Commentary on Hebrews 1:1-4 [5-12]

The lectionary calls for reading Hebrews 1:1–14 on Christmas Day, but Epiphany or Eastertide could provide other opportunities for churchgoers to hear its message afresh. “Epiphany” refers to the manifestation of God in Christ, and Hebrews 1:1–4 proclaims that God’s persistent work of self-revelation has reached a pinnacle in Jesus. The connection to Eastertide becomes clearer when we recognize that the resurrection and exaltation of Jesus coincide in the narrative that underlies the text’s claim of superiority for Jesus: “After he had made purification for sins [through his sacrificial death], he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” (1:3). 

Hebrews 1:6 sounds like Christmas when it sings that God “brings the firstborn into the world [oikoumenē]” and “says, ‘Let all God’s angels worship him.’” Nevertheless, the author clarifies in 2:5 that oikoumenē means the “coming world,” the eschatological realm of justice and peace that Jesus enters through resurrection and exaltation. 

Of course, reading Hebrews 1:1–14 at Christmas is also appropriate. Doing so could open our eyes to see the glory of resurrection as it shines back into the nativity stories in Luke and the prologue to John. Hebrews offers the paradox of a divine, pre-existent Jesus who became human like us and so can identify with our trials (2:18). As we sing “What Child Is This?,” we can marvel that the glorious Source and Sustainer of all creation sought to save humanity by becoming a child in need of swaddling. 

Regardless of when we read the passage, recalling what little we know about its historical context is worthwhile. An anonymous author (with a style quite different from Paul’s) composed Hebrews during the second half of the first century CE. The intended recipients had survived persecution (10:32–39; 12:4), and the author wrote “briefly” to send them “a word of encouragement” (13:22).

Read in its literary context, Hebrews 1:1–14 begins a series of comparisons that demonstrate the superiority of Jesus. In addition to being greater than earlier prophets and angels, Jesus surpasses Abraham, Moses, and the high priests descended from Aaron. The purpose of such comparisons was to encourage persecuted followers of Jesus to remain steadfast in living out the costly gift of salvation. If Jesus is the greater revelation from God, then “we must pay greater attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away” (2:1).

Hebrews argues that Jesus is the superior revelation of God within Judaism. Tragically, its argument has led many Christians to believe that we have superseded Jews as God’s people. Repentance by Christians from our horrific history of persecuting Jews requires a different response to Hebrews. We can heed its challenge to follow the way of Jesus by pursuing peace with everyone (12:14) and by practicing mutual love and hospitality (13:1–2). The more we live out these values with Jewish neighbors, the less we will endorse supersessionism. If we imagine ourselves superior or refuse to relinquish unjust privileges, we need the author’s warning against drifting away from our commitment to follow Jesus faithfully.

Christians can pursue peace and mutual love with neighbors of other faiths while still confessing clearly who Jesus is for us. If we take our cues from Hebrews 1:1–4, we will proclaim that Jesus has revealed the majesty, wisdom, and love of God in unique ways made possible by the incarnation. As God’s Son, Jesus is heir to all things, as well as being the Agent and Sustainer of creation from the beginning. When Romans minted coins, an image of the ruler became visible when the die (charactēr in Greek) struck a piece of gold or silver. Similarly, Jesus gives us a reliable image of God, a reflection of God’s glory (1:3). 

In Hebrews 4–10, the author will explain at length how Jesus purifies sins as both the perfect high priest and the perfect sacrifice. Hebrews 1:3 previews that argument (“when he had made purification for sins”) before declaring that Jesus now sits at God’s right hand, the position of highest authority. Finally, we hear that Jesus has inherited a more excellent name than the names of angels (1:4). This second reference to Jesus as an heir creates a frame around the praises of Jesus in 1:2–4 and leads to an extended comparison with angels.

In Hebrews 1:5–14, a chain of seven biblical quotations buttresses the claims made in 1:1–4 and proves that Jesus is superior to angels. Most of the quotations have been reinterpreted as  speeches by God to or about Jesus. Although Jewish Scriptures could refer to angels as sons of God (for example, Genesis 6:2), at no point does God say to an angel, “You are my son” (Psalm 2:7), or concerning an angel, “He will be my son” (2 Samuel 7:14). Likewise, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet” (Psalm 110:1) is God’s speech to Jesus, not to an angel (Hebrews 1:13 anticipated in 1:3). 

If angels worship Jesus (Hebrews 1:6; quoting an ancient Greek translation of Deuteronomy 32:43), then Jesus must be their superior. Angelic messengers are as swift and powerful as wind and fire (Hebrews 1:7, reinterpreting Psalm 104:4), but they are also servants taking orders from Jesus, who founded the earth, stretched out the heavens, and now rules at God’s right hand (1:8–13). According to the author, God even addressed the exalted Messiah as God. Thus, Jesus rules forever with justice and joy (1:8–9, quoting Psalm 45:6–7).

Hebrews begins with a rhetorical trumpet blast, calling its listeners to join with the angels in worshipping Jesus as God’s likeness and heir. What we believe about Jesus will impact how we respond to this call. Is Jesus the one in whom we see God most clearly revealed? Who is the ruler who directs our lives? Has Jesus’ gift of purification from sin transformed our lives so we, too, love justice and care for all creation? Such questions are worth pondering whenever we choose to read this text.

Works consulted

Attridge, Herald W. The Epistle to the Hebrews. Hermeneia. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1989.

Bucher, Debra J., and Estella Boggs Horning. Hebrews. Believes Church Bible Commentary. Harrisonburg, VA: Herald Press, 2024.

Eisenbaum, Pamela. “The Letter to the Hebrews.” In The Jewish Annotated New Testament, 2nd ed., pp. 460–88. Edited by Amy-Jill Levine and Marc Zvi Brettler. 0xford: Oxford University Press, 2017. 

Lane, William L. Hebrews 1–8. Word Biblical Commentary. Dallas, TX: Word Books, 1991.

McConnell, Eric. “Hebrews 1:1–4 as the Interpretive Guide for the Book of Hebrews.” Journal of Ministry & Theology 26, no. 2 (January 1, 2022): 53–77.

Pierce, Madison N. Divine Discourse in the Epistle to the Hebrews: The Recontextualization of Spoken Quotations of Scripture. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020.