The Son’s Superiority

In his poem “As Kingfishers Catch Fire,” Gerard Manley Hopkins writes of the way God’s grace and light fill every aspect of our natural world. Near the end of the poem is Hopkins’s famous line, “Christ plays in ten thousand places,” which poetically underscores the idea that Christ’s presence can be seen in innumerable ways.

The author of Hebrews would agree, expanding his opening prologue to reveal Christ in innumerable Old Testament passages. This string of seven biblical quotations (most from the Psalms) underscores Christ’s identity and superiority as God’s divine Son. First, Christ is the unique Son of the Father, as the quotations from Psalm 2 and 2 Samuel 7 demonstrate. Originally proclaimed about an earthly, Davidic king, in Hebrews those texts are now applied most fully to God’s Son. No angelic being has ever received such status.

Second, the Son’s divinity is proclaimed: “Let all God’s angels worship him” (v. 6), a quotation from the Greek version of Deuteronomy 32:43 and Psalm 97:7. We need think only of the angelic hosts gathered at Christ’s birth to see such worship in action. Third, the contrast between angels and the Son is made even sharper by quotations from two royal psalms (45 and 110). While angels serve, Christ the Son reigns as Lord and King. Only to the Son has God ever said: “Sit at my right hand” (v. 13). Notice especially the repeated description of the Son as “God” in verses 8 and 9!

Finally, the author of Hebrews quotes Psalm 102 as proclaiming the Son’s role in the creation of the world
(vv. 10–12). What is true of our Creator God is also true of the Son: “You remain the same, and your years will never end” (v. 12). Truly, the Son is far superior to any angelic being.

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