I once read a story that was used to illustrate the importance of getting things in the right order. The writer’s daughter suffered from a childhood disease that left her with painful joints. At one point, a physician placed a device in her ankle in an attempt to decrease discomfort and increase mobility. However, the pain persisted. Eventually, the girl asked to have the device removed. The doctor listened to her complaints and upon examination discovered that the device was in the wrong place. By making a small manual adjustment, she began to feel the benefits immediately.
The author of Hebrews began his letter with a similar principle. His readers didn’t have things in the right order, as they elevated angels to divine status. Paul also condemned the worship of angels in his letter to the church at Colossae (Col. 2:18). The fascination with the supernatural in our culture today isn’t new. Individuals in the early church were so intrigued by the supernatural realm that some people were even worshiping angels. Today in the book of Hebrews, we’ll be reminded that while angels are great, Jesus is the greatest. We may not be elevating angels, but it’s just as important for us to remember that Christ deserves first place in everything.
The writer of Hebrews opens the book with an emphasis on the Son’s qualities.
“And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son he created the universe. The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven. This shows that the Son is far greater than the angels, just as the name God gave him is greater than their names.” Hebrews 1:2-4
The word he used to describe Christ as greater than angels is the Greek word kreittōn, which is typically rendered “better.”1 It’s a favorite term for the author. He speaks of better things (6:9), better givers (7:7), better hope (7:19), a better covenant (7:22; 8:6), better promises (8:6), better sacrifices (9:23), better possession (10:34), a better country (11:16), a better resurrection (11:35), something better (11:40), and blood that speaks better (12:24).2
He elevates Christ in the minds of his readers so they don’t settle for anything less than the greatest. Angels are agents of God, and they are amazing. But Christ is better! I imagine you aren’t struggling with worshiping angels, but we all tend to drift away from giving Christ priority in our lives.
God knows our tendency to drift toward lesser things. Even good things like working, family, and technology can overtake what we claim is most important in our lives—our faith. Hebrews helps us realign to get things in the right order in the way we think about God, angels, other people, and ourselves.
God loves people so much that He sent His one and only Son to save us. Not only that, but He also sends angels—ministering spirits—with the purpose of caring for believers.
Our culture is at war for your attention. Your phone apps curate advertisements targeted at gaining your attention. That same phone is likely notifying you often of emails, texts, news, and social media likes, all calling you to pay attention to them. Drifting isn’t something we do intentionally. It often happens without notice.
I have been in the ocean with my children and found when we got out of the water that our towels and bags were farther away than we realized. We had drifted. The same thing can happen to us spiritually. The key is to anticipate it, recognize it, and then shift back toward the Lord. The writer of Hebrews encourages us to be diligent in paying attention and listening carefully to God—to His Word, the prompting of His Spirit, and the wisdom of His people.
The writer of Hebrews reminds us that we stand firm by continually making Christ greater than anything else in our lives. He also reminds us that Jesus didn’t come to earth and dwell among us to save angels; He came to save us!
Jesus didn’t come to earth to live and die for angels; He came for people. In writing about the good news that Jesus came to save sinners, Peter said this about angels: “It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen” (1 Pet. 1:12).
Angels are God’s agents; they are great, but Jesus is the greatest. Keeping Christ first will transform our lives as we fight against the drift by standing firm in the truth. In our thoughts, work, finances, time, health, and everything else, we want Christ to have first place!
- Alan F. Johnson, “Revelation,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, vol. 12, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1981), 15
- Ibid. 16