Hi Folks. Thanks for joining me as we move ahead in our study of Hebrews. We’re moving on to verse 2 of chapter 1 today but let’s read the first 2 verses of the book together again, first.
Hebrews 1:1–2 (NIV)
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, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.
Last time we went over verse 1 and we talked about how God spoke to the ancient Hebrews through the prophets at many different times and in various ways. The prophets refers to the Old Testament prophets of course including the 16 writing prophets as well as those prophets who did not write specific books in the Old Testament that have been categorized as books of prophecy. Writing prophets would include those such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. Their books would come under the second section of the TaNaKh called Nevi'im. TaNaKh is pronounced Tanach and it’s an acronym. The T stands for Torah which is the first section and it comprises the first 5 books of the Bible, written by Moses. The N stands for Nevi’im which I just mentioned and it contains the books of prophecy which include the 16 writing prophets as well as what Jewish tradition calls the Former Prophets and those are the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings. The 16 writing prophets are divided into major and minor prophets but I need to mention at this point that what I am referring to as the 16 writing prophets would be in the Jewish tradition only 15 in number. The difference is Daniel. Hebrew tradition does not include Daniel in the Nevi’im. Daniel is included in the last or third section of the TaNaKh which is the Ketuvim or the writings which in addition to Daniel include the Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Ezra-Nehemiah as one book, and I and II Chronicles as one book, Chronicles.
But the last prophet of the Old Testament or better, the Old Covenant, is John the Baptist. Jewish tradition doesn’t recognize John the Baptist as a prophet of course because he is not written about in the Tanakh; he came after the Tanakh closed. However He came before the New Covenant was inaugurated by Jesus. The New Testament clearly reveals him to be a prophet because Jesus said that John was a prophet. Because he is the last prophet before the cross we can consider him to be the last prophet of the Old Covenant dispensation even though he is not in the Hebrew Scriptures by name.
Yes, Jesus talked about John. He called him more than a prophet and said that the Old Covenant predicted John’s coming. That Old Covenant passage is
Malachi 3:1 (NIV)
“I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty.
Jesus referenced John, including this Malachi passage, in Matthew:
“Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written: “ ‘I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’ Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”
We can say from Hebrews 1:2 alone that Jesus’ ministry marked the beginning of the last days:
Hebrews 1:2 (NIV)
but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.
God spoke many things to the people of first century Israel through His Son Jesus and much of what He said has been preserved for us to read today. We will cover some of those things in our study of this book. But let’s talk now for a minute or so about Jesus as God’s Son. Jesus is God’s Son in a very different way than we are sons and daughters. We are told this in the Gospel of John:
John 1:12–13 (NIV)
Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
This verse talks about what happens to us when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior; we are born again and are transferred from being in Adam to being in Messiah or in Christ. Romans, chapter 6, explains that well. The old man, which is who we were in Adam, dies - is crucified with Messiah, when we accept Yeshua as our Lord and Savior - and we are united with Christ. That’s what John 1:12-13 is talking about and as incredible as that is - we becoming sons and daughters of God - we are not sons in the sense that Jesus is the Son of God. Because Jesus is not a created being and because He is the one and only son of God and has always existed, He has to be of the same substance and nature as God the Father. He has to be divine, He has to be deity. We’ll get into this much more as we move ahead in Hebrews but for now we must recognize that Jesus is the only unique Son of God and He is a Son - the Son - in a different way than we are. I also just want to remind you that God said He has a Son in the Old Testament in Psalm 2 and in Proverbs 30 and we talked about that last time.
But getting back to Hebrews 1:2
Hebrews 1:2 (NIV)
but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.
Before we try to grasp the profound meaning of this verse I think we’ll receive help by looking at John’s Gospel:
John 1:1–3 (NIV)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
Now please take a look at Genesis 1:1
Genesis 1:1 (NIV)
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
And also at Ephesians 3:9
Ephesians 3:9 (NKJV)
and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ;
So, Who is this Son? We’ve already said that He is a Son like no other Son and that He is divine - He has the attributes of deity. But can we get a better understanding of that? I think we can. In John 1 He is called the Word which in Greek is Logos and we are told that in the beginning He was with God and was God and that without Him nothing was made that was made. So, how is He the Logos, or Word, and also God? I’ve come to understand that the idea behind the Greek word Logos is better understood by the Aramaic word Memra which was used in the Jewish Targums or paraphrases of the Hebrew Scriptures to describe a visible appearance of God, somewhat similar to, yet different from, the Shekinah glory of God. Sometimes this Memra would appear as the Angel of the LORD or the Angel of Yahweh such as we see in:
Exodus 3:2 (NIV)
There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up.
AND:
Exodus 3:4 (NIV)
When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.”
Can you see from these 2 verses that there is an equivalence between the Angel of Yahweh and the LORD, meaning Yahweh Himself? The Apostle John was a Jewish man and would have been familiar with the Memra which means word. Logos was the closest Greek equivalent to Memra and so John used Logos as he was inspired to do so by the Holy Spirit. This gives us understanding how Jesus is the Logos and God. He came as God in the flesh, God incarnate, and He was and is the same Divine Being that he was in the Old Testament where He sometimes came as the Angel of Yahweh. These appearances were of the pre-incarnate Christ.
Let give you an example of this from the Targum Onkelos:
The Targum Onqelos to Genesis
8. Then they heard the voice of the Memra of the Lord God walking in the garden towards the decline of the day; so Adam and his wife hid themselves from before the Lord God within a tree of the garden. 9. Whereupon the Lord God called out to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” 10. And he said, “I heard the voice of Your Memra in the garden, but I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid”
So, yes, the Son of God - the Logos, or Memra - is like no other Son. Understanding this will help us greatly in this study of the letter to the Hebrews. And as the Divine Son of the Father, it becomes understandable that Yahweh, the Father, would appoint His one and only Son as the Heir of all things. Likewise it makes sense that YHWH would appoint His Son to make the Universe, that the Universe would be made through Him. Remember Genesis 1:1:
Genesis 1:1 (NIV)
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Yeshua, the Logos or Memra, created the universe. But tells us that God created the heavens and the earth and surely that is something that only God could do. So it certainly seems that the Logos or the Memra has to have the very nature of God. Folks, I don’t want to get ahead of myself. We are in deep waters here but what wonderful deep waters they are! The famous Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4) tells us God is One but He is a complex or plural One. He has a plural nature. We cannot fully understand this. But God allows us to understand it to a certain extent, to know that it is absolutely true and that is a wonderful gift to us!
But, getting back to our verse for today:
Hebrews 1:2 (NIV)
but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.
So, what did the Son speak to us - and I’m including you and me in us - in these last days? There is so much that He said that we can only include a tiny portion of it here today but I would like to do that so let me give you just a few things that He said:
John 3:3 (NIV)
Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
What an incredible truth that Yeshua our Lord shared with Nicodemus a high ranking Jewish teacher and member of the Sanhedrin who came to be a follower of Jesus.
John 3:16 (NIV)
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Perhaps the most well known verse in the Bible. The essence and the assurance of salvation is encapsulated in this one verse.
Matthew 22:36–40 (NIV)
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
This is the essence of The New Covenant. This is the law that we are to follow now and it is a law that we can keep with the help of the Holy Spirit who indwells all believers.
John 19:30 (NIV)
When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
Jesus finished the work of salvation. At a cost that we cannot fathom, He has done it all.
So in these last days God spoke to us through His Son. And the messages that He gave us were the fulfilment of what the prophets said. His words were clearer and more explicit than what the prophets said and His words were given the authority of Deity.
My dear friends, we are all born as sinners and we need to be born a second time - we need to be born again. If that has not happened to you, if you do not have a personal relationship with God through His one and only Son, Yeshua the Messiah, please bow your knees and bow your hearts. Call upon Him, tell Him that you know that you are a hopeless sinner and that you need salvation which only He can give. Ask Him to save you and if you are sincere He will never turn you down. Do it today because you could die tonight and it will then be too late.
Thank you, my friends.
Until the next time. This is Art Wolinsky. God bless you.
Hebrews 1:2