[0:00] Thank you.
[0:30] Thank you.
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[1:30] Thank you.
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[2:30] Thank you.
[3:00] I've really enjoyed it. I hope those who've been involved have as well. And enjoyed a good time on the beach yesterday as well. So that's been great. And it's a pleasure to come here and be with you and Whitby Church as well.
[3:13] And as Richard said, we've got links with the church, especially now that we've lost two of our members and you've gained them, Frederick and Janet Hodgson.
[3:24] We love them dearly. And we're glad for you that you have them and treat them well, won't you? But it's good to renew that friendship and fellowship together.
[3:38] Now, what I plan to do today, this morning and tonight, is to look at chapter one, the whole of chapter one. We've been, at this weekend, we've been going through creation themes based on Genesis, the first early chapters of Genesis.
[3:55] But I thought it'd be good for all of us to focus this morning on the Lord Jesus Christ and to see just who he is. The letter to the Hebrews is just such a wonderful letter.
[4:11] There's so much in it that encourages us and it reveals to us about the Lord Jesus Christ, who he is, what he's done and what he still does for us. We don't know who wrote it.
[4:23] There is no author's stamp on it. It's probably not the Apostle Paul, probably someone after the Apostles. We don't know when it was, someone just after the Apostles in the next generation of believers.
[4:36] We don't know when it was written, but we can say pretty categorically it was before AD 70 when the temple was destroyed. Otherwise, you'd expect that to be mentioned in such a pivotal book. And we don't know precisely whom it was written to, except that they were probably Jewish or Hebrew believers and they knew very well the old covenant sacrificial system.
[5:00] And they had a good understanding of the Old Testament scriptures. But what's more important about the people who are being written to in this book is that these believers seem to have been going through difficult trials and even persecutions.
[5:15] And it may also have been that they were tempted to, attempted by religious Judaizers to revert back to Judaism. Having left that behind and come to Christ, that they're being tempted to, no, leave Christ back and come back to Judaism.
[5:30] And again, what's important for us is that with all these difficulties that they had, they were not as enthusiastic or they were not as devoted as they once were, as early Christians, as young Christians.
[5:43] So, why was this letter written? Well, it was to encourage believers in their faith, to keep on in their faith and not to grow cold and not to grow weary.
[5:54] Again, that's very relevant for us, isn't it? Now, the book as a whole is basically one big lengthy argument that all fits together.
[6:05] And the argument is that Christ is the best. Simple. Christ is the best. He's far superior to everyone and everything else. He is superior to the prophets, to the angels, to Moses, to Joshua.
[6:18] And as high priest, he is far superior to all the priests of the old covenant. In fact, he has brought in a new covenant, which is itself far superior to the old covenant. Now, why does the writer labor the superiority of Christ?
[6:35] Well, again, it's for the encouragement of the believers to whom he's writing. That was their need. They needed to be encouraged. And he's showing the greatness of Christ to encourage them.
[6:45] That's the main application of the letter. To encourage Christians to keep going in the face of disappointment. In the face of hardships and struggles and persecutions. To keep on going.
[6:58] Now, it seems then that some of them had grown cold in their walk with God. Some were wandering away. Some others had abandoned the faith completely.
[7:09] And the writer urges them to persevere in their faith despite great difficulty and opposition. And how does he urge them to keep going and to persevere? Is it with a big stick?
[7:21] Going after them with words of threatening? No, it's by showing how great Christ is. How great is the new covenant that the believer is a member of. So that the person who's discouraged or the person who's tempted to just wander away from the faith.
[7:35] Should see how foolish it would be to turn away from someone who is so great. And from something, the covenant that is so great. And so they should be motivated positively to a renewed walk with the Lord.
[7:47] It's like the young teenager, isn't it? Who's withdrawing himself from his family. And he becomes more and more remote and detached from his family. And he's even thinking about running away just because life is just so horrible and so miserable.
[7:59] And the parents, well they could go to him and they could blast him with orders, couldn't they? And thunder with warnings of punishment. And threaten to disinherit him if he runs away.
[8:11] Well, you could do that. And that may well keep the teenager at home. But it's not going to create a very warm, happy family, is it? Far better for the parents to lavish their love on their child.
[8:24] And their affection on him. And tell him and show him how much they love him. So that he realises all the benefits and all the blessings that he has in the family. And to realise what wonderful parents he actually has.
[8:37] So that he doesn't want to run away anymore. In fact, the original childlike love that he had as a little toddler for his parents, that returns.
[8:49] And that's the method of the book of Hebrews. God wants us to see how much he loves us. And what a wonderful thing we have in the Lord Jesus Christ. So that he blows on our smouldering love and devotion to him.
[9:03] Until it bursts into passionate flame. That's what God is doing here. That's what he's doing in these early verses. And that's so relevant for us today, isn't it? Because, well, we feel struggles, don't we?
[9:16] We feel hardships. We go through times of grief. We face persecution of different kinds. Maybe not persecution to death. But maybe we face the ridicule of society that mocks those who are so simple as Christians.
[9:30] We who are so foolish to believe in a six-day creation, like we've been looking at this weekend. We who are so foolish to believe in the virgin birth. And they mock us. And we are ostracized by colleagues at work or at school.
[9:45] And by our neighbours. And they don't want anything to do with us. And we go through that. And we suffer that. And we face temptations through that every day to just, well, loosen your grip on your faith and on the Bible.
[9:56] I mean, come on. Why believe all these stupid, ridiculous, childish things? Lose your grip on your faith. Lose your grip on your moral standards, on your level of commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ and his church.
[10:11] And just ease up a bit. Come on. Don't be so zealous. Don't be such a fundamentalist. Just chill out. Those are the temptations we face. And we look around and we see other believers, those who are professing believers, and they just abandon their faith entirely.
[10:26] And I'm sure we all know people who have done that. And we just feel discouraged, don't we? And so we need this word from God. We need to see Jesus more clearly.
[10:38] We need a greater glimpse of our Lord and Saviour and of the salvation that he's brought us. To see how great and glorious he is. And to see what a fantastic thing we have in him.
[10:51] And we begin this morning, we're just going to look at these first three verses. Which are just so full of Christ. And we see that Jesus is far greater than the prophets.
[11:02] That's what verses one to three are telling us this morning. Jesus is far greater than the prophets. Now the first thing we see is that God has spoken to us in different ways.
[11:14] The first two verses tell us that. How God spoke to us in the past firstly is in verse one. In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways.
[11:26] Now that's a reference to the Old Testament, isn't it? At many times and in various ways. At many points over a period of history. That's about 1500 years.
[11:39] That period of the... No, sorry, it's more like 1100 years. It's from 1500 BC when God spoke through Moses. Through to about 400 BC when God spoke through Malachi at the end of the Old Testament.
[11:53] That period of over a thousand years God was speaking. He used many different speakers. He used the term prophets there. God spoke through the prophets.
[12:04] It refers to all the writers of the Old Testament. So it includes kings like David and Solomon. They in a sense were acting as prophets. Priests like Ezra. The standard prophet like Isaiah.
[12:17] And Jonah. God spoke through the different kind of people. And he spoke in different ways. He used different styles of speaking and writing in the Old Testament. So there is the style of the law.
[12:31] In Exodus and Leviticus and Deuteronomy. And then you have the style of poetry. In the Psalms. And in the Song of Songs for instance. And then you have the style of narrative or story.
[12:41] Historical account like Samuel and Kings and so on. And then you have the style of prophecy. Like Isaiah, Jeremiah. You have the style of wisdom. Like Job and Proverbs.
[12:52] And you have the style that is visionary or apocalyptic. Like parts of Ezekiel and Daniel. So in all these different ways and styles. God spoke to our fathers.
[13:04] In the Old Testament. Says the writer. Now to say that that was in the past. We're not then to come to the conclusion. In 2011.
[13:15] That that was all in the past. And therefore it's now defunct. It's out of the way. We've now got the New Testament. We can just forget about the Old. Now the Old. We can't do that.
[13:26] That's not the conclusion. The Old Testament is not unreliable. It's not being replaced by the New Testament. As if we no longer needed it. But it's still the Word of God.
[13:36] In the past God spoke. It was still God's Word wasn't it? It was still him who was speaking. So God speaks now.
[13:48] Secondly. In verse 2. In these last days. He has spoken to us by his Son. In these last days. Now. Just in that little phrase.
[13:59] In these last days. He has spoken to us by his Son. Comparing that with verse 1. There are three contrasts. In those verses. Three contrasts being made. Between the past.
[14:09] And these last days. Between our fathers. And us. And between the prophets. And his Son. So the contrast between the past. And these last days.
[14:20] In a sense. All history is divided into two eras. Isn't it? Before Christ came. And after Christ came. In the past. In these last days.
[14:31] These last days. That we are in now. It's like our dating system. Is B.C. and A.D. Isn't it? Or as secular people are trying to push. B.C.E. and C.E. Still focusing around Christ's birth.
[14:43] Isn't it? Whether you call it. Before Christ. Or before the common era. Still focusing around Christ. All history is divided into two periods. Then. There's a contrast.
[14:55] Between our fathers and us. And. The writer. Is saying this. As. And. And. The. He's saying that he. And. And the Christians. To whom he's writing. That they were the direct recipients.
[15:05] Of the teaching from the apostles. But there's also a sense. In which you and I. Are included in this as well. That we're part of the. Of the. Having spoken to us. There. And that.
[15:17] This is the great privilege. That we have. Which Old Testament believers. Did not have. They had a. A revelation from God. Which was. It was perfect. In the sense that.
[15:28] It didn't have any error. But it was imperfect. And the Old Testament. Was imperfect. In the sense that. It wasn't complete. They could only see. A vague shadow.
[15:39] As they looked into the future. And while their description. Is true. And it's accurate. It's. It's not as clear. As we have in the New Testament. It's like looking through. Your bathroom window.
[15:50] Or you can see these windows. At the back. It's frosted isn't it. And you can see. A bit of the shapes. And you can see the light. And you can see the colour. And it's not like. The colour's raw. I mean. I can see a brown.
[16:01] Door. Out behind the back. I mean. It's not. The door's actually pink. Is it? It is brown. It's accurate. But it's just not very clear. But the New Testament. Clarifies things.
[16:14] And then there's a third contrast. Between the prophets. And his son. Now. It's. It's noteworthy. That. That Jesus. We're talking about Jesus here. Aren't we? But he's not called.
[16:24] Jesus. Is he. He's called. The son. And literally. It is. That God spoke to the fathers. In the prophets. He has spoken to us. In son. And the son. Of course. Is the second person.
[16:34] Of the Godhead. Father. Son. Holy Spirit. Rather than using. Other humans. Prophets. As his mouthpieces. Now God speaks.
[16:46] Directly to us. Himself. Through his second person. God is speaking. Directly to us. But actually. The term. He has spoken to us. Through his son.
[16:58] Is more. A reference. Well. It's. It's. It's anticipating. Verse five. Where God says. You are my son. Today I have become. Your father. He's quoting Psalm 2. And he's referring.
[17:09] To the Messiah. Who is. God's son. And so. In other words. When God says. When it says. In verse two. That he's speaking to us. By his son. It's saying. God is speaking to us now.
[17:19] Through. Yes. Through his own person. But through the Messiah. Through the great. King. And as. Chapter two. Goes on to say. Well.
[17:30] Given that that is the case. Now. Then. Those of us. Who. When we listen. We hear. God speaking to us. Through the son. Through the Messiah. That puts an awful lot more.
[17:41] Responsibility on us. To listen. And to pay attention. To what God is saying. To us. And to respond to it. So this is actually.
[17:52] The main contrast. Jesus being contrasted. With the prophets. And you see that a lot more. Clearly in the. In the Greek. Where the word order. Is slightly different. Which basically goes. Many times.
[18:02] And in various ways. In the past. God spoke to our. To our fathers. Through the prophets. But in these last days. He has spoken to us. By his son. That's how the Greek goes.
[18:14] And you see. You've got two clauses there. The first clause ends. With the prophets. The second clause ends. With the son. By his son. Through whom. What is there to say.
[18:27] About the prophets. He spoke through. Our fathers. Through the prophets. And there's nothing to say about them. It's just silence.
[18:38] They were just ordinary men. Like us. Okay. What's there to say. About the son. By contrast. Loads. You just. You just carry on reading. Don't you. It goes on.
[18:49] He's spoken to us now. By his son. Through whom. And all the rest of it. Whom he appointed heir. And on and on and on. And there's loads to say. About the son. In all his glory.
[19:01] And in a sense. The rest of the book. To the Hebrews. Describes the son. And there's this massive contrast. Between.
[19:12] The prophets. We haven't got anything to say about them. They're just ordinary men. And the son. And look at the son. I mean boy. Let's. Let's jump in. And see what the. What it says about the son. That's what.
[19:22] That's what the writer is saying. Here. So let's come. Secondly then. To see about the son. And we. And we see the seven ways. In which Christ.
[19:33] Is greater than the prophets. Just staying in these first three verses. Seven ways. In which Christ. Is greater. Than the prophets. And in each of these seven ways. Christ.
[19:43] That the. Christ is. Is far greater. Father. Because these things. Are uniquely. True. True. Of him. None of these things. Can apply to the prophets.
[19:54] Or indeed to anyone else. First thing. Is that he is the heir of all things. In verse two. Whom he has appointed. Heir of all things. Now that follows doesn't it.
[20:05] If he. If he is the son. Of the father. Father's son. He's the only son. And therefore. He's the rightful heir. Isn't it. If you're the only son. Of your father. You're the rightful heir to them.
[20:17] That's not that. It's not that God the father. Is about to die. Is it. But. But rather. He gives everything over. To his son. So that he. Will rule over it. As king. We've been thinking.
[20:28] In a series this weekend. That God has. God is the king of the world. But he's. He's lent it to man. To be the king. For us as humans. To rule over the world. But in a sense.
[20:41] What now God is saying. That he's given everything. Everything over. To his son. For his son. To rule over. Not for us to rule over the world. Ultimately. But for. Everything. At the end of time.
[20:52] Everything will be given over to Christ. To rule over it as king. Everything. Not just. Not just the planet. I mean. Our responsibility as humans. Is to rule over the planet. But. But Christ is going to rule over everything.
[21:04] Over the earth. Yes. But over the heavens as well. Over the stars. Over the galaxies. Christ will rule over everything. And of course. Including all creatures. Creatures on earth.
[21:15] But even. The angels. As well. He is the heir of all things. And as. Verse five. Goes on to. It quotes. Psalm two. Verse seven.
[21:26] You are my son. I become your father. The next verse. In Psalm two. Verse eight. Says. Ask of me. And I will give you the nations. As your inheritance. It follows. Doesn't it? You're my son. Ask what you will. And I'll give you the nations.
[21:37] As your inheritance. And in fact. Now. Now the writer. Now. Now God is saying. I'm not just going to give you the inheritance. You're the heir of all things.
[21:47] I will give you everything. And that means you and me as well. Doesn't it? We're included in everything. We are given. To Christ. As his inheritance. We. We shall belong to him.
[21:59] That's a wonderful thought really. We're his. Now when a king passes on. The inheritance to his son. And he gives his son. The kingdom. It results in that son.
[22:11] He becomes a new king. And he's then exalted. Doesn't it? He's given a higher place. Because he's. He inherits the kingdom. He's exalted. He's raised up. He becomes glorious. I mean if we were to appoint.
[22:23] One of us here. As a. As to be the leader. Of all of us. Then that person would be exalted. Wouldn't it? And so it is for Christ. It's to his glory.
[22:34] That he's appointed heir. And he's not just appointed heir. Of a. Of a gathering this size. He's not just appointed heir. Of our country. But. Christ is appointed heir. Of all things.
[22:47] Now if you have a. Politician. Who's particularly shrewd. Then he's. He will. Ident. He will. Identify. Who's likely to be the next party leader. And perhaps the prime minister.
[22:59] And he'll get in his. In his good books. So that when he does become the prime minister. He himself will be in a favorable position. Well if you're wise. You'll make Christ.
[23:11] Your friend. You'll get in Christ's good books. Because he is to be. The next leader. He will be. He is the heir of all things. And if. If you are a true Christian.
[23:23] Then. Then we're in the most privileged. And favored position. Possible. We're intimate friends. Of the Lord of the universe. Of the heir of the universe.
[23:35] And we're those who are taken into the confidence. Of the one who will one day. Take up the fullness of his reign. And if that's where you are now. A close friend.
[23:46] By virtue of being saved. A close friend of the heir of the universe. You'd be a fool. To turn back from him. Wouldn't you? The next thing we see.
[23:59] The second thing. Is that he created the universe. There in verse 2 again. Through whom God made the universe. Now that's a reference. To Proverbs 2.
[24:11] Sorry. Proverbs 8. Where God describes wisdom. As having been there at his side. When he created the earth. And that wisdom was personified. And it represents Jesus himself. And again.
[24:25] We've just been considering creation. And something of. Of how great God's world is. Well. Jesus was there. When that was made. In fact. Jesus was the one who made it.
[24:36] Through whom it was made. That's how. That's how great Christ is. He. He made. He created. This world. He created this earth. He created the entire universe. In all its complexity.
[24:49] In all the complexity. Of the microorganisms. On our planet. And our own bodies. And the beauty. Of what we see around us. The beauty of the sunset. Last night. And as we lift our eyes.
[25:00] Into the heavens. And we see the stars. We were up on the. Up by the abbey last night. And it was a lovely clear night. And we were looking out. Over the. Over the. Town. But if you just lift up.
[25:11] Lift up your head. You see these wonderful stars. Up above you as well. And it was wonderful. To see such. So clear. That the stars. And you could see the Milky Way. Going across as well.
[25:22] And you think. That's so vast. And yet Christ made that. Through him. All things were made. That's how great. This sun is.
[25:36] Thirdly. He is. The radiance. Of God's glory. In verse three. The radiance of God's glory. Now God's glory is. It's often depicted. It's often described.
[25:47] It's like a bright light. Isn't it? Like the light of the sun. The shining of the sun. It's rays. In a sense. They are the glory of the sun.
[25:58] It shines. The rays are the sun's glory. Well Jesus is the shining of God's glory. F.F. Bruce says. Just as the radiance of the sun. Reaches this earth.
[26:09] So in Christ. The glorious light of God. Shines into the hearts. Of men and women. And so when. When we see Christ. And we.
[26:20] We read of him in the Bible. We see. God's glory. We see. God's splendor. We see his magnificent. Magnificence. Everything that.
[26:31] Shines out in praise of God. Everything that leads us. To bow before God. In awe and wonder. And to worship. And to praise God.
[26:41] We see that. As we look at Christ. Perhaps you managed to. Soak up some of the. Warmth of the sun yesterday. It was great to. To have some.
[26:51] Some sunshine yesterday. On the beach. And just to sit in the sun. And let your skin. Feel the warmth. It's lovely isn't it. It cheers your soul.
[27:02] To feel the sun's rays. Especially when it's been. Stormy like we had. The other night. Well looking at Christ. Studying Christ.
[27:13] In the Bible. That is to. To bask. In the. The radiant sunshine. Of God's glory. The more we see of Christ. The more we shall see.
[27:24] The radiant glories of God. And the more our hearts. Will be warmed. As his glory shines. Into us. He is the radiance.
[27:36] Of God's glory. Fourthly. He represents God. Exactly. He is the exact. Representation. Of his being. Now when you look.
[27:47] At a coin. You look at the heads. What do you see? That imprint. That imprint. Is a representation.
[27:58] Is a representation. Of the queen. Now Christ. Is a representation. Of God. God. It's not that he is.
[28:10] Is just a. A flattering image. Of God. Like the. Image we have. On our coins. But no. Christ. Is an exact. Representation. And he is. A representation.
[28:21] Of God's. Being. That is. He is a representation. Of God's. God's essential nature. What God actually is. What. What he really is. In reality. That's.
[28:32] What Christ. Is a representation. Of. It's not just. Christ. Is a representation. Of what God. Appears to be. What God seems to be. What we might have an idea. That God might possibly be. But no.
[28:43] But what God. Actually is. Christ. Is an exact. Representation. Of that. I mean. Some people. Have a false exterior. Don't they? Whether it's intentional.
[28:55] Or not. They have a false exterior. What you see. Isn't really them. They may appear. To be more. More stern. Than they are. We. In a church. Where I was once. We had an elder. Who. When he was up at the front.
[29:05] He was always very stern. And he was quite. You know. Kind of. Cowering away. When he's. When he's up there. But. He. But face to face. He was. He was a lovely. Gentle.
[29:15] Humble. Gracious man. Friendly. What you see. Is not necessarily. What the person is. The person might. Appear to be more godly. Than they really are.
[29:27] In private. Prophets. You see. The prophets. In the Old Testament. They haven't revealed. Everything about God. But they haven't given us.
[29:38] A false understanding of God. They haven't given us. A false impression. But they've only given us. Glimpses of him. They've shown us. God's sternness. As well as his love. And his compassion. To some degree.
[29:50] But you see. When we see Jesus. We get the full. Revelation. Of God. We see God. As he really is. We don't just see. An appearance.
[30:01] That God is something. Different behind that. No. We see God. As he really. Fully is. In Jesus. Jesus is the exact. Representation of him. Showing us God. Completely. I mean.
[30:13] If we. We ask the question. Sometimes. What's. What's God really like? I mean. What is he like? We can't see him. He's there. He has no body. What is he. What is he like? I mean. How stern is God really? How.
[30:25] How loving is God really? How. How compassionate is he? We want to know. How compassionate God is. How forgiving is God? How tolerant. Is God?
[30:38] How do we answer these questions? Well. Look at Jesus. And you will see exactly. What God is like. You will see exactly.
[30:49] How stern he is. You will see exactly. How compassionate. And how loving he is. You will see exactly. How. Holy he is. And how intolerant of sin he is. That's how.
[31:01] Who God is. The fifth thing. We see about Jesus. Is that he sustains. All things. Sustaining all things.
[31:12] By his powerful word. It is literally. That he. He bears. Or he carries all things. And you might think of that. Greek god Atlas. Perhaps you've seen the pictures.
[31:24] And Atlas is there. With this great globe. On his back. Isn't he? He's got this huge. Great world. On his back. And he's just stuck there. And you think. Poor old Atlas. Having to bear the weight. Of the. The dead weight.
[31:34] Of the world. But that's not the picture here. With Christ. Sustaining the world. Sustaining all things. As if he's just. Sitting there. Carrying it. No. It's rather the sense. Is that. Christ is. Keeping the world going.
[31:44] He's making it go forward. He's. He's sustaining it. In that. In that respect. So that it keeps existing. So that the. The. The chemical. Biological processes. Carry on going on.
[31:55] So that our bodies. Keep going. Our hearts. Do another beat. And another beat. And another beat. And we still keep going. We still keep breathing. That's because of Christ. Christ. It's not that he's holding us.
[32:05] In his hands. But rather he's. Within us. And keeping us going. Keeping all creation going. Keeping the. The earth. Rotating around the sun. Keeping the sun. In its place. In the milky way.
[32:16] Keeping the different galaxies. In their places. Christ is doing that. As the galaxies rotate. Around one another. Christ is involved. In holding those things together. That's phenomenal. Isn't it?
[32:26] He sustains all things. Intimately involved. In the running of creation. And then sixthly. He made purification for sin.
[32:40] In verse three. After. He provided purification. For sins. And of course. That's referring to his. Atoning death.
[32:50] His death. Where his blood was. Shed. Making purification. That sin. Needed to be punished. It needs. A sacrifice. To cover that.
[33:03] So that the. Impure. Can be made pure. The unclean. Can be made clean. And of course. He did that. When he died on the cross. That he made purification.
[33:19] For sins. For our sins. And. Hebrews. Goes on. To describe. The implications of that. If Christ has made purification. For sin. Then that means. That the sinner.
[33:30] You and me. That we can then. As those who have been made. Clean and pure. We can come to the pure. And holy God. We can come into the most holy place. That which was barred.
[33:40] For centuries. In the temple. And the unholy. Ordinary. Believer. Couldn't come to the holy God. But now Christ. By his death.
[33:51] Has purified us. He's removed our sin. So we can come into the most holy place. We can have access to God. We can. Enjoy. God's presence. Because of what Christ has done.
[34:02] That awesome work. Of making purification. For sin. Making the unholy. Holy. How do you make mud. Into drinking water. How do you do that. But Christ.
[34:13] Has made the mud. Of our hearts. Into pure crystal water. And then lastly. He is exalted.
[34:26] In heaven. He is exalted in heaven. And that's what the end of verse 3. Is referring to. He sat down. At the right hand. Of the majesty. In heaven. Now it's not so much.
[34:38] That Jesus. Has an actual. Physical throne. Where he's. Statically located. We get that impression. Don't we. But. But. This is.
[34:49] In a sense. It's figurative language. Where. What's. The important thing. To. To grasp. Is that. Christ. Is exalted. And. Speaking of his glory. That. That he is equal.
[35:00] With the father. In majesty. As the reference. In. Verse 2. To him being the son. That anticipates. Verse 5. Which says.
[35:10] You are my son. That quotation. Well the reference. To Jesus. Having sat down. At the right hand. Of the majesty. That anticipates. The quote. At the end of chapter 1. Verse 13.
[35:22] Sit at my right hand. Quoting verse. Quoting Psalm 110. That we read earlier. He sat down. At the right hand. Of the majesty. In heaven.
[35:32] Now that's. A parallel. Idea. To. Philippians 2. Isn't it? 9 to 11. That. Where Christ. Has been exalted. To the highest place.
[35:43] Been given the name. Above every name. Now why is Jesus exalted? In Philippians 2. Why is Jesus exalted? Why is Jesus given the name. The highest name.
[35:55] And called Lord. Why has he done that. In Philippians 2. It's because he humbled himself. Isn't it? That's what. The verses. 6 to 9 say. Because he humbled himself. And was obedient. Even to the point of.
[36:07] The cross. Death on the cross. And therefore. He was raised. And exalted. To the highest place. That's what Philippians is saying. Well in a sense. It's the same idea. Or a similar idea.
[36:17] Here in Hebrews. His exaltation. To being sat. At the right hand. Of the majesty on high. Follows on. From. Having made. Purification for sins.
[36:28] Which is a reference. To his death. On the cross. But it's more than that actually. Because the. The structure of the Greek sentence. Shows that. His exaltation.
[36:38] Sitting at the God's right hand. Follows on from everything. That's been said. In verse 3. Literally. The Greek goes. Being the radiance. Of God's glory.
[36:50] And exact representation. Of his being. Sustaining all things. By his powerful word. Having made purification. For sins. He sat down.
[37:02] At the right hand. Of the father. These three things. Being the radiance. Of God's glory. Sustaining all things. Having made purification. He sat down. Because of this.
[37:13] He sat down. Exalted. Because he is the radiance. The radiant representation. Of God. Who sustains all things. Who is atoned. For our sins. Therefore. Because of who he is.
[37:24] And what he's done. And therefore. He has been exalted. He is sat down. As the triumphant. King. The heir. Of all things. As king. He is far greater.
[37:36] Than the prophets. Now it's likely. As we've said. That these Jewish Christians. Were tempted. To go back. To Judaism. Just as many today.
[37:48] Are tempted. To turn away. From Christianity. And to give up. On the faith. And just to grow cold. But why would you do so? Why would you do so? That's just so foolish.
[37:59] Isn't it? Why go back. To Judaism. And reject the New Testament. When the word of God. Has come now. Through one. Who is infinitely greater. Than the Old Testament prophets. Why go back.
[38:10] And say. I'm just going to stick. With the Old Testament. And Judaism. And I'm going to reject. The New Testament. And Christ. Why do that? When Christ is so much greater. Than the prophets. And why turn aside.
[38:23] To any other religion. Today. Whether it be Judaism. Or Islam. Or just Western materialism. As a great religion.
[38:33] In this country. Why turn aside. From a committed. A committed following. Of Christ. And leave that. And become just a worldly. Materialist. Why do that?
[38:46] When the prophets. Of these different religions. Are just so insignificant. Compared with the Supreme Son. The Lord Jesus Christ. The prophet of. Of Islam. Or the prophet of.
[38:57] Western materialism. Richard Dawkins. You know. Why. Just insignificant. Compared with a prophet. Of. Of. With the son rather. With the Supreme Son. The Lord Jesus Christ.
[39:08] He is infinitely greater. Than any other prophet. Infinitely greater. Than any religious leader. Or modern day philosopher. Christ is. Is. Is. Is. Is. Is. Is. Is. Is. Is.
[39:18] Is. Is. Is. Is. Is. Is. Is. Is. Is. Is. Is. Is. Is. Is. Is. Is. Is. Is. Many. People. Turn away. From. Christianity. And.
[39:30] They. And. You. You. You. You. Speak to them. And. They. And. They. Say. Well. You know. I used. To be. A Christian. I used. To go. To church. That.
[39:46] They're not. They're not. Committed Christians. And. Many people. Turn away. From Christianity. Because of what. Christians are like. Why don't you go to church. And. Wow. I saw that hypocrisy. In the church. And the. And the.
[39:56] The church leader. Was just. You know. Off with another woman. And. You know. And. I just don't want anything. To do with. With that. And. It's not just the leader. It's Christians. You know.
[40:07] Christians are like that. That's what they're like. Why. You know. They're just so full of sin. I see it in my next door neighbour. Who's a professing Christian. And. You hear him shouting. And screaming at his wife. Through the door.
[40:18] Through the door. And. You know. That's what Christians are like. Well. I don't want anything to do with that. They're so full of sin. And so full of hypocrisy. Christians. Well. That's true. Isn't it? That's true.
[40:31] We're weak. We're fallible. We're like them. And. And. And. Why would they want to join with us? Why would they want to be committed Christians? When that's what we're like.
[40:42] But the point is. Not to focus so much on. Christians. But on. Christ. Himself. Yes. You will find people in other religions.
[40:53] And other walks of life. Who are nicer or better people. Than some Christians. My granddad. Was a very nice person. Don't think he was a Christian. But he was much nicer than others.
[41:04] And we know people like that. A person I used to work with. As a scientist. He was. He was. He was a great guy. Complete atheist. But he was a great guy. So generous.
[41:15] So kind. Kinder than me. More generous than me. And now that's common grace. Isn't it? You will find non-Christians.
[41:26] Who are nicer or better than Christians. Than some Christians. Christians. But you will not find. Any other prophet. Or any other religious leader. Who is anywhere near.
[41:37] Jesus Christ. Just to consider Christ alone. Is compelling enough reason. To turn to him. If you've not yet done so.
[41:49] Don't look at Christians and think. Well I don't want to be like them. Look at Christ. Just to consider him. Is compelling enough reason. Not to be so foolish.
[42:00] As to turn away from him. If you are already a professing believer. Now many people who profess to turn away. They profess to be Christians. And they turn away from Jesus later on.
[42:11] And they turn to Islam. They turn to Buddhism or whatever. And others just become atheists. And they just. Or they become worshippers of themselves.
[42:23] And they put their own needs. And they're their own God. They don't have Christ ruling them. They rule themselves. And many do that. Having once said they were a professing Christian. But in order for them to do that.
[42:36] How can they do that? Surely. They've either totally lost sight of the real Jesus. So much so that they just. They can't see why they should follow him anymore.
[42:47] They just totally lost sight of him. Or they never actually knew him in the first place. The person they thought was Jesus. Was only really.
[43:00] A poor idea of their own making. And he was not. They had not understood him as the supreme son. Described so fully and so gloriously.
[43:10] In all the scriptures. In particular. In Hebrews 1. So then Jesus. Is far greater than the prophets.
[43:22] The prophets of the Old Testament. They spoke God's word. That is still reliable. And we would be foolish to ignore a thousand years. Of God's words. But we have a greater revelation now.
[43:32] We have. In Jesus. The son. If we were to look at those who wrote the Old Testament. We would just see ordinary men. They were just prophets. Ordinary men. Sinners like you and me.
[43:43] But when we look at Jesus. We see the great son of God. Supreme heir. Creator and sustainer of the universe.
[43:55] Radiance of God's glory. And revelation of God himself. The one who has sacrificed to cover our sins. And the supreme exalted king. God has spoken to you and me.
[44:08] Through him. Don't turn away from him. If you're tempted. If you're thinking. No I don't want to be a Christian anymore. Don't turn away from him. Don't let yourself grow cold towards him.
[44:21] We do that don't we. We just grow cold spiritually. We don't want. We don't spend that time with Christ as we used to. Don't let yourself do that. God is speaking to you.
[44:34] Through him. The son speaks to you himself. What a privilege to have him. Christ speaking. This great and glorious divine king. Has spoken to you. Well take up his word.
[44:48] Make sure that you sit regularly under his preaching. Don't ignore him. But listen to him. Well may God help us.