Putting Angels In Their Place (Part 1)

Hebrews 1:4-14 (ESV)

having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

[5] For to which of the angels did God ever say,

“You are my Son,

today I have begotten you”?

Or again,

“I will be to him a father,

and he shall be to me a son”?

[6] And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says,

“Let all God’s angels worship him.”

[7] Of the angels he says,

“He makes his angels winds,

and his ministers a flame of fire.”

[8] But of the Son he says,

“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever,

the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.

You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;

therefore God, your God, has anointed you

with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.”

[10] And,

“You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning,

and the heavens are the work of your hands;

[11] they will perish, but you remain;

they will all wear out like a garment,

[12] like a robe you will roll them up,

like a garment they will be changed.

But you are the same,

and your years will have no end.”

[13] And to which of the angels has he ever said,

“Sit at my right hand

until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”?

[14] Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?

Introduction

1994-KINGSTON, Ontario – An eastern Ontario man is hoping to make a bit of money by auctioning a fish stick he says looks like Jesus. Fred Whan, who has kept the fish stick in his freezer since burning it at dinner a year ago, decided Tuesday that it was time to thaw it out so he could sell it on eBay.

1978- It all started back in 1978 when Mario Rubio, rolling a burrito, notices skillet burns on a tortilla resembling the face of Jesus Christ. Shortly thereafter, 8,000 curious pilgrims trek to the Rubios’ small stucco house in rural New Mexico to view the sacred icon. Mrs. Rubio leaves her house unlocked so that visitors may freely enter and examine the tortilla. (Newsweek, Aug. 14, 1978)

1991- Jesus makes national news as the centerpiece of a Pizza Hut billboard in Atlanta. Joyce Simpson spotted the face of Christ in the advertisement immediately after praying for a divine sign. She couldn’t decide whether to stay in the church choir or quit and sing professionally. The shadowy image of Jesus’ face in strands of spaghetti hanging from a fork meant she should stay with the choir. John Moody, a marketing director for Pizza Hut, said the picture, one of 35 put up in the area, is a standard food photograph that the Wichita headquarters provides franchises. Moody said several people, however, called his office to say they see other notably less religious images in the picture: deceased rock star Jim Morrison, a puppet and Willie Nelson. (Chicago Tribune, May 23, 1991)

As we look to these crazy stories about people seeing the face of Jesus in their food, it’s really a sad but accurate picture of the lack of understanding of the real Jesus.  We must all answer the question as to the person of Jesus Christ.  Is He simply some icon found on the wall of a church or on a pizza or is He King of the universe? Continue Reading