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Final Revelation – Hebrews 1:1-4

The ultimate question of the Epistle to the Hebrews is "why did God have to become man?" The Epistle to the Hebrews answers: first, to reveal himself to men, and second, to atone for the sins of the whole world.

The writer begins by stating that God’s revelation in Christ is final (verse 2). There were many prophets; a person who rejected the message of one prophet could still hear another prophet. But the rejecter of Christ will not get another chance; there will be no one to replace Christ. A good analogy for this section is Jesus’ parable of the unworthy tenants in the vineyard (Matthew 21:33-46).

The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews means by prophets in verse 1 the writers of all the books of the Old Testament and the proclaimers of God's will, about whom the Old Testament tells us, for example, Moses and David are included among the prophets in this context.

We are accustomed to dividing God's revelation into two parts: general and special. General revelation is that which is seen and understood also by non-Christians: creation / nature, conscience, history of nations - especially the history of Israel, etc.

"...what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made."
(Rom 1:19-20)

Special revelation is the Bible, the word of God. This special revelation can only be understood by those who have the Christian faith. The Bible and God's revelation in Christ are only opened to understanding "from within".

The passage mentions eight characteristics of Jesus:

1. He is the revelation of God.
2. He is the Son of God
   (in the Epistle to the Hebrews Jesus is most commonly called "the Son").
3. He is the heir of all things
   (compare Ps 2:7-8, Paul adds here that we are joint heirs with Christ, Rom 8:17).
4. He is the Creator of the world.
5. He is the radiance of God's glory.
6. He is the image of God's very being - literally "the exact imprint of his very being". So if you want to see God, look to Christ!
7. He is the upholder of the universe.
8. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

Christ's sitting at the right hand of God is a sign that his work (the atonement for sins) has been completed (John 19:30). The priests in the temple stood because the sacrifices were never completed.

An indication of the exquisite Greek of the letter is that verses 1-4 are one skillfully composed sentence.

Jesus is greater than the angels – 1:5-14

In the Judaism of Jesus' time, angels were considered very important. They acted as intermediaries between people and God.

Because the author of the Letter to the Hebrews right at the beginning compares Jesus and angels, there may be a widespread perception among the recipients that Jesus is only an intermediary between God and humans, comparable to angels, or at most the highest angel. The author wants to make it clear that Jesus is not created, like the angels, but he is born, the Son of God.

It has been calculated that the Epistle to the Hebrews contains 53 direct quotations from the Old Testament - in addition to numerous indirect references. These verses (Heb. 1:5-14) contain seven quotations, most of them from the Psalms. The quotations are from the Greek Old Testament (=Septuagint, LXX).

Verse 5: Psalm 2:6 and 2 Samuel 7:14
Verse 6: Combination of Deut 32:43 and Psalm 97:7
Verse 7: Psalm 104:4
Verses 8-9: Psalm 45:7-8
Verses 10-12: Psalm 102:26-28
Verse 13: Ps 110:1 (compare Matt 22:41-46) This Psalm was interpreted messianically even before Jesus and became one of the most beloved scriptures of the early Christians).

If we look at the original meaning of these Old Testament passages, we find that they speak of the kings of Israel, Solomon, etc. The fact that the author applies them to Jesus reveals his way of interpreting the Old Testament: it is God's word about the Messiah. This is what the Lutheran Church has done, following the example of the Reformer Martin Luther, up to the present day.

Today, in the name of scientific biblical interpretation, it is often demanded that Old Testament passages should no longer be read from and in reference to Christ, but that we should stick to the original meaning. If we believe - as the Bible declares - that God is the master of all history, then we can think that he has prepared the world for the coming of the Messiah through various examples and exemplary events. Then we do exactly the right thing when we also read the stories of the Old Testament, seeing there are examples / types / symbols of Christ.

"But of the Son he says,
“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever..."
(verse 8)

Verse 8 is the only passage in the entire Epistle to the Hebrews where Jesus is called God (another possible translation of verse 6 also gives the same idea), but we can say that the entire letter starts from the fact that Jesus is nothing less than God himself, even though he is called also by other names.

Why did the early church absolutely hold to the fact that Jesus was not created? The created is always something perishable, temporal, but Jesus is the eternal God. Regarding verse 14, one can say: "Angels serve, but they never save."

“Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”
(verse 13)

From the beginning, Christians have been waiting for Jesus’ return. But at the same time, it has been seen that the delay in his return has a reason: Christ’s enemies must first be defeated.