Scripture Daily

Context No. 3284 of 4322 · Hebrews

Context · Reflection

Hebrews 1:1-5: in context

1God, having in the past spoken to the fathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2has at the end of these days spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds. 3His Son is the radiance of his glory, the very image of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, who, when he had by himself purified us of our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4having become as much better than the angels as the more excellent name he has inherited is better than theirs. 5For to which of the angels did he say at any time, “You are my Son. Today I have become your father?” and again, “I will be to him a Father, and he will be to me a Son?”

God has always been a speaking God, but the writer to the Hebrews marks a decisive turn. Long ago God spoke in many partial ways through the prophets, 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 worlds. The Son is the radiance of God's glory, the exact imprint of his nature, who, having purified our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.

The Son is God's full and final word. Where the prophets each carried a fragment, Jesus is the whole; he is the radiance of God's glory and the exact imprint of his very being. And that he sat down matters: the work of cleansing sin is finished, so he rests at the Father's right hand. In Jesus, God has said everything he means to say; there is no further word to await, no fuller revelation still to come. To hear the Son is to hear God's own full and final word to us, and to look past him for something more is to miss what God has already spoken.

Do I listen to Jesus as God's full and final word to me, or do I keep seeking some other word when God has already spoken everything in his Son?

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