Hebrews 1:1-4, Representation Theory

The letter to the Hebrews opens with an eloquent statement for the Jewish readers.

1:1-3  The Final Representation of God.  
In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. 

This is a clear statement claiming that "the Son" is the fulfillment of the Judaic plan of God ... and that this has been part of that plan from the beginning.   Jesus is both an heir at the end of history and the creator of the universe at the beginning of history.

The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. 

In my mathematical research area, a representation is a mapping that takes a very abstract idea, one hard to understand, and creates a concrete example of the idea, an example where one can do precise mathematical computations, where understanding is achieved by "concreteness."  (Yes, there is a whole mathematical theory of this -- I have books on "representation theory" in my office!)  A representation is "faithful" if it carries all the properties of that difficult abstract idea.

When we humans ask about the abstract, strange, scary idea of "God" and want to understand who God is, we have been offered the "exact representation" of God, that is, God in human form (Jesus), as a concrete example.  If you wish to understand God, look at Jesus.

After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

The first two verses could be understood by Greek philosophers.  But this concluding sentence returns to God's work in the Jewish nation, for "the Son" is indeed the Jewish Messiah, the Jewish sacrificial Lamb, the Savior of all mankind.

1:4  Better than angels  

So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs. 

After a strong thematic opening on the identity of "the Son", we have a transition to a lengthy passage about angels.  Of course, if "the Son" is the exact representation of God and was involved in Creation then this Messiah is above all created things, including angels.  But the author wants to dwell on that a bit... and that will be the next half of chapter 1.

I hope to post on Hebrews 1:5-14 tomorrow.