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The Bible Breakdown
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The Bible Breakdown
Hebrews 01: Jesus is Better than Angels
What if we told you that the enigmatic book of Hebrews holds the key to understanding the profound greatness of Jesus in a way you’ve never imagined? Join us as we journey through the first chapter, cracking open the mystery of its authorship and unearthing the layered connections between the Old Testament and the new covenant brought forth by Jesus. Was it Paul, Luke, Apollos, or Barnabas who penned these words? We explore the intriguing possibility of Paul's teachings being transcribed by Luke, showcasing a writing style deeply rooted in Jewish scripture. This sets the stage for our exploration into the theological depths of Hebrews, as we marvel at its rich narrative and alignment with Christian orthodoxy.
Our discussion doesn't stop at uncovering authorship mysteries; it evolves into an awe-inspiring appreciation of Jesus’ unparalleled greatness. As Hebrews suggests, Jesus is far more than a mere mortal—He embodies the ultimate fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies and offers salvation like no other. Reflecting on Hebrews 12:1-2, we emphasize the importance of shedding burdens and focusing on Him to endure life’s challenges. Whether you're a theologian eager for deep insights or a newcomer curious about biblical themes, this episode promises a renewed passion and joy for understanding Jesus' power and care. Prepare for an enlightening journey as we continue to explore Hebrews chapter by chapter, uncovering the timeless and inspiring messages within this extraordinary book.
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The More You Dig. The More You Find.
Well, hello everyone. Welcome back to the Bible Breakdown podcast with your host, pastor Brandon, today, hebrews, chapter 1. And man, I am so excited about this one. It's going to be a journey, but I think it's going to be a great journey, especially because we've already read so much of the Old Testament and today's title is going to be Jesus is better than angels. Jesus is better than angels. I'm going to lay out all of that.
Speaker 1:As always, we like to talk about just the book of Hebrews, or every book of the Bible on the first episode. Get into that in just a moment. As always, if you like what we're doing here, make sure you like, share and subscribe to YouTube channel and the podcast. Make sure you're leaving us a five-star review on the podcast, because that's one of the best ways for us to get the information out. And I would love for you to share the YouTube channel and the podcast on your social media, I think especially. You know, every time is a good time, but especially when people are kind of getting back in the swing of seasons changing and, as a recording of this video, seasons are kind of changing. You know, people are looking to get into some systems and some flow and us sharing this every single day is a great way to kind of get God's word in your life. Another way is for you to go to the Bible Breakdown Discussion page on Facebook because, man, they're doing a great job there and the more we dig, the more we find, and this is going to be one of those. I want to go ahead and encourage you.
Speaker 1:If you liked the book of Job, because it was just different you're like man, has this been in the Bible this whole time? I, like man, has this been in the Bible this whole time? I think you're going to feel that way about the book of Hebrews. I mean, it is really amazing, but it does take some explaining and it takes remembering some of the stuff that we read at the very beginning of the Bible. And that's one of the things I love about the book of Hebrews is it helps us to remember. There's a reason why we read the Old Testament and there's a reason why we need to read the Bible over and over again because the book of Hebrews is best understood when you understand. The books of the Bible we like to skip, such as the book of Leviticus and the second half of Exodus, because it's talking about the old covenant and high priests and all that kind of stuff, but how Jesus fulfilled all of that stuff, and so let's jump into this, and then we're going to jump into chapter one.
Speaker 1:So first things first, talking about the book of Hebrews, here's the first very interesting thing is we're not sure who wrote it. We're not really sure what happened, and one of the things that did happen is, for the first couple of hundred years of Christianity, it was illegal, and so people were hiding all over the place and they were. They were had these house churches and all these different things. And when they all kind of came out of hiding, when it was finally legalized, they started comparing the different books that they had considered to be, you know, uh, authoritative, and Hebrews was amongst them, and they were like, okay, cause you had to. You had to either be written by an apostle or someone who had walked with Jesus, or someone who had walked with someone who walked with Jesus, like writing on their behalf, which is how you get Luke and Mark. They didn't necessarily walk with Jesus, but they walked with people who did. You had to. Number two not only did you have to walk with Jesus, but then you also had to, you know, line up with the other like orthodoxy. And then number three, we had to know who you were. I mean, you know, we, we needed to be able to to ratify this. You couldn't just just all this randomness right? Well, the book of Hebrews they weren't exactly sure who wrote it, but it's so fit with the orthodoxy and what was going on that they were like this has got to be. I mean, that's one of the things that they noticed is they didn't decide what went into the canon. You know, a lot of the different writers at the time said we just realized what was already there, like the Holy Spirit had so inspired these books. And then they fit the very hard criteria that they knew this had to be inspired, but they're not sure who wrote it.
Speaker 1:The Orthodox or Eastern Orthodox Church maintains to this day that it was Paul and it very possibly was. One of the reasons why is because most of Paul's letters he identifies himself. Secondly is the writing style is a little bit more like Luke, and so what a lot of scholars have said is they think that Paul dictated or, excuse me, told Luke and Luke wrote it down. And so that actually makes a lot of sense because Paul was he calls himself a Pharisee of Pharisees. He would have known all about the Old Testament and all about the sacrificial system, and it's also possible because he also says in Romans that Paul was like my greatest hope is for the Jewish nation to know Jesus. So this would have fit, because, really, the book of Hebrews is written with the Jewish mind in mind in sight. They're trying to write for people who know about the Old Testament. The Holy Spirit is inspiring it that way, so it would make a lot of sense if Paul is writing this through Luke and then it's getting out there. That's why, because a lot of the phrases sounds like something Paul would say, but not quite how he would say it, so I am of that opinion.
Speaker 1:I think that Paul probably said all this to Luke. Luke wrote it down and then it went out from there, but there's other people who have said that they thought that maybe Apollos you read about him in the book of Acts he might have written this Also. It might have been Barnabas as well, but we honestly just don't know. And the bottom line of it is, though, is it is definitely inspired, of course, of the Holy Spirit. That's why it was included in the early church. I would actually recommend to you, if you're interested in such things, to go to my blog and you could look up how we got the Bible and different things and there's different resources on there with some great, great study on how that all happened. People didn't just come up with lists and go okay, I guess this is it. It was very strict to realize this is what the Holy Spirit has inspired and that's how God did it. Very, very interesting stuff.
Speaker 1:The second thing is is most likely this was written before 70 AD, because this is focusing on the temple and the sacrificial system and all of that. By 70 AD the temple was destroyed and it seems just absolutely as though it wouldn't be possible for whoever wrote this to not include that. So they think pretty much that it was written before 70 AD. The other thing is we have no idea where it was written because we don't know who did it for sure. And then two more things and we're going to jump into chapter one. The other one would be that it was also mainly written to reach the Jewish nation, people who would understand that Old Testament system and realize that Jesus fulfilled all of it.
Speaker 1:And then, lastly, a couple of interesting things is Jesus is looked at in the book of Hebrews as the great high priest. Also, we have where faith is defined. We have the famous verse in Hebrews 11, verse 1, faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things that we cannot see. Also, in Hebrews 11 and 12, mainly 11, you have what's called the hall of faith, where the writer of Hebrews says by Hebrews 11 and 12, mainly 11, you have what's called the Hall of Faith, where the writer of Hebrew says by faith this and by faith that. So when we get there, it's going to be really interesting how this person, the Holy Spirit, inspired them to have a very, very good understanding of the Old Testament, because they're over and over, saying by faith, these people did these things. You just get to look at just a list of all of the Old Testament people that we've already read so much about. So, with all that in mind, let's get into Hebrews, chapter 1.
Speaker 1:And the reason why we named this overall chapter, or this chapter 1, rather, jesus is better than angels, is because the overall theme of Hebrews is Jesus is better. Well, better than what? Well, once again, he's better than the Old Testament law. If we ever go back one day and read Romans again, which we will it says in the book of Romans that the reason why the law was given was because mankind was sinful. Like we were sinful, and we did not know how far we had fallen away from God. So God gave us the law to see how far from him we had fallen and then help us understand. You need a Savior. No one can fulfill all of this. It is impossible. Only God can. And then Jesus came. Well, jesus is better than that sacrificial system. The whole time, the plan was always for Jesus to come and fulfill it, and Hebrews is going to show us how he does. So Jesus is better, better than the sacrificial system, and he's going to talk to us in every single chapter about how he is better than something else. And in chapter one he's going to talk about how he is better than angels. Because what's going to be important is the writer of Hebrews, and this will hopefully help us before we jump in.
Speaker 1:The writer of Hebrews is writing this as though he is talking out loud. Hebrews could very easily be read in probably about 45 minutes to an hour, so about that amount of time it would be the same thing as if someone stood up in front of a crowd and spoke this out loud. That's why some people think what might have happened is this might have been one of the things that Paul would do when he would go into a synagogue and he would address all the Jewish people. Is that maybe this was the sermon that he would say over and over and over again. And at some point Luke, who we know was a traveling companion of Paul, wrote it all down, and so he's saying all of this, and so these chapters, a lot of times, are going to flow from one end to the other. But whoever the Holy Spirit inspired to write this, he systematically shows how Jesus is better than anything else, and in chapter one he's going to show how he's not an angel, he's not a man, he's God in human form. So Jesus is better than angels. You ready?
Speaker 1:Chapter 1, hebrews, chapter 1, verse 1 goes like this he promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son he created the universe. The Son radiates God's own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven. This shows that the son is far greater than angels, just as the name God gave him is greater than their names. So once again, the writer is saying you need to understand that Jesus was not just a man, that Jesus is God who came down in human form to rescue all of us. All right, let's continue. Verse five God never said to any angel what he said to Jesus.
Speaker 1:He's quoting from Psalm chapter 110 when he says you are my son. Today I have become your father. Rather, excuse me, that was Psalm chapter 2. God also said I will be his father and he will be my son. And when he brought his supreme son into the world, god said that all the angels worship him. Regarding the angels, he says he sends his angels like the winds and his servants like flames of fire. But to the son he says your throne, o God, endures forever and ever. You rule with a scepter of justice and you love justice and hate evil. Therefore, o God, your God has anointed you. He also says to the son they will perish, but you remain forever. They will wear out like old clothing. You will fold them like a cloak and discard them like old clothing, but you are always the same. You will live forever. And God never said to any of the angels sit at the place of honor of my right hand until I humble your enemies, making them a footstool under your feet. That was Psalm 110. Last verse, therefore angels are only servants, spirits sent to care for people who will inherit salvation.
Speaker 1:Well, as we get ready to finish up chapter one, he says something very interesting, and he says angels are servants. They're spirits sent to care for people. Just an interesting aside did you know that an angel is really a job description? The Greek word means messenger, heavenly messenger, and so it's more of an umbrella term. That means various different ministering spirits, like there's different types of angels, there's seraphim and cherubim. You know there's those types of angels, but they're ministering spirits who are sent to do the work of God and minister to his creation. But what Paul or whoever it was that wrote this says is as great as they are.
Speaker 1:Jesus is even better, and what he's going to do throughout this book is continue to talk about how Jesus isn't just a man. Jesus is God and he is better than anything you can imagine and this is my hope for all of us as we go through this together and that is to realize that no matter what you think of Jesus, he's better. No matter what your experience with God has been, he is better. No matter what you have learned about God, he is better and better and better. What Jesus did for all of us by fulfilling the Old Testament, by being what we could never be, by providing salvation for all of us, is the most amazing thing ever. And he is better. So my hope for us is, by the time we're finished with the book of Hebrews, that we will have a greater appreciation for the greatness of Jesus. And the wonderful thing is is that if Jesus can do all of that, he can take care of all of us. Whatever you're going through in life, it is not more powerful than Jesus. The greatest miracle we could ever receive we've already received through the salvation of Jesus that he is going to explain to us throughout the book of Hebrews. And the amazing thing is is that if that God, who would do that for us, is in charge of our lives, then man God can do anything.
Speaker 1:I look forward to getting into this together. Can we pray God? Thank you so much for the book of Hebrews. Thank you that it helps us to know you more, to know that you are better than anything that we will go through in life. God, I pray, as we read through the book of Hebrews together, that just a new passion, excitement and joy for you, jesus, will just be ignited in us, that we will see that, whatever we go through, you are better and you are more amazing than we can imagine. I celebrate you today In Jesus' name. We pray Amen, amen. Well, god's word says in Hebrews, chapter 12, verse 1 and 2,. Therefore, since we are surrounded by a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up, and let us run with endurance the race God has set before us, and we do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus. I can't wait to continue this journey together and I will see you tomorrow for Hebrews, chapter 2.
