The readers of Hebrews were Jewish believers, the book’s purpose is to explain the place of Jesus as the fulfilment of everything these believers knew before they met Him. The introduction to Hebrews found in e-book edition of the NIV has a very useful overview of the book:

The keyword for this letter is ‘better’. Jesus has offered a better (and the last) sacrifice (chapters 4–7). He is ‘better’ than all that has gone before: greater than the angels (chapters 1–2), greater than Moses (chapter 3).

Our passage today explains why we’re not saved by angels but by Jesus.  Jesus did not step down to become an angel, he stepped down much further than that, gave up more than that for us.  There’s not much point in a scary powerful pure angel being our Saviour because an angel can’t be a sacrifice, can’t be like us. Many people today have a whole theology of angels even if they do not believe in Jesus or sin or have any desire to.  Pray that the Message of the Angels, the reality and truth of Jesus’ love breaks through into their lives!  A study of angels in the Bible shows us that most people who met angels were absolutely terrified (hence their usual greeting is, “Do not be afraid!”) They are messengers from the Throne Room. The Jewish believers saw angels as creatures of great power but no choice like we do or like JESUS did.

The work of Jesus is about choosing to lower himself, to live and die with a choice just like us. So that in everything He can and does understand our weakness. And what always blows me away is that He’d have to have done that before the Three of them sat down and created the world: He chose to do this, to die as a sacrifice before the world began, just as He chose you!

Jesus is more than an angel, more than a messenger and chapter 3 goes onto explain He is also more than Moses, another huge figure in the life of the Jewish believers. Each time, the writer of the Hebrews uses lots of Hebrew scripture (now our scripture) to explain the way that Jesus completes the picture. The writer shows again and again how all that these readers had been taught culminates in this one amazing person, because that’s how God designed it, so that the teaching these readers knew and loved is not thrown away, but marvelously concluded in Him. He is how we get back to Day 7 of Creation. He is our Rest; He is our Peace.

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“Complete the work you have started in me:

O, come Lord Jesus, shake my life again.

Say the Word.” Stuart Townend.