Jesus Superior to Everything (Hebrews 1:1-14)

Jesus Superior to Everything

 

Hebrews 1:1-14 

There is a NASA image called the Hubble Ultra-Deep Field (HUDF) as on the left. This image was obtained in 2004 using the Hubble Space Telescope. The focus of this space telescope had usually been set on observable objects such as galaxies, stars, and planets. one day, however, the astronomers wanted to explore deep into the space, and set the focus of the space telescope on a tiny segment of the sky, which looked pitch-dark and empty. After several months’ observation and data collection, finally the astronomers could see what existed in the depth of darkness. Amazingly, there were about 10,000 galaxies captured in the picture. This was only an extremely small window of the sky, much smaller than the little fingernail, and through the small window, the astronomers observed so many new galaxies, and even more in follow-up observations with higher-performance equipment. Scientists estimate that there would be two trillion galaxies in the universe, but it is merely an estimate, and we don’t know the limit of this universe even with our best observation technology. And this image, while arousing admiration for the vastness of the universe, frustrated many human souls by showing how small and insignificant they were compared to the great universe. With this image, we may begin to think that we are nothing and our final destination is the powerful deep black hole of the Galaxy that sucks in everything. It seems that we’ve found the massive power of the universe only to be swept like dust by the spiral galaxies.

 

But it is not at all. Today’s text tells us about the essence of Christianity. What is the essence of Christianity? It is Christ, our Lord Jesus, and more specifically, it is the power of Christ that is superior to everything. And this Christ is our Savior, our Redeemer, and our Eldest Brother. The Bible text that we read today is focused on the excellencies of Jesus Christ, and these excellencies form the religion of Christianity, and lay the foundation of our faith. And without this faith, we are merely dusts floating in the empty darkness, circling around the black hole, and expiring into nothing. In fact, religion is not about what is right and what is wrong, not about what we should do and what we should not. Religion is more about who has the ultimate power and who has the final authority to determine the eternal destiny of me and the universe. When we recognize the power and authority of the Lord Jesus Christ, we naturally feel the gravity of the Lord and are attracted to Him. Like a satellite revolving a much greater and heavier globe, we keep turning around him, learning from him, and after all, merging into him. All these can happen only because Jesus the Lord has ‘power’ superior to everything.

 

We may not like the word ‘power’ because we have seen many terrible cases of abuse of power in human history and even now. Furthermore, the word ‘power’ doesn’t look going well with Jesus, our humble Lord who died on the cross as if he didn’t have any power. But the power that Jesus has and he has shown to us is quite different from the abusive, destructive, and corruptive power that we observe in the world. Through today’s text, we can get a glimpse of how powerful Jesus is. First of all, Jesus is the Creator and Ruler of the universe. Verse 1 says, “through whom he (God) made the universe,” and verse 3 says, “The Son ……, sustaining all things by his powerful word.” Second, Jesus is the Redeemer of our sins. Verse 3 also says, “He had provided purification for sins.” Third, Jesus is the Commander of heavenly angels. In verses 6, God says, “Let all God’s angels worship him,” and with regard to his angels, God says in verse 7, “He makes his angels winds, his servants flames of fire.” Most of all, Jesus is, in fact, Eternal God and his throne is everlasting. Verse 8 says, “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever,” and verses 11, 12 say, “They (the earth and the heavens) will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will roll them up like a robe; but you remain the same, and your years will never end.” Even just as described in this short passage, the excellencies of Christ are far beyond our imagination.

 

If there is central power, things are maintained in order, and if there is not central power, they are thrown into confusion and everything collapses. Stars in heaven are swirling around the center of the galaxy, and the planets in the solar system are rolling on their courses around the sun, and the moon is revolving around the earth, and even the earth keeps rotating on its axis. This is also applicable to our spiritual life. When we are under the rule of a single power, whether good or bad, we are in order and everything goes smooth. But when we are not, we lose direction and don’t know what to do and where to go. In order to save his people under slavery in Egypt, God called Moses and said to him, “Go! I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” Hearing this, Moses was stunned. He replied to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” In those days, Egyptian King Pharaoh was the only central power on earth like the sun in the sky, ruling the whole world and determining the life and death of every human soul. In contrast, Moses was merely an old man shepherding the flock of his father-in-law in the remote Median wilderness. Even worse, nobody knew who the god called ‘Yahweh’ was. And now the god is sending Moses to lead his people out of the hands of Pharaoh. It seemed almost impossible for the Hebrew slaves to resist and deny the immense gravity of Pharaoh, his great empire, and his fertile land, to escape from it completely, and to enter into the new sphere of God and his kingdom, which were still vague to them.

 

But now in Jesus Christ, it is not vague at all. Verses 1-3 say, “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.” When the Hubble Space Telescope revealed the true image of the space, people were all amazed at its vastness and, at the same time, they felt that they were less than a speck of dust drifting from nowhere to nowhere. To tell the truth, we have to feel this way because the universe is not the creator but the creature, and the universe is not the exact representation of God. Apart from God the Creator, it is nothing but an aggregation of dust, and apart from God, it doesn’t give us anything but lifeless and meaningless emptiness. The author of the Hebrews says that Jesus, the Son of God, is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, and in these last days, God is speaking to us through him. Like the Hubble Space Telescope reveals hidden things in the universe, Jesus reveals the hidden glory of God, and teaches us who God is very clearly and truthfully. When Philip, one of Jesus’ disciples, said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us,” Jesus answered him, “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” (John 14:8,9).

 

Jesus is God’s revelation, and he himself is God. In every aspect, he is perfect God and this is true especially in terms of his holiness, his power, and his saving grace toward his people. Verse 1a says, “In the past, God spoke to our forefathers through prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son.” “These last days” implies that Jesus is God’s last revelation and there will be no more. Furthermore, this means that Jesus is the fulfillment of what God had spoken through his prophets. Jesus is the Word of God spoken to us. He is the Word of Life that raises souls from the dead and gives them true life. And, moreover, Jesus is ‘God given to us.’ In Ephesians 3:14-19, St. Paul prays for the saints, “I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” How amazing grace is this! With Christ the Lord, we are filled to the measure of the fullness of God!

 

When I was young, my life problem was emptiness. I was grown in a family with good parents and good siblings. I was a fairly smart and handsome boy with good friends around. Still, I was not happy. I loved reading, and children’s stories, adventures, and legends expanded my imagination, but still my life was not exciting. As I grew older, I realized that there was no other way of life than being a man, and then an old man, and finally, a dead man and no more. It was so empty and meaningless. Then God spoke to me through Jesus, the Word of Life. Different from many stories that I had read, the stories of Jesus turned on the light in me and filled my soul with something that I couldn’t describe what it was. Now I can say that it was Living God, who is truly living in me with his power and love, and giving me everything out of his glorious riches. I was truly full and truly happy.

 

Living in the world, we see people and things of influence, big and small. They have gravity, and they keep pushing, pulling, and shaking us endlessly. Then, we have to become lost wanderers who do not know where they are from and where they are going. only Jesus is the true center of gravity who gives us peace and joy, who fills us with love and power, and who leads us to God and his eternal life. It is because Jesus is superior to everything. only through him, we enter into the rest of God. I pray that we go back to Christ the Lord, and rebuild our Christian faith upon the excellencies of Jesus.