Text: Hebrews 1:1-2
Hebrews 1 isn’t about Cessationism. When we read Hebrews 1:1-2, it can be easy to think that the variety of ways that God spoke to ancient people was unique to them. That once Jesus came into the world, those ways of speaking to humans finished. However, to reach that conclusion, you would have to disregard the many ways that early Christians experienced God speaking to them. Just read through the pages of Acts or any of the Epistles, and you will see that God still spoke to people through several different means including, dreams and prophesy. I mention this because we who lean towards the Cessationist view of miraculous gifting are often quick to use this passage in support of our beliefs. Hebrews 1 is about the superiority of Jesus and His message. Now, I am not implying that there isn’t a case to be made for believing that miraculous gifts have ceased. I am simply pointing out the importance of not reading our views into a text. The Hebrew writer in this passage is not arguing that God no longer speaks to people in different ways today. Instead, the writer is emphasising to Jewish people the great importance of God sending His Son to be a messenger for them and their need to listen to Him. God speaking to humans is always special. That is not to say that the past messages which God spoke to people had no value. For God to speak at all to humans is gracious and amazing. Without a word from God, this world would slide even further into spiritual darkness and chaos. We would be left to treat each other as we wished while rotting in moral filth until we all met an unexpected and painful judgment. The willingness of God to speak to ancient people through prophets was exceptional and very much needed. Not only did God’s message save or protect those people who obeyed it in their circumstances, but it often made them contributors to the unfolding of God’s larger plan to save all people. Since Jesus is the greatest messenger ever sent to humans, then the Covenant He established is also the greatest. Of course, in verse 1, where the writer of Hebrews speaks of the forefathers, he is speaking of Jewish ancestors. These people were initially the ones to whom God made a Covenant and assigned His Laws and decrees so they could govern themselves and their descendants as God’s Holy people. So, for a faithful Jew, there is nothing more crucial in the history of humans than God speaking to their forefathers and establishing the terms of the Old Covenant. For the Jews to be able to move beyond the Old Covenant and embrace a New Covenant, a major event had to occur. They needed to hear from someone greater than the prophets who once spoke to their ancestors. That, someone, was one whom God had chosen to take on the ownership of all things. It was the very one through whom God had created the entire universe. That person was His very own Son, Jesus Christ. Since Jesus is far more superior as a person and messenger to any that came before Him, then the New Covenant He made is now the most significant happening in the history of the world. Again, that does not mean God ceased to speak to people in a variety of different ways. He certainly did. However, any message coming to humans following Jesus earthly walk never superseded Jesus and His message. Instead, they continued to be in reference to Jesus, helped to better understand Jesus, encouraged obedience to Jesus, served the cause of Jesus and was aligned with the purposes of the New Covenant established when Jesus died upon a cross. Final thoughts: Since Jesus is the greatest messenger ever sent to the Jews and the rest of mankind, then it makes sense for us today to also pay attention to Jesus’ life, work, will and covenant. It also makes sense to allow Him to be the main authority that governs our life in this world. Thus, His voice is more important than the voice of governments, culture, families, spouses, work and from a Jewish point of view, the voice of ancient prophets. It’s not that these are all wrong. No, sometimes, what others say is valid, necessary and worthy of consideration. However, as Christians, all voices are to be weighed in reference to Jesus. Only then are we appropriately placed to enjoy the benefits of the New Covenant and align ourselves with the wisdom that controls this universe.
