…let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith… (Hebrews 12:1-2 NKJV).
Hebrews is an ancient Christian sermon that was delivered to Jewish Christians weary of persecution and losing confidence in the Gospel. Some were beginning to “drift away” (2:1); some were tempted by “an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God” (3:12). Many stopped attending worship services (10:25) and others failed to grow in spiritual maturity favoring the milk of babes over solid food (5:12-13). The spiritual condition of these believers is described as hands hanging down, feeble knees, and lame feet (12:12-13). They had no strength to worship, no stamina to serve, no direction for ministry.
What is the remedy for such a spiritual malaise? The pastor declares, “Look unto Jesus!” Jesus is the author and finisher, the beginning and the end, of our faith. Jesus is our source of joy. Jesus is our inspiration and example in suffering. Jesus is our triumphant King!
Jesus is God’s “Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” (1:1-3). Jesus is the uniquely and eternally begotten Son of God. Jesus is co-eternal and co-substantial with God the Father and the Holy Spirit. Jesus is fully divine and fully human, the union of humanity and divinity in such a way that neither is compromised, the two natures united in one person. Jesus is the Creator and Sustainer of the cosmos, He is the Savior of humanity, and the Ruler of all creation. Jesus is to be equally glorified with the Father and Holy Spirit.
Because Jesus is God’s Son, He is “much better than the angels” (1:4). Some early Jewish Christians believed that Jesus was an archangel, that Jesus was created by the Father and is therefore not equal in substance, power, or glory. The pastor shouts a resounding “No!” Angels are merely “ministering spirits” (1:14). Jesus is the Son who sits at the right hand of the Father (1:13). Angels are servants of God who worship the Son.
Also, many early Jews and Jewish Christians developed an angel spirituality wherein they viewed angels as heroic figures and demigods. An example is the modern celebrity cult in which athletes, actors, entertainers, and public figures are venerated as super human and have profound influence on the popular culture. The ancient pastor would remind us that Jesus is better than Tom Cruise, better than Scarlett Johansson, better than Labron James, better than Tom Brady. Jesus is better than Captain America, better than Iron Man and Black Widow, better than Luke Skywalker and Captain James Kirk. We should follow the example of Jesus.
Because Jesus is God’s Son, he is “worthy of more glory than Moses” (3:3). Moses was the servant of God; Jesus is the Son of God. Moses was the steward of God’s house; Jesus is the master of God’s house. Moses was the giver of the Law; Jesus is eternal, all-knowing, all-powerful, and everywhere-present I AM who spoke the Law to Moses. He is the embodiment and fulfillment of the Law. Jesus, according to the flesh, was “born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:4-5).
To place our confidence in the law – in the politics of this age – is to fall from grace. If we place our confidence in the law, then Christ is of no benefit (Galatians 5:2). The Gospel of Jesus Christ is better than the Law of Moses, superior to the Constitution of the United States. The Kingdom of God is superior to all the kingdoms of humanity. The teachings of Jesus supersede and transcend the politics of this present age. The Church of Jesus Christ is more significant than the Democrat or Republican parties. The love and mercy of Christ is much better that capitalism or socialism. Christ does what the Law cannot do. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Because Jesus is God’s Son, He offers a greater inheritance than Joshua. The English Bible translates the names differently, but Jesus and Joshua are Yeshua – Yahweh Saves. The Yeshua of the Old Testament was a military and political leader who led the people of Israel as they conquered the peoples of Canaan. After a period of warfare, Joshua led the people of Israel to their inheritance – The Promised Land – into a time of rest. But neither the rest nor the inheritance was eternal. The Canaanites continued to live in the land and provoke conflict.
Also, the people of Israel continued to fall into the temptation of idolatry. The people of Israel struggled with divided allegiances generation after generation. They were seduced by the gods of Egypt and Canaan. When Israel was encamped at Mt. Sinai, they demanded that Aaron fashion a golden calf – the Egyptian god, Apis. I fear that many Christians in the United States suffer from a divided allegiance. They are demanding not a golden calf, but a golden elephant or a golden donkey.
We must hear the words of another Yeshua – Jesus Christ – who said, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other… seek first His kingdom and His righteousness…” (Matt. 6:24, 33). We must follow his example. When tempted to bow before Satan that he might gain the kingdoms of this world, Jesus rebuked the devil with these words: “You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve him only” (Matt. 4:10). Our citizenship is heavenly (Philippians 3:20). Let us be reminded that God will shake the nations of the earth and that “we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken” (Hebrews 12:28). Jesus is greater than Joshua because only Jesus “can make all things new” – a new heaven and a new earth… [where] there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:1-4). Jesus is the “ruler of the kings of the earth,” and he is better than Ronald Reagan, better than Barak Obama, better than Joe Biden, and better than Donald Trump! All of them will bow before Him and confess that Jesus Christ is King of kings and Lord of lords!
Because Jesus is God’s Son, he is a better High Priest than Melchizedek (7:1). Melchizedek was the King of Salem during the time of Abraham. He was also a priest of the Most High God to whom Abraham offered his tithe. In Jewish tradition, Melchizedek “remains a priest continually” (7:3).
Even so, the ancient pastor declares that the Levitical priesthood according to the order of Melchizedek is not perfect. Therefore, there is need of a new priest who comes not according to the Law, “but according to the power of an endless life” (7:15). Jesus is the One who has been raised from the dead and lives forever more. Jesus has become “the guarantor of a better covenant” (7:22 NASB). The high priesthood of Jesus “continues forever” and is “unchangeable.” Jesus has “a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises” (8:6). Jesus is the high priest who offers himself as an eternal sacrifice making atonement for the sins of humanity. Jesus, God in the flesh, is the high priest who sympathizes with all human (male and female) weaknesses, who is tempted in all things as we are (Hebrews 4:15). In Christ, God shares the sufferings of humanity. On the cross, Jesus cried out, “My God, my God, why have your forsaken me?” Jesus experienced the alienation and abandonment of sin. In Christ, God shares the agony of death, the power of the grave, and the darkness of the descent into Hades. Jesus has experienced the totality of human suffering and death. But there is more. Because Jesus is the union of divinity and humanity, humans may experience the power of the resurrection and the glory of the eternal life of God! The union of humanity and divinity in Christ means that God shares in our weaknesses and temptations, AND that we share in the power, glory, and life of the divine nature. Jesus came down and assumed our human nature so that we could be lifted up in to the heavenly and share the life of God.
The divine-human Christ is the only mediator between God and humans (1 Timothy 2:5). He lives eternally “to make intercession” for us (7:25). As our fully divine-fully human eternal high priest, Jesus is far superior, far better than the Pope or the Presiding Bishop, far better than TD Jakes or Joel Osteen, better than Billy Graham, better than Oral Roberts!
The divine-human Christ has done what no angel, no prophet, no preacher, no superhero, no man or woman can do. Jesus is superior and better than all of them! “The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). So, Let us stand on our feet, let us lift our hands, let us sing with strong voices and declare that we will not drift away, we will not fall; we will go into all the world and boldly proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ!
