T HE WRITER OF HEBREWS SAYS THAT JESUS IS THE GREATEST. Jesus is greater than anything, anyone. It is important to understand the greatness of Jesus because many forces want to make him “less than.” Jesus is reduced to a prophet. We read Jesus was just a zealot or a teacher that his disciples elevated to a deity.
Hebrews was written to Hebrew (Jewish) Christians who were “drifting away” from the Christian faith. Even we, his followers, make Jesus “less than” in our lives.
About 40% of Americans fit in the churchless category. Folks who used to attend church but don’t and folks who have never been to church. How can we attract these folks? The writer of Hebrews says to show them Jesus in all his superiority. Help them fix their thoughts on Jesus. The word “better” occurs 13 times in Hebrews. The author explains how Christianity is better than any alternative. Or, to be more true to our reading, “Jesus is better.”
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►He is the heir of all things.
God has given everything to his Son. The deepest oceans. The highest mountains. The black holes. The distant galaxies. It all belongs to him. Jesus is installed as the rightful king of the universe. This means that when we come to the end of everything, Jesus is there! As Isaac Watts put it in his great hymn, “Jesus shall reign where’er the sun, doth its successive journeys run; his kingdom spread from shore to shore, till moons shall wax and wane no more.”
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►He is the radiance of God’s glory.
The word for radiance is used for sunlight streaming from the sun. Jesus is the blazing radiance of the glory of God. What sunlight is to the sun, Jesus is to God. It would be easier to try to separate sunlight from the sun than to separate the Son from God. If you want to know what God is like, look at Jesus. He is not some blurry image of the Almighty. Jesus is a clear picture of God. He radiates the glory of God.
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►He is the exact representation of God’s nature.
The phrase “exact representation” comes from the Greek word charakter. Jesus shares in the character of God. This word was used for the impression made by an engraving tool when it is stamped into metal in order to make a coin. The image on the coin is precisely the image on the engraving tool. So Jesus is stamped with the image of God. When we see Jesus Christ, we have seen as much of God as it is possible for us to see.
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►He is our savior.
He died once for all time. His death on the cross was complete. That is why he cried out, “It is finished.” All our efforts at self-reformation as a means of salvation are doomed to failure. You can clean yourself up if you like, but it will not help you gain merit with God. It is only by Jesus’ death that we are forgiven by God. He is our savior means Jesus Christ so completely that if his death is not enough to make your righteous, nothing can.
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►He is now seated at God’s right hand.
The “right hand” of God is the place of highest honor. Jesus sits today at God’s right hand because it is the highest honor God could give his Son. If there were another crown, he would wear it. If there were another honor, he would have it. But the “right hand” of God the Father is the highest honor in the universe. That’s where Jesus is today.
Since the Son is at the Father’s right hand, we have a friend in heaven who dwells eternally at the throne of God. When we pray, we are talking to One who is at the very center of all things.
Even now Jesus reigns from heaven. Even now he reigns over the devil. He reigns over the elements of nature. He reigns over the past, the present and the future.
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