Perhaps one of the most awe-inspiring pieces of writing in all of Scripture—and more than worthy of this new series—is the anonymous letter to a group of Messianic Jews, commonly known as the book of Hebrews (Iv’riym). The letter is believed to have been written in 69 AD, shortly before the destruction of the Temple and during a time of continuing oppression and persecution of the believers. In it, the author aims to encourage and strengthen his fellow Jewish believers who were having difficulty staying true to their brand-new, Messianic faith, and does this by expertly building a case for having complete trust in the author and perfecter of that faith: Yeshua.

At its core, the beginning of Hebrews is arguably the most profound biblical treatise on one of the most controversial claims about who Yeshua truly is. Specifically, the author asserts in so many words that Yeshua is not merely a man, but is also, in fact, God. In a time such as now, when we are seeing a marked increased in self-professed believers denying the deity of Yeshua, Hebrews chapter one—for those who have ears to hear—makes this one thing undeniably clear.

The author wastes no time in offering us a glimpse into whom he believes the Son of God to be. From the very second verse, he states to his readers that “through [the Son God] also made the ages,” and that He is “the brightness of [God’s] glory, and the exact imprint of His substantive existence; also sustaining all the things by the spoken word of His power” (v. 3). Clearly, the author believes that the Son was not only involved in the creation of the world, but is a direct reflection of God Himself, even maintaining the universe under His own power. He then lists additional attributes indicative of what should only be attributable to Deity. He says that Yeshua “made a cleansing of sins,” that He “sat down at the right hand of the Greatness in the Highest,” that He became “so much better than the Messengers” (or “angels”), and that He has “inherited [from God] a more excellent Name” (v. 4). Certainly, the author considers the Son no ordinary man.

But while some will argue that these and other biblical descriptors like them fail to show that Yeshua is God—that they serve merely as evidence of Him being an exalted and divine man—this position becomes untenable as the author turns to the Scriptures in support of his claims.

Throughout Hebrews, the author extensively cites Scrip­tural passages, and chapter one is no exception. As a point of comparison, the author advances his argument by juxtaposing the Son with the self-evidently heavenly Messen­gers. Quoting at length from the Psalms, the author asks in verse 5, “For to which of the Messengers did [God] ever say…?” He then proceeds to declare unequivocally that in Psalm 45, God says “to the Son, ‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever’” (v. 8). There really is no other straightforward way to parse this. The author is clearly stating that the Son is God. Both the author of Hebrews and the author of the original Psalm being cited here are calling the one who sits on David’s eternal throne “God.”

But the author is not done yet. Whereas in verse two he only alluded to Yeshua’s involvement in creation, in verse ten he makes it abundantly clear. The author contends that, of the Son, God also said,

“At the beginning, Master, You laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands.”

A face-value reading makes plain one simple thing: the author attributes the very creation of the heavens and earth explicitly to the Son, Yeshua. Indeed, he even goes on to explain how the Master will outlive creation itself, Himself remaining forever unchanged.

The Son of God, according to the first chapter of Hebrews, is not just a man, and not just better than the angels. He was there at the beginning. He made the heavens and the earth. He will unmake them in the end, and then remain and outlive them forever. The deity of Messiah is a biblical fact professed by the author of Hebrews. The Son of God has a better and more excellent Name because He is also, mysteriously, God.

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