The Son and the Angels: Reading the Bible with the Apostles (Heb. 1:8-14)

[Sung Psalm: 102]

Why does Hebrews start by saying that Christ is superior to the angels?

There was a lot of speculation about angels in second temple Judaism. (Second Temple Judaism refers to a period in Jewish history from around 500 BC to 70 AD – Solomon had built the first temple, which lasted from around 1000 BC to 586 BC, when Nebuchadnezzar destroyed it.

Then Zerubbabel built the second temple around 515 BC, which stood until the Romans demolished it in 70 AD.)

By the time of the apostles, angels had become very important in Jewish thought. Angels were not only God's messengers, they were his agents, accomplishing his purposes, mediating his covenants. Indeed, in some Jewish circles, especially those influenced by Greek thought, it was thought that God could not have direct contact with his creation, and so therefore all God's dealing with man must be mediated by angels.

While Paul insists that Jesus is our only mediator, he grants that angels were mediators of the Mosaic covenant. In Galatians 3:19 he says that the law was "put in place through angels." While he doesn't expound that further, Paul makes it clear that angels had an instrumental role in the Mosaic covenant.

So also here, Hebrews 1 suggests that the angels played an important role in the OT.

But the role of the angels has been superseded by one who is himself greater than the angels...