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Hebrews 1:13-14 To which of the angels did God ever say, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”?  Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?
The author of Hebrews, in quoting the first verse of Psalm 110, is in no doubt that it is all about JESUS.  It is a psalm written by King David a millennium before the birth of the Saviour, and it is foreshadowing the future Messianic Kingdom.  Along with Psalm 2, it was probably at the top of the list of the 16 or so Psalms that the Judaism of Jesus’ day had designated as ‘Messianic’ Psalms.

The purpose of Chapter 1 of Hebrews is to show how Jesus is, in fact, the Promised Messiah to whom these Psalms point, the unique Son of God.  He is superior even to the angels; and to establish this truth, passages from Deuteronomy, 2 Samuel, and various other Psalms are taken to point specifically to Him.  This, of course,  does not surprise us, because it is consistent with the claim Jesus made for himself!  On at least one occasion he challenged the Jewish leaders to explain how David, in Psalm 110, could see one of his future descendants as being none other than God himself, implying that the Promised Messiah is both man and God at the same time (Mark 12:35-37).

Not surprisingly, Jesus’ opponents were unable to resolve this problem because it would require them to accept that the man standing in front of them, the son of a carpenter from Nazareth (of all places!), was divine, both in origin and by nature!  On another occasion, after his resurrection, we are told that in a conversation the Risen Lord Jesus had with a pair on the road to Emmaus, “beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the [Old Testament] Scriptures concerning himself.” (Luke 24:27).

The Old Testament is replete with references to Jesus, because it is, in fact, about him.  This is so much the case that, if we deny it, we fail to see the true meaning and significance of what God is revealing to us in that part of his written Word!  The whole Bible is about Jesus; “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.  For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.  He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:15-17).  The whole letter to the Hebrews leaves us in no doubt about this true identity of Jesus.

Just as an aside, we tend to think of the angels as having a very privileged position in the spiritual hierarchy, and Hebrews uses this to emphasise how great Jesus truly is.  But I used to love singing a song in Sunday School (to the tune of ‘The Happy Wanderer’ – if you’re old enough to remember that song), and it included the words: “The angels sing a glorious song, but not a song like mine – for I’ve been washed in Jesus’ blood, and singing all the time:  Jesus lives!  Jesus lives!  I know that my Redeemer lives, he lives!  I’m singing all the time!”  Let’s remember: the angels are in heaven because that is their natural habitat; but it is not the natural habitat of sinners like us.  We can be there only by God’s grace, because Jesus shed his blood for us!  That’s what make our song more glorious than theirs!

– Bruce Christian