“God, who at many times and in diverse manners spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by his Son, whom he has appointed heir of all things, by whom he also made the universe.” Hebrews 1:1-2 (Read all of Hebrews 1)
According to both Stephen and the Apostle Paul, God spoke to Moses on Mt. Sinai and gave His law through “the disposition of angels.”
In Acts 7:38, we read: “This is he who was in the church in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him on the mount Sinai and with our fathers, who received the living oracles to give to us …” And, in verse 53, Stephen said the Jewish people “received the law by the disposition of angels and have not kept it.” St. Paul, in Galatians 3:19, says of the law that “it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.”
But God has spoken to us, not by the disposition of angels but by His Son – the eternal Son of God, the Creator of all things.
We read in Hebrews 1:1-4: “God, who at many times and in diverse manners spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by his Son, whom he has appointed heir of all things, by whom he also made the universe. He is the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself made purification of our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high, being made so much better than the angels, as he has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they have.”
Not only do we have the Word of God revealed to us by God’s angels and by the prophets of God; we have the very Word of God the Son, who came into this world a true man that He might redeem us and bring us back into fellowship with God.
St. Paul wrote to the Galatians in Galatians 4:4-5: “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law so that we might receive the adoption of sons.”
We have the very words of Jesus, the Word made flesh, who dwelt among us (cf. John 1:1-5, 14, 17-18).
Jesus told Nicodemus: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up, so that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For this is how God loved the world: he gave his only-begotten Son, so that whoever believes in him, should not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him may be saved. He who believes in him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God” (John 3:14-18).
Jesus also said, “For if you do not believe that I am he [the Son of God, the Messiah and Savior promised of old], you will die in your sins” (John 8:24).
He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).
The question for us to consider is this: If as it says, “He who despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses,” “How much more severe a punishment do you suppose he shall be thought worthy of who has trodden under foot the Son of God, has counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified an unholy thing, and has done an indignity to the Spirit of grace?” (Heb. 10:28,29).
How important is it to hear and learn the words – the teaching – of the Lord Jesus? If neglecting or despising the Word of God revealed by the disposition of angels or through the preaching and writing of the ancient prophets brings death and judgment, what will happen to us if we neglect to hear and heed the very words of God’s own dear Son, our Maker and Redeemer? We remember that there is salvation in no other (cf. Acts 4:12) and that those who do not believe are condemned already for not believing “in the name of the only-begotten Son of God” (John 3:18).
This, of course, reveals the seriousness and importance of hearing and heeding God’s Word. Jesus suffered and died on the cross for the sins of the world and is risen again and ascended to the right hand of God the Father, where He intercedes for us. As we read in the opening verses of Hebrews, chapter one, Jesus “made purification of our sins” and “sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.”
Jesus called His apostles, and He still calls pastors and teachers today, to proclaim His Word, to preach that “it behooved [it was necessary for] Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem” (Luke 24:46-47).
Jesus, by means of the Holy Spirit’s working through the Word, still calls each of us to repent of our sinful ways and to look to Him and His cross for pardon, forgiveness and life everlasting. And He promises that all who believe will “not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
Do you hear and heed the words of the Son of God?
O gracious and merciful God, grant us Your Holy Spirit that we would hear and believe the Word of Your Son, repent of our sins and look to Him and His cross for mercy and forgiveness that we may be pardoned and receive the everlasting joys of heaven. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
[Scripture is quoted from the Revised Common Version of the Bible.]