I T SEEMS WE’VE COME AROUND AGAIN to the question of “Who is Jesus?” It was asked during his life. It was asked following his death. It was asked and answered by the gospel writers.
Paul, in Corinthians 1 and Philippians 2, gave a great response to the question of Jesus. Man or God? Human or divine? That question is the focus of this letter, because the second generation Jewish Christians to whom it is addressed were tempted like every new generation to find something different than the same old thing passed on to them by their parents.
Having established in the opening sentences that Jesus is the greatest — we looked at that last week — the author of Hebrews goes on to establish Jesus is greater than the angels. That might seem like a no-brainer for us. But for the folks in the late first century, angels played a religious role more prominent than today.
† † †
THE DESCRIPTIONS OF ANGELS in the Bible show that they are impressive beings. In Genesis, two angels rescue Lot and his family from Sodom and then call down fire and brimstone from heaven on the wicked cities. On another occasion, an angel struck down 70,000 in Israel on account of David’s sin. One angel went out into the camp of Sennacherib’s army and struck down 185,000 soldiers in a night. An angel shut the lions’ mouths so that Daniel was kept safe. An angel delivered Peter from prison and then struck the proud Herod Agrippa so that he died.
And yet, as great and powerful as angels are, they are just servants who stand before Christ, who sits at the right hand of the God the Father!
The author of Hebrews quotes seven Old Testament verses as proof that Jesus is greater than Angels. Jesus’ title, Son, is greater than title of angels. The angels worship Jesus. Jesus is God. Angels are servants.
† † †
WHAT DO THESE 11 VERSES on angels have to do with us in our life and times today in the USA? I’ve struggled with that this week. Back in the 19th century, Benjamin Disraeli, prime minister of Great Brittan, proclaimed he was “on the side of the angels.” It came about in a dispute over Darwin’s scientific arguments regarding evolution. When asked if humans are apes or angels, his response was, “I’m on the side of the angels.” Kind of an interesting comment, since we are neither apes nor angels.
The phrase has come to mean supporting the good side, the right side, the moral side. To be on the side of the angels is to be on the side of God. The problem is we often have difficulty knowing and living what is good, right, and moral. It’s a standard we often set for ourselves. We have ideals by which we judge the world and which supersede any other beliefs that we have. We claim to be on the side of the angels, but that claim comes from a biased view of our own goodness and/or other people’s badness, our rightness and their wrongness.
A biblical example: Abraham sent his second wife, Hagar and her son, Ishmael, away. Abraham gave them bread and water and sent them into the wilderness. I’m sure Abraham, a man of faith, thought this was the right thing to do, the best thing to do. Is it Abraham or Hagar that’s on the side of the angels? Where does the angel show up? Ministering to Hagar and Ishmael. Here’s what the Bible tells us:
Hagar and her son wander aimlessly until their water is completely gone. In a moment of despair, she bursts into tears. God hears her and her son crying and comes to rescue them. The angel opens Hagar’s eyes and she sees a well of water. The angel also tells Hagar that God “will make a great nation” of Ishmael. (BTW, the Muslims trace their lineage to Abraham, Hagar and Ishmael.) If we had lived in Abraham’s camp, we might have felt bad for Hagar and son, but would have thought it was the right thing to do.
† † †
