While Christmas often directs our thoughts to the birth narratives of Matthew and Luke, we should not limit ourselves to the Gospels. In fact, the christology of Hebrews stands out for its beauty, power, and theological profundity. In this brief article I want to consider the christology of Hebrews and the way that book teaches us to see Christ as the fulfillment of the three key Psalms and the divine priest-king who deserves all true worship.
Jesus, Our Melchizedekian Priest-King: A Meditation on Psalm 110
The author unfolds for us in this first chapter both the deity and the humanity of Jesus Christ, though we should add immediately that the humanity of Jesus is tied particularly to his kingship and priesthood. Perhaps the best point of entry for our reflection is Hebrews 1:3, where the author declares that Jesus sat down at God’s right hand after he had made a full cleansing for sin.
In saying this he alludes to Psalm 110:1, and we know that this psalm is a favorite of the author since he cites or alludes to it often (see Heb. 1:13; 8:1; 10:12; 12:2). David, in the first verse of the psalm, affirms that there is a Lord greater than he, declaring that this greater Lord will sit at Yahweh’s right hand. In Matthew 22:41–46 Jesus himself taught that this verse pointed to him, and the author of Hebrews, along with other New Testament writers, picks up on Jesus’s exposition of the psalm. We have already noticed in Hebrews 1:3 that the author alludes to Psalm 110:1, but in Hebrews 1:13 he doesn’t merely allude to the verse, he quotes it, which certifies afresh how important the psalm is.
Another allusion to Psalm 110:1 surfaces in Hebrews 8:1 where we are told that the main point (kephalaion) being established is that Jesus has sat down at the right hand of God. In saying that this is the main point he points back to Hebrews 7, where we find a substantive treatment of Jesus’s Melchizedekian priesthood. Such a priesthood fulfills Old Testament promises in a typological manner since Jesus fulfills Psalm 110:4, which declares that the Lord who is greater than David (Ps. 110:1) is also “a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek” (Ps. 110:4, ESV).
What we are told about Jesus’s Melchizedekian priesthood is tied to the cleansing of sins accomplished by Jesus (Heb. 1:3). In fact, we have another allusion to Psalm 110:1 in Hebrews 10:12 that makes this very point. Jesus, as our priest and king, has sat down at God’s right hand because his work is finished, because he has purified believers once for all. His one sacrifice has brought complete and final forgiveness forever.
We should pick up here the final allusion to Psalm 110:1 in the letter. Since Jesus has sat down at God’s right hand and since he ran the race faithfully, believers should also run the race to the end and look to Jesus as they do so (Heb. 12:1–2). Jesus atones for our sins as our priest and as our king—as our Melchizedekian priest and Davidic king. The christology of Hebrews has a pastoral purpose and soteriological aim; believers have confidence to enter the most holy place through the blood of Jesus (Heb. 10:19–22). Therefore it would be foolish and fatal to turn back to Jewish sacrifices and to abandon Jesus.
Jesus, Our Davidic King: A Meditation on Psalm 2
The kingship of Jesus isn’t restricted to the citation and allusions to Psalm 110 in the letter. The author also draws on Psalm 2, which is a messianic psalm that plays a vital role in the thinking of the writers of the New Testament, though here we must confine ourselves to Hebrews 1.
The psalm was originally written by David (see Acts 4:25), but it ultimately points to and is fulfilled in Jesus, in that David’s kingship functions as a type of the rule of Jesus. David was promised that the nations would be his inheritance in Psalm 2:8, but this promise wasn’t realized fully in David’s reign, and in Hebrews 1:2 we find that God “appointed” Jesus “as heir of all things.” The promise of rule over the nations granted to David is fulfilled in Jesus Christ, and in making this point the author of Hebrews picks up the covenant made with David where the Lord pledges that his dynasty will never end (2 Samuel 7).
In fact, the author quotes from 2 Samuel 7:14 in Hebrews 1:5, affirming that the covenant made with David finds its ultimate and climactic fulfillment in Jesus himself. Or as Hebrews 1:1 says, Jesus represents God’s final and definitive word, the fulfillment of the words given to Israel through the prophets. The author first alludes to Psalm 2 in Hebrews 1:2, but he proceeds to quote the psalm a few verses later. In Hebrews 1:5 we read, “You are my Son: today I have become your Father” (Ps. 2:7 CSB).
Traditionally, this verse has often been rendered, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you” (see e.g., ESV). Some understand this verse to refer to Christ’s eternal generation from the Father. Eternal generation certainly represents biblical teaching, but in this context the reference isn’t to eternal generation but to Jesus’s resurrection and ascension—to Jesus being seated at God’s right hand where he is exalted as the king over all creation. Paul understands the verse in a similar way in Acts 13:33, seeing in Jesus’s resurrection his vindication and rule. This fits with what we have been seeing elsewhere in Hebrews 1. Jesus is the king! Jesus rules, and his work is completed and thus he has been exalted to God’s right hand and sits down as the king of all.
Jesus, Our God: A Meditation on Psalm 102
Thus far we have seen Jesus’s kingship and priesthood. He has cleansed our sins once for all as the king-priest who has sat down at God’s right hand. Still, if we stop here we haven’t plumbed the fullness and wonder of who Jesus Christ is, for he is not only our king and our priest but also God himself.
Indeed, the full deity of Christ bursts through in Hebrews 1 in astonishing ways. We observed in verse 2 that Jesus as the heir of all things is the king, but suddenly the author takes us beyond kingship in identifying the Son as the creator of the universe (Heb. 1:2). Of course, only God is the creator of the universe, and thus Jesus is not only the king but also very God of very God, the maker of all things.
This same conception is supported further by the citation of Psalm 102:25–27 in Hebrews 1:10–12. The author cites the psalm to affirm that both the heavens and the earth were created at the beginning by the Son. Furthermore, he is eternal; he always remains the same; he will never change (cf. Heb. 13:8!). Now the fascinating thing about this is that if we read Psalm 102 it says absolutely nothing about the Messiah. In fact, there is no doubt that Psalm 102:25–27 refers to Yahweh, to his being the creator and to his eternality. So, how can the author of Hebrews use these words about the creation of the world by Yahweh and about Yahweh’s eternality and apply them to Jesus Christ?
Certainly many things could be said if we were delving into this more deeply, but what we can say with confidence is that texts that speak about God are applied to Jesus Christ because the early Christians believed that Jesus was fully God, and thus texts that refer to God are also true of Jesus Christ. As God’s Son Jesus is not only the creator of the world but also its sustainer, he providentially upholds and governs the world moment by moment (Heb. 1:3).
The author has emphasized divine functions: the Son created and sustains the world—but he doesn’t stop there! He also emphasizes ontology. We see this clearly in Hebrews 1:3. “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of his nature” (CSB). Jesus is the outshining of the very glory of God so that just as the rays of the sun reflect the sun’s light, so also Jesus reveals who God is in all his glory, majesty, power, and authority.
As the author goes on to say, Jesus shares the very nature and being of God, sharing the same divine essence. Thus, we are not surprised to read in his citation of Hebrews 1:8 that Jesus is identified as God, and since he is God the angels worship him (Heb. 1:6). We know that only God is to be worshiped (Rev. 19:10; 22:9), and thus the worship of Jesus also confirms his full deity.
Let Us Worship the Divine Priest-King
What does this all mean? It means more than packages placed by the chimney with care. It means our sins are cleansed! By our great high priest. By our exalted king. And by God himself. Thus, at Christmas and on every other day of the year, we can have true assurance of faith as we run the race to the end.
What a great Savior and God we have. A final and definitive word has been revealed to us in the Son who as our priest, king, and God has completed the great work of salvation promised in the prophets. Indeed, this is why we worship Jesus Christ as Lord, just as the kings of the nations did, when they brought their gifts to Jesus (Matt. 2:11) and by so doing fulfilled another word from the Psalms.
May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands
render him tribute;
may the kings of Sheba and Seba
bring gifts!
May all kings fall down before him,
all nations serve him! (Ps. 72:10–11)
