Hebrews 1

Who Christ Is 

Christ Is Better Than the Prophets and Angels (1:1-2:18)

Christ, Superior to Past Forms of Revelation (1-3)

As one enters this book, one becomes aware of entering an exposition of Scripture, a manuscript of a sermon. In the opening three verses, the reader finds a contrast of the many past revelations of God with the present revelation of God through His Son, Jesus. Visions, dreams, presence, words, and thus the prophets, dominated how God had revealed Himself formerly. With Christ’s coming, He became the revealer of God, the exact image of God, the great power of God, and the One through whom the world was purified (1-3).

Christ, Superior to Angelic Forms of Revelation (4-14)

The author injected seven Old Testament quotations to prove his first case: Christ was superior to the angels (4) because He was God’s Son, thus God.

• Jesus was God’s Son; He was God in a human body; He was begotten (2 Samuel 7:14; Psalm 2:7) (5).

• Jesus was worshiped by the angels, for He was a deity (6).

• Jesus was served by angels (Psalm 104:4) (7).

• Jesus was God’s Righteous Ruler (Psalm 45:6-7) (8).

• Jesus was Messiah (Psalm 45:6-7) (9).

• Jesus was Creator (Psalm 102:25-27) (10-12).

• Jesus was seated at the right hand of God (Psalm 110:1) (13).

To sum it all up, Jesus is better because He is the Savior of the world, while angels are servants of God to those whom He is seeking to save (14).

Hebrews 2

None Like Christ 

Christ Is Better Than the Prophets and Angels (1:1-2:18)

Christ, Superior to the Angels Who Revealed the Law (1-4)

The author began to develop the point of his sermon by contrasting the giving of the Law with the giving of the gospel. It was the author’s first warning: followers needed to pay close attention to what God was now revealing (1), for the Law of Moses was put in place, so to speak, through angels (2) (Galatians 3:19). On the other hand, the gospel was declared by Jesus, witnessed to by the apostles, and expressed through signs, wonders, miracles, and all kinds of Holy Spirit gifts (3-4). His point was clear: if the Law of Moses proved reliable through angels, how much more reliable would the gospel be? Secondly, if Israel’s disobedience and rejection received a severe consequence, how much greater would the consequence be as a result of rejecting the gospel?

Christ, Superior to the Angels in Dominion (5-11)

As he continued with this theme of Christ’s superiority over the angels, the author compared the authority of Christ with the angels. God had not given any angel the dominion of the world to come (new Heaven and Earth); it had been given to humans (5). In the garden, the human race lost their dominion, but now Christ, through His Resurrection, had regained that lost dominion, which would be returned through Him to the human race in the new world (6-7). Nothing seen or created is outside Jesus’ control (8). Although Jesus appeared for a little while to be lower than the angels, He was crowned with kingly majesty because He entered the realm of death so He might experience death for everyone (9).

So, Jesus, in bringing humanity back into their righteous rule over the earth, became the founder of salvation (10). Because Jesus is human but also God, He can make those who love Him of one family tree, one bloodline. Through Jesus, all can become what they were created to be—set apart (“sanctified”) for God's purpose. Because of God’s great work of salvation in bringing us into His family, Jesus our Brother is not ashamed to refer to us sinners as His personal family (11). Jesus fully and obviously has a dominion superior to any angel.

Christ, Superior to the Angels as a Brother (12-13)

The author used three Old Testament quotes to demonstrate Christ as a Brother to those who received Him.

• The church (“congregation”) was identified as brothers (Psalm 22:22) (12).

• Jesus trusted the Father just like His brothers (Isaiah 8:17) (13a).

• Jesus referred to His followers as His own children (Isaiah 8:18) (13b).

While angels were servants without the same blood as humans, Jesus was not only Savior but firstborn Brother by blood.

Christ, Superior to the Angels in His Death (14-18)

No angel had ever entered a human body and died. Jesus, however, became flesh because there was no other way to destroy the one who had the power of death—the devil—without also destroying humanity.

Notice that He already destroyed the power of death so that He may one day destroy death itself (14). Jesus not only wished to destroy death but He also wanted to liberate humanity and lead an exodus out of slavery to death and the fear of death (15). The author then drove home his point: angels never helped humans like Jesus did; Jesus actually came from Abraham’s seed to ultimately deliver humanity from death (16). Not only did Jesus wish to destroy death and its power, not only did He wish to lead an exodus out of slavery to fear and death, but He also became flesh so He might become the new merciful and faithful priest—who did what the ritual sacrifices could never do: be the very means by which God gave forgiveness (“propitiation”) to all people (17).

Unlike the angels, Jesus was tempted in the flesh; He was thus able to provide what followers needed (“help”) when tempted (18) because He knows exactly what is needed in such moments.

Christ was better than any angel because He became human so He could deal with the death issue and liberate us from its curse.