Jesus Son of God – Seek Grow Love

Hello all! Today we will be covering the first chapter of Hebrews. One of the main purposes of Hebrews was to reassure the Jewish Christians that Jesus is necessary. We see this purpose played out in chapter one, as the author describes the importance and glory of Jesus in chapter one.

To start off the book and chapter, the author compares Jesus to the prophets of the Old Testament. The Jews loved and adored the prophets of the Old Testament, and they viewed their words very sacredly. Therefore, it makes total sense that the author would begin by comparing Jesus to the same prophets that the Jews love. Not only does he compare Jesus to the prophets, but he raises Jesus above the prophets by saying he was “appointed the heir of all things.” The prophets are crucial to both us and the Jews, but Jesus is even more important. Jesus is described as being the “radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature.” That’s some pretty high praise. This should begin to reassure the Jewish Christians of the importance and necessity of Jesus Christ.

The author not only compares and raises Jesus above the prophets, but he compares Jesus to the angels as well. In verse 5, the author rhetorically asks “For to which of the angels did God ever say, ‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you’?” The answer to that question is none of them. No angel is God’s son. This verse is detrimental to the Jehovah’s Witnesses because they hold the belief that Jesus is the archangel Michael. We know though that Jesus is the Son of God. Therefore, sorry Jehovah’s Witnesses, but no angel, including the archangel Michael, is God’s son.

We continue along in the chapter, and verse eight reads, “But of the Son he says, ‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.” Hold up. Wait a minute. Put a little SAY WHAT?! The Church of God is so strong on the doctrine that God is one, and Jesus is the Son of God, not God the Son. Do we have it wrong though? Upon first look, it appears Jesus is God. Let’s take a deeper look at this then.

First off first, this is quoted from Psalm 45. Psalm 45 is about a king, not God. This isn’t trying to dictate any sign of deity, rather a sign of authority. For surely the Psalm writer of Psalm 45 wasn’t trying to give the king any form of deity. Furthermore, verse nine states, “therefore God, your God, has anointed you.” First, God doesn’t need anointed. If Jesus were God, then he wouldn’t need to be anointed. Second, the king in Psalm 45 that has the word “God” ascribed to him has a God. God can’t have a God. There is no higher being than God. Jesus can’t be God and have a God. Therefore, we can read verses eight and nine, as attributing authority to Jesus, not Jesus actually being God.

Another tidbit to point out, the ESV uses the phrase, “But of the Son he says,” in verse eight. However, a more accurate interpretation of the Greek reads, “with respect to the Son.” This is important in verses 10-12, as those verses aren’t talking about Jesus. It is in respect to the Son, Jesus. Verses 10-12 talk about the magnificence of YHWH. The author of Hebrews does this because in verse thirteen, he quotes Psalm 110:1 (the most quoted Old Testament scripture in the New Testament). By glorifying God in verses 10-12, the author is also glorifying Jesus because Jesus has the sole privilege of sitting at God’s right hand. Jesus is sitting at the right hand of the Creator of the heavens and the earth! That’s a huge privilege to have, and that privilege is held by Jesus and Jesus alone.

The final verse of Hebrews chapter one is quite possibly my favorite. It reads, “Are they (the angels) not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?” The angels are sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation. Uh, hello! That’s us! We are the ones who are to inherit salvation. The angels are sent out to minister to you! Isn’t that awesome?!

The author of Hebrews reassured the Jewish Christians of the importance of Jesus. The author also encouraged them by stating the angels are sent to minister to them! Again, I hope this passage can impact you in the same manner that it would have for the Jewish Christians, “for the word of God is living and active,” (Just a teaser for Thursday’s reading).

In Christian love,

Kyle McClain

Fun fact of the day: the first four verses of Hebrews is one long sentence in Greek. Wow!

(originally posted for SeekGrowLove on February 5, 2018)

Reflection Questions

How many times is the Old Testament quoted in Hebrews 1? What does this tell you about the writer and his purpose?
The writer calls Jesus an exact representation of God. Is a representation ever the same thing as what it is representing?
How would you describe how Jesus is presented in Hebrews 1? What position does he have? Who gave it to him?
Do you honor Jesus enough? What more can you do?

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Preparing Your Heart: Acceptance

*Theme Week – Jesus: Mark 15

Old Testament Reading: Joshua 5 & 6

Psalms Reading: Psalm 97

Jesus is dead and sealed in a tomb. And Barabbas is free.

Can you imagine waking up on the day after you were to die a deservedly horrific and public death? Waking up free? The sun is shining. Birds sing. Life continues around you. You should be dead, but you’re not.

Mark’s account of our Messiah’s death here mentions the centurion standing guard over Jesus. This Roman witnesses something he probably didn’t know much about. Even those raised with the prophecies of the savior didn’t comprehend what was happening. But this Roman soldier sees all that happened during Jesus’ death and he says, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”

I wonder what he did with that information. I wonder what you will do with it.

Upon Jesus’ death, the heavy curtain separating God’s presence from the rest of the world was torn in two. You are no longer separated from our heavenly father. Christ is now your way to Him. And Christ was the only sacrifice significant enough to truly allow salvation.

It’s Saturday. Barabbas is guilty but free. The centurion is ignorant of God’s plan but knows exactly who Jesus is. And Jesus is innocent but dead.

Where are you this day? The way to God is now open. You are free. You know who Jesus Christ is. And better still, you know what happens next. So what will you do with this information?

Take some time with me today to prepare yourself by opening your heart and accepting the gift that has been given. Ask yourself:

How am I like Barrabas? I’m living today, and can be free from my sin, but am I behaving like someone who has been given another chance?

How can I better know Jesus Christ, the Son of God? Am I spending enough time in Scripture?

My way to God is clear, but am I seeking Him? How can I do a better job of recognizing God and acknowledging Him in everything?

Have I truly accepted the gift of salvation? And am I showing that in my words and actions and choices?

My prayer for us today is that we recognize Jesus’ crucifixion for what it was: a sacrifice that was made so that we can live free of sin, so that we could be reunited again with our God. Reflect on this today, and accept the gift that has been given. He’s in the tomb and we are not. Today we remember the sacrifice. Tomorrow we celebrate!

Jenn Haynes

(Editor’s Note: Jenn has done a great job this week preparing us for a celebration of the Resurrection! If you haven’t yet had a chance to attend or view a Good Friday service of reflection you might also find benefit in that. Here is a link to one that 3 churches in northern Indiana did last night which was set up as a memorial Celebration of Life service after the death of Jesus.)

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Do you Know the Son of the Vineyard Owner?

Theme Week: 1 God, 1 Messiah – Mark 12

Old Testament Reading: Deuteronomy 5 & 6

Psalms Reading: Psalm 79

In Mark 12 Jesus hinted at his identity as God’s son, starting in the parable of the tenants. For a listener to have recognized Jesus in the parable may have depended on recognizing the tenants as his opponents, the current leaders of the nation – but they recognized themselves in the parable. The parable is quite different from how Nehemiah 9 presented the history of the nation. The whole of the land is pictured as a vineyard, carefully prepared by God. The emphasis is on the great lengths God went to in His mercy despite the repeated failings of the tenants. Jesus’ parable focuses on the last stage of the story, the current leadership which betrayed the trust they had been given. No parable conveys the real life situation exactly, and the image in the parable of the tenants seeking to take the inheritance for themselves by killing the heir cannot be precise – the leaders were not going to acknowledge Jesus’ identity. But they did arrange his death out of a mix of reasons that included avoiding having their positions disrupted.

Jesus hinted at his identity again when he discussed Psalm 110:1, the Old Testament verse most often quoted in the New Testament. In the Hebrew the phrase “the Lord said to my Lord” uses God’s name (as revealed to Moses) and sets up a conversation between God and someone David (the psalmist) calls “my Lord”. Jesus asks the reasonable question why, since it was understood that the “Lord” in this text was David’s own descendant, that David would write of his descendant as his own “Lord”. The crowd may only have seen this as an interesting puzzle, but we can recognize he was showing that one of the sons of David was going to be something more significant than that one role could involve.

In various ways Jesus came “at the right time”, fulfilling prophecies and meeting needs, including by arriving when he would be rejected. If he was not rejected, the plan could not go forward as God intended. Yet Jesus was recognizable, in a number of ways. Even in this chapter he showed his insight more than once. He showed it when he declared that holding to the one God above all, and loving your neighbor, are the height of wisdom. Anyone who set out to follow those commands would see in Jesus a fellow servant of God. But those who valued something else were still able to turn against him.

The fact that idolatry was no longer accepted in Jewish society did not make the nation righteous, and it did not mean that the people all gained a clear grasp of God. “Idolater” may once have seemed like a good shorthand for describing a sinful character. Why, after all, would someone who did not wish to serve God choose to worship at His altar, when there were so many options to choose from? But with idolatry uncommon the “sinners” mingled with the “purer” of the flock. And sinners wished to masquerade as righteous. Some perhaps even tried to fool themselves. As Jeremiah once said, “the heart is more deceitful than all else” (17:9, NASB); God can understand all human hearts, but we can have difficulty understanding even our own. The sort of person who in the past might have knelt at a family idol of silver, while mocking his neighbor’s wooden idol, could easily fit in with some niches of Israel’s new religious elite. The scene described at the end of the chapter, with the wealthy dropping off tiny portions of their riches to great acclaim while a poor widow gave all she had, screams that the system needed reform. Yes, the donations might achieve some purpose in terms of charity or service work. But it seems like a system with fewer risks for the givers could be developed.

Lord, thank you for giving your son for me. Allow me to grow in love for you each day, and to grow in my understanding of love so that I can share it with others as well. You are a great God, and greatly to be praised. Your son, who allowed himself to die for me, is a remarkably trusting and loving man and I want to grow in my ability to be like him. Thank you, Lord. In Jesus’ name, amen.

-Daniel Smead

Reflection Questions:

What do you think are some things that God wants people to understand about Him?
Having created your list from the first question, based on whatever standards, now try to think about what practical benefits might exist for people to know those things. There may be cases where you trust God wants a thing known, because of scripture for example, but you aren’t actually sure why.
What are characteristics you think are true of both God and His son, and what are some characteristics that are different between them? How about characteristics that are specific to only Jesus, and no one else?

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Just Like Dad, but Not Dad

Old Testament Reading: Genesis 13 & 14

Psalm Reading: Psalm 9

New Testament Reading: Matthew 8

Don’t you love seeing pictures of two family generations where the younger looks just like the senior? The family resemblance can’t be mistaken. As I was reading of Jesus calmly calming the storm I was thinking – I have seen this before. The masterful control exercised over the wind and water. It’s been done before. There is a family resemblance there that can’t be mistaken. Sure enough – in the account of Noah and the great flood found in Genesis 7 & 8 (which you may have just read last week), it is recorded that the LORD God controlled the springs of the deep, the floodgates of heaven and the winds. Perhaps the astonished disciples weren’t thinking of the ancient time of Noah, but they were asking, “What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?” (Matthew 8:27 NASB).

Interestingly, in the very next passage it is revealed who Jesus is – by the demons. It appears the spiritual world has a pretty clear picture of who Jesus is, as well as what fate awaits them in the future at Jesus’ hand. Even back in Matthew 4 in the wilderness the tempter/devil twice began tempting Jesus by saying, “If you are the Son of God…”. And now here in Matthew 7 the demons recognize the family resemblance and see Jesus as the Son of God. That is an amazing title and honor and job to be the Son of the Most High God Almighty.

But being the Son of God is not the same as being God. Just as you are the son or daughter of your dad and mom, but you are not your dad or mom. There are still many differences. Here is a partial list of some of those differences…

God can not die – but Jesus did.

God knows everything (including when Christ will return) – Jesus didn’t. (Mark 13:32)

Jesus increased in wisdom – God already had it all.

Jesus was God’s servant and he knew God was greater than himself.

Jesus didn’t do his own will, he did God’s – they have different wills.

Jesus had a God.

Jesus prayed to His God, and called Him Father.

Jesus cannot be a mediator between man and God if he was in fact God.

Jesus is now at God’s right hand.

They will rule at different times.

As we spend the year asking God to reveal Himself to us in His Scripture, we get the added supreme joy of finding Jesus in the process. As we read of Jesus’ love and compassion, power, judgment, forgiveness and mercy – we are reminded of his dad. There is an unmistakable family resemblance. There is often much you can learn about a parent by watching a child (even a child all grown up). Also, there is much you can learn about a gift-giver by seeing the gift they have given. As we read through the Bible seeking God may we recognize Him as the Father and God of his Son Jesus and as the ultimate gift-giver who gave His Son to His broken creation, knowing full well they would break his gift as well – for a time.

As I am journaling what God is revealing to me about Himself in Scripture this year, I am also writing in notes about His gift, His Son – clearly labeling those lines with an underlined “Jesus”. In my Bible margins I am using an asterisk to remind me where I found something of God’s character (sometimes with a note to explain at the bottom of the page). I am also using a cursive capital J in the margin marking the passages where I learn more about Jesus, the unique Son of God. I pray this will be a year of great revelation as I seek Him and His Son. I pray this for you as well.

-Marcia Railton