One of the features of the Bible that we must grapple with if we are going to understand what God is saying is that his revelation happens progressively. This is not to be confused with saying that God is a progressive, one who fluctuates to the emotionally charged winds of our time. Rather, God shows himself bit by bit over the course of time. He does not come out all at once at the beginning of the story and proclaim, "Here I am!" in all his glory and start describing all his attributes. He shows himself in stages so that we come to understand more of what he is like over time as he continues to reveal his beauty, goodness, power, and the like.
This means that we should expect more light as the story moves toward its climax and, hence, the reason for this article at this point in the calendar year. It is Christmastime, as you all have known now for several months as the retail stores prepare themselves for the great consumerist push. The most wonderful time of the year. A time for faith, family, friends, football, fruitcake, fir trees, and all of those other festive "f" words we may utter under our breath as the snow falls or the rain freezes.
This is the season of Advent, the time to remember that Jesus is the climax of God's plan and, thus, the climax of his revelation. The author of Hebrews says it this way, "Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son" (Heb. 1:1-2). There is both a comparison and some contrasts in these verses. God spoke in both situations, but in the former example he spoke "by the prophets" and he did so a long time ago in many different times and many different ways. Now, he has spoken (notice the definitive emphasis) "by his Son."
That God's revelation would finally come by his Son is significant in a number of ways. One or two should suffice. Jesus makes it clear that "no one knows the Father except the Son" (Matt. 12:27). Jesus is in a unique relationship with God as his Son. The prophets God spoke through in the past did not have this advantage. There is a qualitative and quantitative difference between God's speech through the prophets and God's speech through the Son. Think also of how John describes Jesus as the unique one who knows God and has made him known (Jn. 1:18; 6:46; 7:29; 8:19; 17:25-26). Truly, whoever has seen him has seen the Father (Jn. 14:9).
There is also a contrast in the audience, the original recipients of the message God was speaking. In the first case, God spoke to "our fathers." This is clearly a reference to the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob), but also includes their descendants (Moses, Joshua, David, Solomon, etc.). In the latter case, the audience is "us," the first Christians to hear the gospel message, and the time frame is "in the last days," not just the ambiguous "long ago." The arrival of Jesus and the message God spoke through him marked the end of an era, the end of an age in which God spoke by his prophets. Jesus arrives on the scene as the final prophet of God, the final Word of God, the climactic speech of God. After all, the Son is not just one of the prophets, but the "heir of all things," the creator of the world, the "radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature," the one who "upholds the universe by the word of his power," the one who made "purification for sins" and sat down at the right hand of almighty God, and the one who is superior to the angels (Heb. 1:2b-4).
This message, this Son, tells us that there is no going back to the way things used to be and that there is no need to look for another message from God, whether that message is served upon golden platters or whispered to you in the dark. Jesus is it. And he is more than enough for those with eyes to see his beauty, worth, superiority, and sufficiency. So put that in your pipe and smoke it this Christmas season as you celebrate the arrival of the one who is the firstborn of all creation and the one who became the firstborn from the dead (cf. Col. 1:15, 18).
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