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Long ago in many ways and at many times God's prophets spoke his message to our ancestors. (A) But now at last, God sent his Son to bring his message to us. God created the universe by his Son, and everything will someday belong to the Son. (B) God's Son has all the brightness of God's own glory and is like him in every way. By his own mighty word, he holds the universe together.

After the Son had washed away our sins, he sat down at the right side[a] of the glorious God in heaven. He had become much greater than the angels, and the name he was given is far greater than any of theirs.

God's Son Is Greater than Angels

(C) God has never said
    to any of the angels,
“You are my Son, because today
    I have become your Father!”
Neither has God said
    to any of them,
“I will be his Father,
    and he will be my Son!”

(D) When God brings his first-born Son[b] into the world, he commands all of his angels to worship him.

(E) And when God speaks about the angels, he says,

“I change my angels into wind
and my servants
    into flaming fire.”

(F) But God says about his Son,

“You are God,
and you will rule
    as King forever!
Your[c] royal power
    brings about justice.
You loved justice
    and hated evil,
and so I, your God,
    have chosen you.
I appointed you
and made you happier
    than any of your friends.”

10 (G) The Scriptures also say,

“In the beginning, Lord,
    you were the one
who laid the foundation
of the earth
    and created the heavens.
11 They will all disappear
and wear out like clothes,
    but you will last forever.
12 You will roll them up
    like a robe
and change them
    like a garment.
But you are always the same,
    and you will live forever.”

13 (H) God never said to any
    of the angels,
“Sit at my right side
until I make your enemies
    into a footstool for you!”

14 (I) Angels are merely spirits sent to serve people who are going to be saved.

This Great Way of Being Saved

We must give our full attention to what we were told, so we won't drift away. The message spoken by angels proved to be true, and all who disobeyed or rejected it were punished as they deserved. So if we refuse this great way of being saved, how can we hope to escape? The Lord himself was the first to tell about it, and people who heard the message proved to us that it was true. God himself showed that his message was true by working all kinds of powerful miracles and wonders. He also gave his Holy Spirit to anyone he chose to.

The One Who Leads Us To Be Saved

We know that God did not put the future world under the power of angels. (J) Somewhere in the Scriptures someone says to God,

“What makes you care
    about us humans?
Why are you concerned
    for weaklings such as we?
You made us lower
than the angels
    for a while.
Yet you have crowned us
    with glory and honor.[d]
And you have put everything
    under our power!”

God has put everything under our power and has not left anything out of our power. But we still don't see it all under our control. What we do see is Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels. Because of God's gift of undeserved grace, Jesus died for everyone. And now that Jesus has suffered and died, he is crowned with glory and honor!

10 Everything belongs to God, and all things were created by his power. So God did the right thing when he made Jesus perfect by suffering, as Jesus led many of God's children to be saved and to share in his glory. 11 Jesus and the people he makes holy all belong to the same family. This is why he isn't ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters. 12 (K) He even said to God,

“I will tell them your name
    and sing your praises
when they come together
    to worship.”

13 (L) He also said,

“I will trust God.”

Then he said,

“Here I am with the children
    God has given me.”

14 We are people of flesh and blood. This is why Jesus became one of us. He died to destroy the devil, who had power over death. 15 But he also died to rescue all of us who live each day in fear of dying. 16 (M) Jesus clearly did not come to help angels, but he did come to help Abraham's descendants. 17 He had to be one of us, so he could serve God as our merciful and faithful high priest and sacrifice himself for the forgiveness of our sins. 18 And now that Jesus has suffered and was tempted, he can help anyone else who is tempted.

Jesus Is Greater than Moses

My friends, God has chosen you to be his holy people. So think about Jesus, the one we call our apostle and high priest! (N) Jesus was faithful to God, who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in serving all[e] God's people. But Jesus deserves more honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house deserves more honor than the house. Of course, every house is built by someone, and God is really the one who built everything.

Moses was a faithful servant and told God's people what would be said in the future. But Christ is the Son in charge of God's people. And we are those people, if we keep on being brave and don't lose hope.

A Rest for God's People

(O) It is just as the Holy Spirit says,

“If you hear God's voice today,
    don't be stubborn!
Don't rebel like those people
who were tested
    in the desert.
* [f] For forty years your ancestors
tested God and saw
    the things he did.

10 “Then God got tired of them
    and said,
‘You people never
    show good sense,
and you don't understand
    what I want you to do.’
11 God became angry
    and told the people,
‘You will never enter
    my place of rest!’ ”

12 My friends, watch out! Don't let evil thoughts or doubts make any of you turn from the living God. 13 You must encourage one another each day. And you must keep on while there is still a time that can be called “today.” If you don't, then sin may fool some of you and make you stubborn. 14 We were sure about Christ when we first became his people. So let's hold tightly to our faith until the end. 15 (P) The Scriptures say,

“If you hear his voice today,
don't be stubborn
    like those who rebelled.”

16 (Q) Who were those people that heard God's voice and rebelled? Weren't they the same ones that came out of Egypt with Moses? 17 Who were the people that made God angry for 40 years? Weren't they the ones that sinned and died in the desert? 18 And who did God say would never enter his place of rest? Weren't they the ones that disobeyed him? 19 We see that those people did not enter the place of rest because they did not have faith.

Footnotes

  1. 1.3 right side: The place of honor and power.
  2. 1.6 first-born Son: The first son born into a family had certain privileges that the other children did not have. In 12.23 (see note) “first-born” refers to God's special people.
  3. 1.8 Your: Some manuscripts have “His.”
  4. 2.7 and honor: Some manuscripts add “and you have placed us in charge of all you created.”
  5. 3.2 all: Some manuscripts do not have “all.”
  6. 3.9 When an asterisk (*) occurs before a verse number, it indicates that this verse and the following have been combined.

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