Intro to Jesus (Hebrews 1:1-4)
Series: Greater, Hebrews, Fall 2025-2026
Title: Intro to Jesus
Text: Hebrews 1:1-4
Big Idea: Jesus is the greater revelation than the prophets used formerly because He is God,
He did the ultimate work of redemption and He holds the highest status.
Summary (for website):
Jesus is the greater revelation than the prophets used formerly because He is God, He did the
ultimate work of redemption and He holds the highest status.
Tag line…
Jesus is the exact representation of God’s nature
Jesus performed THE redemptive work
Jesus holds the ultimate status
Has anyone ever seen an impersonator, maybe an Elvis impersonator or someone
impersonating someone famous?
I remember watching a comedian who was imitating Peter Falk in his role as Columbo.
Remember Columbo? For those of you who don’t know, Columbo was this quirky almost
bumbling homicide detective who, in the end, always got his man even though he always
seemed to be at a loss. In the end, he outsmarted the killer.
This comedian was pretty good. He had the mannerisms and the voice down. He did a good job
impersonating Columbo. But he wasn’t the real thing. As good as he was, he could not replace
the real thing.
When it comes to revelation, and what I mean by that word is God being revealed, that’s
revelation. When it comes to revelation, no one does a better job at reveling God than God,
Himself. There’s no greater revelation of God than God, Himself.
Throughout the Bible, God reveals Himself through various ways. We just finished up Leviticus
and Leviticus is a great example of this. God revealed Himself through Moses to the Israelites
and He revealed His holiness and what it would take for the people of Israel to be holy as well.
Leviticus introduced the sacrificial system. Leviticus introduced the priestly mediator system.
Leviticus introduced the cleanliness system. All good things. All necessary things. All things that
pointed to YHWH. But when we get to Hebrews and Hebrews introduces Jesus. All the systems
pointed to Jesus. They were great imitators of Christ, but they weren’t Christ.
As we begin our study in Hebrews this morning, a study that will take us at least a year and a
half, I want to lay the foundation right up front of what this book is about. It’s about Jesus and
2
that Jesus is greater than any Old Testament prophet or system. Jesus is greater, by far, than
anything that was revealed in the Old Testament. That’s the point of the whole book. Jesus is
greater. And that’s what we’re going to come back to time and time again.
So, if you haven’t already, please turn to the book of Hebrews. If you’re using one of the blue
Bible provided for you in the seats, you’ll find today’s passage on page 1001.
As you’re turning there, let’s just go through some basic information about the book of
Hebrews.
It’s likely that Hebrews was written during the 60’s, not the 1960,s, the 60 60’s. Most likely it
was written before 70 AD because the author references the sacrificial system and the Levitical
system, systems that would have been halted after 70 AD because the temple was destroyed
that year and the author makes no mention of it. So, it’s likely the book it was written before
that year.
Secondly, the author of Hebrews does not name himself. It’s an anonymous letter, for us
anyway. The recipients knew who was writing to them. We do have one personal reference at
the end of the book. The author talks about Timothy being released from prison, presumably
the same Timothy who was the companion of Paul. Other than that, the book give no indication
as to its author.
Because there is no claim on authorship, many have offered suggestions as to whom it might
have been. Among them are: Paul, Luke, Apollos, Priscilla, Silas, Epaphras, Philip… bottom line:
we don’t know.
More importantly, the reason the book was written was because its recipients were facing
some very difficult times. The recipients are believed to have been Jewish believers who were
facing such hard persecution, because they had turned to Christ, that they were considering
going back to Judaism. They were tempted to go back to the sacrificial system, the Levitical
priesthood. Times were that hard. They were asking: “is this worth it?”
And maybe that’s a question you have asked or are asking. Perhaps times are so hard that you
are asking yourself: “Is this worth it? Should I go on following Jesus or should I just quit?” You’re
not the only person who’s thought that. Jewish believers some 2000 years ago thought that as
well.
The interesting thing about Hebrews is that, though it is labeled, and with good reason, as an
epistle, a letter, it really is structured more like a sermon. One of the reasons I love the book of
Hebrews is because it expounds on Old Testament texts, it has a big idea, that is a main point, it
has sub points and applications. In fact, it doesn’t have the typical salutation you’d see in a
regular epistle. In other words, it does not begin like one of Paul’s letters. “Paul, an apostle of
the Lord Jesus Christ, etc.” It doesn’t begin that way. It launches into the main argument which
is what we’re going to discuss this morning.
3
Here's the author’s main argument for Hebrews – Jesus is a greater revelation than anything
we’ve seen in the Old Testament. He goes on to defend that argument. The author is going to
show again and again that Jesus is better, Jesus is greater, Jesus is superior to anything, any
prophet, any system, any mediator in the Old Testament. That’s his argument. And part of his
argument expounds on Old Testament scripture to prove his point. He’s writing a sermon! I love
it!
And interestingly enough, I say this just for fun. A typical sermon is about 45 minutes, give or
take, I tend to go a little longer- I’m long-winded. If you were to sit down and just read the book
of Hebrews, guess about how long it would take, on the average? 45-48 minutes. Hey, go do
that this week. Find some time, sit down and just read through it.
So, with all that, are you ready to dive into this magnificent book of the Bible?
The big idea we’re dealing with in these short few verses is: Jesus is the greatest revelation
from God. So, that begs the question: “Why is Jesus the greatest revelation from God?” That’s
the question the text deals with and the one we’re asking as we approach this section. So,
please join me in chapter 1, verse 1.
Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in
these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things,
through whom also he created the world.
Here’s your first point this morning, Jesus is the greatest revelation from God because, Jesus is
the exact representation of God’s nature.
When the author of Hebrews opens this book, he reminds us that God is a God who speaks. He
tells us how God spoke. He tells us to whom God spoke and he tells us when God spoke. And he
does this in two ways.
First, he tells us how God spoke in the past. This would be during the Old Testament. He writes:
Long ago, indicating before Christ came, from Genesis till Christ, in other words. Long ago, at
many times and we see that throughout the Old Testament. God spoke at many times during
the duration of the Old Testament. He spoke to Adam in the Garden. He spoke to Cain. He
spoke to Noah and Abraham and Moses and on and on it goes.
And that’s indicative of the use of the term “fathers” in verse 1. The author is indicating that
God spoke the descendance of Israel.
And He spoke to them through the prophets. Now this is not meant to be used specifically of
only the prophets such as Iasiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and so forth. This is meant to be understood
generally as anyone who spoke for the Lord. So, Moses often spoke for the Lord. David often
spoke for the Lord. Melchizedek spoke for the Lord. We’re going to talk about him in this study.
4
Anyone who spoke for the Lord was a “prophet”. What the author of Hebrews is saying is the
Lord, YHWH, a God who speaks, spoke to the people through the prophets of the Old
Testament. Thus, the Old Testament is a prophetic book of the Lord, from the Lord.
But, look at verse 2.
2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son,
He’s a God that spoke, but He’s not silent now. He is still a God who speaks, only now, He’s
speaking in the “last days” and that term “last days” doesn’t specifically mean the days of the
tribulation or the days when Jesus returns. The Last Days was understood by the original
readers as the time that began when Jesus, the Messiah, showed up and will last until He
returns. We’re in the last days. They began at Christ’s birth. They will end when He comes
again.
And note the agent of God’s voice. He’s spoken “by his Son”. The author is going to get into
what that more, but it suffices to say the Father relates to this agent of His Word as a Son
verses the previous agents who were prophets. There’s a different connection here. We’ll get
into that.
Finally, notice who the recipients are, not the “fathers” but “us”. “he has spoken to us”. and
that “us” is not simply the original readers of the book of Hebrews, it’s all who call on the name
of the Lord Jesus. The God who speaks has spoken to us through His Son. Now, notice what the
author says about the Son.
whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.
So, already we’re getting into the credentials of who this Son is. He is so much better than the
prophets, that this Son was appointed the heir of all things. That would have connected with a
Jewish audience who understood the system that passed all possessions from father to first-
born son. That was the way the system worked back then. If you were the first-born son, you
would inherit the father’s estate, at least the majority of it.
This text is telling us that Jesus is the heir of “all things”, everything. His relationship as Son to
the Father grants Him the right to everything. All belong to Jesus. But not only that, He is the
One “through whom also he created the world.”
At creation, Jesus was the agent that created the world. In 1 Corinthians 8:6, Paul writes:
yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and
one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.
So, Paul a distinction here in the roles of the Father and the Son. Don’t mistake me here, both
were present at Creation in Genesis 1. In some way, we may not fully understand, Jesus was the
agent through whom God created the world, the universe.
5
Already, we have been given astounding credentials as to who this Son is. But the author is now
going to further lay out his argument as to why Jesus is greater than all the others. Verse 3.
3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds
the universe by the word of his power.
Jesus is the exact representation of God’s nature.
The words here “radiance” and “glory” refer to light. Glory refers to “brightness” or “splendor”.
It’s a word often used in relation to God’s presence. Glory emanates from God like light from
bulb or heat from fire. Radiance is only used here in the New Testament and means: “intense
brightness”. The idea here is that the Son is so closely connected with the Father that you
cannot separate the two anymore than you could separate light from its source. You can’t
harvest the light from the bulb. It’s not possible.
The Son is too closely related to the Father to be separated. He’s also called here “the exact
imprint of his nature”. Now that word “imprint” was a word used for impressions that were
made upon an object. For instance, when they imprinting a coin with the likeness of the ruling
emperor, they would use an impressing tool. It would stamp the image onto the coin.
This was also a word used to speak of features from child to adult. How often do we look at a
child and think: “they look so much like their father or mother”? The child has been “imprinted”
so to speak, with the features of their parents.
The author is saying here, the Son is impressed with the features of the Father. They are so
connected. To look at One is to see the Other. Jesus actually affirms this in John 14.
Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I
been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the
Father.
The Son and the Father are so closely connected, they are One and the Same. Jesus is a greater
revelation of the Father because He is the exact representation of the Father.
Back in the good old days when movie makers didn’t use computers, they often relied on
models when filming stunts or spacecraft or whatnot. The people who made these models
would painstakingly etch every detail from the real thing onto the model so that the audience,
when watching the movie, could not tell the difference.
In an eternal way, that’s the idea here. Jesus is so etched with the glories of the Father, there’s
no telling the difference.
Our response to this should be to marvel at who the Son is. We just finished up a series on
drawing near to the Lord. We saw how we have been given something so much greater than
they had in the Old Testament that we can draw near to Jesus anytime we want without having
6
to go through all the ritual and sacrifice in the Levitical system. We simply draw near through
prayer and time with Jesus.
But in that amazing truth, don’t lose sight of who Jesus is. He is the glorious representation of
the Father. He is God incarnate. He is who was and is and always will be. We should constantly
be floored by the God who has chosen to dwell within us. Don’t lose sight of who He is.
Also, note this: there are those out there who would deny the divinity of Jesus. They will say
that Jesus is a created being instead of part of the Godhead. Some will even go so far as to say
He is “like” God but not actually God. The Jehovah’s Witness believe this way. In fact, in their
version of the Bible, John 1:1 has been changed.
Their version reads: “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word
was like God.” I’ve heard them read that to me. I was floored.
John 1:1, accurately translated, reads:
In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.
Never lose sight of the divinity of Jesus Christ. He is, was and always will be God. Strive to be in
awe of Jesus, because He is God. Jesus is the exact representation of God’s nature.
Second point, we see from the text, Jesus performed THE redemptive work.
Look at the latter half of verse 3.
After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
After making purification for sins. Now, that’s in interesting way to put it. We’re used to saying
things like: “Jesus died for our sins” or “Jesus paid for our sins”. But the author, here, writes:
“after making purification for our sins”. That word “purification” is the idea of being cleansed.
This should prick our thinking having just gone through Leviticus. The author of Hebrews is
going to develop this idea more. But here, he gives us a sneak peek into the fact that Christ’s
work, once and for all, cleanses us completely of sin.
What Christ did on the cross, the shedding of His blood, His sacrifice of Himself, was the work
that was needed to completely cleanse us from the dirt and grime and pollution of sin.
Remember when we studied Leviticus 16, the day of atonement? After the priests completed
their work, the whole camp of Israel was clean. That’s the idea here, except we’re not talking
about a once-a-year ritual. We’re talking about a once-in-forever sacrificial act that did all the
work necessary to remove sin.
This is why Jesus “sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high”. The Son sat down. What
does that signify? His work was done.
7
When you get home from work, or at the end of the day, when things are done, is there a place
in your home where you sit down? My wife and I have this chair in our family room, if you’ve
been to our house maybe you’ve seen it, it’s a wide chair, we both sit in it and it’s our place.
The kids know this. “That’s mommy’s and daddy’s chair. It’s where we sit at the end of the day
when the kids are down. It’s where we relax and watch Gilmore Girls or whatever.
The Son sat down because the work was done. On the seventh day, at the end of His creative
work, YHWH rested. When Christ ascended into heaven, at the end of His redemptive work, He
sat down.
Did you know there was no chair in the tabernacle or temple? The priests never sat down, not
while on duty. The priests’ work was never done. There was always mediation to do. But Jesus
sits. Work completed.
And notice where He sits. “At the right hand of the Majesty on high”. The right hand can
represent either power or honor. It can also imply greatness or favor. There was no greater
seat, in all the kingdom, than to sit at the king’s right hand. This idea of the Son sitting at the
Father’s right hand is alluded to in Psalm 110:1, which reads…
The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”
“The Lord said to my Lord…” now isn’t that interesting phraseology. “The Lord said to my Lord:
Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”
The Son sits at the Father’s right hand while the rest of history plays out until the day He
returns and evil is completely done away with.
Finally, I love this term for the Father here. He’s called the “Majesty on high”. Majesty is a term
that refers to God’s power, greatness and strength. It’s a word only used here, Hebrews 8:1 and
in Jude. He is the Majesty on high.
Jesus performed THE work of redemption.
All of this leads me to this question: “have you taken advantage of Jesus’ work of redemption?”
have you placed your trust in Jesus Christ? We really have only one of two ways to live this life.
We can live for ourselves. We can make life all about us. We can search high and low for what
we believe will make us happy and make that thing our god or we can turn to Christ and put all
our trust in Him and His work of redemption. You can trust yourself or you can trust Jesus.
Those are really the only two options we have.
And if you trust in yourself, if you look for whatever this life holds to make you happy, to give
you the satisfaction you need, if your god is really whatever you believe will bring you the joy
you desire out of life, you’ll be spectacularly disappointed, both on earth and in eternity
because separation from God in hell is wait awaits you.
8
But there’s another option. Jesus says in John 10:9-10…
I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it
abundantly.
Forsake doing life your way. Forsake sin, turn from it and turn to Jesus. What He promises is far
greater than what this world promises. If you’d like to talk more about that, please catch me
after the service.
But this question is not just for those who don’t believe in Jesus. Christian, do you take
advantage of His work of redemption every day? Perhaps the most precious word in the New
Testament is the word: Repentance. It’s not only meant for those who embrace Jesus for the
first time. Repentance is meant to be a life-long Christian practice.
I was listening to a podcast this week that described repentance as: “reorienting our minds back
to the Gospel”. We need this every day. Because we get caught up in the ways of the world. We
are stained with the world’s way of thinking. We get caught up in finding our security in success
or finances or family or comforts and we forget, every day we forget, Christ is our security. The
Gospel is what we cling to. Jesus has paid for sin and only He provides what our souls truly
need. We have to repent of or wrong ways of thinking daily and take back in the truth of the
Gospel. Do you practice repentance church? Do you bring Him your sins, your failures, your
righteousness even?
Once, during a sermon, Charlse Spurgeon, speaking of the righteousness we need, said this:
Surely, my brethren, none of you are so besotted as to think that this righteousness can be
wrought out by yourselves. You must despair of ever being able to keep the law perfectly.
Not only should we repent of sin, we should repent of ever trying to do everything right in our
own strength! Because when we strive to follow the law, in and of ourselves, we are despising
the redemptive work Jesus did! It’s all about repentance and, in faith, receiving the
righteousness Christ did on our behalf.
Repent church. Make repentance a daily habit.
Last point, why is Jesus the greatest revelation? Jesus holds the ultimate status. Read verse 4
with me.
4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent
than theirs.
Jesus holds the ultimate status. Now, what is status? We think of it as rank or position. Status is
where a person or thing stands in relation to others.
9
Jesus holds a greater status than even the angels. This verse actually introduces the next
section. We’ll see next week the author of Hebrews contrasts Jesus with angels. It’s a
fascinating argument. I can’t wait to get there. But for today, why does Jesus hold a greater
status than angel? Look at the latter half of verse 4.
as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.
A name can hold a lot of weight. The word: “name” here can mean just that: “name” But it can
also mean “reputation”. Jesus holds a reputation greater than the angels. A name or a
reputation can hold a lot of weight.
If we were talking and I dropped the name: Henry Hynoski, most of you would probably have
no idea who I’m talking about. Henry Hynoski was an obscure half back for the New York
Giants. His short career included: 6 touches for 21 yards and 1 touchdown. With all due respect,
not impressive. But if you and I were talking and I dropped the name Joe Montana, there’s a
better chance you’d know who I was talking about. Names can carry a lot of weight.
So, what name or reputation does Jesus hold here? We might be tempted to think the author is
referring to Jesus as Lord or God or King, especially when we remember his words from verses 1
and 2 when he spoke of Jesus inheriting all things and being active during creation. Now, I’m
not denying any of that. But I don’t think those are the names the author is necessarily thinking
of here. My reason? Go back to Verse 2 reads:
2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son,
His Son. The author is going to go on making this argument in the following verses. The name
the Lord Jesus holds is “Son”, capital “S”. No one holds that title.
Yes, it’s true that angels are called “sons of God” in the book of Job, but no angel is ever singled
out as “Son”, capital “S”, of God. Only Jesus holds the title, holds the status of “Son of God”.
This is emphasized in the Bible when John the Baptist says of Jesus…
And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.
Jesus, being the Son of God, holds the status no other being ever has or ever will hold. He is the
Son and therefore, as our author has already pointed out, Jesus is…
…appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance
of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the
word of his power…
Now, when it says Jesus has a name more excellent than angels, you might think: “why does the
author feel the necessity to contrast Jesus with angels?” Well, I’ll get into that more next week.
But for now, I’ll say this: don’t think about angels as these cute, little cherubs that fly around
10
shooting love arrows at people. Angels are, in a word, intimidating. We saw that when we went
through Daniel in the spring. They are awesome, terror-inducing creatures. For one to hold a
status above the angels would be impressive indeed. We’ll get to that more next week.
So, what do we do with the knowledge that Jesus holds the highest status. Well, this simply
reinforces Jesus as the greatest revelation. If Jesus holds the highest status, then His revelation
to us, revealing God, is far more trustworthy than any other revelation.
Think of this. If you heard, through the grapevine, that the boss of the company was
considering layoffs, that would be alarming but also, you might question the source. If the boss,
himself, made the statement that he was considering layoffs, that would hit harder because of
the trustworthiness of the source.
If the Son, who holds the highest status, even above angels, speaks to us the very words of God,
then His authority is completely and totally, 100% trustworthy. You can trust the word that
comes from the Word.
That being said, where do you struggle to believe the Word? Where do you struggle to trust the
Son? Do you doubt Him when He says: “I will always be with you.” Do you fret though He says:
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. Do you struggle with guilt, though Christ speaks
these words: “Take heart, your sins are forgiven”. Do you struggle to believe His love for you?
Do you trust the very words of the Son who holds the highest status? Are His words true? Is this
word true? Is it true? Why do we doubt and struggle if we profess to believe these to be the
very words of He who holds the highest status? Are they true? Whenever you struggle to
believe, ask yourself that question: “Is this true?” “Is this true?” If you answer: “yes”, what’s
stopping you from believing it?
Jesus holds the ultimate status.
Well, has your curiosity been piqued for the book of Hebrews? I hope so. There’s so much rich
truth coming our way. I hope you’re as excited as I am to get deeper into this book. And let’s
not forget the author’s main message. Jesus is the greatest revelation from God. He outshines
any imitation of revelation because Jesus is the real thing.
If Jesus is the exact representation of God’s nature and if Jesus performed THE redemptive
work and if Jesus holds the ultimate status over any and all created beings, then Jesus is the
greatest revelation of God, outweighing all other revelations by far.
One other author of the New Testament put it this way:
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were
created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or
authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in
11
him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning,
the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the
fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things,
whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
Let’s pray church.
Closing Prayer
Communion? No.
Closing Song: “Something Greater” New
Harvest, will you stand and join us in our closing song.
Announcements:
Harvest, don’t forget to drop off your prayer request in the box in the back before you head
downstairs to grab a snack and chat.
Prayer Team
With that, I’d like to call elders and their wives forward, if you have a prayer concern, please
come and share that with us.
Receive now the benediction:
Benediction: Romans 16:25-27. (or other text more related to the sermon)
Receive now the benediction from Romans 16:25-27. Now to him who is able to strengthen you
according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the
mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the
prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the
eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— to the only wise God be glory forevermore
through Jesus Christ! Amen.
You are loved and you are sent.