Hebrews 1: God speaks

Hebrews 1: He has spoken by his son

When the USA planned its initial invasion into Iraq, they wanted to communicate “shock and awe” so that the people of Iraq and the surrounding region would recognize the superior power of the American military force and the grave consequences for opposing it. When God invaded this world, there was very little “shock and awe,” barely even a shout. His invasion was closer to a whisper than it was a shout.

The only shock and awe in the story of Jesus birth came with the announcement by angels. Yet, even that seemed to go relatively unnoticed as their messages were delivered to relative nobodies. Hebrews 1 says an awful lot about angels and so does the Christmas story since Gabriel and the hosts of angels play such an involved role in the story. But Hebrews 1 isn’t about angels, just like Christmas isn’t about angels, shopping, trees, or even family. Christmas is about Jesus—and his whisper- like invasion.

Whisper is the right term for this when looking at Christmas through the eyes of Hebrews 1. That is because though a whisper is very soft and gentle, a whisper is still a spoken word. Hebrews 1 describes Jesus as the ultimate spoken word. Before Jesus came, people would read the Old Testament to understand what God is like. Now that Jesus has come, he himself has revealed to us “the exact representation of God’s being.” If we want to know what God is like, we can now look at Jesus. If we want to know what God has to say, we can listen to Jesus. If we want to know what God likes, we can look at what Jesus likes. This word came to us with no profundity, but more like a whisper—that you might miss if you are not listening.

Listen to that whisper today on Christmas eve and tomorrow. This whisper is the radiance of God’s glory and God’s word spoken to us. As you celebrate Christmas, would you look at the manger and see the gentle whisper of God for you that can be a word to you wherever you are and whatever you face. Bask in the radiance of God’s glory that is revealed in that manger for you.

Coming in the New Year:
It can be tempting to think that since Jesus came, the Old Testament isn’t as helpful to us as we seek to grow in our relationship with God. Actually, now that Jesus is here as the exact representation of God, we can look at the Old Testament in light of who he is and understand it more fully than those who read it before Jesus’ arrival. So, starting in January, we will begin a series called The Gospel in the History of Israel. We will begin with the book of Judges and we will spend January and February working through Judges-Ruth-1 and 2 Samuel.