Fix Your Eyes on Jesus, Part 3 | How to Survive a Crazy Election

Hebrews 1:1-4

Fix your eyes on Jesus, number one: Because He is God’s Final Word of Revelation.  He is God’s Final Word of Revelation. You don’t need to listen to anything else, turn on any other voice because Jesus is God’s final word of revelation. As we track the author’s argument throughout this epistle, he proves the superiority of Christ over everything that these professing Hebrew Christians might consider important; every source of news, every source of perspective they have elevated over Christ.

The writer to the Hebrews says, listen, Moses, Aaron, the Jewish way life, all of that, all of that is not superior to Christ. Listen to him. Most of this first chapter, all of the second chapter is providing Christ’s superiority over the angels. But this opening argument, it establishes the basis of authority, which is God in his revealed Word, but simply Christ is superior to all the prophets because he’s God’s final word of revelation. Look at verses 1 and 2. “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 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.”

It, that, in one sentence, just summarized 1,500 years of prophetic revelation; God spoke to our Fathers by the prophets, he spoke long ago, he spoke it many times, in many ways, and his point here is to draw their attention to an emphatic set of contrasts. He contrasts to God speaking long ago, he has spoken to us, the writer says, “Now, in these last days.” Last days, it’s a statement with rich, rich prophetic significance to it. We’re living in the same last days, in contrast to our fathers, God has now spoken to us, he says, this first-century generation; he’s spoken to us, the church. In contrast to using, many ways, many messengers, God has chosen one. He has isolated his revelation. He is speaking exclusively through one spokesman, by his Son.

Second reason to fix your eyes on Jesus, number two: Because he is the creator, the God who sustains. Fix your eyes on Jesus,  because he is the creator, the God who sustains. Look at verse 2 again, looking at the first part of verse 3, as well. God “has spoken to us by his Son, whom he 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.”

Look at the order in verse 2, the Son of God was “appointed heir of all things” and then he adds, it’s through the Son that God created the world. That tells us that the creation has a, telos, that is to say, it has an ultimate object, it has a purpose, it has an end in mind. God is the one who brings it to its end. To sum up all things in Christ, Christ is the beginning, the Creator, and he is at the end as God, “puts everything in subjection,” to, “under his feet,” Hebrews 2:8. In other words, prior to the creation of all things, the Son has been appointed, we might say it more accurately, he has been eternally appointed as a function of his Sonship, appointed to be the heir of all things. And then, God created all things through the heir of all things.

Third reason to fix your eyes on Jesus, number three, is because: He’s your savior, the perfect redeemer. Fix your eyes on Jesus because he is your savior, he is your perfect redeemer. The writer needed to establish the authority, the Word of God, that he’s the final revelation. He needed to establish the fact that Christ is fully God and fully man here, but here we see, after establishing the transcendent power and the glory of Jesus, the author now shows us Christ’s eminence, his kind condescension to come from heaven and to save us from our sins.

It says there, “After making purification for sins,” verse 3, “he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.” At this point, I’ve got to stop and give you a bit of background. Some scholars believe here the community of Hebrew Christians that were reading this letter, they were influenced by some Jewish separatist group.

 The Dead Sea Scrolls had this community of Essenes, who lived there, and they had some kind of strange views, millenarian views and all the rest. And these Christians here could have been connected to one of the groups and may be confused by an incomplete theology about Christ, at least some of them. And one author says, quote, “Members of this Dead Sea sect were awaiting the advent of two Messianic figures, of whom the kingly would be subordinate to the priestly, but both of whom would be subordinate to the supreme figure of the archangel, Michael.” Jehovah’s Witnesses aren’t anything new, are they? But they also looked for another prophet, a second Moses to fulfill Deuteronomy 18:18, who would, who would resume the whole sacrificial system prescribed in Mosaic Law.

First Century Jews, even the sincere ones like Christ’s disciples, they failed to discern, at least at first, they failed to discern that all those figures, prophet, priest, king; all rolled into one. They needed to see how their Messiah, how Jesus is superior to all, even the highest-ranking angel, Michael the Archangel. Beloved, we need to see that too. We need to see that he is superior to all. We need to see that he is our prophet, priest, and king. And we need to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. All those roles, prophet, priest, and king, fulfilled in one person, one human, with a human nature and divine nature put into one person. The majesty, the glory of this person would be demonstrated not in a, some spectacular act of exultation that we would expect, the way we would expect of a great person doing great deeds. His honor, his glory would be demonstrated in his great humiliation.

Notice it’s not after conquering the world that God exalts him to his right hand, it’s before that. He exalted Christ after he made purification for sins, after he humbled himself becoming obedient, even to the point of death, death on a cross. That’s when he exalted him. At the moment when it looked like his greatest failure to the world, Paul illustrates in Philippians 2, God exalts the humble. “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Jesus sat down. No High Priest entering into the Holy of Holies ever sat down, never. They entered in there and because lingering in there and accidentally touching something that would result in their death; so they got in, got out. They did their work, and they did not linger. Christ, his atoning work is finished. He passed through the veil. He entered into the Holy of Holies and he sat down. The work to secure our redemption was accomplished. Sin paid in full by his perfect death, his obedience to death on the cross. That is why, all hail the power of Jesus’ name, because he is our perfect redeemer.

Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Ronald Reagan, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Charlemagne, Constantine the Great, Nebuchadnezzar, whoever, those names do not qualify to be the name above all names. Praise God! Only the suffering servant qualifies because he poured out his soul to death and he was numbered with the transgressors.

Fourth reason to fix your eyes on Jesus, fourth, because: He is the Son of God and Son of Man. Fix your eyes on Jesus because he is Son of God and Son of Man. Starting in verse 4, He has “become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. For to which of the angels did God ever say, ‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you’?” Answer: none. Or again, “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son?” Did he say that to any angel? No! But, “again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, ‘Let all God’s angles worship him.’”

His superior, his superior nature, his superiority to the angels, the more excellent name he’s inherited is established in his unique one and only relationship to the Father, and his unique one and only relationship to humanity. In his divine Sonship, his status as the Son of God is eternal. He is one person among the three of the Triune God. He shares in all attributes of deity and all prerogatives of deity. He is Son of God. In his human Sonship as the Christ of God, his status as the Son of man signals his place in humanity as the firstborn, as the preeminent one. He is the representative head of a new humanity no longer in Adam, now in Christ.

Fifth reason to fix your eyes on Jesus, number five because: He’s eternal immutable King. He is the eternal immutable, if you prefer the word unchanging, he is the eternal unchanging King. Have you ever imagined a world without elections in every four years, not to mention the mid-term elections? I’m not advocating we do away with the elections; who wants to be stuck with whoever it is sitting in the White House at any given point for the rest of your life?

There is only one person I want ruling perpetually in any place, whether it’s Washington D.C. or Moscow, or Beijing, or London. But I want him to take the throne from Jerusalem. I want him to rule there and to bring us into his eternal kingdom. Look at verse 7, “Of the angels he says, ‘He makes his angels winds, and his ministers a flame of fire.’” They’re just equal with the elements; God uses the wind, God uses the fire, God uses the angels; they’re just part of the created order; they’re servants to do God’s will. “But of the Son he says,” verse 8, “‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your companions.’”

Because he shares all the attributes of God, because he shares the substance of deity, Christ is the only one who is ontologically and morally qualified for God’s throne. He doesn’t change his positions like some politicians we see when they put their finger into the political wind and suddenly, they’re someone else. He’s the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is as motivated as God is to see righteousness reign, to see wickedness punished, and banished from the earth. And he’s the only one capable of doing so, of enforcing righteousness, of executing perfect justice.

 Again, no votes put him in that seat of power. He doesn’t need to, to sway a population. He’s absolutely unconcerned who agrees with him or not. There’s one who agrees with him, God the Father. That’s the only one that matters. This is declaration of God, who said this in Psalm 2 verse 6, “As for me,” God says, “I have set my King in Zion, my holy hill.” I’ve already made my decision. I’ve cast my vote: Jesus. He testifies to that decree of anointing and this is what he recalls. He says, “I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, ‘You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.’”

This Anointed One, that’s what the title Christ means, by the way, anointed one. He’s eternal, he’s unchanging, even the universe that he created cannot claim that. Take a look at verses 10-12, in the immutability of Christ. This is quoted verbatim, by the way, from Psalm 102, “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth, in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands;” They’re not eternal, though. Contrary to Darwinian evolution, atoms do not remain forever. “They will perish,’ verse 11, “but you remain; they will wear out like a garment, like a robe you will roll them up, like a garment they’ll be changed. But you,” ah, you, “are the same, and your years will have no end.”

One day there will be no more elections. There will be no more need for the peaceful transfer of power, which is what our system was wisely established to do. We don’t have violence and unrest, I mean set this year aside, but historically, don’t have violence and unrest in the streets every time there is a change in power. That’s a wise thing our founding fathers gave us; gift of democratic elections.

But if people chose to abandon the good system that they’ve inherited, there is no need to be anxious or afraid of those who will arrogantly take advantage of the weak, those who will lie, make use of useful lies, those who prosecute, and persecute, and even murder the innocent, because our King loves righteousness.  Our King hates wickedness and he is God, and he sees it wherever it is, and he will persecute justice to the nth degree to satisfy his Father’s righteousness. “Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.”

It’s in the spirit of that word of comfort for all who take refuge in him that we come to a sixth and final reason from this text to fix your eyes on Jesus. Fix your eyes on Jesus, number six because: He is the returning, conquering King. Fix your eyes on Jesus because, he is the returning, conquering King. Now that is only good news if you are in Christ. A returning, conquering God-King coming back to the earth, that is not good news, if you’re not in Christ. “To which of the angels has he ever said, verse 13, “‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool at your feet?’ Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?”

That question is rhetorical. The answer is a resounding Yes, that’s what they’re for. Holy angels are indeed, “ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation.” Salvation from what exactly? From the wrath of God; from the wrath of the Lamb; from his impartial justice by which he will execute his righteousness. Look, this is what really, this is when it really counts to be on the, quote, unquote, “right side of history;” here, as the ruler of history, as the victor who will most certainly be the one, the last one standing in the end.

 God has the only right to tell us history and no one can oppose his telling of the tale. No one can rewrite it. He’s written it in the Book. To be written into his Book, on the winning side of that history, this is where identity matters.  You’d better get this identity right. God does play identity politics. And for those whose identity is found in his beloved Son, you know what? They are in. They are in, end of story. No questions asked. Those who are not identified with Christ Jesus the Lord, they’re out. And by out, I mean they’re out for eternity. There is no redemption after death. Turn over to 2 Thessalonians, just a couple books back.

 2 Thessalonians, chapter, chapter 1, I was gonna start in verse 5, but let’s back up, verse 3, “We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing.” That, that is Grace Church, beloved, right there. That is us. “Therefore we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring.”

Folks, that’s coming to us. But this, verse 5, these persecutions, afflictions we endure, verse 5, “This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering—since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed because our testimony to you was believed.”

That’s when it’s important to be found in Christ, to have all of your identity wrapped up in him, to not be a part of any faction in this world, any movement in this world, to be a part of that assembly. We are among those who long for this day. Not simply for the judgment and the vengeance of God, which we do pray for, because we, not because we hate people, but because we love justice. We love God’s righteousness. But of even superlative, of even greater joy for us is to see our Lord Jesus Christ no longer blasphemed, no longer relegated to the sidelines, but to be front and center and to be glorified to see him in his majesty so that we can admire him and worship him and fall down and praise him.

One more major point, let’s wrap this up. What’s the situation? The situation is that things are bad and they’re getting worse, but God has told us this gonna, this is all gonna happen. That’s not to be feared, not to be feared by Christians, anyway. It’s all part of the plan. That’s the situation. What’s our prescription? The prescription for us is what’s it’s always been, fix our eyes on Jesus. Study his perfections. Study his glory. Follow him to worship the God of the Lord Jesus Christ, to worship him in Spirit and in truth, to see him as Father, to pray to him, to see him as our perfect and eternal reward.

So we preach Christ. We preach Christ crucified. He is a stumbling block and folly to many, many in this world, but to those who are the called, Christ is the power of God, Christ is the wisdom of God, and I hope that, that’s enough for you to keep things in their proper perspective. We’re going to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus Christ, and that’s the plan. Okay? It hasn’t really changed, but that’s the plan going forward. If you needed that reminder, there you have it.

Let’s pray. Our Father we thank you so much for this church.  And we thank you for the Gospel of your Son, that salvation is found in him and him alone, that there is no other name under heaven by which men and women must be saved, but the name of Jesus Christ. It is our joy to proclaim him because he is all glorious. He is majestic and beautiful, and his salvation is perfect.

In him, you have answered the most important question in the entire universe, how can a sinner be made right with a just and holy God and God still remain just? In Christ, you’ve answered that. Your justice has been executed by punishing him for our sins. And we’re made right with you. And we’re drawn into a reconciled relationship with you, now tenderly under your fatherly care because of Christ. We thank you so much, Father, for granting us this great salvation, this great Savior and drawing us into this great kingdom where there is no fear, no worry, no anxiety, nothing but a glorious future ahead for us.

We know, Father, that there may be some listening today right now who do not yet know you. And the things that were said at the beginning of this message have just created churn and anxiety, all the stomach acids are flowing because they don’t know a saving relationship with you through Christ. So we pray, Father, that you would grant salvation, open blind eyes, unstop deaf ears, take away hard, cold, stone-like hearts, replace them with a living heart. Regenerate them to new life, even now I pray, grant them salvation that we may draw them near and love them as you’ve loved us. We pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen!