Why Jesus Is Better Than a Good Person (Hebrews 1:3-14)

A Few Thoughts to Consider

What makes Jesus better than any alternative?

Throughout history, many claimed to be God. But what makes Jesus different?

Hebrews 1:3-4 says,

^3 “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of his nature, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. ⁴ So he became superior to the angels, just as the name he inherited is more excellent than theirs.”

There are several critical points to note. First, the glory of God is like a great beacon of light that magnifies the character and essence of God. Jesus Christ is the radiance or brightness that comes forth from that light—meaning he is much more than just a mere reflection. Gareth Cockerill writes, “Just as the radiance of a light is one with the light and yet distinct from it, so the Son is One with the Father in essence, yet is distinct from Him. Just as the light rays reveal what the light truly is because they are part of that reality, so the Son reveals what God truly is because He is One with the Father.”[1]

Contrary to false teachers who say you and I can have the same authority and power as Christ, the author of Hebrews points out that Jesus is different. He is the “exact expression” of God the Father. N.T. Wright notes,

At the bottom of it all, in the ancient world, lies the idea of engraving, or of stamping soft or hot metal with a pattern which the metal will then continue to bear. Though the ancient world didn’t have printing presses such as we have had since William Caxton in the fifteenth century, it had early equivalents that were used, particularly, for making coins. The emperor would employ an engraver who carved the royal portrait, and suitable words or abbreviations, on a stamp, or die, made of hard metal. The engraver used the stamp to make a coin, so that the coin gave the exact impression, or indeed expression, of what was on the stamp.

The word character in ancient Greek was widely used to mean just that: the accurate impression left by the stamp on the coin. From there it came to mean both the individual letters that could be produced by this method (hence the ‘characters’ of a language) and the ‘character’, in the broader sense, of a person or thing: the sort of person, the ‘type’ if you like (think about that word, too). And this is what our writer is saying about Jesus. It is as though the exact imprint of the father’s very nature and glory has been precisely reproduced in the soft metal of the son’s human nature. Now it is there for all the world to see.^[2]

Verse 3 goes on to say that Jesus made purification for our sins. He accomplished this when he died on the cross as the substitution for our sins. When Christ died on the cross, he paid the penalty for our sins. The result is that Christ now sits where he belongs, at the right-hand side of God the Father. This is a position of honor, authority, and power. It also indicates Christ sits in subordination to the will of God the Father.

The phrase “having become” in verse 4 is not to say that this was the first time in his life when Christ was elevated to a position above angelic beings. This refers to a change of state rather than a change of existence. At that time, some sects of Judaism even elevated angels to a place that was superior to that of the Messiah. But this writer to the Hebrews could not be clearer. Christ is exalted high and above everyone and everything—even Angelic beings.

This is who Jesus is.

A Meditation to PRAY

Praise | I praise you for being exalted above every other being. You have all honor, authority, and power.

Release | I know I can trust you. You are all-powerful, but you are also completely good.

Ask | Help me to see you as more than a “helper” in my life. Everything on earth exists only because of you.

Yield | Show me how to live life your way and obey you in all I do.

A Challenge to Act Like Christ  

The reason more people do not look to Jesus for the solutions to their problems is that they are not deeply convinced he is the real answer they need. And so, they turn to other things. But if we want real solutions to the great challenges in life, we must look to the greatness of our God.

I think back to a story Timothy Keller shared about one of his teachers. Keller was wrestling with who Christ was, but he had a teacher who helped him clarify the type of relationship he wanted to have. One day, his teacher stood at the front of the class and shared:

“the distance between the Earth and the sun—ninety-three million miles—was no more than the thickness of a sheet of paper, then the distance from the Earth to the nearest star would be a stack of papers seventy feet high; the diameter of the Milky Way would be a stack of paper over three hundred miles high. Keep in mind that there are more galaxies in the universe than we can number. There are more, it seems, than dust specks in the air or grains of sand on the seashores. Now, if Jesus Christ holds all this together with just a word of his power (Hebrews 1:3)—is he the kind of person you ask into your life to be your assistant?”^[3]

Many have settled for having Jesus as their assistant. “Jesus, help me do this” or “Jesus, help me get that.” But Jesus is so much more and it’s only as we understand this that we realize our overwhelming need for him.  

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[1] Cockerill, Gareth L.. Hebrews: A Commentary for Bible Students (Wesleyan Bible Study Commentary) . Wesleyan Publishing House. Kindle Edition. 798.

^[2]N. T. Wright, Hebrews for Everyone, vol. 16 of Accordance electronic ed. (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011), 2-3.

[3] Timothy J. Keller, Hidden Christmas: The Surprising Truth Behind the Birth of Christ