The Long-Awaited King | Weekend Service | Josiah Smith

A message by Pastor Josiah Smith on Hebrew: 1:5-6

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Transcript

Plot Twists And Hebrews’ Big Reveal

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Well, the world of cinema and drama and storytelling is obsessed with plot twists. Is that fair to say? We love plot twists, we love unexpected twists and turns. We feel thrilled and enthralled by things that we didn't necessarily anticipate. I was reading a few articles on this phenomenon this past week. Here's what one author said about this. He said, There are few things as satisfying in a movie as a great plot twist. Everything clicks into place, and it feels like the laws of physics are being rewritten just to delight you. What a way to put that. Another article that I read said plot twists are effective because they redefine the story, shifting the audience's perspective, enforcing a re-evaluation of everything that came before. Now I want you to think about plot twists in connection to the book of Hebrews. Now, of course, Jesus coming and Jesus being the eternal Son of God and the Messiah is not a plot twist. It is the plan by which God chose from eternity past. But from the perspective of the Jewish Christians that the author of Hebrews is writing to, it certainly felt like a plot twist. It certainly felt unexpected. And so you can imagine that they are being forced to reevaluate everything that had come before, in light of now, who Jesus is, who Jesus has been revealed to be. It started in Hebrews 1 saying at long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days, he has spoken by his son. And the Jewish Christians that the author of Hebrews is writing to, they're still wrestling with that. They're wrestling with the question of who Jesus is, and they're thinking back to the Old Testament. They're thinking back to the sacrificial system, the Davidic covenant, the Mosaic covenant, and they're having to redefine things and reunderstand things now in light of who Jesus is. So I want you to imagine that the book of Hebrews as an article written after the release of a movie to explain the so-called plot twist at the end. The ending of this movie explained, the meaning of this movie. I want you to think of the book of Hebrews as that, as an explanation, as an article being written by the author of Hebrews, just to give some clarity so that they can think back of the storyline of scripture and all of the plot development that ultimately culminated in Christ and have a greater understanding of what all that meant, a greater understanding of what all that was building to in Jesus. And that's what the author of Hebrews is going to continue to do. And he's going to do it by way of several contrasts. Actually, the whole book of Hebrews is how Jesus is greater than any number of things. He's greater first than the angels, he's greater than Moses. He's greater than Aaron. He's greater than all of the priests of the past. He's greater than all of the kings of the past. But we start in Hebrews chapter one with this explanation of how Jesus is greater than the angels. And they're still wrestling with the question of, well, who is Jesus? Who is he? And the author of Hebrews writes this article to help explain to them this is who he is. And in fact, this is who you've been waiting for, as we talked about last week. This is who the Old Testament has been pointing into. And they're getting a new understanding and they're getting clarity on exactly who Jesus is. And we'll continue to pick that up today in verses five and six. If you've got your Bibles, go there. Hebrews 1, beginning in verse 6. So the author of Hebrews begins his argument. He's made an assertion that Jesus is greater than the angels, that the name he has inherited is much more excellent than theirs. That's an assertion that he has made. Now he's going to prove it. Now he's going to demonstrate that that is in fact true. And that's where we pick it up in verse 5. It says, For to which of the angels did God ever say, You are my son. Today I have begotten you. Or again, I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, Let all God's angels worship him. So what Jesus is being compared to in verses five and six is angels. And the author of Hebrews is making an argument from the lesser to the greater. He's going to talk about angels a lot, actually, several times in Hebrews, but especially in chapter one. And he's going to say, Angels are great, but Jesus is greater. And that's the argument. It's from the lesser angels to the greater Jesus. And he's trying to help them understand who this Jesus is and what it means for them and the significance that it has for their lives. But he starts with the angels. Did you notice that beginning of verse 5? For to which of the angels did God ever say? And he's going to make this contrast. And he's going to say, he never said this about the angels. He never spoke of the angels in this way. He never made these declarations about the angels. But in order for us to grasp the weight of the author, the author's argument here in verse 5 specifically, we have to understand something about angels. We have to understand what the Bible says about angels. And let me just tell you, there is some weird stuff out there concerning angels. Hollywood loves angels because they can just do about anything they want with them and make them as strange as they can possibly be. We have a fascination with angels. But for us to understand this argument, we have to understand from a biblical perspective the role and significance of angels. So point number one, write it down this way. Recognize the significance and prominence of angels in the Bible. Recognize the significance and prominence of angels in the Bible. And if we don't understand the significance of angels, we're not really going to feel the weight of the author's argument. Because he's saying Jesus is greater than the angels. And today in modern America, perhaps you have not thought about angels, maybe ever. But perhaps certainly not this week, or maybe if you did, it was strange. But you need to think more about angels from a biblical perspective. So let's start by saying what angels are not. Let's start there. Let's start by a negation, saying what we believe they are not. Angels are not glorified human beings. Human beings, when they die, do not become angels. The Bible keeps them distinct and says that humans and angels, they're both created beings, but they are separate, and one does not become the other. I remember when I was in the fifth grade, uh, one of my friends had a family member pass away, and she was kind of processing and wrestling through it. I remember her saying so vividly that, well, now she's in heaven and she has received her halo because she is an angel, was what she said. And unfortunately, according to the Bible, that is not true. People do not become angels. Angels and humans are distinct. In fact, there's there's this fascinating passage, I believe it's in 1 Corinthians 6, where Paul says that humans will sit above angels and will judge them in the last days. We're gonna sit above angels and we're gonna judge them. We're distinct. The Bible maintains that distinction. It is also not true that every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings. However fuzzy that make you feel inside, that is not true. I wish we had a bell to ring right now, uh, because there'd be no angel getting their wings. It is not true that every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings. They are not cloud-lounging heart players, believe it or not. They do not shoot a bow with heart-tipped arrows. Angels do none of these things. What are angels according to the Bible? Well, let's start in the immediate context. If you're in chapter one of Hebrews, go down to verse 14. Here's how the author of Hebrews defines them. These angels, are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation? So they're spirits, meaning they don't have a body. They're not physical flesh and blood. They're spirits, but they're ministering spirits. They're servants of God. They're servants of God intended to accomplish the purpose of God. And specifically in Hebrews 1, it says to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation. That's the purpose of angels. That's how they're defined. Did you know, though, that angels, end to end in the life and ministry of Jesus, have a prominent role and they're present at every aspect of Jesus's life and ministry from an earthly perspective? Did you know that an angel informed Mary that she would conceive and that the son's name would be Jesus? That was the angel Gabriel. We celebrate that at Christmas. An angel is involved in the announcement of the birth of Jesus. An angel appeared to Joseph and assured him that Mary conceived because of the work of the Spirit. An angel spoke to Joseph and said, Do not be afraid, fear not. This is of God. This is the plan and purpose of God. Who was it that appeared to the shepherds in the field, keeping watch of their flock by night? You know who was there? It was the angels. The angels announced to the shepherds Christ's birth in Bethlehem. Do you remember when Jesus goes into the wilderness for 40 days and for 40 nights, and he's fasting and he's being tempted by Satan, who was it that was ministering to Jesus in the wilderness? Well, Matthew 4 says that the angels were ministering to Jesus in the wilderness. Jesus told Nathaniel that he would see the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man. In the Garden of Gethsemane, who was it that was comforting Jesus and strengthening Jesus in Luke 22, 43? It was angels. Jesus said that if he wanted to, he could call upon 12 legions of angels in Matthew 26, verse 53. Who was it that rolled the stone away after Jesus rose again from the dead? It was an angel. It was an angel. Who was it that was sitting on the stone when uh the the women show up and the the the stone had been rolled away? It was an angel. Angels accompanied Christ at the ascension. That's Acts chapter one. You remember the apostles looking up into the sky, and the angels are like, What are you doing? There's work to do. Go, go, go be about the Father's business. Go make disciples. Stop staring into the sky and waiting around. The angels appeared and talked to them. Angels also will accompany Christ when he returns. Matthew 16 says that. Matthew 25 says that. Angels are eager even to look into the salvation brought about by Christ. So end to end in the life and ministry of Jesus, angels are involved. And that is significant. More broadly than that, what do angels do throughout the scriptures? Well, we see angels standing before God and worshiping him. You know the scene in Isaiah 6 in the throne room of God, where there is the seraphim, the angels that are flying around the throne singing, holy, holy, holy. Those are angels that are standing before God and worshiping him. We also see angels in the Bible protect and deliver God's people. That's even in Genesis 19, where God destroys Sodom and Gomorrah. It was angels that were helping deliver Lot and Abraham and all of those people from that destruction. Angels also are said to guide and encourage God's servants. At times in the scriptures, they interpret God's will to men. You can think of Job chapter 33, Daniel chapter 7, or Daniel chapter 10. They are also executors of judgment toward individuals and toward nations, again, such as Sodom and Gomorrah. And if that wasn't enough, the Lord's return, the second return, or the rapture rather, referenced in 1 Thessalonians 4, will be accompanied with the voice of the archangel. They will be actively involved as God agents of judgment during the tribulation period. When Jesus returns in judgment, it says he will be accompanied by angels. The angels will gather together the elect at Christ's return from the four corners of the earth. That's Matthew 24. They're involved in the eschatological harvest. They will stand before the gates of the new Jerusalem and on and on it goes. The Bible says that angels are prominent in the plans and purposes of God. And they're significant and they have a significant role and they serve in significant ways. But remember, the author of Hebrews is making an argument from the lesser to the greater. If angels are great, and they are, how much greater is Jesus? If angels are great and they're powerful and they're mighty and they're glorious, and scripture says all those things about angels. They are great. But if they are great, think about the greatness of Jesus. Think about how much greater Jesus is. And to prove this, he goes on in verse 5 to quote from two different passages. Let's read it together, beginning in verse 5. For to which of the angels did God ever say, You are my son. Today I have begotten you. Or again, I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. Now we need to understand what the word begotten means. Again, not necessarily a word that we use often today. What does begotten mean? Well, in this context, the word begotten has two senses to it, two primary meanings, if you will, to the word begotten. The first, it can be translated unique and one of a kind. So the word begotten can be translated from the original language, Greek, into unique and one of a kind. So you could say rightfully so that Jesus is the unique and one of a kind Son of God. There is one Son. The Father has one son. There's no other Son before him, there's no other son after him. There is a unique and one-of-a-kind relationship that the Son of God enjoys with the Father of God. That's one aspect of this word begotten. So, in a sense, it's speaking to the divinity of Jesus. All that it means for God to be God is true of the Son. He is the Father, or He is the Son of the Father. That's what begotten means. So it can also be translated basically, or to mean to share the same essence with. And so the Son shares the same essence with the Father. They are one and the same. You remember in Hebrews 1, 1 through 4, it says he is the radiance of the glory of God, the exact imprint of his nature. He upholds the universe by the word of his power. That's speaking to his divinity. So he's unique in one of a kind. There's none before him, none after him. There's one son, he is the son, an eternal son, and all that it means for God to be God is true of the Son. That's what begotten means. That's one aspect of it. So again, that's the divinity of Jesus. But it can also be translated, and I think in this context, perhaps it leans more this way. It can also be translated to bring about. If you beget something, you bring about it. It happens, you make it to happen. And so I think this is speaking in time and space, the eternal Son of God, at the will of the Father, is bringing something about. What is he bringing about? Well, his messianic role, his messianic responsibilities. He he is becoming all that the Father is commanding him to become in and through his incarnation, in and through his life in ministry, his death on the cross, his resurrection from the grave, his ascension, and now he sits at the right hand of the Father to beget means to bring about. And that's the sort of human messianic side of Jesus. And both of those things are in view. You are my son, the eternal son. Today I have begotten you. Today he has caused something to happen. What does he cause to happen? Well, in his life, in his incarnation, through raising him from the dead, the father that has claimed and made it so that the son is the king of kings and the lord of lords. Here's the logic. Follow me on this. Psalm chapter 2, verse 7 is the first quotation in Hebrews 1:5. So he says, For to which of the angels did God ever say? And then he quotes Psalm 2, verse 7, You are my son. Today I have begotten you. And Psalm 2, 7 is about a king who will reign, who is referred to as the Lord's anointed. Now, the word anointed in the Hebrew, think of it, it shares parallels with the word that we often use, Messiah. This is the Lord's Messiah, the Lord's anointed, the chosen one who is going to sit at the Father's hand. He was going to be a king who will reign. That's what Psalm 2, 7 is all about. So he is saying, To which of the angels did God ever say, You are my son, today I have begotten? Well, of course, he hasn't said that about any of the angels. And then he quotes another passage from 2nd Samuel 7, verse 14. It says, Or again, I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. And that's 2 Samuel 7, verse 14. And that is about a king who will reign from the line of David. It's in the context of the Davidic covenant that God makes with the nation of Israel, but specifically with King David and his line and lineage. So 2 Samuel 7:14 is again about a king, just like Psalm 2.7, but it's specifically about a king who will reign from the line of David. So here's the logic. Hebrews connects these two passages and says, Jesus is the Lord's anointed Messiah. He is the king who came from the line of David. This is who Jesus is. And again, here's the argument Angels are great, but Jesus is greater. To which of the angels did God ever say he was the anointed king that came from the line and lineage of David? None. None of the angels. He has said that about one person, the person of the Son. And this is what the author of Hebrews is saying. He is the anointed one. He is the king from the line and lineage of David. And so the response from that, implicitly for the audience of Hebrews and for you today should be one of submission. If he is the king and he has all authority and he's greater than the angels, your response should be to submit to that king. And that's point number two. Submit to Jesus as the long-awaited king who will sit on David's throne. Submit to Jesus as the long-awaited king who will sit on David's throne. And I say long-awaited because again, he's quoting from 2nd Samuel chapter 7, a covenant that was made long ago with David and his descendants, that there would be someone, a king, that would come whose roose rule and throne would have no end. He would have an eternal rule. And then Jesus, according to Hebrews, is that king. Submit to Jesus as the long-awaited king that was promised long ago who will sit on David's throne. Now, in order for us to really understand this, we need to understand some things about David's throne. Now that's a huge topic, and we can't go into all of the specifics today, but I want to ask and answer three questions to help us understand the argument as it's being made in Hebrews 1. Three questions to ask about David's throne. The first question is where is the throne located? Where is the throne of David that Jesus is said to be given? Where is this throne? Is it in heaven or is it on earth? That's more of a complicated question that then it may first appear, but we'll try to answer that. Is it in heaven or is it on earth? Where is the throne located? That's the first question. The second, what does Jesus sitting on the throne accomplish? What is its purpose? What does it accomplish? And then the third question is what did Jesus say he or when did he say he would sit on the throne? When did Jesus say he would sit on the throne of David? Now, the first question, where is the throne located? You're gonna see in scripture, and I'll give you just one example for for sake of time, but you're gonna see in scripture there is a distinction between the father's throne and the son's throne. We're not dividing the father and the son, we're not saying that they're separate beings or anything like that, but there is a distinction between the father's throne, son uh throne and the son's throne. And Jesus himself makes that distinction. And I believe that the father's throne is where Jesus is right now, seated at the right hand of the Father. I mean, that's what Hebrews 1 says. He sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high, where in a sense he currently rules and he currently reigns. So that's the Father's throne. That's in heaven. But the throne of David has always been, and I believe always will be on earth. The throne of David is on earth. And so there's a distinction between the throne of the Father and the throne of the Son. We see this as an example in Revelation chapter 3, verse 21. Maybe jot that reference down. Revelation 3, verse 21. You're going to see these two distinct thrones talked about by Jesus Himself. Revelation 3, verse 21 says, The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne. I believe that to be David's earthly throne. I will grant him to sit with me, those who are with Christ and who conquer alongside Christ and have victory over sin and death, and follow in the footsteps of Christ. He says, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, David's earthly throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my father and his throne. You see the distinction there Jesus makes? He says, You will sit with me on my throne, just as I also conquered and sat down with the Father on his throne. And that's God's heavenly throne. That's the throne here talked about in Hebrews 1, verse 3. He sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high, waiting for all things to be in subjection to his feet. And that's how the end of chapter 1 focuses there in verse 13. And which of the angels has he ever said, Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet? So there's this future day according to Hebrews 1, Revelation 3, where the Son will take the throne of David physically on earth, and he will rule and he will reign in complete fulfillment of 2 Samuel 7. So where is the throne? I believe it to be on earth. When will Jesus sit on that throne? That's the next question. Here's another passage for you to jot down. Matthew 25, verses 31 and 32. Matthew 25, 31 and 32. Now, thankfully, Jesus answers this question for us. We don't have to wonder, we don't have to deduce. There's an explicit answering of this question in Matthew 25. Beginning in verse 31, Jesus says, When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, remember they return with him. And regardless of which side or position that you hold eschatologically, everyone would agree this is a reference to the second advent of Christ, the second coming of Christ. And he says, When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. You hear those time markers? When he comes again in glory with the angels, at the end, the eschatological harvest, which we'll talk about in a second, then he will sit on his glorious throne, I believe, on earth. And even there in verse 32 of Matthew 25, it says, Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And that's the end time separation where Jesus says, You are mine. Those who are his sheep follow him, and he says, You are my sheep, you are not. There's a separation at the end. And Matthew 25 says, At that time, then he will sit on his glorious throne. So three questions. Where is the throne located? Well, it's located on earth. He's currently right now at the right hand of the Father, ruling and reigning, certainly from heaven, but he will, in a in a fulfillment of 2 Samuel 7, he will sit on the earthly throne of David in Jerusalem. This is what the scriptures say. So where is it located on earth? When did Jesus say he would sit on that throne? When he returns, and what does that accomplish? What does Jesus sitting on the throne accomplish? Well, this is a big theological topic, but let's just put it this way: all the way back in the garden, Adam was given what's called the dominion mandate. Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Oftentimes theologians refer to Adam and Eve as these vice regents of God who are intended to do the work of God, spreading the glory of God to every corner of the earth. That was the original mandate given to Adam. Now, of course, it didn't take long for them to fail. It didn't take long for them to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the one tree that God commanded them not to eat. They failed in their responsibilities, they failed in their role as vice regents to spread the glory of God to the ends of the earth. And instead of spreading the glory of God, we see sin and death spreading to the end of the earth. So when Jesus sits on his earthly throne, the throne of David, he will fully and finally do what Adam failed to do. He will spread the glory of God to the ends of the earth. He is referred to, you know, in scripture, as the new and better Adam, the second Adam, as Paul refers to him in Romans chapter 5, and sitting on this throne, assuming this position as king, is fulfilling what God always intended for humanity to fulfill. Which, by the way, that's part of the reason why his humanity is central. That he does what Adam failed to do. And that's what is accomplished, accomplished through Jesus sitting on the earthly throne. And that's one of the reasons, by the way, that the throne is said to be earthly, because Adam was given an earthly mandate. He was given an earthly dominion. And the same is true with Jesus. He's given this earthly dominion mandate that he will fulfill ultimately and fully and climactically when he returns. So where is the throne located? I believe on earth. It's a future throne. When did he say he would sit on that throne when he returns, according to Matthew 25? What does that fulfill? It fulfills what Adam failed to do in the garden. And it's a full circle moment where Jesus, the new and better Adam, leads the new humanity into a perfect worship of God, where the glory of God does, in fact, spread to the edges and corners of the earth. And this is the logic of Hebrews 1, verse 5. You are my son. Today I have begotten you. That's a quote from Psalm 2. It's a king psalm. It's a kingly psalm. It's a royal psalm. And again, I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. That's from 2 Samuel 7, verse 14. That's the Davidic covenant. The author of Hebrews is saying, he is the king from the line of David. He is the Lord's anointed one. He will reign fully and finally from David's throne. He will fulfill the dominion mandate that Adam failed to fulfill. And as a result, the author of Hebrews is welcoming and inviting and really challenging his audience and us today to submit to the king. To submit to King Jesus. If he really is the King, if he is the Lord's anointed one, if he is the one from the line of David that's going to fulfill once and for all the dominion mandated, given mandate given to Adam long ago, he is worthy of our submission. And to submit to Jesus means throwing the keys of your life to him and saying, You're in charge. How you spend your time, how you spend your money, how you parent your kids, how you treat your spouse, how you conduct yourself at work, the way that you seek to have leisure and pleasure, the way that you interact with others, the way that you serve others, and everything in between. Suddenly you're saying, Jesus is king, Jesus has the authority. Jesus is who I am submitting to. Jesus is the one that calls the shots. You throw the keys of your life to Jesus and you say, Whatever you want, whenever you want, however you want, I'll do it. You are the king. You are the one that was promised long ago in 2 Samuel 7 and in Psalm 2. And the author of Hebrews again is just encouraging us to submit to that king. He's greater than the angels. There's no angel that God ever said, You are my son, today I have begotten you. Or again, I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. He goes on in verse 6, continues his argument. Says, and again, when he brings the firstborn. Now that word in the original language is where we get the English word prototype. He is the first of his kind. This is a reference to the resurrection of Christ. Paul refers to him as the first fruits of the resurrection. As Christ was raised from the dead and given a glorified body, so you, if you're in Christ, will be raised from the dead and given a glorified body. That's what this is referring to. And again, when he brings the firstborn, the prototype, the first of his kind, referencing the revel uh the resurrection, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, Let all God's angels worship him. Now, of course, the eternal Son of God has always been worthy of worship. The eternal Son of God has always been worshiped by the angels. And so why is he saying at this point, when he brings the firstborn into the world, why is he saying, now let all God's angels worship him? Well, this is a grand and heavenly procession that the father sort of parades the Son in front of all of the angels after his death and his resurrection and his ascension, after completing his earthly mission that he was sent to complete. Now the father says, Worship him, because he finished the task, he finished the work, he completed the job. And at that point, he says, Let all God's angels worship him. And only God is worthy of worship. There is never a time where angels are commanded to be worshipped. There is never a time where God says to anyone else, you need to worship angels. He says that of the Son, after his resurrection, after his victory over sin and death. He says, Let all God's angels worship him. And there's this call for, again, the audience of Hebrews, and for you today to worship this king, to worship this Jesus. That's point number three. Worship Jesus for who he is and what he accomplished on the cross. Worship Jesus for who he is and what he accomplished on the cross. If you got your Bibles, keep your finger in Hebrews chapter one and turn to Acts chapter 13. Acts chapter 13. I want you to look at this passage. It's got some overlap with our passage today, but Acts chapter 13, verses 26 through 33. This is a beautiful passage that connects really well with what we're seeing in Hebrews chapter 1. Acts chapter 13, verses 26 through 33. This is Paul and Barney Barnabas at Antioch. And they're preaching and they're teaching, and they're even in that teaching and preaching, they're rebuking. But Acts chapter 13, let's begin reading in verse 26. It says, brothers, sons of the family of Abraham. By the way, I want you to see how this mirrors Hebrews 1, 1 through 6. Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his son. Remember that, keep that in your mind. Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to us has been sent the message of this salvation. In these last days, he has spoken to us by his son. Verse 27 for those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because they did not recognize him, nor understand the utterances of the prophets, which are read every Sabbath, they ironically fulfilled them by condemning him. And though they found in him no guilt worthy of death, they asked Pilate to have him executed. And when they had carried out all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead. And for many days he appeared to those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people. And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, this he has fulfilled to us, their children, by raising Jesus. Now check out this quote. As also it is written in the second Psalm, you are my son. Today I have begotten you. And so they connect in Acts chapter 13 the resurrection to Jesus' enthronement, to Jesus' title of King in Psalm chapter 2 and 2 Samuel 7. It's because of his life and his death and his resurrection that he becomes this king. And that's why it says in Hebrews chapter 1, let all God's angels worship him. Let all God's angels be amazed at this Messiah, at this king, at this anointed one, who, though he died, he lives today. I serve a risen Savior. He's in the world today. I know that he is with me, no matter what they say. This is Acts chapter 13, a beautiful passage about the gospel of Jesus Christ. The good news as it's referred to as God raised Jesus from the dead, securing his title as the king, as the one who would have an eternal throne. It's hard to have an eternal throne when you're in the grave. But Jesus rose from the grave three days later. And next week, we're going to talk about that eternal throne. It says in Hebrews 1, verse 8, but of the Son, he says, Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness. Therefore, God your God has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions. This is an eternal throne that is given to the eternal Son of God because he rose from the dead. And the response as God parades Jesus in the streets of heaven, he says, Let all God's angels worship him. He is worthy of your worship. So what does it mean to worship Jesus? I couldn't think of a better way to define it than scripture itself in Romans chapter 12. To worship Jesus means to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. To worship Jesus is to say to Jesus, everything I have, and everything that I am is yours. Take my life, Jesus. Take everything I own, everything that we have is given by us, given by him to us, anyways. And so we say, Everything I have, everything I am is yours. That's what it means to worship Jesus. He's the King. He has all authority. He has risen, risen from the dead. He has conquered sin and death. He sits now at the right hand of the Father. He made purification for sins. He finished the work. And there's this angelic course of praise and worship because of the work that He accomplished. It reminds me of the lyrics from an older hymn Take my life and let it be. Consecrated, Lord, to thee. Take my moments and my days. Let them flow in endless praise. Let them flow in endless praise. This is what it means to worship Jesus, is to have these lyrics be the song and the cry of your heart. Take my life and let it be consecrated, set apart, Lord, to thee. Take my moments and my days, everything I am, everything I have, let them flow in endless praise. Because he is worthy of your worship. I think what we see in Hebrews 1, verse 6, and even Acts chapter 13, is that your worship of Jesus will be directly correlated to your understanding of what Jesus accomplished on the cross for you. That's going to fuel your worship, is understanding that Jesus rose from the dead. That's what Hebrews is all about. Making sure that you don't miss who Jesus is and what he has done and why he is so worthy of your worship. It also makes me think of what Paul says in Romans 5, verses 6 through 8. This is who Jesus is. This is his character. This is his nature. This is what he did. Romans 5 verse 6 says, For while we were still weak, not when we had it all together, not when we cleaned up our act, not when we tried harder, not when we did more, not when we put in more effort. While we were still weak. At the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person, though perhaps for a good person, one would dare even to die. But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. That's who Jesus is. While you were still a sinner, while you were actively in rebellion, not when you were trying to do do right by God, while you were still a sinner, it says, Christ died for you. And the Father takes the Son after the resurrection and parades him through this heavenly procession, through the streets of heaven, with all of the angels surround, singing that he is worthy of worship, he is worthy of praise. Let all God's angels worship him. We're always struck in movies when the hero chooses not to take revenge against the villain who has wronged him. There's something moving about that. There's something powerful about seeing that kind of forgiveness where the character of the hero is put to the test. They have the moment to take vengeance into their hand, and yet they choose mercy. We're always moved by that. Well, the Bible makes it clear that not only does Jesus choose not to take revenge against our rebellion, he gave his life to cover the cost required because of it. That's Romans 5. God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. God initiates. We love because He first loved us. He died on the cross to take the penalty and punishment of your sin. And your worship of Jesus will be connected to your understanding and appreciation to that truth, the cross of Jesus Christ. He gave his life to cover the cost required because of our sin. And if that kind of savior isn't worthy of our worship, I can't dream of one who is. Because while you were still a sinner, Christ died for you. And God says, after the resurrection, after his decisive victory, let all God's angels worship him. He's greater than the angels, and he is worthy of your worship. He is the king. He will one day fully and finally sit on David's throne. He will rule with the scepter of uprightness. He will love righteousness and hate wickedness. He is the King of kings and Lord of Lords. Submit to him and worship him. There's nothing greater than the all-surpassing worth of Jesus Christ. That's pretty good. God, thank you for the reality that Jesus is worthy of our worship. Jesus is greater than the angels. Majestic beings that you created, powerful, wonderful. Jesus is greater. He's far more powerful. He's far more wonderful. Because of what he did and because of who he is. And God, I pray for everyone that is here or those who might listen online, if they don't know you, if they don't know King Jesus, God, I pray that you would open their eyes to the reality of Romans 5, that while they were still sinners, Christ died for them. That's your demonstration of love. Not when we had it together, not when we were doing the right things, while we were still weak, while we were still sinners. God, help us to respond with a life of worship. Help the lyrics of that old hymn to just be the reverberation of our hearts. God, take our lives, let it be consecrated, Lord, for thee. And everything that we do, everything that we are, everything that we have, God, I pray that it would be given to you, that we would present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is our reasonable act of worship. God, help us to worship King Jesus for who he is and for what he's done. I pray in Jesus' name. Amen.