You are My Son!
The Letter to the Hebrews declares that the “Son” in whom God now speaks through his death achieved the “purification of sins” for his people, and therefore, he is well-qualified to “sit down at the right hand of the majesty on high.” In this exalted position as the High Priest, he intercedes for the church. And because he offered his own life as the “once-for-all” sacrifice for sin, he has inherited an infinitely “more excellent name” than even God’s mightiest angels, namely, “Son.”
The Letter uses several
comparisons to demonstrate his superiority over all persons and things. His
unique priesthood and the New Covenant inaugurated by his death accomplished
what the Levitical legislation could never do, and he consequently received more
honor and authority than even the
Great Lawgiver himself, Moses.
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| [Photo by Jim Bonewald on Unsplash] |
The first contrast is between Jesus and the angels, and it employs several Old Testament passages to demonstrate his superiority over them:
- (Hebrews 1:4-7) - “By so much becoming superior to the angels by as much as, going beyond them, he inherited a more excellent name. For to which of the angels said he ever, You are my son; I, this day, have begotten you? And again, I will become his father and he shall become my Son? But whenever he again brings the firstborn into the habitable earth, he says, And let all God’s angels render homage to him! Even as to the angels, indeed, he says, Who makes his angels winds, and his ministers of state a fiery flame.” – (Passage alludes to Psalm 2:7, 2 Samuel 7:14, Deuteronomy 32:43, Psalm 104:4).
The argument demonstrates the Son’s
superiority by comparing him to persons and creatures widely recognized as
excellent, in this first instance, the angels of God. If they are glorious and
holy, how much more so is the only one whom God addresses as “My Son”?
The passage is the first to
employ the term “better” or kreittôn in the Letter, an adjective of
comparison that denotes something or someone that is “better, best, nobler,
noblest.” It is used thirteen times to stress the superiority of what God has
done in Jesus - (e.g., “better sacrifices” - Hebrew 7:7, 7:19,
9:23).
The reference to his “excellent
name” translates the Greek term diaphoros, meaning that which is
“distinct, distinguished, different.” The point is not simply that his name is better
than “angel,” but that it is of an entirely different kind and order
since he bears the name “son” in contrast to “angel” or “messenger”
and “prophet.”
The emphasis is on his position as the “son” and “heir.” Certainly, the Author of the Letter is aware that this son is none other than Jesus, but the latter name does not appear until the second chapter of the Letter when discussing his sacrificial death.
At this point, the Letter does not elaborate on the reference to
the “habitable earth.” That subject is taken up again in Chapter 2 where
the Letter discusses the eighth Psalm and its description of God subjecting the
earth to man/Adam – (Hebrews 2:5).
The reference to “bringing the Son” once more into the “inhabited
earth” points to the future coming of Jesus at the end of the age, and
this is confirmed in Chapter 9 by the declaration that Jesus “will appear
a second time, apart from sin to those who are awaiting him for salvation”
– (Hebrews 9:28).
The Greek noun rendered “inhabited earth” normally refers to land that is inhabited by
men, and presumably, that is habitable (oikoumené,
Strong’s - #G3625). In the first
century, it often was applied to regions that were considered civilized,
where civilization existed, as opposed to uncivilized or
barbaric areas.
TO NO ANGEL
The comparison begins with the
rhetorical question - “to which of the angels said He at any time, You are
My Son?” The expected answer is “none.” At no point did Yahweh call any
angel ‘son’ or elevate one of them to sit at His “right hand.”
Seven scriptural citations are
used to demonstrate his superiority over angels, and the first six are divided
into three pairs for literary effect:
- Psalm 2:7 and 2 Samuel 7:14.
- Deuteronomy 32:43 and Psalm 104:4.
- Psalm 45:6-7 and Psalm 102:25-27.
The first pair concerns his
status, the second, the function of angels, and the third presents the exalted
reign of the Son.
The seventh citation is a response
to the first rhetorical question - What God said to the Son He never said to any
angel (i.e., “Sit at my right hand until I make your foes your
footstool”). The two words that link all seven scriptural citations to the Letter’s
opening statement are “angels” and “Son” - (Psalm
110:1, Psalm 103:20-21, Hebrews 1:1-4, 2:1-4).
Jesus is distinct from the angels because he is God’s Son, and that means he has a close and unique relationship with his Father that no other being has regardless of how powerful and exalted he, she, or it might be. He alone is designated as God’s “Son.”
Thus, he is superior to angels
by the very fact that he is a “Son.” Not only so, but God also commanded
all the angels “to render homage” to him. His high status is the result
of his priestly act by which he “achieved the purification of sins.”
But the comparison to angels
also anticipates the exhortation at the end of this first literary section with
its description of how the Law was mediated “through angels.” That
legislation was given to Moses at Mount Sinai, the greatest of the prophets,
through angels. In contrast, “upon the last of these days,” God has
spoken His definitive “word of salvation” through one who is a “Son,”
a faithful heir who redeemed his people by offering himself as the one-time
sacrifice for sin.
