Christ is Superior in Position (Hebrews 1:3)

“Sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Hebrews 1:3).

·            Christ has a very high and noble position. He sits at the right hand of God Almighty in heaven. Prophets have their honor but it is far inferior to Christ’s honor.

·         This sets Christ in the position where what is described in the rest of the Book is possible…

·         Sitting down at the right hand of the supreme king was an image of the ultimate honor and alludes to Psalm 110:1, cited explicitly in 1:13. ^[1]

·         This verb has a number of meanings:[2]

·         Basic meaning is to sit (down)

·         Matthew 5:1

And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him.

·         John 8:2

² Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them.

·         be in high position, formally, sit on the right side

·         Matthew 20:23

²³ So He said to them, “You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father.”

·         Mark 10:40

⁴⁰ but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared.”

·         Mark 16:19

¹⁹ So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.

·         Another use of that “snapshot” past - it is past, we need to note it, but that is not the main point so much as the action is done.

·      at the right hand

·         This is the point of the action.

·         Christ sat down - that action is accomplished, but it is not the main idea - this is

·         WHERE is the main idea

·         The preposition introducing, the phrase is one of those that depends on the case of the noun in the phrase, here in the Dative.

·         That causes it to be a marker of location

·         There is no “hand”; it is implied to make the English a little easier to understand.

·         “at the right” -

·         Aside from the normal “right versus left” use, it was used metaphorically of “power” or “authority,”[3]

·         Acts 2:33; with ek, signifying  “on” followed by the genitive plural,

·         Matthew 26:64

⁶⁴ Jesus said to him, “It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

·         Mark 14:62

⁶² Jesus said, “I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”

·         It was also used similarly of “a place of honor in the messianic kingdom,”

·         Matthew 20:21

And He said to her, “What do you wish?” She said to Him, “Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom.”

·         Mark 10:37

They said to Him, “Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory.”

·         “…at the right hand…” - Used 27 times…among them:

·         Matthew 25:33

And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.

·         Matthew 26:64

Jesus said to him, “It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

·         Mark 12:36

For David himself said by the Holy Spirit: ‘The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”’

·         Mark 14:62

Jesus said, “I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”

·         Luke 20:42

Now David himself said in the Book of Psalms: ‘The LORD said to my Lord, “ Sit at My right hand,

·         Luke 22:69

Hereafter the Son of Man will sit on the right hand of the power of God.”

·         Hebrews 12:2

looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

·         1 Peter 3:22

who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him.

·         The Son’s enthronement at God’s “right hand” in heaven, promised in Ps. 110:1

¹ The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”

·         The reference is also mentioned (re: angels) in  Hebrews 1:13

¹³ But to which of the angels has He ever said:
“Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool”?

·         It reveals His superiority in two ways.

·         First, at the “right hand” of the Majesty Christ is ministering in the true, heavenly sanctuary and not an earthly copy (8:1, 2, 5).

¹ Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, ² a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man. [pause and think about that for a moment - that the LORD ERECTED! -  I don’t know if there is “real” tabernacle/Temple up there or not, but Whoa!]

⁵ who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For He said, “See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”

·         Secondly, He “sat down” because His sacrificial work (unlike that of Levitical priests) was finished once for all (Hebrews 10:11, 12).^[4]

¹¹ And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. ¹² But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God,

·         One Tabernacle/Temple - One Sacrifice - Then He sat Down!

 

·         The only question left is Whose right hand?

·      of the Majesty[5]

·         prominence, majesty as in that which is ascribed to God in worship…

·         Jude 25

²⁵ To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen.

·         The idea is One whose prominence is higher and whose majesty is greater than any other.

·         In the LXX it is translated mostly by the word “greatness”

·         That leads to the logical tangent is what we have here - God can be called “The Majesty”

·         He is here in Hebrews 1:3 and in Hebrews 8:1

Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens,

·         Because it can refer to human greatnesses, the author specifies “on High”

·      on high,

·         An adjective meaning tall or high[6]

·         Matthew 4:8

⁸ Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.

·         Likewise Mt. 17:1; Mk 9:2; Rev 21:10; Rev. 12; Lk 4:5 v.r.

·         But it can also be used as a metaphor…

·         Hence in this context it refers to the world above, i.e., heaven

·         Actually, this is the only place it is used in this particular fashion…  

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^[1]       Op. Cit., Keener and InterVarsity Press, The IVP Bible Background Commentary : New Testament, Heb 1:3.

[2]       Op. Cit., Swanson, Dictionary.

[3]       W. E. Vine, Merrill F. Unger and William White, Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (Nashville, TN: T. Nelson, 1996). 534.

^[4]       Luder G. Whitlock, R. C. Sproul, Bruce K. Waltke and Moisš Silva, Reformation Study Bible, the : Bringing the Light of the Reformation to Scripture : New King James Version (Nashville: T. Nelson, 1995). Heb 1:3.

[5]       Op. Cit., Swanson.

[6]       Op. Cit., Swanson, Dictionary.

Christ As the Image of God’s Person (Continued)

·    We talked last time about the use of “images” in the OT.

·    We said that the Scripture has some things to say about mages…In the OT there at least two kinds (Not counting man being in the image of God, of course, for that is entirely another matter)

 

1.  Images Of Foreign Gods (discussed last time)

2.  Images of Yahweh.

·         Standing stones (maṣṣēḇôṯ) erected by the Patriarchs were perhaps originally regarded as images

·         Genesis 28:18, 22 - though not, strictly speaking an image, Bethel was a sacred place

¹⁸ Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his head, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it.

²² And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.”

·         Likewise with Genesis 35:14 - not really an image, but only a sacred stone:

¹⁴ So Jacob set up a pillar in the place where He talked with him, a pillar of stone; and he poured a drink offering on it, and he poured oil on it.

·         similarly there were sacred trees; cf. Gn. 21:33),

³³ Then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there called on the name of the Lord, the Everlasting God.

·         The trees only marked the sacred spots where encounters with God occurred.

·         However, these were later forbidden

·         (Asherah, Dt. 16:21)

²¹ “You shall not plant for yourself any tree, as a wooden image, near the altar which you build for yourself to the Lord your God.

·         They were also, at times, interpreted as merely commemorative objects

·         Genesis 31:45–50

⁴⁵ So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar. ⁴⁶ Then Jacob said to his brethren, “Gather stones.” And they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there on the heap. ⁴⁷ Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, but Jacob called it Galeed. ⁴⁸ And Laban said, “This heap is a witness between you and me this day.” Therefore its name was called Galeed, ⁴⁹ also Mizpah, because he said, “May the Lord watch between you and me when we are absent one from another. ⁵⁰ If you afflict my daughters, or if you take other wives besides my daughters, although no man is with us—see, God is witness between you and me!”

·         Joshua 4:4–9

⁴ Then Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the children of Israel, one man from every tribe; ⁵ and Joshua said to them: “Cross over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and each one of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, ⁶ that this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ ⁷ Then you shall answer them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever.”

⁸ And the children of Israel did so, just as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones from the midst of the Jordan, as the Lord had spoken to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them to the place where they lodged, and laid them down there. ⁹ Then Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests who bore the ark of the covenant stood; and they are there to this day.

·         Later, images of Yahweh were condemned depending, of course, upon their intent:

·         The golden calf at Sinai - Exodus 32:1–8

¹ Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, “Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”

² And Aaron said to them, “Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” ³ So all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron. ⁴ And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf.

Then they said, “This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!”

⁵ So when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow is a feast to the Lord.” ⁶ Then they rose early on the next day, offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.

⁷ And the Lord said to Moses, “Go, get down! For your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. ⁸ They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a molded calf, and worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!’ ”

·         The image (*Ephod) made by Gideon - Judges 8:26–27

²⁶ Now the weight of the gold earrings that he requested was one thousand seven hundred shekels of gold, besides the crescent ornaments, pendants, and purple robes which were on the kings of Midian, and besides the chains that were around their camels’ necks. ²⁷ Then Gideon made it into an ephod and set it up in his city, Ophrah. And all Israel played the harlot with it there. It became a snare to Gideon and to his house.

·         The golden calves at Dan and Bethel - 1 Ki. 12:28–30

²⁸ Therefore the king asked advice, made two calves of gold, and said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt!” ²⁹ And he set up one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. ³⁰ Now this thing became a sin, for the people went to worship before the one as far as Dan.

·         The calf of Samaria - Ho. 8:6

⁶ For from Israel is even this:
A workman made it, and it is not God;
But the calf of Samaria shall be broken to pieces.

·         All of these had as their intention that of idolatry and not any sort of honor for the One, true God and thus could not be tolerated.

·         Such a “grey and easily misused area”, OK for some, but not for others, is EXACTLY why God forbade images in the first place.

 

·         So… this passage has little to do with those negative aspects of idolatry, and much to do being restored to the Image of God destroyed by the fall…

·         Christ was the “exact representation or image” of the Person of God while He was here on earth.

·         As result of His work - we are regenerated, restored to that image…

Believers are Regenerated into His Image: ^[1]

·         Psalm 17:15

¹⁵ As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness;
I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.

·         Romans 8:29

²⁹ For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.

·         2 Corinthians 3:18

¹⁸ But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

·         Ephesians 4:24

²⁴ and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.

·         Colossians 3:10

¹⁰ and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,

·         1 John 3:1–3

¹ Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. ² Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. ³ And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

·         Note the specific use of the male pronoun - “His”

·         Reaches back to V1 and “God”

·         Christ was the Image of God’s person.

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^[1]       James Swanson and Orville Nave, New Nave's (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, 1994).