I recently finished reading the Old Testament. There are many wonderful things, and there are also many tough things. I thought, “I really need me some Jesus!”
After ‘randomly’ flipping around the New Testament, I settled in on Hebrews 1:1-4, but especially on verse 3.
This is all about Jesus:
“He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of His power. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on High…” (ESV)
Oh my! Each phrase in this verse could take a month of study. There is so much here!!! Why have I not noticed this verse before? I’ve read it but must have just skimmed over it. It’s definitely pause-worthy.
So because there’s so much here, I’m putting this blog post into sections. Feel free to read all or part. 😊
Part I
“Jesus is the radiance of the Glory of God.”
ἀπαύγασμα (apaugasma)
*reflected brightness
*Christ “perfectly reflects the majesty of God”
*effulgence. (Maybe this word is familiar to you, but it’s new to me, so… to the online dictionary I went…)
… “brightness taken to the extreme”
“you may be dazzled, stunned, or overcome”
“brilliant radiance”
“the state of being very beautiful or being full of goodness”
This is so cool.
Light.
Jesus is light.
Radiant glory.
In Acts 9:3, Saul saw a “bright light from heaven” and then Jesus spoke with him. The light was so bright that he was blinded for three days.
In John 8:12, Jesus says, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
This word for light is φῶς (phos):
*brightness
*truth and knowledge together with spiritual purity
*open, public, exposed to all
*power of understanding in moral and spiritual truth
Whoever follows Jesus ἀκολουθέω (akoloutheo)
*follow, JOIN, attend, accompany, side with, follow as a disciple
Will have ἔχω (echo)
*have, hold, wear, possess (in the mind), own, lay hold of
*be JOINED with, be closely JOINED
And on we go to word-nerd the definition of JOIN:
-linked, connected, fastened together
-to form a unit
-to put or bring into close relationship (I love this one!!)
-form an alliance, come together
Ok.
So this just blows my mind to smithereens.
Jesus, the radiance of the Glory of God, came so that we could be JOINED with Him.
He invites us to follow (walk with) Him and learn from Him.
THE RADIANCE OF THE GLORY OF GOD!
Whew.
Super cool.
Mic drop.
Part 2
“Jesus is the exact imprint of God’s nature.”
Exact imprint χαρακτήρ (charakter… don’t you love this word in the Greek??)
*exact expression
*marked likeness
*precise reproduction in every aspect
I hope it’s okay to copy someone else’s words here. This is from knowingjesus.com
“No man has seen God at any time for He is the everlasting, self-existent, unapproachable Light of lights – the essence of divine perfection Who resides in deity’s unknowable majesty. By the strength of His all-powerful omnipotence He sustains all the creation that He spoke into being by the authority of His powerful word – the Word Who was made flesh (Jesus).”
Jesus is the exact imprint of THIS. All these big words.
Yet He became one of us. He walked among us.
My words just are insufficient. Mind blown.
Part 3
“Jesus upholds the universe by the word of His power.”
(re-read the quote above…)
I’m going to skip typing in my word-nerding here. Because this…
This is personal.
If you’ve read past posts, you know that my life has been a bit of a roller coaster the past months. I lost my job in May, job-hunted all summer, accepted a position as a rural mail carrier… and found out that I am not made of tough enough stuff to do that job. It KICKED MY BUTT. 100 mile routes on unmarked gravel roads… anyhooooo…
Recently I had a day off (singular) and woke up in pain and cried all morning. I knew I could not keep doing that job, so picked up my phone and browsed for new job postings. I found one that grabbed my attention, and had JUST been posted.
Long story short, I applied, interviewed, and was hired.
(insert a ton of happy, grinning emojis here!)
During all of these ups and downs, there are a few songs that I have listened to on repeat. One of them is “Holding My World” by Kristian Stanfill.
“And this is Your world – You made it. And all of creation is breathing because You sustain it, Jesus. By Your powerful word You spoke out the earth and the heavens…
So I will not worry or fret. My God is the God who will never forget
All of His goodness and all of His promises.
He’s holding my world in His hands.”
And the song goes on with more amazing words. Have a listen.
“Jesus upholds the universe by the word of His power.” Hebrews 1:3
And He holds MY world. My little, crazy, roller coaster world.
As I look back on all my fears and insecurities and feelings of inadequacy as I searched for employment, I also look at the verses I have taped above my desk that have been a constant comfort:
Psalm 31:14-15a
“But I trust in You, O LORD. I say, “You are My God. My times are in Your hand.”
Psalm 32:8
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you.”
Psalm 143:8
“Show me Your faithful love this morning. I trust in You. Show me what I should do. I put my life in Your hands.”
I am beyond excited about my new job. It feels like such a good fit for me. Even though I miss everyone at my previous previous job, I know good things are ahead. But there was definitely a long season of trying to trust and wait and be patient. A season of confusion and not seeing the big picture.
But He holds my world in His hands. And that is the greatest comfort.
Part 4
“Jesus made purification for sins.”
This is a pleasant enough tidy little phrase.
But it holds the hugest, most massive implications.
Purification καθαρισμός (katharismos) means a cleansing/washing.
But the word for “sins” – this really stood out to me.
“Sin” is NOT a popular word. No one likes to think about their faults (although it seems like focusing on the faults of others is really popular these days…)
But this word has way more layers than I had thought.
ἁμαρτία (hamartia) sin.
*to miss the mark
*to be without a share in
*to err, be mistaken
*to wander from the path of uprightness and honor
*to do wrong or go the wrong way
*violation of divine law in thought or act (eek!)
Wowza.
No one likes to think of themselves as a “sinner.”
But… do I sometimes wander? Yes.
Do I miss the mark sometimes? Oh, yes.
Am I sometimes mistaken? Uh-huh.
(read – do I make incorrect assumptions? …often)
Basically, no one is perfect. We know that.
But we love to gloss over our wanderings and errings.
But the phrase that made me stop in my tracks…
“to be without a share in.”
What does this really mean?
I never want to miss out on something good. I never want to be left behind when something fun is happening.
I don’t want to miss the mark and thus lose my share in the greatest story of all time.
Back to Hebrews 1:3… Jesus “made purification”
(ESV “after making purification”)
(KJV “when He had made purification”)
Past tense. Already done.
ποιέω (poieo)
*to make, produce, form, fashion, etc.
*to be the author of or the cause of
*to make ready, prepare, cause to come about
*carry out, perform a promise
***to appoint or declare (purified)
What Jesus did for us declares us good, righteous, purified.
This part of the verse reads, “After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on High.”
Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection were the ultimate gifts in making us purified.
Enough.
All that we need.
His final blessing to us before He returned to his glory.
He could have just swooped down, died for our sins, and left.
BUT…
But He came as a baby, lived among us, and walked with us.
He understands. He lived in the messiness of the day to day. The mundane. The traumatic. The excitement. The disappointment. The expectation.
He taught, listened, was a friend…
He laughed and cried, experienced, felt, lived…
He interacted with difficult people…
He encountered opposition, challenges, debates…
He dealt with grumbling and doubting, accusers and assumers…
He conversed with gossipers and greedy self-pleasers…
And yet
He
Loved.
Oh, how He loved.
So much that He was willing to “make purification.”
This phrase is such a euphemism.
“Make purification” sounds so dignified and proper and stuffy and neat.
But it is much easier to hear than “He was willing to have the crap beat out of Him and have nails driven through His hands and feet, to the point of his death, giving up His very life as the ultimate sacrifice for our wanderings and missings-of-the-mark.”
Even after He walked among us.
Even after He first-hand experienced our messes and assumptions and doubts.
He loves.
And all we need to do is accept this gift, believe in His love, and embrace Him. Then we never ever have to worry about “missing a share in” His very, very good plan for blessing us. And oh, it is a wonderful plan with forever blessings.
Jeremiah 29:11
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (NIV)
Plans to show us how very much He loves us.
‘For God so loved the world (you and me) that He sent His only Son (Jesus, the radiance of God’s glory and exact imprint of His nature), so that WHOEVER BELIEVES in Him will not lose their share in the greatest story ever, and will have life to the fullest forever.’ (John 3:16/Hebrews 1:3 smashup)