Jesus Christ fulfilled every aspect of Old Testament Law to be a complete savior. In the early church, some Christians from a Judean background did not fully understand this. So, the Epistle to Judean Christians was written to show from many Old Testament truths how Christ is God’s better and more fully completed solution than the Law of Moses.
This is the second in a five-part series that will reveal truths from this Epistle to the Hebrews. Scriptures are from The New Testament in Modern English by J. B. Phillips unless otherwise noted. The series includes:
(Part 1) Background and Structure
(Part 2) Chapters 1-4: The Son Brings Rest
(Part 3) Chapters 5-8: The High Priest Brings a New Testament
(Part 4) Chapters 9-11: The Perfect Sacrifice Brings Faith
(Part 5) Chapters 12,13: The Seated Lord Brings Hope in Life
Part 2 is given the Title: “The Son Brings Rest” because it shows that Jesus Christ as God’s Son is greater than angelic messengers or mediators. He brings the true spiritual rest that God intended, similar to the rest in a promised land that Moses and the Israelites did not attain.
Note that this section of Hebrews includes the first half of the epistle’s structure (without the central section).
Structure of Hebrews Chapter 1-4
A.) 1:1-3 – God’s communication to the “fathers” at past times in the prophets; God’s communication to us now in His Son; God gave all dominion to His Son, who is now seated at God’s right hand
B.) 1:4—2:18 – Christ’s status: The son is greater than angelic messengers, yet inferior to them as a man who suffered for all men
C.) 3:1-3 – We should think on Jesus Christ—the Apostle and High Priest, who has greater honor than Moses
D.) 3:4—4:13 – We trust in Christ more than in Moses; some Israelites in the Old Testament had no rest because of their unbelief and disobedience; today we have rest in Christ
E.) 4:14-15 – Hold our Profession of Faith; seeking grace and mercy
God’s Communication through His Risen Son
Hebrews 1:1-3:
God, who gave our forefathers many different glimpses of the truth in the words of the prophets, has now, at the end of the present age, given us the truth in the Son. Through the Son God made the whole universe, and to the Son he has ordained that all creation shall ultimately belong. This Son, radiance of the glory of God, flawless expression of the nature of God, himself the upholding principle of all that is, effected in person the reconciliation between God and man and then took his seat at the right hand of the majesty on high.
The translation “Through the Son God made the whole universe” can be confusing, in that it could imply Jesus was in the beginning with God the Creator. Scripture shows that Jesus came into existence physically at his conception in Mary. God had promised to send a Messiah since Genesis 3:15, and that promise was “made flesh” in Christ (John 1:14).
For more details on this subject see the blog entitled “Was Jesus in the Beginning?”
The Greek text gives insight into how scriptural scope about Jesus Christ’s beginning lines up beautifully with the internal structure of God’s revelation in this epistle. Note the following structure and the Greek words used in verses 1 and 2.
Πολυμερῶς καὶ πολυτρόπως πάλαι ὁ Θεὸς λαλήσας τοῖς πατράσιν ἐν τοῖς προφήταις,
ἐπ᾿ ἐσχάτου τῶν ἡμερῶν τούτων ἐλάλησεν ἡμῖν ἐν υἱῷ, ὃν ἔθηκε κληρονόμον πάντων, δι᾿ οὗ καὶ τοὺς αἰῶνας ἐποίησεν·
Literally, this reads:
In many portions and in many ways in ancient times, God spoke to the fathers in the prophets,
Upon these last days He has spoken to us in the Son, whom He set as heir of all, through whom also the ages were made.
There are two simple statements here: “God spoke to the fathers in the prophets.” “He has spoken to us in the Son.” When did these things happen? The fathers (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and believing Israelites) heard in ancient times, while “we” (those people at the time the epistle was written, shortly after Christ’s earthly life) have heard upon these last (or recent) days. How did God speak in the prophets? In many portions and in many ways. How did God speak in His Son? As heir of all and the ages being made to support what the Messiah would be and do.
Ephesians 1:10:
That everything that exists in Heaven or earth shall find its perfection [anakephalaiomai] and fulfilment in him.
This Greek word comes from ana (up) and kephalos (head). All things will one day be “headed up” with Jesus Christ as Lord of all. That is how God “made the ages” through what His Son would accomplish for all mankind.
Ephesians 3:9:
And to make plain to all men the meaning of that secret which he who created everything in Christ has kept hidden from the creation until now.
This is either a scribal error or a deliberate forgery. The phrase “who created everything in Christ” is in none of the Greek texts. This is similar to a misunderstanding in Colossians 1:15-18. There Christ is shown to be the preeminent one as Lord of all. Yet he was not in the beginning with the Father. Please see “Was Jesus in the Beginning?” for further details.
Christ’s Status: The Son Is Greater than Angelic Messengers
Jesus, as God’s rightful heir, has greater authority than angels. Many Old Testament scriptures, especially from the Book of Psalms, are quoted to prove this. Remember that Jesus was the “son of David,” and his ancestor wrote many of these Psalms regarding the Messiah. For more details see the publication The Psalms: Background and Structure with Key Scriptures Explained.
Hebrews 1:4-14:
Thus proving himself, by the more glorious name that he has won, far greater than all the angels of God. For to which of the angels did he ever say such words as these: ‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you?’ Or, again ‘I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?’ Further, when he brings his first-born into this world of men, he says: ‘Let all the angels of God worship him’ This is what he says of the angels: ‘Who makes his angels spirits and his ministers a flame of fire’ But when he speaks of the Son, he says: ‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness more than your companions’. He also says: ‘You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands; they will perish, but you remain; and they will all grow old like a garment; like a cloak you will fold them up, and they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will not fail’. But does he ever say this of any of the angels: ‘Sit at my right hand, till I make your enemies your footstool?’ Surely the angels are no more than spirits in the service of God, commissioned to serve the heirs of God’s salvation.
Here is an overview of these Old Testament quotations in Hebrews 1, using the King James Version. [The Greek text takes all Old Testament quotes directly from the Greek Septuagint.]
Verses 1,2
God has spoken in these last times by way of His Son, Jesus Christ.
Verses 3,4
As the Messiah at God’s right hand, Jesus Christ has more authority (a greater name) than any angel.
The following Old Testament quotations in Hebrews 1 prove this:
Verse 5
Psalms 2:7: “I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.” Jesus Christ is a person, God’s own Son, not a spirit being like an angel.
II Samuel 7:14: “I will be his father, and he shall be my son.” God would literally be the Messiah’s Father.
Verse 6
Deuteronomy 32:43: “let all the angels of God worship him.” The Messiah is second in authority under God, therefore angels give him that honor.
Verse 7
Psalms 104:4: “Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire.” Angels are spirit beings who minister for God.
Verses 8,9
Psalms 45:6,7: “Thy throne, O God [Elohim], is for ever and ever… therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.” The Messiah’s throne is forever. His God has anointed him as the Messiah. This refers to the Messiah as “O God.” This use of the Hebrew word Elohim referring to men is found in other Old Testament records. Moses is called by this title in Exodus 7:1: “And the Lord said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god [Elohim] to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.” It refers to judges of Israel in Exodus 22:28: “Thou shalt not revile the gods [Elohim], nor curse the ruler of thy people.” In John 10:34, “Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?” He was quoting Psalms 82:6, which says: “I have said, Ye are gods [Elohim]; and all of you are children of the most High.” All of these uses of Elohim refer to men, just as Psalms 45:6 refers to the Messiah, also a man.
Verses 10-12
Psalms 102:25-27: “Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end.” God is the authority over all. He is the Creator and the same for all time. This scripture is quoted to show that God has the authority to give to His heir, Jesus Christ.
Verse 13
Psalms 110:1: “The Lord [Jehovah, God] said unto my Lord [adon, the Messiah], Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.” God the Creator gave His authority to His Son, so that the Messiah is Lord over all things, including angels.
Christ’s Status: Inferior to Angels as a Man Who Suffered for All Men
Hebrews 2:1-4:
We ought, therefore, to pay the greatest attention to the truth that we have heard and not allow ourselves to drift away from it. For if the message given through angels proved authentic, so that defiance of it and disobedience to it received appropriate retribution, how shall we escape if we refuse to pay proper attention to the salvation that is offered us today? For this salvation came first through the words of the Lord himself: it was confirmed for our hearing by men who had heard him speak, and God moreover has plainly endorsed their witness by signs and miracles, by all kinds of spiritual power, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit, all working to the divine plan.
This is God’s “divine plan.” Since Christ has greater authority than angels, we should listen to his words and the words of his followers written as Scripture. God proved His power in the life of our Lord Jesus Christ and in the lives of those who were “witnesses” of him (Acts 1:8). Today, we have the same gift of holy spirit and are witnesses of God’s power in our lives.
Hebrews 2:5-8:
For though in past ages God did grant authority to angels, yet he did not put the future world of men under their control, and it is this world that we are now talking about. But someone has said: ‘What is man that you are mindful of him, or the son of man that you take care of him? You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honour, and set him over the works of your hands. You have put all things in subjection under his feet’. Notice that the writer puts “all things” under the sovereignty of man: he left nothing outside his control. But we do not yet see “all things” under his control.
Here is another quote from the Psalms in the Septuagint version. Psalms 8:5-7 describes how God gave Adam and Eve dominion over His creation (Genesis 1:27,28). Yet, when we look around, we see that all things are not under man’s control. But in Christ, we can claim his authority over the adversary.
Hebrews 2:9-13:
What we actually see is Jesus, after being made temporarily inferior to the angels (and so subject to pain and death), in order that he should, in God’s grace, taste death for every man, now crowned with glory and honour. It was right and proper that in bringing many sons to glory, God (from whom and by whom everything exists) should make the leader of their salvation a perfect leader through the fact that he suffered. For the one who makes men holy and the men who are made holy share a common humanity. So that he is not ashamed to call them his brothers, for he says [Psalms 22:23]: ‘I will declare your name to my brethren; in the midst of the congregation I will sing praise to you’. And again, speaking as a man, he says [Isaiah 8:17,18]: ‘I will put my trust in him’. And, one more instance, in these words: ‘Here am I and the children whom God has given me’.
Jesus was conceived by God in Mary’s womb and born nine months later. He lived his earthly life as a man—yet as the Messiah, he had his Father’s sinless blood. He also received the gift of holy spirit without measure when he was baptized by John in the Jordan. Today, Christ is raised from death and lives with a new spiritual body at God’s right hand. Thus, he “temporarily” was inferior to angels in that he was not a spirit being before his resurrection. Yet, by his suffering and death, he brought salvation to all mankind. Since he was a man, we share in that humanity, and he is not ashamed to call us brothers. The quotes from Psalms 22:23 and Isaiah 8:17,18 confirm that we are Christ’s brothers.
Hebrews 2:14-18:
Since, then, “the children” have a common physical nature as human beings, he also became a human being, so that by going through death as a man he might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil; and might also set free those who lived their whole lives a prey to the fear of death. It is plain that for this purpose he did not become an angel; he became a man, in actual fact a descendant of Abraham. It was imperative that he should be made like his brothers in nature, if he were to become a High Priest both compassionate and faithful in the things of God, and at the same time able to make atonement for the sins of the people. For by virtue of his own suffering under temptation he is able to help those who are exposed to temptation.
The King James Version follows the original Greek text closely. It reads:
Hebrews 2:14:
Forasmuch then as the children are partakers [koinōneō, to share fully] of flesh and blood [egg and sperm], he [Jesus] also himself likewise took part [metechō, to take only a part] of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.
All other humans have been born by conception between an egg and a sperm provided by the parents. But Jesus only “took part.” Mary provided an egg, but God created life in her womb. Joseph was not Jesus’ father. God is his Father. God foreknew that Jesus would be born.
Jesus shared in our humanity, and that allowed him to be compassionate towards us. He was able to make full atonement for our sins. Since he suffered as a man, he can help us in our present human sufferings.
We Should Think on Jesus Christ—The Apostle and High Priest, Who Has Greater Honor than Moses
Hebrews 3:1-3:
So then, my brothers in holiness who share the highest of all callings, I want you to think of the messenger and High Priest of the faith we hold, Christ Jesus. See him as faithful to the charge God gave him, and compare him with Moses who also faithfully discharged his duty in the household of God. For this man has been considered worthy of greater honour than Moses, just as the founder of a house may be truly said to have more honour than the house itself.
As born-again believers, we are “brothers in holiness” because of what our brother, Jesus Christ, has done for us. These Judean Christians were encouraged to think on what Christ has done, and compare that to what Moses did. Jesus, as God’s Son and Messiah, is worthy of greater honor than Moses.
We Trust in Christ More than in Moses
Hebrews 3:4-6:
Every house is founded by someone, but the founder of everything is God himself. Moses was certainly faithful in all his duties in God’s household, but he was faithful as a servant and his work was only a foreshadowing of the truth that would be known later. But Christ was faithful as a loyal son in the household of the founder, his own Father. And we are members of this household if we maintain our trust and joyful hope steadfast to the end.
As God’s Son and heir (Hebrews 1:2), Jesus Christ had greater authority over God’s household than Moses. God founded the house as believers trusted in His promise of the coming Messiah. Abraham rejoiced to see that Christ would be born someday (John 8:56). Jesus faithfully carried out all that God called him to do. We are in that household and will see benefits and rewards as we faithfully trust our Father, encouraged by the hope of Christ’s return for us.
Some Israelites in the Old Testament Had No Rest because of Their Unbelief and Disobedience
Hebrews 3:7-11:
We ought to take note of these words in which the Holy Spirit says: ‘Today, if you will hear his voice, do not harden your hearts in the rebellion, in the day of trial in the wilderness, where your fathers tested me, proved me, and saw my works for forty years. Therefore I was angry with that generation, and said they always go astray in their heart, and they have not known my ways. So I swore in my wrath, they shall not enter my rest’.
God uses the title, “the Holy Spirit” here to show that He gave His Word to holy men who spoke for Him (II Peter 1:20,21). And what did God say? That “today” if we hear His voice and obey, we will enter into His rest. But we are reminded of those Israelites under Moses who did not enter.
Hebrews 3:12-19:
You should therefore be most careful, my brothers, that there should not be in any of you that wickedness of heart which refuses to trust, and deserts the cause of the living God. Help each other to stand firm in the faith every day, while it is still called “today”, and beware that none of you becomes deaf and blind to God through the delusive glamour of sin. For we continue to share in all that Christ has for us so long as we steadily maintain until the end the trust with which we began. These words are still being said for our ears to hear: ‘Today, if you will hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion’. For who was it who heard the Word of God and yet provoked his indignation? Was it not all who were rescued from slavery in Egypt under the leadership of Moses? And who was it with whom God was displeased for forty long years? Was it not those who, after all their hearing of God’s Word, fell into sin, and left their bones in the desert? And to whom did God swear that they should never enter his rest? Was it not these very men who refused to trust him? Yes, it is all too plain that it was refusal to trust God that prevented these men from entering his rest.
The Judean Christians, and believers today, are encouraged to take each day as an opportunity to trust and obey the Father. We are not to be dissuaded from God’s promises by the distractions and enticing lure of sin around us. We want to share in all that Christ has done for us!
Today We Have Rest in Christ
Hebrews 4:1-4:
Now since the same promise of rest is offered to us today, let us be continually on our guard that none of us even looks like failing to attain it. For we too have had a Gospel preached to us, as those men had. Yet the message proclaimed to them did them no good, because they only heard and did not believe as well. It is only as a result of our faith and trust that we experience that rest. For he said: ‘So I swore in my wrath, they shall not enter my rest’; not because the rest was not prepared – it had been ready since the work of creation was completed, as he says elsewhere in the scriptures, speaking of the seventh day of creation, ‘And God rested on the seventh day from all his works’.
Today we have a promised rest in Christ’s complete works for us. That is the “good news” of the gospel that we believe. Yet, those Israelites had the “good news” of a promised land of rest preached by Moses, and they refused to believe. They listened to the 10 foolish spies who fearfully rebelled against God’s plan, rather than the encouragement of Caleb and Joshua. They did not believe what God spoke through His prophet, Moses. Yet, God had set the standard of rest after completing His creation. All that God set in order so long ago still works today. We can trust in our Father’s work and rest as He did.
Hebrews 4:5-7:
And in the passage above he refers to “my rest” as something already in existence. No, it is clear that some were intended to experience this rest and, since the previous hearers of the message failed to attain to it because they would not believe God, he proclaims a further opportunity when he says through David, many years later, “today”, just as he had said “today” before. ‘Today, if you will hear his voice, do not harden your hearts’.
God repeats His offer of rest “today” many years after Moses first wrote these words. David in Psalms 95:7-11 says that God still offers rest. This would be later fulfilled in Jesus Christ, David’s “son.” God wants us to experience His rest today! Every day is a new day in Christ. God’s promises are renewed morning by morning.
Hebrews 4:8-13:
For if Joshua had given them the rest, we should not find God saying, at a much later date, “today”. There still exists, therefore, a full and complete rest for the people of God. And he who experiences his real rest is resting from his own work as fully as God from his. Let us then be eager to know this rest for ourselves, and let us beware that no one misses it through falling into the same kind of unbelief as those we have mentioned. For the Word that God speaks is alive and active; it cuts more keenly than any two-edged sword: it strikes through to the place where soul and spirit meet, to the innermost intimacies of a man’s being: it exposes the very thoughts and motives of a man’s heart. No creature has any cover from the sight of God; everything lies naked and exposed before the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
Old Testament examples—including those of unbelief—are for our admonition and warning (Romans 15:4). We have a “full and complete rest” not because of our works, but because of Christ’s full payment for us. That is why we can trust God’s promises and rest in Christ’s work.
God’s Word is living and active. It can “cut” to the very depth of life, between soul and spirit. It exposes our thoughts and motives—for God knows our thoughts even before we have them (Psalms 139:1,2). So we do our best each day to be well pleasing to our Father.
We Should Hold Our Profession of Faith, Seeking Grace and Mercy in Christ
Hebrews 4:14-16:
Seeing that we have a great High Priest who has [passed through and] entered the inmost Heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to our faith. For we have no superhuman High Priest to whom our weaknesses are unintelligible – he himself has shared fully in all our experience of temptation, except that he never sinned. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with fullest confidence, that we may receive mercy for our failures and grace to help in the hour of need.
[For more insight on Hebrews 4:9-16, see the blog “Rest and Peace through Jesus Christ, Part 1: Christ the Foundation.”]
Just as the High Priest “passed through” the inner tabernacle to the Holy of Holies, Jesus passed through the heavens to God’s right hand. He is our mediator and intercessor who gives us direct access to the Father (Ephesians 3:12). At his crucifixion, the Temple’s heavy curtain was torn apart from the top to the bottom. In his new resurrected body, Christ passed through the heavens.
Now we have the fullest confidence to go directly to our Father. We freely and lovingly approach His throne of grace, knowing that Jesus Christ gave us this access by his perfect sacrifice. When we fail, we have God’s mercy and forgiveness. When we need help, we have God’s limitless grace.
Psalms 103:8-14:
The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever.
He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.
For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.
God knows that we need His mercy and grace. He forgives us from every sin, through the completed sacrifice of His Son. Our Father designed our bodies; He knows our “frame.” And he has given us a complete Savior, Jesus Christ, to help us each day in life.
Psalms 89:1:
I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.
Jesus Christ as the Messiah was the “sure mercies of David” (Isaiah 55:3; Acts 13:34). The word “faithfulness” is used six other times in this Psalm (verses 2,5,8,24,33, and verse 49 where it is translated “in thy truth”). Psalm 89 shows God’s faithfulness in keeping His promises concerning the Messiah, who brings true mercy.
Let’s claim God’s rest in Christ, and enjoy His merciful forgiveness and gracious, loving care!
