Hebrews 1:1-9 ● 2022-12-25 ● Christmas Day ● Print ● Listen ● Watch
There is a comical video clip of a weatherman who is on his first day at the job. It features him standing in front of the camera saying something to the effect of, “I can’t believe I got this job. I’m probably the least qualified person for this position.” If the clip is for real, they must have been desperately short-staffed at the station. The clip goes on as the voice behind the camera says, “You’re live now.” And the new weatherman exclaims, “What? Wait. I’m not ready yet.” As the camera rolls, he stares wide-eyed at it like a deer caught in the headlights. Finally, he looks at the weather map zoomed out to picture all of the United States and says, “Okay. What state is that? There’s a huge storm headed your way. I don’t know what state that is. I think its Wyoming. But if you recognize any of these states here in the big swirly stuff, watch out. You’re going to get a huge storm. You know who you are.” We count on those who serve us to be qualified and informed. If they are not, the results can be comical or sometimes even tragic and devastating.
What about the one God has chosen to give us what is far more important than a news report or a cup of coffee? What about the one God has chosen to give us truth, and joy? This Christmas Day we will look at Hebrews chapter 1 and see the qualifications of the one God has chosen to deliver on everything he has promised us from the beginning.
God didn’t just select a weather spokesperson. He chose people to share his Word with the world. That word came through the people of Israel. That’s what the writer to the Hebrews begins with. He reminds us that God conveyed his all-important news through the prophets. The prophets gave visions, warnings, and messages of hope. But God’s greatest spokesperson is The Prophet, his Son. “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son.”
So, who is the Son of God? How can we be sure he is the most qualified to be our source of joy? Today we will examine a brief listing of seven aspects which make the Son the most qualified to bring us joy.
1) He is the sole heir of everything. When we are born, we might have a small inheritance. It is based on our family. It may have seemed like Jesus only stood to inherit a small carpenters trade. But he was born with much higher status. God appointed Jesus as “heir of all things.” The Son of God isn’t just another man. He is the one that God the Father foretold would rule over all the nations. And all the world belongs to him. The man Jesus was born into lowly circumstances. But he was born to be the one God had promised to be king over all! He was born to sit on the throne as your Lord. He is the perfect choice to receive all things!
But make no mistake. The second qualification listed means Jesus wasn’t born into existence like us. He is 2) the source of all things. “Through him, God made the universe.” Only God can be praised as Creator. We praise God the Son who created all things but chose to become fully human. Jesus is not a created being. He is God’s Son and existed before all creation and all in eternity. He is not just the man Jesus who will inherit all creation. He is the one who spoke at the very beginning and created all the universe. He is the perfect choice to act on behalf of all his creation.
That means when people saw Jesus, they might have looked at a man, but he was no ordinary man. He is 3) the shining glory of God! Jesus is “the radiance of God’s glory.” If you want to experience what is glorious about God, you see it in the Son, Jesus. He came to display what makes God glorious. And that could only be seen if God came down in human form to live among us. Jesus displays God’s glory, his act of redemption and love for all! He displays the God of all grace who is to be praised by all for his glorious love! He is the perfect choice to shine out the glory of God.
In fact, Jesus 4) shows us God. “He is the exact representation of God’s being.” When the disciples asked him to show them the Father, Jesus said they saw him and that was enough. When the people saw Jesus react to any person or situation, it was the very reaction of God in human flesh. Jesus, full zeal, displayed the holy jealousy of God the Father when he cleared out the temple of the moneychangers and marketplace dealers. It was his Father’s house. He showed the mercy of the Father when he sought out the lost. He showed the compassion of the Father when he looked at the crowds and taught them. And he displayed the perfect purity of God in all his thoughts and actions. Jesus is the perfect choice to show us God!
And we know he alone can show us God because he alone is the one who 5) sustains all things. He alone is the powerful Word who has power over all and sustains all things. The person of Jesus is beyond our full comprehension. He was held by his mother and had to grow in wisdom and stature. Yet he is the one who sustains all creation. As the apostle Paul said, “In him we live, move, and have our being.” He who let himself be held by Mary holds the universe together! He had to learn to speak and live in his lowly body. Yet his Word is so powerful that it is the source and sustainer of all things! As the sustainer of all things he is the perfect choice for lifting us up!
But he didn’t just lower himself to put on a display of lowliness. He is 6) the sacrifice for all sinners. He lowered himself to “provide purification for sins.” In order for us to have someone who might make right all our sins, we needed a priest. And we needed a sacrifice that would cover all our sins. Jesus did this. The very reason he took on human flesh was to offer himself as the sacrifice for all the world’s sin. He is the perfect choice to be our source of joy because he removed our source of sorrow, all our sins.
And his payment was good! We can be sure of that because having completed his sacrifice Jesus 7) sits on his throne. After he provided purification for sins he rose to life and ascended in glory back to his heavenly throne! “He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.” He is the perfect choice to be our Savior and bring us joy! He lives forever as king to give us what he has promised!
These brief seven qualifications help us to see how Jesus alone can be the chosen one to bring us joy. No one else could ever meet these seven qualifications. Only God’s Son could do it. All others, even the angels, would fail to qualify for the role. Your salvation is secure! It is found in the perfect, holy, Son of God who came down to save and ascended back to his throne in glory!
These seven descriptions of the Son of God are fulfilled by the one who we celebrate today. Is there any trouble he is not qualified to take on? Are you afraid that you will not receive any gift as a child of God? You receive that promised inheritance from the one who is the heir of the universe – Jesus! Do you ever wonder how you could receive any good gifts from someone who was born so long ago? He is the source of everything. The source of your joy is the source of all creation, the Creator himself! Do you yearn to know the glory of your God? Look no farther than the child in a manger and the man on the cross. That is the glory of a God who has grace for sinners. Do you want to know what God is like? See it in the man who came to live, the Son of God. You see the character of a God who is both holy and abounding in mercy, full of compassion for the lost. Do you wonder if Jesus can really keep you safe and secure in his kingdom? He sustains the universe with his powerful Word. That same Jesus will send his angels to watch over you and work all things for your good! Do you feel the weight and burden of sin? The Son of God has provided the perfect sacrifice to set you free from your sins! Do you wonder if it will all work out according to God’s plan in the end? Then look at what the prophecies say about the Son, he has fulfilled them by ascending into glory and is sitting on his holy throne at the Father’s side. He reigns forever! These seven qualifications exceed all we need!
The writer to the Hebrews lists next for us seven quotes from the Old Testament to signify what all this means about Jesus. I want to mention the first five today:
The first two quotes from the Old Testament point to the relationship between Jesus and God the Father. He is the one and only Son of God. Not even the angels can claim such a position. Jesus was always the Son of the Father, but according to his human nature he was declared to be the Son of God. God the Father could choose no other. No king, no emperor, not even an angel could save us. Only the one and only Son of God.
Next, he refers to the command that the angels worship the Son. Jesus is the divine Son of God. That is why the angels sang his praises at his birth. That is why we sing glory to him and worship him who took on flesh. We are commanded to worship the Son of God. We could worship no other God. We praise the God who has revealed himself as the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. And we praise the Son especially this day for taking on human flesh. He alone could come to save.
Finally, the fourth and fifth quote from the Old Testament remind us that angels were made to be servants of God. But the Son took on human flesh to reign as an eternal king over all creation. “God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.”
That last verse brings out the most important truth for us. Jesus, the Son of God, was anointed. That signified that God had chosen him. Everyone knew that the same one praised by the angels at his birth was the chosen Christ. And he came to bring us joy.
When that clip appeared about the unprepared and unqualified weatherman it was at least fun to watch. It brought some good humor to the weather forecast. What about the spokesperson God has chosen and the one who will bring us joy? He didn’t look like a deer in the headlights. When the spotlight came, he stepped into it. Only he would step out of the light and into the dark. He would use every one of his qualifications as the Son of God to carry out his task. He did it when he walked this earth as he lived in our place. He did it as he hung and died in our place. He faced it all for us in human flesh. And he remains the perfect man for the job as he sits on his throne.
You can count on him to bring the joy that he has promised. Because he is the shining light, the source of life, the sustainer of all, the one who sacrificed and who sits in glory, we can trust in his working. He’s not forecasting a storm. He’s foretold the coming end of this world and the everlasting kingdom of glory for all who trust in him. He’s not some unqualified forecaster. He is the chosen Son!
Someday soon we will join with all the angels in his kingdom praising and worshipping him. Until then let heaven and nature sing his praises. The Son was chosen to bring us joy!
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