A Superior Originator (1:5-5:10)

Jesus is the superior originator; all things originate from Him (1:2) - "one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist" (1Cor.8:6).  In particular, He is the originator of glory.  He is the originator of faith - He is its author and perfecter (12:2).  He is superior to angels, superior to Moses, superior to Joshua and superior to Aaron.  As powerful as each of these were in their time, and even though they played a significant part in the history of God's people, originating different things in their dealings among them, they could not originate or bring the people into glory, only Jesus could.

Angels (1:5-2:18) Angels have power - they brought a message that was binding (2:2) - and every disobedience to their message would be punished.  But it was not as great and binding as the message that Jesus brought: the great and glorious message of salvation.  It is such a superior message that the angels longed to look into it but were unable to (1Pet.1:12).

A brief comparison of the superiority of Jesus to angels puts things into perspective.  Angels don’t have the glory; it was given to Jesus (2:9).  They didn’t become like us, but Jesus did - to restore and re-affirm glory (2:10).  They could never understand us, but Jesus became like us and knows how we are tempted (2:18).  They serve the recipients of God’s glory - those destined for salvation (1:14) - they are not here to be served (Col.2:18).  They do not rule; the enemy is not subject to their judgement.  God’s glory does not help them, but helps those who receive His glory.   Man was created to be the image of God - the “carriers of glory” - not angels!

Jesus' superiority is a source of great comfort and security for us.  If the content of the message of salvation is superior to the message of angels, then the "binding" of that message upon us is more superior to the binding of the message of the angels.  It confirms the permanence - the binding - of our salvation.

Moses (3:1-19)  Since we are considering the superiority of Jesus to other key figures, a continued comparison is in order:  Moses.  Perhaps more than any other he had the greatest impact on the life of Israel.  Yet we see that where Moses performed miracles, Jesus is the miracle!  Whilst Moses was faithful in the house as a servant, Jesus is the Son of the house.  Moses was faithful in the house, but God built the house.  Moses spoke of things to come; Jesus was that which came. 

Moses' greatest task was bringing deliverance to Israel; he led them to freedom from the oppression of Egypt.  Jesus, however, brought the greater deliverance; He brought a freedom that is spiritual and eternal, not merely physical, geographical or sociological. 

It is worth noting that circumstantial deliverance doesn't bring freedom, but only relief.  In fact, it does not even necessarily release faith!  Scripture is full of example, and so are our churches, of people who have been helped by God through various trials and difficulties, but, once the disaster is past, they soon forget about God who saved them.  Now, because of the superiority of Jesus, we have the security of knowing that we have deliverance and a freedom that is entirely independent of circumstance!

Joshua (4:1-13)  The inclusion of Joshua is interesting.  He brought God's people into their inheritance in the Promised Land, but that was only ever going to be a temporal rest.  He gave people rest from their enemies, but not rest for their hearts (hence their constant disobedience).  Jesus has come to give us a superior rest, an eternal rest, the rest of God.  He gives us a heart-rest even in the presence of our enemies.

  

Aaron (4:14-5:10)  Aaron, the high priest - what a role he played in Israel; what a role the high priest, as an office, continued to play throughout Israel's history.  We will go on to compare more of how Jesus is superior to the priesthood later, but perhaps, for our benefit, the most significant thing is that the high priest could only bring salvation to the people for one year: every year he would have to go before the altar and seek forgiveness for Israel's sin.  But Jesus, our eternal and permanent High Priest, saves us forever, once-and-for-all (10:14).

All of these beings, heavenly or earthly, played a significant role in the story of redemption.  Each in their own way was an originator, be it a message, or a Law, deliverance, a rest or a religious tradition.  To attach some key word to each we could say that angels represent the supernatural, Moses the prophetic, Aaron the religion and Joshua the warfare.  Yet none of them could originate anything eternal.  That privilege belongs to the one who is superior to them all, Jesus Christ.

What does this mean for us?  How does it help us to be fit for service?  It has to be that, even if we consider all that others have done, and are tempted to ascribe to them our allegiance, we serve someone who is far above anything that anyone else can do.  It should fill us with awe and wonder!  And so, to be well-placed in bearing fruit for God, we need to be a priesthood who bring a message of freedom, rest and eternal life to others: the Good News, the gospel of Jesus Christ.