TODAY...Jesus is no angel

What comes to your mind when you hear the term “angel”? What do you think of? What sorts of images are created? Are they dressed in white robes? Do they fly? Are they invisible?
 
There is so much intrigue and mystery surrounding angels in our understanding, our society, our culture, and even our history. If we think about it, many of us have wondered a time or two about angels and their role in our lives. Whether it’s a TV show like “Touched by an Angel,” the idea of having a guardian angel, or a movie like “Angels in the Outfield,” the interest marches on. I know I may be dating myself a bit with my previous references, but the reality of angels is one that is distant from our realm of understanding and yet is right in our midst. We may believe that there are angels; we just don’t entirely recognize how they fit into the grand scheme and scope of our lives.
 
The writer of the book of Hebrews spent his opening lines trying to establish the supremacy and superiority of Christ above everyone and everything else. He wanted to show how all of the previous ways that God had worked and had spoken culminated in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ. As we heard last week from Pastor Nick, Jesus was the messenger of all messengers. Hebrews 1:1-2 puts it like this: 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. The prophets served a great purpose as a mouthpiece for God. They proclaimed His actions and His activities, they spoke and revealed His truth to His people, they called humanity to action. But all of this pales in comparison to the Better Messenger: God’s very Son, Jesus. His Word was the Final Word as He encompassed and consisted of all of who God was and is and He brought that reality to the world.

This week, we continue that train of thought in that Jesus is also a Better Messenger than the heavenly angels. For many of the original readers, this was essential news as many of them had a pretty heightened view of angels. We can see numerous examples throughout Scripture on how angels showed up carrying a pretty powerful and significant message, coming to carry out God’s power and authority, protecting and guiding His people, and the list goes on. Maybe some had come to view angels so highly that it actually crept into being a worship of them or having a view of them that was not as God had intended. It also may have crept into a devaluing of Jesus and who He was as the Ultimate Better Messenger. For however amazing and wonderful angels were and are, Jesus shines above them all as God’s Son, the one whom the angels worship, serve, and answer to. Jesus is no angel because He far surpasses them in their purpose and role.
 
Today, as we look to Jesus as our source and hope for life itself, may we be reminded of His unlimited and unrivaled power, authority, control, and love as the Son of the Living God. May the truth and reality of this continue to shake up our understanding and shape who we are in Christ.
 
Pastor Ben