Hebrews 1:1-4 | What is a lesson for the original audience?

Comparison, as well as contrasts, can tell a story. Picture a sheep in the middle of a field. The grass is a brilliant green, perhaps there is a gravely gray mountain range in the distance. A few luscious trees border a nearby brook. At the center of this scene is a white sheep. In contrast to all these colors, the whiteness of the sheep stands out greatly. It can be picked from afar. In fact, many shepherds are able to do just that, given how contrasting sheep are to other colors of nature. There is a fact that sheep are not known for their ability to camouflage. In contrast to the other colors, the sheep stands out. Now let's take that same sheep and instead of contrasting it with other colors, let's imagine it beside a pure white banner. Does the sheep disappear with the white? Quite contrarily, you will see how filthy and marred the sheep actually is. When contrasted with the other colors, the sheep simply appeared as white, but when compared to the pure white banner, the sheep appears with more colors than originally thought. The author of Hebrews is setting up this kind of scenario with the Son of God.

At this point in history, the Jews heavily respected the fathers and the prophets that spoke to them. Despite the fact that the Jews in the day of their fathers killed the prophets, those prophets were now recognized in high regard. The Torah was held as the utmost standard. It was truly believed that God had spoken in these times past in these various ways. While they had not heard from the Lord in hundreds of years, the time has now come where the Lord has once again spoken, and this time it is by His Son.

The obvious comparison begins with the prophets and then shifts to even the angels in verse 4. As I have highlighted in my previous devotions on this passage, the Son receives an incredible introduction. The depth of this introduction bears so much weight that none of the prophets, nor anyone, nor anything in all created order can even claim one line of what is spoken about the Son. The prophets were the sheep in the field. In the contrast, they appeared bright. In comparison to the Son, the brightness of the radiance of who Jesus is outshines the greatest of the prophets. 

The descriptions that are given at the transfiguration of Jesus are descriptions given only to the Lord. Similarly, as the author of Hebrews describes Jesus, there is a specific direction that the writer of Hebrews takes this. The descriptions that are given are reminiscent of something you might see at the beginning of Paul's letters. Take Romans 1 for example. Paul has an audience that he has not yet met and so he introduces himself. There are many things he could say about himself, instead the list is a limited one. Let's examine this text:

Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God 2 which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, 3 concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, 4 and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. 5 Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name
-Romans 1:1-5

What exactly is Paul doing here? He is introducing himself with the things that give him credibility and authority to speak into what he is about to speak into. The author of Hebrews is doing something similar. Except he is not giving credibility to himself, he is establishing the authority of Jesus. The Law and Prophets were the most authoritative voices in Israel's history. The reason their voices were so significant was because they spoke on behalf of God. Now they have someone who bears the authority of God as the Son speaking to them. They have the One who rules and reigns calling to them. As history has proven, they threaten to draw back to the Old Covenant and abandon the new.

The lesson that is found in these first 4 verses is one that calls into question what they would run to when the substance is before them. The same God who spoke by the prophets now speaks by His Son. The same way the prophets were treated, the Son was treated. Will they abandon Him now? See this parable that Jesus shares in Matthew 21, for it perfectly exemplifies the very thing the writer of Hebrews is persuading his audience out of.