Before and After Jesus || Hebrews 1:1-2 || Weekend Wind-Down #31

Welcome to Week 31 of our “Weekend Wind-Down” series. This series is where we take a piece of Scripture, get its background information, and dig deeper into it to see what the Bible says about it and what we need to walk away with.

Our scripture focus today is Hebrews 1:1-2, which says: 

1 Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. 

2 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 book of Hebrews was written by an unknown author to present the sufficiency and superiority of Christ. 

This passage refers to the many creative approaches God communicated with key Israelite people. For example, God communicates to Isaiah through a vision, Jacob through a dream, and Abraham and Moses personally. 

The Jewish audience would have been familiar with these communication stories and understood that God continuously revealed his will to his chosen people. They would’ve struggled with the concept that God revealed himself by speaking through Jesus. We must understand that Jesus fulfilled and finalized God’s revelation that was previewed for this audience throughout the centuries. God promised everything to Jesus as an inheritance. God, through Jesus, created the universe. I’ve talked extensively about the creation story in my Deeper Creation series, which I’d encourage you to go back and read, watch on YouTube, or listen to on Spotify. Let’s talk more about what it meant for God to promise everything to Jesus as an inheritance. It’s time for a word study. 

The act of promising that God did in verse two is often understood as “appointed heir” via the various translations. Appoint is the Greek word tithémi (tith’-ay-mee), which means to place, lay, or set. The idea is to place, lay, or set something in a passive or horizontal posture. An heir is the Greek word kléronomos (klay-ron-om’-os), which means an heir or an inheritor. This word is a masculine noun derived from the word kléros, which means a lot or an assigned portion, and the word nemō, which means to distribute or allot. God placed everything in front of Jesus, assigning him ownership. The thing to notice here is that there are no exclusionary items. There’s nothing that God withheld from Jesus. This is important. Why?

Jesus’ wisdom is greater than all things because of his work in the creation story in Genesis 1-2 and the inheritance he received to own all things. Our problems are huge to us when we’re in the middle of them. They often feel overwhelming and give us a sense of drowning in all the emotions. We get placed in this fight-or-flight mode when we’re battling our problems, and we often do whatever we can to get control of the situation as quickly as possible without going to Jesus and seeking guidance. I say this because I do this constantly. We shouldn’t leave out the wisdom of Jesus and the Bible’s guidance when we’re in these battles. Jesus understands our problems because he experienced them when he came to earth as a human. Because of this, we have a written text that gives us instructions on how to get out of the problem. If we’re struggling to figure out what the Bible is saying, then we can lean on the wisdom of Jesus. Talking to God through prayer is crucial when we’re struggling. We talk to God and listen to him talk back through his Word. How do we know we’re hearing God? I don’t have a clear answer other than that you’ll know. It’s the voice that sounds the clearest amid chaos. When we know God intimately and relationally, we have all we need to be saved from our sins and to have a perfect relationship with him. 

John 1:3 says this about Jesus’ role in the creation story: 

3 God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. 

When God created, he made something from nothing. The world was created from formless, empty, dark, and deep waters (Gen 1:2). Humans were created from the dust of the ground (Gen 2:7). Because of this concept, we shouldn’t have pride in who we are. We are dirt, to put it bluntly. We are a bunch of bones and organs covered in skin that will decompose when we die. Sounds aggressive, doesn’t it? It should. Remember that we exist, that you exist, because God made us. God helped the universe dictate how the atoms in your mother’s womb and everything associated with that create your body as a baby, with the concept of the body you will have today. God created you in great detail and gave you unique gifts, talents, and skills. Gifts, talents, and skills that are only given to you that you can do alone. I can’t do things in the same way that you do things, and vice versa. We can do the same things but have different ways of doing things. 

With God, you are valuable and unique. You are gifted in ways beyond belief. Life can feel purposeless without God’s guidance, wisdom, and relationship. I know that there are people in your life just like mine who are thriving without having a relationship with God. It’s a wrestling I’m doing in explaining this because I don’t want to come down on those people. My study Bible says this verbatim: “…apart from God, you are nothing.” It’s easy to hear that and take offense. It’s not the face value that’s being said. Here’s my argument with this. 

It’s easy for us to get in our heads about things. It could be with decisions about a career, interests in a relationship, and figuring out our path in life. Some people have an easier time navigating these tenets of life than others, regardless of whether they’re Christian or not, just like some people struggle more regardless of being Christian. From my experience and conversations, navigating these tenants through a healthy relationship with God and properly studying God’s word gives us more clarity and confidence to make the needed decisions. This experience will vary from person to person, and, most likely, no one person will have the same experience as another. Yet I believe that’s a huge reason why having a church community or a community of believers to surround you and walk with you through life is imperative. It’s a journey I’m on right now, and I’m still a little guarded. I’m not sharing every detail of what I’m wrestling with, which I’m not saying you have to in this community. Still, I’m not sharing the whole story, which I believe is hindering my ability for community growth and creating new relationships. The community I’m a part of now has been a crazy huge blessing for me and has welcomed me with open arms, but I recognize that my arms may not be as open as theirs. I need to get out of my head about the fear of being judged and acknowledge that God is the only judge I have to worry about. I need to get out of my head about the fear of letting people in and acknowledge that God didn’t create me to do life alone. Recognizing these things comes through the relationship I have with God. Again, some people might thrive without God, but we’re in a world where many struggle and suffer. Living without God can remove the ultimate purpose for putting you on this earth. Don’t let the good things of the world stop you from pursuing the great things of eternity. 

1 Peter 1:20 talks about how we are God’s chosen people: 

20 God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but now in these last days he has been revealed for your sake. 

God chose Jesus as our sacrifice before the world was created. Before Genesis 1:1, the plan was to send Jesus to save us from our sinful life. Peter says that was revealed for the benefit of us as we approach the last days. Remember, the “last days” reference refers to Jesus’ second coming; when we join him in heaven, the Earth will be destroyed, and a new Eden will be created. The disciples in this time believed it would happen in their lifetime, which is why we see the consistent reference and push regarding the last-day narrative. 

I also wanted to dig into what it means that Jesus was our ransom because ransom isn’t a word we typically use and hear in 2023. The term ransom is unique to the New Living Translation. This is what other common translations say: 

NIV: He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. 

ESV: He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you. 

NRSV: He was destined before the foundation of the world, but was revealed at the end of the ages for your sake. 

Jesus was chosen, foreknown, and destined to be the ransom for humanity. Ransom, via the Oxford Dictionary, is defined as obtaining the release of someone by making a payment demanded. Jesus was chosen, foreknown, and destined to release us by making a payment demanded. This is the language consistently used to discuss Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross that released us from the bondage of sin. Yet, that wasn’t what was different among the various translations. How do the various words compare? 

CHOSEN – having been selected as the best or most appropriate.

FOREKNOWN – be aware of something before it happens

DESTINED – developing one’s future as though according to plan

Those are three different words that are trying to explain the same thing. I know they connect, but they are not the same exact word. God chose Jesus to do this because he was the most appropriate. God knew that the ransom must be paid before sin entered the world. God sent Jesus on a mission and developed the future that Jesus would have to go through. Peter’s audience would have been comforted by this. 

This also showed them that the Old Testament law wasn’t being thrown out because it didn’t work. The law of the Old Testament and the coming of Jesus were all a part of the same time. I’ve talked a handful of times about what it means that Jesus came to fulfill the law. The fulfillment of the law was removing the ritual and sacrificial means of going to God. Jesus’ death removed all those barriers and allowed us to go to God boldly and confidently. The law, then, is to be viewed with the lens and love of the ministry of Jesus. Jesus, the disciples, and the apostles all quoted and studied the Old Testament work. It’s not something to throw out because we’re a part of the new covenant. Still, we are to understand the Old Testament law to better understand the teachings of Jesus because Jesus showed us how to live a godly life. It takes close studying, looking at the cross-references, doing word studies, and digging deeper into what’s being told between the lines to understand how this works. I’ve implemented this into my writing skills, but I know I’m only scratching the surface. 

Let’s wrap that up here. The Hebrews passage shows how Jesus was prophesied throughout the Old Testament communications and how important it is to understand those communications today. John showed us how it’s important to understand that Jesus existed before Genesis 1:1 began and that pride shouldn’t get in the way of the purpose God created with. Peter shows us the importance of Jesus’ sacrifice and how that connects with us. Let us pray:

Father God, thank you for the blessing of Jesus. Thank you that Jesus was around at the beginning of everything and that we can learn how to live a godly life through him. Help us to remember the sacrifice that Jesus made on behalf of us that allows us to live a life intentionally and relationally with you. It’s in your name, we pray. Amen.