The Supremacy of the Son

Hebrews 1:5-14

This section contains quotes from the OT that the authour uses to indicate that the Son is greater than the angels. These quotes support the authour's thesis in verses 1-4 and indicate that there was an unhealthy fascination with, perhaps even worship of, angels. The authour's goal is to remind his readers of the supremacy of Christ.
The authour uses quotes mostly from the Book of Psalms but includes some from the historical records of the kings of Israel and Judah and the book of Deuteronomy. The main theme of the quotes is that angels are servants and the Son is the King who is given all authourity. Some of the quotes about the Son echo the authour's assertion that Christ is seated in the place of authourity at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven (v. 3, 8, 13).
The authour continues his thought about the supremacy of the name of Christ as compared to the name given the angels. The name given to Christ is found in verse 5: "Son". This is compared to the name given the angels in verse 7: "servant". The authour is showing that Christ has a special relationship to the Father and, therefore, is superior to the angels.
My question is about the use of the quotes. Historically, I am not sure that the passages quoted would have been attributed to the coming Messiah. They were mostly spoken of the present king or of God's sovreignty. I know that the authour was inspired by the Holy Spirit so that means that these verses are speaking of the Christ but it really does open up the book to reading back into the OT something that was never intended by the original human authours.
The point is that Christ is superior. I don't hear too much angel fascination or angel worship today, although it is still present in small pockets. I do wonder though if there is a growing fascination with demons. I think it is good to be aware of the spiritual forces of good and of evil in the world, but we, and be "we" I mean "I", must never lose sight of the supremacy of the Son: he is the King, he is far above the angels - whether fallen or not - in position and in power.

The Radiance of God's Glory

Hebrews 1:1-4

I already focused on the first couple of verses but the authour continues his thought in these next verses. The theme starts in verse 2 where the authour claims that the universe was created through Christ and then goes on into verse 3 where he develops his claim that Jesus is inseparable from God: he is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of God's being.
The authour clearly sees Christ as sitting on the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. This is a fulfillment of the prophecy of Jesus at his trial before the high priest and a parallel vision to that of Stephen in Acts 7, just before his death. It refers to the authourity that Jesus has - equal to God's authourity.
The authour makes a comparison in verse 4 that I don't completely understand. Jesus is as superior to the angels as his name is superior to their name. The name that the authour is referring to is found in verse 5: Son. It points to a more intimate relationship than the angels have with the Father. It also indicates a greater inheritance than the angels have. The point is that Jesus is superior to the angels.
For me the reminder is that it is all about Jesus. He is superior. I lack the language to describe the emotional response that I have to this. I think part of it is fear that I have allowed other things to become superior to Christ in my life. I think part of it is awe at the majesty and authourity of Christ. I think part of it is humility at the work that he accomplished in my life and in the world - the purification of sins. As an aside, talk about an understated way to describe the life, crucifixion and resurrection of Christ: "after he had provided purification for sins..." It reminds me that if Christ is the radiance of God's glory then the way for me to bring glory to God is to keep Christ central and superior. It brings me to the place of worship. Which is exactly where I need to be.

the last dreams

Matthew 2:19-23

Matthew again emphasizes dreams and visits from angels and continues to tell the story from Joseph's perspective (or at least makes Joseph the main character). In fact, Jesus continues to be referred to as "the child" and it is usually in the phrase, "the child and his mother." The only time his proper name has been used so far is in verse 1 of this chapter. I think Matthew records the angelic visions to remind his readers of the supernatural events that surrounded the birth of the child and continued to mark his life through to his resurrection. I wonder if he refers to Jesus as "the child" and constantly places him in relationship to his mother to remind his readers that he was human. Perhaps Matthew is reminding his reader that Jesus is both completely human and completely divine. Perhaps this is an attempt to build empathy for Jesus - because Jesus was such a polarizing figure, dividing families, Matthew is attempting to remind the reader that he was a child - a little boy - who had a mom and a dad. Yes, he was born in unusual, mysterious circumstances but he was not born to privilege. He was a refugee and suffered persecution from the time of his birth. Perhaps this was something that many could relate to - certainly history shows that there were large communities of Jews living in Egypt. Maybe many people knew of someone who had to flee because they had somehow incurred the wrath of Herod. (Just a reminder, these are just guesses).
Matthew again reminds the reader of how Jesus fulfilled prophecy, connecting Jesus to the prophecies regarding the Messiah. All I can say is that Matthew is lucky that he was inspired by the Spirit to connect Jesus to these prophecies - most of the professors I had in Briercrest would have failed Matthew based on his bad hermeneutics - taking phrases and verses out of context to apply them to the current situation. :)
Besides giving us permission to use bad hermeneutics, Matthew again returns to the theme of obedience. Joseph is told by an angel that he should return to Israel and in the very next verse, he takes his family to Israel. The word choices indicate that he did not wait - he got up and went. Another dream tells him not to go to Judea but to settle in Nazareth (their old home town) and Joseph does so. I feel like I am beating a dead horse but the lesson I learn from this passage is that God can be trusted and so I must obey him. I guess the issue for me is, how do I know if I am being obedient? I mean I can generally obey the principles of Scripture to love God with all I am and have (I'm still working towards obedience in that area) and to love my neighbour as myself, but what about the specifics? Did God direct me to come to EFree Lethbridge? Is he directing me to do something else? I can honestly say that I want to obey God but I haven't received any angelic visitors lately and I can't remember any particular dreams or visions that would instruct me. I know that I have prayer, the Word, the Community of Christ and the Spirit to guide and direct me but that seems a bit abstract, a bit hard to know for certain still. I've never heard an audible voice from the Spirit and the Word certainly gives me the broad principles I am to obey. I guess I just wonder why God doesn't direct my life as clearly as he did Joseph's. Or maybe he is and I just don't see it...