten thousand holy ones.” He held His holy ones in His hand as His people assembled at His feet. (Deuteronomy 33:2-3; The Israelite people gathered around the base of the mountain as God gave the Law to Moses.) As was often the case in the Old Testament, the word of God – in this case, the Law – came to the people through His messengers, the angels.
A couple quick references from the New Testament further confirm our understanding of “the message of the angels” being a reference to the Law of Moses. Acts 7:53 says, “You received the Law under the direction of angels…” while Galatians 3:19 says, “the Law was put into effect through angels.”
I think it’s safe to say that if a first-century Jewish believer in Jesus as the Messiah read this passage in Hebrews, he or she would have immediately known the message of the angels was a reference to the Law. God gave the Law through the angels to Moses, who then taught it to the Israelite people. They also would have understood exactly what the author of Hebrews meant when he wrote that message “was legally binding and every transgression and disobedience received a just punishment” (Hebrews 2:2).
Two messages - the message of the angels and the message of Jesus. We need to pay attention to the second even more than to the first.
How much more important is Jesus’ message?
Jesus is God.
Jesus is the provider of our salvation.
Jesus is King of all.
Angels can’t make those claims. Well, one did and it won’t end so well for him. God created hell so he and his angelic followers would have a place to call home for eternity. That’s for another time, though.
Jesus is superior to the angels. How much more is His message superior to the message of the angels?
That’s why we can’t “escape if we neglect such a great salvation” (Hebrews 2:3). Neglect means to be careless or to make light of it.
Moses didn’t escape when he was careless with the Word of God. Earlier we read Deuteronomy 33:1-4. Immediately prior to that, God told Moses to ascend Mount Nebo. The revered prophet and leader would see into the Promised Land but he wouldn’t lead the people in. He would never set foot on the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This seems pretty harsh to take Moses’ life right as the people are ready to enter the land. However, disobedience receives a just punishment and God will not have His people be flippant with His Word.
That’s exactly what Moses had done, too. He disobeyed God and treated His Word lightly. You can read more of the story in this article. If Moses received such a great consequence, do you think we will avoid all consequences if we’re careless or make light of the Word of God?
We can’t deny it.
Change can be hard. I think God knows that about us. He knew it would be hard for the first century believers – who were predominantly Jewish – to pay even more attention to Jesus’ message than they had the Law. He knew even for us 2,000 years later, we would keep returning to a works based system than a message of pure grace.
Focus can be hard. Even before terms like ADD dominated our culture, people have had a hard time staying focused on one thing. We quickly move on to the newer and better. He knew we would have to be reminded to pay attention, don’t let it slip from our minds, and don’t be careless with it.
Because He knew it would be hard to change and stay focused, He gave us some extra evidence to show us it’s worth it. He confirmed Jesus’ message in three different ways. First, Jesus spoke it. Those who heard His words told His message to others. They told others. All these years later, we’re still passing Jesus’ words along. Second, God confirmed this message with signs, wonders, and miracles. Just as He had done with Moses, He did again through Jesus. Third, the Spirit gives spiritual gifts to those who accept Jesus’ message. He works in us to transform us into His new creation – a creation we could never be on our own.
Call to Action
Jesus is the provider of our salvation, superior to the angels, and King of all.
Jesus is God.
We live in a world where messages fly at us from all directions every day. We have to weed through the mess and pay attention to God’s message given to us through His Son, Jesus. We have to keep it forefront in our minds as we allow it to impact each decision. We have to pay more attention to it than to a message that would deny the grace of God He has now given us. We can’t let it slip from our minds. And we sure can’t be careless with it or make light of it. Jesus left the glories of heaven and descended to the swamp of earth to speak that message to us. He died to make it possible. We can at least pay attention and take it seriously.
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