WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.740 I have a real longing to get hold of what is real and true in this world. 00:00:08.740 --> 00:00:13.080 ! And I need to tell you it's not just intellectual. 00:00:13.080 --> 00:00:20.839 I feel this deep hunger inside me to be connected to something greater than me. 00:00:20.839 --> 00:00:26.600 There's something bigger, someone bigger out there, and I feel like I want to be connected 00:00:26.600 --> 00:00:28.400 to it or to them. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:41.179 I have to tell you that I have an insatiable hunger, it feels like, to feel satisfaction 00:00:41.179 --> 00:00:49.100 in the depths of my being in this messed up world that we live in. 00:00:49.100 --> 00:00:55.760 Sitting across the table in the London cafe where I had that conversation with a friend, 00:00:55.759 --> 00:01:01.420 I said in reply, you've come to the right place. 00:01:01.420 --> 00:01:03.939 I know a man who can help. 00:01:03.939 --> 00:01:09.560 And we've known each other for quite a while, me and this chap, and he said, I don't need 00:01:09.560 --> 00:01:14.659 you to tell me about your Jesus again. 00:01:14.659 --> 00:01:15.659 He's not the answer. 00:01:15.659 --> 00:01:23.899 And I said, how can you be so sure? 00:01:23.899 --> 00:01:31.319 And he said, I think when it comes down to it, for me, he's just not that impressive. 00:01:31.319 --> 00:01:40.559 And he went on to tell me that he'd tried a number of churches and he said, I know that 00:01:40.559 --> 00:01:41.619 you've got different traditions. 00:01:41.619 --> 00:01:44.619 I know that you do things differently in different churches. 00:01:44.620 --> 00:01:51.920 One church I went to a few times, the truth is the way they talked about Jesus there was 00:01:51.920 --> 00:01:55.540 the way I feel like he gets talked about in a romantic novel. 00:01:58.420 --> 00:02:02.780 He said, in another church, I went to a kind of different tradition and there Jesus was 00:02:02.780 --> 00:02:06.020 presented a bit like a get out of jail free card. 00:02:07.380 --> 00:02:08.680 You've done all these bad things. 00:02:08.759 --> 00:02:09.460 Everything's terrible. 00:02:09.740 --> 00:02:11.180 You deserve to be locked up. 00:02:11.180 --> 00:02:16.439 But if you get Jesus, he said, it felt like a get out of jail free card. 00:02:18.099 --> 00:02:22.200 And he said, I went to another church, the local parish church, and he said, there, Jesus' 00:02:22.379 --> 00:02:23.879 name was almost completely absent. 00:02:24.980 --> 00:02:29.520 I heard his name mentioned at the end of a prayer, the Lord's Prayer that we learned when 00:02:29.520 --> 00:02:31.319 we were at school, but nothing more than that. 00:02:32.860 --> 00:02:36.719 And I've come to the conclusion, he's just not that impressive. 00:02:36.719 --> 00:02:42.080 And I said, well, I take your point. 00:02:43.560 --> 00:02:46.500 Everything you've just described isn't that impressive. 00:02:47.340 --> 00:02:51.060 And if that is all there is, I would agree with you. 00:02:51.819 --> 00:02:54.439 But I need to tell you, you've been misled. 00:02:56.219 --> 00:02:58.740 That's not the real Jesus. 00:02:58.740 --> 00:03:04.780 And of course, I go away from a meeting like that and it's very, very frustrating. 00:03:06.580 --> 00:03:11.300 Because the reality is, that's what happens when the church holds out a Jesus who doesn't 00:03:11.300 --> 00:03:12.659 captivate our wonder. 00:03:14.700 --> 00:03:17.600 When the church holds out a Jesus that we can't fear. 00:03:18.960 --> 00:03:24.280 A Jesus that is so domesticated that he's really just not that impressive. 00:03:24.280 --> 00:03:31.599 And so it's no surprise when people like my friend aren't that taken with him. 00:03:35.699 --> 00:03:40.699 Now, I was quoting what he said in each of those church experiences that he had. 00:03:40.920 --> 00:03:45.960 I can't verify the reality of that in each of those cases, obviously. 00:03:46.139 --> 00:03:50.340 But that was the impression that he was left with when he went to these different church 00:03:50.340 --> 00:03:51.900 traditions in our land. 00:03:51.900 --> 00:03:56.039 We, as a church, need to be careful that we're not doing the same. 00:03:56.939 --> 00:04:00.740 I'm not saying that with my frustration to bag on those other churches. 00:04:00.860 --> 00:04:07.520 It is to say that we need to be careful that we're not doing some version of each one of 00:04:07.520 --> 00:04:08.219 those ourselves. 00:04:09.400 --> 00:04:14.040 And the one thing that will help us is the book of Hebrews. 00:04:14.039 --> 00:04:22.459 You see, the book of Hebrews will not let us reduce Jesus to a Jesus that doesn't captivate 00:04:22.459 --> 00:04:28.099 our wonder, to a Jesus that we can't fear, or a Jesus that is too domesticated, that he's 00:04:28.099 --> 00:04:29.699 just not that impressive. 00:04:32.180 --> 00:04:34.939 And it begins right there in chapter 1, verse 1. 00:04:34.939 --> 00:04:52.480 Do open up Hebrews 1 again, if you've closed it, page 1001. 00:04:52.879 --> 00:04:54.779 We're going to be in the first four verses. 00:04:54.779 --> 00:04:59.639 God, we're told right up at the very beginning, is a speaking God. 00:05:00.159 --> 00:05:01.739 He spoke creation into being. 00:05:02.319 --> 00:05:05.839 Right back at the beginning, let there be, and there was. 00:05:06.699 --> 00:05:10.059 And from Adam all the way to Christ, God was speaking. 00:05:10.299 --> 00:05:12.119 God is not silent. 00:05:12.120 --> 00:05:18.360 And long ago, the writer to the Hebrews says, on different occasions and in different ways, 00:05:18.459 --> 00:05:22.740 that is, through visions and dreams, through physical manifestations, like the angel of 00:05:22.740 --> 00:05:28.740 the Lord with Abraham and Isaac, through his word in thunder to Moses, his word to Joshua 00:05:28.740 --> 00:05:33.680 and to David, and all that he said through the written prophets, God spoke to the people 00:05:33.680 --> 00:05:34.600 of Israel. 00:05:36.120 --> 00:05:41.639 But the writer to the Hebrews is saying, there is now a new stage of divine revelation. 00:05:41.639 --> 00:05:48.019 A fuller revelation of God in these last days, these concluding days in the old order of 00:05:48.019 --> 00:05:54.159 Israel, before the judgment that fell in AD 70, God has spoken in a new way through his 00:05:54.159 --> 00:05:54.399 Son. 00:05:55.039 --> 00:05:57.180 He has spoken by his Son. 00:05:57.620 --> 00:06:04.159 It is not the private word to a single individual, but the public revelation to all of the saving 00:06:04.159 --> 00:06:09.240 actions, the life, the death, the resurrection, and the ascension of Jesus Christ, which he has 00:06:09.240 --> 00:06:11.699 interpreted and explained so his people understand. 00:06:13.460 --> 00:06:19.160 So we now have a final word from God, and that word is a person. 00:06:20.680 --> 00:06:24.220 Christ has been spoken by God as his last word. 00:06:24.300 --> 00:06:27.920 We don't need any further revelation to know what God is like. 00:06:28.180 --> 00:06:32.639 We don't need any further revelation to know what God is doing in the world, or even what 00:06:32.639 --> 00:06:33.639 he requires of us. 00:06:33.639 --> 00:06:39.759 God is speaking today because he has spoken finally in Christ, and the words he spoke in 00:06:39.759 --> 00:06:45.079 Scripture, he speaks now in the full light of the finished work of his supreme and glorious 00:06:45.079 --> 00:06:45.919 Son. 00:06:47.379 --> 00:06:53.639 But starting here, Hebrews 1 verse 1, as the author continues, we might expect the author 00:06:53.639 --> 00:06:56.060 to lay out some things that Jesus has said. 00:06:56.060 --> 00:07:00.220 Instead, God is a speaking God, what has Jesus said? 00:07:00.300 --> 00:07:05.600 But instead, the rest of this opening sentence, do you notice, focuses on the Son's identity 00:07:05.600 --> 00:07:06.720 and his work. 00:07:07.800 --> 00:07:11.740 And we have seven affirmations that I want us to walk through here. 00:07:12.319 --> 00:07:14.540 Seven affirmations about the Son. 00:07:14.620 --> 00:07:20.819 So far from being unimpressive, Jesus is held out as supreme for seven reasons. 00:07:20.939 --> 00:07:24.180 Number one, it's there in verse 2, he is the heir. 00:07:24.180 --> 00:07:25.600 The heir, the heir. 00:07:25.740 --> 00:07:32.340 He has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things. 00:07:33.139 --> 00:07:37.579 That's an echo of Psalm 2 verse 8, which is addressed to the Lord's anointed, the Lord's 00:07:37.579 --> 00:07:41.840 Son, and he has given the nations as his inheritance. 00:07:43.340 --> 00:07:47.899 Here, the Lord Jesus has been given not just the nations, but all things. 00:07:48.379 --> 00:07:50.060 He is the heir of all things. 00:07:50.060 --> 00:07:56.199 2 verse 5 and following tells us that everything has been put in subjection to the Lord Jesus. 00:07:56.360 --> 00:08:00.319 Christ is Lord and King over everything. 00:08:01.500 --> 00:08:05.959 He owns it all, and he owns it all now. 00:08:08.519 --> 00:08:10.060 He is the heir of all things. 00:08:11.439 --> 00:08:14.480 Now, when we know that, that should affect the way we think about all kinds of things. 00:08:14.480 --> 00:08:20.140 When it comes to our evangelism, we are not on an election campaign hoping that Jesus gets 00:08:20.140 --> 00:08:22.220 enough votes to be given a place of honor. 00:08:23.180 --> 00:08:25.800 He has already been given that place of honor. 00:08:26.640 --> 00:08:28.340 It is an accomplished fact. 00:08:28.920 --> 00:08:31.060 So we proclaim him as such. 00:08:32.840 --> 00:08:36.080 When he commissions the church, when Jesus commissions the church at the end of Matthew's 00:08:36.080 --> 00:08:38.680 gospel to go and disciple the nations, do you remember what he says? 00:08:38.679 --> 00:08:42.339 All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 00:08:43.019 --> 00:08:43.899 Therefore, go. 00:08:45.019 --> 00:08:52.179 When we tell people about Jesus, we need to be clear that as heir, he owns all things, including them. 00:08:54.859 --> 00:08:59.079 It should also affect the way we think more widely about our mission as a church. 00:08:59.500 --> 00:09:05.359 And it should give us confidence, especially in these days where opposition is around every corner. 00:09:05.360 --> 00:09:10.600 If Jesus is the heir of all things, his inheritance includes all things. 00:09:11.419 --> 00:09:21.740 Every street around here, every street across this city, every house in your street, it all belongs to him and he will take it. 00:09:22.820 --> 00:09:28.000 Maybe not in our lifetime, but it has been given to him by his Father and he will take it. 00:09:28.340 --> 00:09:29.480 Now, what does that mean for us? 00:09:29.500 --> 00:09:30.560 It means that we don't worry. 00:09:31.600 --> 00:09:34.340 It means that we don't panic in the face of opposition. 00:09:34.340 --> 00:09:35.940 It means that we're faithful. 00:09:36.680 --> 00:09:41.860 We're faithful now with what God has given us to do, where he has given us to do it, 00:09:42.360 --> 00:09:46.780 and we're confident that one day Christ will take back all that belongs to him. 00:09:49.360 --> 00:09:53.320 Part of the reason Jesus possesses these things is because of what the author says next. 00:09:53.639 --> 00:10:00.440 He is the heir because, verse 2, also he is the creator through whom also he created the world. 00:10:00.440 --> 00:10:08.520 As God's agent in creation, all things, the universe, time, space, all of it came into being through Christ. 00:10:09.260 --> 00:10:12.920 The Son of God is heir of everything because it all has always belonged to him. 00:10:13.760 --> 00:10:14.780 It's always been his. 00:10:14.779 --> 00:10:22.519 You see, although the incarnation, the coming of God in the person of his Son that we celebrate at Christmas, 00:10:22.600 --> 00:10:26.720 although that happens in history, the eternal Son did not begin in history. 00:10:27.299 --> 00:10:28.699 He is part of creation. 00:10:29.019 --> 00:10:31.179 He is not part of creation. 00:10:31.659 --> 00:10:32.579 He is the creator. 00:10:32.580 --> 00:10:36.460 Here's John Owen. 00:10:37.759 --> 00:10:38.580 He says this, 00:10:38.639 --> 00:10:45.360 By the Son he made the worlds in the beginning of time, that in the fullness of time he might be the just heir and Lord of all. 00:10:46.360 --> 00:10:54.320 By the Son he made the worlds in the beginning of time, that in the fullness of time he might be the just heir and Lord of all. 00:10:54.540 --> 00:10:56.879 The created world belongs to Jesus. 00:10:56.879 --> 00:11:00.939 When he speaks, he speaks as the source of reality. 00:11:02.080 --> 00:11:03.639 And so he tells us what truth is. 00:11:04.639 --> 00:11:07.600 He determines what good is and what bad is. 00:11:07.799 --> 00:11:09.779 He tells us what is right and what is wrong. 00:11:09.939 --> 00:11:11.899 And he does that in an objective sense. 00:11:12.840 --> 00:11:13.840 It's not an opinion. 00:11:14.259 --> 00:11:15.080 It is fact. 00:11:16.860 --> 00:11:22.379 When we are awed by creation's vastness, we have someone to praise. 00:11:23.779 --> 00:11:26.659 When we enjoy it, we have someone to thank. 00:11:27.379 --> 00:11:35.700 When we are doing whatever it is that we do, we recognize that all that we have at our disposal is a gift from him and not a right. 00:11:35.879 --> 00:11:36.939 Do you remember Ecclesiastes? 00:11:37.120 --> 00:11:38.679 It is gift, not gain. 00:11:40.379 --> 00:11:47.000 And so whatever he has given us, we recognize that it is his for us to steward for his glory and we treat it with care. 00:11:47.000 --> 00:11:55.980 All that you see, all that you have, all that is, belongs to Jesus. 00:11:55.980 --> 00:11:59.539 Our author continues. 00:11:59.980 --> 00:12:03.379 The Son is also, verse 3, revealer. 00:12:04.539 --> 00:12:09.980 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature. 00:12:09.980 --> 00:12:16.779 The apostle John tells us that the person who has seen Christ has seen the Father. 00:12:18.539 --> 00:12:25.620 Jesus reveals God to us because he is the exact imprint, the exact representation of God's very being. 00:12:25.759 --> 00:12:26.800 Here's John Owen again. 00:12:26.799 --> 00:12:42.819 All the glorious perfections of the nature of God do belong unto and dwell in the person of the Son. 00:12:42.979 --> 00:12:47.079 As is the Father, so is the Son. 00:12:47.080 --> 00:12:49.460 Here is the scriptural basis. 00:12:50.200 --> 00:12:53.480 One example of the scriptural basis for the Nicene Creed. 00:12:53.840 --> 00:12:56.340 The Son is very God of very God. 00:12:57.040 --> 00:13:01.180 One commentator puts it this way, everything God was, the Son was also. 00:13:03.300 --> 00:13:07.360 And so he radiates the brightness of the glory of God. 00:13:08.900 --> 00:13:13.420 This concept is kind of, at one level it's simple to understand. 00:13:13.419 --> 00:13:18.959 It's not hard to kind of understand the concept that as is the Father, so is the Son. 00:13:19.259 --> 00:13:21.860 However, what does that actually look like? 00:13:21.899 --> 00:13:26.759 And one of the ways that the church has talked about this historically or illustrated this has been 00:13:26.759 --> 00:13:30.579 the relationship between a light and the beams that flow from the light. 00:13:31.899 --> 00:13:33.699 One commentator says this, 00:13:33.759 --> 00:13:38.339 Christ is to the Father what light beams are to a light source. 00:13:39.039 --> 00:13:41.679 He streams from the Father eternally. 00:13:41.679 --> 00:13:43.519 The Father is the light source. 00:13:43.719 --> 00:13:45.679 The Son is the light shining. 00:13:45.859 --> 00:13:48.879 And there never was a time when the light was off. 00:13:50.159 --> 00:13:51.839 The Father is the light source. 00:13:52.000 --> 00:13:53.500 The Son is the light shining. 00:13:53.859 --> 00:13:56.759 And there never was a time when the light was off. 00:13:58.479 --> 00:14:00.839 In the Old Testament, the appearance of God was veiled. 00:14:01.339 --> 00:14:02.899 No one could see God and live. 00:14:03.479 --> 00:14:07.199 But in Christ, God has visited us and we can see Him. 00:14:07.859 --> 00:14:08.779 And know Him. 00:14:09.099 --> 00:14:11.519 And have a personal relationship with Him. 00:14:11.679 --> 00:14:15.379 Do you ever stop to think about that? 00:14:15.799 --> 00:14:19.099 If you've been a Christian for any length of time, you can kind of take that for granted. 00:14:21.019 --> 00:14:26.959 The fact that you can know and experience the radiant glory of the living God. 00:14:27.719 --> 00:14:33.419 And you can immediately receive all of His grace and mercy through faith in Jesus Christ. 00:14:33.419 --> 00:14:35.779 That is a truly remarkable thing. 00:14:39.779 --> 00:14:45.799 You can know and experience the radiant glory of the One who made the heavens and the earth. 00:14:45.799 --> 00:14:54.620 Not only was the Son of God the agent of creation, but our author continues. 00:14:55.679 --> 00:14:56.279 Verse 3. 00:14:57.399 --> 00:15:01.979 He also upholds the universe that He has made. 00:15:02.179 --> 00:15:06.179 He's not just the creator, but He's also, next one, sustainer. 00:15:06.179 --> 00:15:07.379 Verse 3. 00:15:07.379 --> 00:15:07.419 Verse 3. 00:15:10.859 --> 00:15:11.839 He's the heir. 00:15:12.019 --> 00:15:12.679 He's the creator. 00:15:13.019 --> 00:15:13.839 He's the revealer. 00:15:15.099 --> 00:15:16.299 He's the sustainer. 00:15:16.359 --> 00:15:19.819 He upholds the universe by the word of His power. 00:15:19.820 --> 00:15:28.860 Christ is not like the gods of the deists who might start the world spinning and then step away and leave it to it. 00:15:29.720 --> 00:15:35.580 No, He created us and He is personally and continually sustaining us. 00:15:36.580 --> 00:15:40.660 He created countless galaxies and He sustains them as well. 00:15:40.659 --> 00:15:51.000 Without Christ, everything around us would simply dissolve, vaporize, and snuff out like a candle that burns to the end. 00:15:51.079 --> 00:15:52.600 He sustains it all. 00:15:53.899 --> 00:16:01.559 That means that you open your eyes in the morning or not because Christ sustained you through the night or chose not to. 00:16:04.839 --> 00:16:06.639 Think about your breathing right now. 00:16:07.639 --> 00:16:08.179 Breathing in. 00:16:08.179 --> 00:16:10.739 Breathing out. 00:16:12.179 --> 00:16:16.539 You're taking those breaths because Christ is sustaining you. 00:16:19.439 --> 00:16:23.839 At His command, the material universe is sustained. 00:16:24.919 --> 00:16:27.459 You might say, well, no, look, it's the diaphragm. 00:16:27.539 --> 00:16:29.779 It kind of opens up and closes up and whatever. 00:16:30.039 --> 00:16:30.339 Yes. 00:16:31.179 --> 00:16:33.779 But Christ decides that it works that way. 00:16:33.779 --> 00:16:42.419 And we must remember that He does this because He is bringing creation towards its intended goal. 00:16:43.939 --> 00:16:45.839 Our world is headed somewhere. 00:16:46.179 --> 00:16:47.259 We are headed somewhere. 00:16:47.539 --> 00:16:49.299 We are headed to a renewed cosmos. 00:16:50.120 --> 00:16:53.439 And moment by moment by moment by moment, Jesus is getting us there. 00:16:53.440 --> 00:17:06.019 But the truth is, we don't need to look too far to see that the reality of this creation and this providence don't bring people to acknowledge God. 00:17:06.019 --> 00:17:13.000 One of the difficulties we have is our sin. 00:17:13.779 --> 00:17:15.720 And in our sin, we suppress the truth. 00:17:15.799 --> 00:17:22.579 And so we stare at the wonder and the beauty of creation and are blind to the divine glory that it reveals. 00:17:22.579 --> 00:17:24.720 That's the condition of the human heart. 00:17:25.019 --> 00:17:29.259 In a debate a few years ago, the late, great Christopher Hitchens illustrated this perfectly. 00:17:29.439 --> 00:17:32.139 Christopher Hitchens was a very outspoken atheist. 00:17:32.740 --> 00:17:33.579 He says this, quote, 00:17:33.579 --> 00:17:45.519 If you want to be awe-inspired, let me tell you that those of us who do not believe we are divinely created, let alone divinely supervised, not just created but sustained, 00:17:46.179 --> 00:17:50.019 we're not immune to the idea of awe and beauty and the transcendent. 00:17:50.659 --> 00:17:55.079 Let me invite you to look for a moment at the pictures taken by the Hubble telescope, 00:17:55.079 --> 00:18:05.299 the extraordinary revelations of swirling yet somehow beautiful, new galaxies in color and depth, in majesty like nothing I think the human eye has ever seen. 00:18:06.000 --> 00:18:09.299 Stephen Hawking has a colleague who looks at the event horizon of a black hole. 00:18:09.779 --> 00:18:14.720 If you could travel towards a black hole and get to the lip of that event horizon and fall in, 00:18:14.919 --> 00:18:20.359 you could, in theory, see the past and the future stretching before you and in front of you. 00:18:21.259 --> 00:18:24.720 You would see time, except you wouldn't have the time to do it, of course. 00:18:24.720 --> 00:18:27.259 If you were a mere primate as we are. 00:18:27.819 --> 00:18:28.180 End quote. 00:18:30.240 --> 00:18:32.920 Here's a man who doesn't believe in blind faith, by the way. 00:18:34.120 --> 00:18:35.620 Anyway, he goes on, quote, 00:18:35.900 --> 00:18:41.660 So, it's in the natural world, it's in the world of science and the world of innovation and discovery and doubt, 00:18:42.279 --> 00:18:47.920 we wouldn't have discovered any of these things if we'd taken the religious story for granted to begin with. 00:18:48.660 --> 00:18:50.299 Now, what does all that tell us? 00:18:50.299 --> 00:18:56.559 It tells us that experiencing majesty and the grandeur of God's world is possible, 00:18:56.839 --> 00:19:00.419 and we can do that while still refusing to acknowledge Him, 00:19:00.799 --> 00:19:04.779 still speculating, making up ideas about it all. 00:19:05.319 --> 00:19:11.779 We will, left to ourselves, invent all kinds of theories and ideas to avoid the truth about God. 00:19:12.440 --> 00:19:13.500 And so there's the problem. 00:19:13.500 --> 00:19:19.259 But we read on. 00:19:21.099 --> 00:19:25.119 Because actually, later in the verse, we discover that it's a problem that Christ fixes. 00:19:28.619 --> 00:19:35.779 Christ lays aside His creational glory and embraces a greater glory altogether, 00:19:35.980 --> 00:19:37.480 and that is the glory of redemption. 00:19:37.480 --> 00:19:40.680 And verse 3 tells us He is also our Redeemer. 00:19:41.960 --> 00:19:43.700 After, verse 3, 00:19:43.940 --> 00:19:47.660 after making purification for sins. 00:19:48.759 --> 00:19:50.759 There's the greatest problem we all face, 00:19:50.980 --> 00:19:52.519 the problem of every human heart, 00:19:52.799 --> 00:19:55.759 and that is our refusal to allow God to be God in His world 00:19:55.759 --> 00:19:58.620 and to pursue our own glory in His place. 00:19:58.779 --> 00:20:00.299 It is the problem of our sin, 00:20:00.539 --> 00:20:03.900 and the Son dealt with that problem. 00:20:03.900 --> 00:20:07.820 Christ is the Savior of the world. 00:20:09.580 --> 00:20:10.800 Under the Old Covenant, 00:20:10.940 --> 00:20:12.660 that is the backdrop for the letter to Hebrews, 00:20:12.800 --> 00:20:14.700 the priests made purification for sin, 00:20:15.040 --> 00:20:18.480 but they did it by offering the blood of sacrificed bulls and goats. 00:20:18.600 --> 00:20:21.040 And so their ceremonies were always only external 00:20:21.040 --> 00:20:24.900 and representative of the internal and the real which was to come. 00:20:26.259 --> 00:20:27.340 When Christ came, 00:20:27.720 --> 00:20:30.060 when the Son took on flesh and dwelt among us, 00:20:30.059 --> 00:20:34.799 his birth at Christmas always had this goal in mind. 00:20:34.879 --> 00:20:36.940 Christmas had Good Friday in view. 00:20:37.200 --> 00:20:41.440 He was born in flesh at Christmas in order that he could die. 00:20:42.440 --> 00:20:43.720 God cannot die, 00:20:43.819 --> 00:20:45.919 but the punishment for sin is death. 00:20:46.200 --> 00:20:49.619 So if God would uphold both His love and His justice, 00:20:50.039 --> 00:20:52.200 punish sin as it deserved to be, 00:20:52.399 --> 00:20:54.819 but not do that in another person, 00:20:55.720 --> 00:20:57.399 He would have to bear the punishment Himself. 00:20:57.400 --> 00:21:03.240 He would have to take to Himself a body which was capable of dying. 00:21:04.040 --> 00:21:05.720 And that's what He did in His Son. 00:21:08.840 --> 00:21:11.200 And Christ's death was not just any death. 00:21:11.280 --> 00:21:13.460 It was a sacrificial death that fulfilled 00:21:13.460 --> 00:21:16.880 all that the Old Covenant sacrifices pointed towards. 00:21:17.080 --> 00:21:21.100 It was a death that brought purification for sins. 00:21:22.320 --> 00:21:25.640 It was sufficiently powerful so as to reach to the heart 00:21:25.640 --> 00:21:30.200 and so to redeem all who put their faith in Him. 00:21:31.400 --> 00:21:33.880 This is the greatest glory. 00:21:35.480 --> 00:21:39.780 It is a glory that was beaten and nailed to a cross. 00:21:40.600 --> 00:21:44.120 A glory that reached down from heaven in order to lift up the broken. 00:21:45.120 --> 00:21:49.140 A glory that reached down in order to break the chains of slaves, 00:21:49.480 --> 00:21:51.280 in order that you and I, 00:21:51.279 --> 00:21:54.079 who are as undeserving as can be. 00:21:54.460 --> 00:21:57.420 We deserve to be cast off from God forever. 00:21:58.160 --> 00:22:00.940 But He did this so that we can be redeemed. 00:22:02.500 --> 00:22:04.079 What kind of king would do that? 00:22:04.539 --> 00:22:07.579 What kind of king would humble himself like this? 00:22:08.019 --> 00:22:09.599 His name is Jesus. 00:22:09.599 --> 00:22:09.839 He did this. 00:22:13.519 --> 00:22:14.659 But as we know, 00:22:15.919 --> 00:22:17.339 death wasn't the end of the story. 00:22:17.500 --> 00:22:20.139 And our author reminds us that after making purification, 00:22:20.299 --> 00:22:20.899 verse 3, 00:22:21.319 --> 00:22:24.399 He sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high. 00:22:24.539 --> 00:22:26.779 After making purification for sins, 00:22:27.159 --> 00:22:28.119 as our Redeemer, 00:22:28.500 --> 00:22:31.399 He sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high. 00:22:31.659 --> 00:22:33.619 And so He is our victor. 00:22:34.299 --> 00:22:35.379 He is victor. 00:22:35.380 --> 00:22:39.040 Because three days after this execution, 00:22:39.920 --> 00:22:41.720 where our sins were paid for, 00:22:41.780 --> 00:22:42.540 He was raised. 00:22:42.960 --> 00:22:44.000 He defeated death. 00:22:44.400 --> 00:22:46.080 Christ ascended then back to heaven 00:22:46.080 --> 00:22:49.720 and is now seated at the right hand of His Father. 00:22:49.820 --> 00:22:53.540 The right hand is the place of honor and favor and victory, 00:22:53.720 --> 00:22:55.260 Psalm 20, verse 6, tells us. 00:22:55.540 --> 00:22:58.600 The Son is exalted to the highest place. 00:22:59.840 --> 00:23:01.500 And when it says He sat down, 00:23:01.600 --> 00:23:03.300 He doesn't do that because He's tired, 00:23:03.299 --> 00:23:06.960 but because it symbolizes a completed work. 00:23:07.159 --> 00:23:10.099 Every sin of every one of His people has been purged. 00:23:10.440 --> 00:23:13.579 His death achieved the redemption of His people. 00:23:13.680 --> 00:23:14.899 It didn't just make it possible. 00:23:15.180 --> 00:23:17.619 It achieved the redemption of His people. 00:23:17.700 --> 00:23:19.339 So He doesn't sit for a rest. 00:23:19.899 --> 00:23:21.240 He sits in order to rule. 00:23:22.899 --> 00:23:25.279 Here the allusion is to Psalm 110, verse 1, 00:23:25.359 --> 00:23:28.059 where the exalted Son must sit at the Father's right hand 00:23:28.059 --> 00:23:30.119 until His enemies are made His footstool. 00:23:30.119 --> 00:23:34.239 When times are hard, 00:23:35.619 --> 00:23:38.539 and when we see wickedness and evil, 00:23:39.319 --> 00:23:41.819 the great wickedness and evil that we see 00:23:41.819 --> 00:23:43.879 that humanity is capable of perpetrating, 00:23:44.959 --> 00:23:46.399 whether we see it in our own hearts 00:23:46.399 --> 00:23:48.759 or we see it expressed in the culture around us, 00:23:49.119 --> 00:23:50.119 and we want to wonder, 00:23:50.659 --> 00:23:52.599 why does the Lord not just come back 00:23:52.599 --> 00:23:54.759 and sort this all out once and for all? 00:23:54.979 --> 00:23:57.139 The answer is that all His enemies 00:23:57.140 --> 00:23:58.940 have not yet been subdued. 00:23:59.820 --> 00:24:01.160 There are more men and women, 00:24:01.480 --> 00:24:02.380 more boys and girls, 00:24:02.440 --> 00:24:03.960 who have yet to bow the knee to Him 00:24:03.960 --> 00:24:06.340 and receive the salvation and eternal life 00:24:06.340 --> 00:24:08.180 that Christ has purchased on the cross. 00:24:08.520 --> 00:24:11.460 His grace still has a way to go. 00:24:13.520 --> 00:24:14.600 If you're here this evening 00:24:14.600 --> 00:24:15.700 and you're not a Christian, 00:24:16.640 --> 00:24:17.920 and you ask that question, 00:24:18.060 --> 00:24:19.259 the why has your God, 00:24:19.400 --> 00:24:20.360 you Christians, 00:24:20.480 --> 00:24:23.000 why has your God not fixed this, 00:24:23.240 --> 00:24:24.180 the mess that we're in? 00:24:24.180 --> 00:24:25.920 If you're asking those kind of questions, 00:24:26.440 --> 00:24:28.560 it is because He is giving you time 00:24:28.560 --> 00:24:30.480 to respond to His grace. 00:24:32.279 --> 00:24:33.920 He is giving you a chance 00:24:33.920 --> 00:24:35.140 to turn from your sins 00:24:35.140 --> 00:24:37.900 and to know Christ as your Redeemer 00:24:37.900 --> 00:24:40.140 and so to receive the salvation 00:24:40.140 --> 00:24:42.060 that He has purchased for us. 00:24:42.779 --> 00:24:44.900 And just look at this Christ 00:24:44.900 --> 00:24:48.900 as He has laid out here in these four verses. 00:24:49.100 --> 00:24:49.940 Just look at Him. 00:24:49.940 --> 00:24:53.640 Would you not want to belong to one 00:24:53.640 --> 00:24:56.400 so glorious and so powerful 00:24:56.400 --> 00:24:57.860 and so beautiful? 00:25:00.700 --> 00:25:02.360 Why has Christ not yet returned? 00:25:02.460 --> 00:25:04.240 Because He hasn't yet claimed His inheritance. 00:25:04.680 --> 00:25:06.580 He has more people to bring in. 00:25:08.920 --> 00:25:10.360 So if you need to come in, 00:25:11.220 --> 00:25:11.720 come in. 00:25:12.120 --> 00:25:12.799 Come now. 00:25:14.620 --> 00:25:15.440 Come now. 00:25:15.440 --> 00:25:20.759 And then when the last of those 00:25:20.759 --> 00:25:23.059 that He has redeemed comes in, 00:25:23.140 --> 00:25:25.080 then He will return to destroy 00:25:25.080 --> 00:25:25.900 the final enemy, 00:25:26.140 --> 00:25:26.860 death itself. 00:25:28.360 --> 00:25:30.400 Here is the Supreme Son, 00:25:30.759 --> 00:25:32.460 the heir of all things, 00:25:32.900 --> 00:25:33.820 because as Creator, 00:25:33.940 --> 00:25:34.580 He owns it all. 00:25:35.400 --> 00:25:36.500 As the Eternal Son, 00:25:36.559 --> 00:25:37.700 He reveals God to us 00:25:37.700 --> 00:25:38.940 and sustains His creation 00:25:38.940 --> 00:25:40.019 by His powerful Word. 00:25:41.140 --> 00:25:41.960 And then He deploys 00:25:41.960 --> 00:25:42.980 all of that authority 00:25:42.980 --> 00:25:44.140 and power in the cross 00:25:44.140 --> 00:25:46.240 where His death redeems us from sin. 00:25:47.560 --> 00:25:49.200 Every sin on Him was laid 00:25:49.200 --> 00:25:50.100 and we are free. 00:25:51.920 --> 00:25:53.560 And because death could not hold Him, 00:25:54.820 --> 00:25:55.600 He is raised, 00:25:56.100 --> 00:25:57.860 He ascends to the Father's right hand 00:25:57.860 --> 00:25:59.140 and from there He now rules 00:25:59.140 --> 00:26:00.180 and reigns from heaven. 00:26:00.560 --> 00:26:01.940 That is where He is this evening. 00:26:02.080 --> 00:26:02.660 We are here. 00:26:02.759 --> 00:26:04.100 He is at the Father's right hand 00:26:04.100 --> 00:26:05.940 and He is ruling over everything. 00:26:07.220 --> 00:26:09.320 He is no small Christ. 00:26:10.000 --> 00:26:10.620 Remember Harry, 00:26:10.620 --> 00:26:11.940 when he preached at Christmas, 00:26:12.300 --> 00:26:13.480 talked about pity Jesus. 00:26:14.140 --> 00:26:18.140 So easy to diminish Him 00:26:18.140 --> 00:26:19.600 and to think about Him in that way. 00:26:19.820 --> 00:26:21.060 He is no small Christ. 00:26:21.140 --> 00:26:21.900 He is supreme. 00:26:23.280 --> 00:26:24.080 And because of this, 00:26:24.160 --> 00:26:24.620 verse 4, 00:26:24.740 --> 00:26:26.380 finally we see that He is superior. 00:26:27.360 --> 00:26:27.759 Superior. 00:26:28.780 --> 00:26:30.759 Having become as much superior 00:26:30.759 --> 00:26:32.160 to angels as the name 00:26:32.160 --> 00:26:32.980 that He has inherited 00:26:32.980 --> 00:26:35.380 is more excellent than theirs. 00:26:35.580 --> 00:26:37.340 More on this next week. 00:26:37.680 --> 00:26:38.520 No, it won't be next week. 00:26:38.560 --> 00:26:39.460 I'm an exeter next week. 00:26:39.460 --> 00:26:40.440 It'll be the week after, 00:26:40.560 --> 00:26:40.940 Lord willing. 00:26:40.940 --> 00:26:42.799 But part of the author's concern 00:26:42.799 --> 00:26:43.580 here in Hebrews 00:26:43.580 --> 00:26:45.519 was to address 00:26:45.519 --> 00:26:46.600 an unduly high view 00:26:46.600 --> 00:26:47.900 of angels among the hearers. 00:26:48.000 --> 00:26:48.880 But our Lord's name 00:26:48.880 --> 00:26:50.400 is far above all angels, 00:26:50.759 --> 00:26:51.580 all authorities, 00:26:51.799 --> 00:26:53.080 all powers. 00:26:53.779 --> 00:26:55.220 The prophet Isaiah told us 00:26:55.220 --> 00:26:55.759 that His name 00:26:55.759 --> 00:26:57.200 is a most excellent name. 00:26:57.900 --> 00:26:58.940 His name shall be called 00:26:58.940 --> 00:27:00.140 Wonderful Counselor, 00:27:00.360 --> 00:27:01.019 Mighty God, 00:27:01.299 --> 00:27:02.240 Everlasting Father, 00:27:02.620 --> 00:27:03.220 Prince of Peace. 00:27:03.220 --> 00:27:04.460 His name will be praised 00:27:04.460 --> 00:27:05.700 all the way to the ends 00:27:05.700 --> 00:27:06.279 of the earth. 00:27:06.720 --> 00:27:07.720 Because of the increase 00:27:07.720 --> 00:27:09.100 of His government and peace, 00:27:09.240 --> 00:27:11.000 there will be no end. 00:27:11.880 --> 00:27:13.420 His name is Jesus 00:27:13.420 --> 00:27:14.839 because He will sit on the throne 00:27:14.839 --> 00:27:15.700 of His father David 00:27:15.700 --> 00:27:16.799 until the consummation 00:27:16.799 --> 00:27:17.920 of all things. 00:27:18.759 --> 00:27:20.819 And what Isaiah looked forward to, 00:27:21.360 --> 00:27:23.079 we have seen come to pass. 00:27:26.079 --> 00:27:26.799 Can you see? 00:27:26.880 --> 00:27:28.160 It's like our author is saying, 00:27:28.900 --> 00:27:31.220 look, here's the Son. 00:27:31.220 --> 00:27:33.839 And let me tell you about Him. 00:27:34.799 --> 00:27:35.900 This is what He's like. 00:27:36.500 --> 00:27:37.200 And another thing. 00:27:38.100 --> 00:27:39.000 And another thing. 00:27:40.079 --> 00:27:40.819 And by the way, 00:27:41.299 --> 00:27:42.019 another thing. 00:27:42.680 --> 00:27:44.059 So that we go away 00:27:44.059 --> 00:27:46.519 with our minds blown wide open 00:27:46.519 --> 00:27:49.079 at the unparalleled supremacy 00:27:49.079 --> 00:27:50.500 of Christ. 00:27:52.680 --> 00:27:54.120 If you're tempted to think 00:27:54.120 --> 00:27:56.279 Jesus is just not that impressive, 00:27:57.740 --> 00:27:58.660 you can be certain, 00:27:58.839 --> 00:27:59.380 dead certain, 00:27:59.460 --> 00:28:00.519 that you've totally missed Him. 00:28:01.220 --> 00:28:02.960 You've totally misunderstood Him. 00:28:05.120 --> 00:28:06.500 But if you are a Christian, 00:28:07.420 --> 00:28:09.200 I expect most of us are this evening, 00:28:09.759 --> 00:28:10.460 look again. 00:28:11.500 --> 00:28:12.279 Isn't He wonderful? 00:28:15.900 --> 00:28:17.120 Isn't He wonderful? 00:28:19.339 --> 00:28:21.480 Let none of us ever be guilty 00:28:21.480 --> 00:28:23.279 of holding out a diminished 00:28:23.279 --> 00:28:24.279 and unimpressive Christ. 00:28:24.279 --> 00:28:29.899 And remind ourselves again and again 00:28:29.899 --> 00:28:31.399 of the wonder, 00:28:32.539 --> 00:28:33.299 the supremacy, 00:28:34.339 --> 00:28:35.899 the unrivaled greatness 00:28:35.899 --> 00:28:37.079 of the One who is 00:28:37.079 --> 00:28:39.099 our Lord and Savior. 00:28:40.680 --> 00:28:41.899 And if you're a Christian, 00:28:42.039 --> 00:28:42.940 He is yours. 00:28:44.240 --> 00:28:45.559 And you are His. 00:28:45.559 --> 00:28:49.519 So whatever's going on in your life, 00:28:49.639 --> 00:28:50.259 lean in. 00:28:52.139 --> 00:28:53.700 Trust Him when things are tough. 00:28:55.059 --> 00:28:56.500 Trust Him when things are great. 00:28:58.039 --> 00:28:59.259 Trust Him when you're anxious. 00:29:01.079 --> 00:29:03.299 Trust Him when life is just super fine. 00:29:03.299 --> 00:29:03.879 Trust Him. 00:29:03.879 --> 00:29:03.879 00:29:05.419 --> 00:29:06.159 Trust Him. 00:29:06.779 --> 00:29:07.740 Because He's worthy. 00:29:09.379 --> 00:29:10.599 Let's pray together. 00:29:10.599 --> 00:29:40.579 Thank you.