So we pray for your help in our time together.
We're praying in Jesus' name.
Amen.
So we'll think about the first three verses of this wonderful chapter,
this wonderful book, the book of Hebrews,
thinking about this theme of Jesus being better.
And I think here we will consider that Jesus is better than the prophet who came before.
This theme, Jesus is better, is important to our unnamed author
because the situation he is writing into is one in which there are Christians
who are being tempted back towards Judaism,
towards the old ways of temple and sacrifice and law-keeping in order to earn salvation.
There is pressure and there is opposition that is growing.
And so they're perhaps asking the question, is following Jesus worth it?
There's that temptation to drift back.
And so the author very powerfully through this letter brings this repeated emphasis
that Jesus is better.
Jesus completes all that has come before.
In our little series, we'll probably just look at the first four chapters.
And even in those four chapters, we'll discover Jesus is better than the prophets
and then the angels, then Moses and Joshua, better than the temple,
better than the priests of the Old Testament.
The author wants to make absolutely clear that God has spoken in His Son, Jesus.
Therefore, as the church, they and we ought to pay attention.
That Jesus is the foundation of our faith and we also want to make Jesus that anchor
so that we wouldn't drift away from the truth.
So today, just by looking at these first three verses,
we'll think about Jesus being better than the prophets.
In that sense that Jesus brings a greater revelation of God.
He is a new way of God communicating as He comes in His Son, Jesus.
And we'll also think about the fact that Jesus completes the story
that the prophets told, that the Old Testament told.
It needs resolution in Jesus.
So for the church then and for the church today,
we need to hear and we need to believe in Jesus
in order to have that complete picture of God's story of salvation
in order to belong to God and His kingdom.
And that was a very necessary lesson for them.
And it remains important for us, of course, today.
I mentioned this morning that one of the things I took on my holiday
was a bunch of different mission biographies.
And one of the things I guess that you notice when you go back to,
let's say, the 1800s where I was for the last couple of weeks
is when it came to communications,
there's been quite a lot of improvement, hasn't there?
200 years ago, a letter went by sea, by ships, perhaps by horseback.
It took a long time and not always a reliable means
of communicating with friends and family back home.
But now, if you're a missionary working anywhere in the world,
you have Zoom, you have FaceTime, you have mobile phones,
you have internet.
And we've seen that with our mission partners.
We've been able to communicate with them month by month.
And the point is that when it comes to modes of communication,
in this instance, that the new is better.
And I doubt if any of us would want to go back to snail mail
and getting our post delivered by a horse.
And then perhaps it'd be helpful for us to think about communicating a story.
As we come to the book of Hebrews,
one of the things the author wants to make clear
is that Jesus completes the story of God's mission of salvation.
But think about the stories that we enjoy.
Think about perhaps a TV series or perhaps a series of books,
even a series of films.
Quite often they will use the cliffhanger device.
We will build to a point of tension.
And then perhaps that'll be the end of a book or the end of a show.
And you're left waiting for resolution.
When will the hero arrive?
How will people be saved?
That kind of thing.
And the point of the cliffhanger
is that we always want the story to be resolved.
Perhaps we've had the frustration of a favorite TV show
being canceled in the middle of a series.
And so the story is left unfinished.
It's profoundly disappointing.
Well, the author is saying,
Jesus completes the story of God's salvation.
We cannot miss the coming of the hero.
We cannot leave him to one side.
Jesus is God's final, God's complete word.
There is nothing better than Jesus.
And so our author says to first century Jewish Christians,
don't go back to the old.
And the author would say to us,
let's not leave Jesus behind.
Let's not drift back to those other things
that perhaps we used to trust in
for satisfaction, security, and salvation.
So two points to show Jesus is better than the prophets.
We'll think first of all about how God speaks
because our author compares the old and the new.
In the first couple of verses.
And then we'll concentrate our attention
on who it is that God is speaking through
as we think about Jesus as the full and final revelation.
And the purpose is that we would worship Jesus.
That we would have a confident faith in Jesus as Lord
as we recognize his identity and his mission.
That we would listen and we would stick close to Jesus.
So let's think first of all briefly about how God speaks.
And let's notice how our author compares
the old and the new ways.
Verse one and two.
In the past, God spoke to our forefathers
through the prophets at many times and in various ways.
But in these last days, he has spoken to us by his son.
Now our starting point, and it's a wonderful starting point,
is that we have a God who speaks.
We have a God who makes himself known.
We have in Christianity a faith that is top down.
It's based on God's revelation, not human speculation.
We are reminded even in these opening words
that we don't have a God who is silent and uncaring and distant.
Rather, he speaks and he speaks so that we would know him.
Speaks so that we would know his salvation.
So having seen that we have a God who speaks,
let's look at how the author contrasts
how this speaking God has chosen to communicate.
So he looks at two different eras.
So notice verse one begins in the past.
So we think all the way back to Genesis one.
We discover from the beginning, our God is a speaking God.
He speaks the universe into existence.
But in the past here is really thinking
about the whole Old Testament period.
Before Jesus, that's in the past.
So that was in the past for the church
that our author was writing to.
That's in the past for us too.
Compare that with, but in these last days.
So there was the past and now this new era is the last days.
This is the time in between the first
and the second coming of Jesus.
So this is the era in which we find ourselves in today.
Jesus has come and now we await his return.
So it's a new era.
And then he draws attention to the fact
that there are different recipients in view.
So verse one, in the past,
God spoke to our forefathers, to our ancestors.
Here he's thinking about Old Testament Israel.
So in the past, God spoke to Old Testament Israel.
And we discover that all through the Old Testament.
But in these last days, he has spoken to us.
There he has in view the church that he's writing to.
But by extension, God has spoken to us in the last days,
in our period of time.
And we know, don't we, that there was that period of silence
between the Old Testament and the New Testament, 400 years.
But that silence has been broken, broken decisively
as God sent his son, Jesus,
in that new way to speak his glory, his salvation to his church.
And we are those who receive that message.
Notice too that he draws attention
to the different agents that God spoke through.
So in verse one,
In the past, God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets.
Who were the prophets?
Prophets were God's Old Testament mouthpieces.
The Old Testament prophets were famous for saying,
thus says the Lord.
They received messages from God
that they communicated to the people.
They functioned as middlemen between God and his people.
But now in this new era,
verse two,
But in these last days,
he has spoken to us not by prophets,
but by his son,
the great prophet.
There is no middleman as God speaks
in this decisive new way.
And when we remember how Jesus spoke,
Jesus didn't say,
thus says the Lord.
Jesus would say,
truly, truly, I say to you.
Jesus spoke with the authority of God
as God the son.
And then in these two different eras,
there were different ways in which God communicated.
In the past,
God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets
at many times and in various ways.
So throughout Old Testament history,
we discover God revealing himself
and speaking to the prophets.
A variety of ways.
The burning bush.
God appearing in visions and dreams.
God speaking audibly.
But now,
in these last days,
he has chosen one decisive way.
He has chosen to speak to us
by his son.
So the whole of Jesus coming
is God speaking.
Here is God in the flesh.
Here is Jesus preaching the truth of God
with the authority of God
as the son of God.
And then we think about Jesus on his mission.
And that mission reveals the salvation of God
as he comes to die in the place of sinners
that all who believe in him would have eternal life.
And in all of those ways,
God is speaking to us about himself
through Jesus, his son.
So the author begins very clearly
by saying Jesus is better.
This new way of God speaking
is better than the old.
Not that the old was unreliable.
It's just God is speaking in a new way.
In our modern world,
I guess we are intrigued
and fascinated in many ways
by what is new
and by what is novel.
And we can discuss,
and maybe you have been in discussions,
but is the new always better?
Well, when it comes to God speaking,
there's no debate in this argument.
It is better that God has spoken
through his son Jesus.
Now, what does this mean for a church?
What does this mean for us?
Well, it certainly has implications
for how we read God's story, doesn't it?
The Bible is deliberately Jesus-centered.
And Jesus himself invites us
to read it this way.
After his resurrection,
as he spoke to his disciples
on the Emmaus Road,
he began with Moses and the prophets,
and he explained that the whole Old Testament
was pointing forward to him.
So when we read the Bible at home,
or when we read the Bible
and teach it in church,
we are looking to see
how this passage of the Old Testament
connects us to the Lord Jesus,
his person and his work.
So we understand that we don't want
to throw the Old Testament to one side.
And in fact, the whole book of Hebrews
draws repeatedly from the Old Testament.
We recognize that it is true,
it's reliable, it's inspired,
but it's incomplete until Jesus comes.
So that shapes how we read God's story
as the people of God.
It also, I think, reminds us, doesn't it,
of our privilege and our responsibility.
The prophets who are being compared here,
they longed for what we now enjoy.
And we discover them eagerly
wondering who this promised Christ would be,
who this suffering servant Messiah would be.
We know.
We've been given that privilege
on this side of the cross.
We have heard God speak of his love
in a new way in the sending of Jesus.
That's our great privilege as the church.
But that brings with it, doesn't it,
a new responsibility.
To respond to that word
and to respond with urgency,
to respond with faith and obedience.
One of the implications,
as the author of Hebrews will bring out,
is that we are not to drift away,
not to become complacent,
not become tired of our faith
and to move on to something else.
Rather, we are to enjoy it ourselves.
And as we come to taste and see
that God and God's son Jesus are good,
that we are then responsible
for sharing that gift as the church,
we are to be about mission.
And in that light,
one of the other things that we recognize,
as we look at the world around us,
we think about the society we live in,
we recognize that Jesus is the answer
to the spiritual search
that so many people are on today.
People who have decided the church
has nothing to say to them,
no interest in picking up the book,
but they're still deeply spiritual,
still looking to connect with the divine,
whatever that might mean,
still wanting to hear from God.
Spirituality is a multi-billion pound industry.
People are still searching,
still want to hear from God.
Perhaps we have friends like this,
seeking meaning, seeking connection,
trying different pursuits and practices
in order to try and find that higher meaning.
In Jesus and in God's Word,
we have the answer
to the deep longing of every human heart.
Because what we have is a God
who in love speaks
and speaks in the sending of His Son, Jesus.
And Jesus invites us in.
That we can hear God in His Word.
So right from the beginning,
there is a big point
that our author wants to make clear.
And it's simply that He is the speaking God
who wants to speak to His church,
to His world,
and He does that by sending His Son, Jesus.
Therefore,
as a church,
as an individual,
we want to be people who listen.
We think about every effort at communication,
every part of technology involved in communications.
There is a responsibility on our part
to pick up and to respond.
And God is speaking
so that we would respond to Him,
that we would be drawn in.
So Jesus is better,
that this new way of speaking
is better than the old.
Let's think too about the reality
of who God speaks through.
Because this is where the author chooses to focus
from the second half of verse 2 into verse 3,
to recognize Jesus as the full and final revelation from God.
See, it seems like the author knows
that the church,
the Christians that he's writing to,
and indeed every church in every generation,
will face opposition
and will then have that temptation,
the temptation to going back,
to departing from Jesus and His truth,
to drifting away from faith.
Our temptations won't be the same
as a first century Jewish Christian.
Perhaps we will be tempted
to place our sense of salvation and security
in our bank balance
or in our status, in our job.
Perhaps we're looking to a relationship,
imagining that that's the one thing
that we really, really need.
And we can easily displace Jesus
from the throne of our hearts,
just as they were tempted to.
Well, the author knows their thinking,
and his response is, you know,
one and a half verses
of incredibly rich theology.
He gives them seven ways
to confirm in their hearts,
in their minds,
that Jesus is better.
He doesn't just want to say
Jesus is better than the old.
He wants to persuade.
He wants to give evidence
so that God's people would continue
to persevere in faith,
to recognize Jesus
as that full and final revelation.
So we're going to really just blast
through these seven ideas.
But let me encourage you this week
to read them again,
to think through them,
to pray over them,
to think how they connect
with the Old Testament,
that it'll be clear in our minds
that it will lead us to worship Jesus,
to recognize just how great He is.
So to help us,
let's group this into three categories
to show also how Jesus fulfills
the big story of the Old Testament.
We'll think about the three roles of Jesus
as king, as prophet, and as priest.
So let's remind ourselves
from God's Word of Jesus, our King.
So look with me at verse 2.
Having said in these last days,
He has spoken to us by His Son.
Our author then goes on to say,
whom He appointed heir of all things.
Who is Jesus?
He is the heir of creation.
Brings us back to Psalm 2 this morning.
God's King has been installed.
This King has the right to rule
and to judge the nations
that this creation belongs to the Father
and the Son is the heir of it all.
And so we should listen
and we should honor
and we should obey.
Continuing in verse 2,
this Son is the one
through whom God made the universe.
The Father is the source of creation.
Jesus, the Son,
is the agent of creation.
Some of us, I know,
are good at making things,
good at crafting things.
Boys and girls,
perhaps that's something that you enjoy,
you have enjoyed.
It's amazing to just stop and reflect,
even for a moment,
on the fact that Jesus can look out
over the whole universe
and He can say,
I made that.
The pride that we take
in our DIY projects,
Jesus made the solar system.
And then in verse 3,
King Jesus, we're told,
sustains all things
by His powerful words.
Not only does He make them
as the agent of creation,
He sustains all things.
We don't have time,
but it'd be worth looking at Psalm 104,
which tells us that growth
and life and seasons,
they're all managed
by the word of the King.
King Jesus creates,
King Jesus sustains all life.
God has spoken by His Son,
His chosen King,
and Jesus is ruling today.
Therefore, what's the implication?
We're being invited again
to trust Him.
Think about the folks
that are getting written to here.
They were facing trouble,
persecution.
They were anxious.
They're being called back
to trust God
in life and in death,
to trust in King Jesus.
When we think about our church,
when we think about the church,
perhaps we can be anxious.
Perhaps we can feel
so weak and powerless.
We wonder what's going to happen.
We're invited to trust King Jesus.
He's building His church.
The gates of hell
will not prevail against it.
We're being invited
to trust the word of this King.
We're invited to faith and obedience
because He is God's chosen King.
To trust His word,
to trust His promises.
Jesus is not one of those
who promises the moon
but fails to deliver.
Jesus doesn't make promises
and then forget all about them.
No, our King can be trusted.
And so our author here
is saying to us,
don't drift.
Keep trusting.
Don't give in to doubt.
Don't give in to fear.
Rather, honor Jesus as King.
And then let's think next
about Jesus as prophet.
A couple of things here
in verse 3.
We begin there.
The sun is the radiance
of God's glory.
So if you remember back
to Exodus 34,
we were reading there
of Moses face to face
in the presence of God
and after being in God's presence,
his face was shining.
It was radiant.
But we need to understand
and Moses understood
that that was a reflected glory.
That wasn't a glory
from Moses himself.
It was a reflected glory
and it was a fading glory.
He put the veil on
because he knew
that that glory would fade.
But by contrast,
Jesus, God's great,
true, final prophet,
he shines with the glory of God.
That's not reflected.
That belongs to him.
We can think of
the Mount of Transfiguration.
Jesus takes James, Peter, and John
up a mountain
and there he's transfigured.
There he shines with brightness
and with glory.
And remember,
who else is there?
Moses is there.
But Moses is not shining with glory.
Jesus is.
Jesus is better.
Jesus is the radiance of God's glory.
Then continuing in verse 3,
he is also the exact representation
of his being.
We might like to think of
a stamp
where the imprint
is a perfect match.
What our author is saying
is that Jesus looks
exactly like God the Father.
We want to know
what God is like.
We can look to Jesus.
Jesus said that.
John 14,
verse 9,
He who has seen me
has seen the Father.
He who has heard Jesus
has heard the Father.
Our Westminster
shorter catechism
is helpful on this.
Thinking about
how does Christ
execute the office
of a prophet?
It says there,
Catechism 24,
for those of you
who have good memories,
Christ executes
the office
of a prophet
in revealing to us
by his word
and spirit
the will of God
for our salvation.
That's the message
of the prophet Jesus.
Here is this announcement
from heaven
of a God of love,
of a God
who has graciously
provided a way
to be saved.
From our sin,
from our guilt,
from our fear of death,
Jesus takes our sin,
our guilt,
he dies in our place
so that by faith
we can know salvation
and we can receive
eternal life.
John Calvin on this verse
says that God has
in Christ
stamped for us
the likeness
to which he would
have us conform.
Jesus is the one
perfect human being.
He is the true
image of God.
We are made
in the image of God
as people
because of sin
that image
has been defaced.
Jesus is the perfect
image of God
and God is at work
in us
in order to make us
little by little bit
by bit more
like Jesus
with the promise
that when we are
with him in glory
we will be made
like him
and we will see him
as he is.
So to be most
ourselves
as people
and to live out
our true identity
as people
is to live
like Jesus.
What does that look like?
It looks like worship.
Worshipping
God the Father.
It looks like
enjoying
God's glory
above all else.
It looks like
hating
sin,
dying
to self,
pursuing
God's will
in
our lives.
Jesus
speaks
of God's
salvation
and Jesus
speaks of
how God
would have
us to live
and God
is conforming
us to that image
when our faith
is in Jesus.
We're given
the Spirit
and the Spirit
is at work
in us
to sanctify us.
And let's think
about Jesus
as our
priest.
half way
through
verse
three
we read
after he
had provided
purification
for sins
he sat
down
at the
right hand
of the
majesty
in heaven.
Jesus
our great
priest
has provided
purification
purity.
This is
day of
atonement
language.
You can
read about
the day
of
atonement
in
Leviticus
16.
That great
ceremony
where there
was the
burnt
offering
that was
sacrificed
the scapegoat
that was
said to
carry the
sins
of God's
people
into the
wilderness
and the
outcome
of that
verse 30
of Leviticus
16 tells
us
on this
day
this day
of atonement
on this
day
atonement
will be
made
for you
to
cleanse
you
then
before
the
Lord
you
will
be
clean
from
your
sin
so
the
point
of
the
day
of
atonement
is
cleanness
before
God
by having
sins
dealt
with
but see
the thing
is
that day
of
atonement
was an
annual
ceremony
for the
people
of God
because
those
animal
sacrifices
could
never
fully
deal
with
sin
Jesus
comes
as a
better
priest
and
then
he
offers
the
better
sacrifice
not
animal
sacrifice
needing
to be
repeated
rather
he
gives
himself
as that
perfect
once for
all
sacrifice
at the
cross
where
full
and final
forgiveness
is
purchased
where
God's
people
are
made
clean
and
then
we're
told
having
provided
purification
he sat
down
the
point
is
the
work
is
done
his
work
is
completed
that
sacrifice
has
been
accepted
forgiveness
is
ours
by
faith
in
Jesus
access
to
God
is
ours
by
faith
in
Jesus
and
now
Jesus
has
the
place
of
honor
and
glory
as
king
sitting
at the
right
hand
of the
majesty
in
heaven
seven
ways
our
author
says
Jesus
is
better
than
the
old
seven
ways
in
which
our
author
wants
to
say
to
us
don't
be
tempted
by
anything
less
than
Jesus
so
that
we
might
not
lose
sight
of
our
good
our
salvation
is
that
we
would
see
again
the
beauty
of
the
gospel
when
we
think
about
it
and
Davy
was
talking
about
it
this
morning
we
as
people
naturally
choose
to
rebel
against
God
our
king
we
spark
revolution
in
our
sin
our
desire
to
rule
and to
decide
for
ourselves
how
our
life
is
going
to
go
we
are
those
who
by
nature
reject
God's
word
the
prophets
that would
speak to us
we would
naturally
choose to
reject
we don't
listen to
to
God's
voice
and
God's
authority
and yet
how does
God
respond
he responds
in sending
Jesus
who comes
as our
great
high priest
who dies
to wash
us clean
us rebel
sinners
who
disregard
his
word
he comes
to
overcome
our
sin
to
speak
that
word
of
grace
and
love
to
our
hearts
so as we
look at the
gospel
we understand
Jesus is
better
Mike
Kruger
who's
written a
really
helpful
little
book
on
Hebrews
says
we have
the
honor
and
privilege
of living
in the
age of
Christ
through
whom
God
has
fully
and
finally
spoken
and
because
that's
true
we are
urged
not to
drift
away
not to
go back
not to
look
elsewhere
but rather
to pay
attention
as God
speaks
through
Jesus
his
son
let's
take a
moment
to
pray
together
Lord
our
God
and we
thank
you
for the
rich
truth
that we
find
throughout
your
word
we thank
you
for
this
part
of
Hebrews
and this
reminder
of how
wonderful
Jesus
is
that
reminder
that he
shines
with the
glory
of God
that he
speaks
with the
authority
of God
he has
come
on a
saving
mission
from
God
that he
is
our
true
prophet
priest
and king
and may
you help
each one
of us
whether we're
here in
the building
whether we're
listening
online
may you
help us
to hold
on to
Jesus
to come
to him
in faith
not to
turn away
to think
the old
is better
not to
think there
is some
greater
source of
satisfaction
not to
give up
on Jesus
when we
face
persecution
or opposition
or suffering
Lord may
you keep
our eyes
fixed
on Jesus
our great
saviour
so that we
might
praise him
and live
for him
we ask
it in
Jesus name
Amen
Now we'll
close our
time
hearing
the hymn
that we
heard
a few
weeks ago
Forever
Jesus
My hymn
of praise
shall be
forever
Jesus
my firm
foundation
in shifting
sands
my strength
and hope
through many
fears and
failures
the
disappointments
of the
past
His
constant
love
has
held
me
fast
So
for all
my
days
I will
sing
my
praise
to the
King
Forever
Jesus
Though
the storms
may rage
He is
strong
to save
He's
the King
Forever
Jesus
My
song
of joy
shall be
forever
Jesus
who bore
the suffering
who made
way
His life
a gift
His
death
the precious
ransom
that
wipes
the
sinner's
guilt
away
and
turns
our
night
to
glorious
days
So
for all
my
days
I will
sing
my
praise
to the
King
Forever
Jesus
Though
the storms
may rage
He is
strong
to save
He's
the King
Forever
Jesus
My
final
prayer
shall be
forever
Jesus
when shadows
lengthen
before
my eyes
My
Lord
and
friend
companion
through
the valley
where
dearest
ones
are
left
behind
His
hand
will
lead
me
to
the
light
So
for all
my
days
I
will
sing
my
praise
to
the
King
Forever
Jesus
Though
the storms
may
rage
He is
strong
to
save
He's
the
King
Forever
Jesus
When I
meet
His
gaze
I
will
sing
my
praise
to
the
King
Forever
Jesus
All
my
sorrows
past
I
am
home
at
last
with
my
King
Forever
Jesus
With
my
King
Forever
Jesus
With
my
King
Forever
Jesus
We
stand
together
for our
closing
prayer
You
can use
Revelation
5
verses
12
and 13
praying
that this
song of
the angels
and every
creature in
heaven
and on
earth at
the end
of time
would be
the song
of our
hearts
as well
worthy
is the
lamb who
was slain
to receive
power
and wealth
and wisdom
and strength
and honour
and glory
and praise
to him
who sits
on the
throne
and to
the
lamb
be praise
and honour
and glory
and power
forever
and ever
Amen
and
all