This phrase from the above verses absolutely fascinates me: “. . . he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command.” The New King James Version puts it this way: “ . . . upholding all things by the Word of His power.” Jesus not only made all things, but he sustains them, holds them together - whether it is in the natural realm or spiritual realm, He is the One who keeps everything going! Even as He spoke the universe into being, He keeps it going by His Word.
Because I teach the fifth grade chemistry unit in science, I’m excited that He is even holding atoms together. The nucleus of an atom contains protons and neutrons. The protons are positively charged. We all know that, with charges, likes repel and opposites attract. If you have ever played with a pair of magnets you understand not only the force that attracts the north and south poles of a magnet, but you are also familiar with the push that occurs when the south of one magnet approaches the south of another. You cannot bring them together. It’s the same with positive charges.
What is baffling about atoms is that positively charged protons do NOT repel in the nucleus, but hold tightly together. Scientists don’t know exactly what keeps them together. They call it “atomic glue” or “atomic force.” But it is pretty much unexplainable. The force that holds them together is what keeps all matter together. The breaking of this force is what unleashes atomic horrors like Hiroshima. That is a lot of power. Our verse today tells us that it is Jesus who is upholding it all by the power of His Word!
And it’s not just atoms He is keeping together. My heart continues beating because He holds my life in His hands. When we are faced with sudden loss or tragedy, He sustains us. By the sheer force of His Word, we are held together when we should be falling apart. That’s why knowing His Word is so important in our lives. It nourishes us, supports us, keeps us from falling.
The last part of verse 3 tells us something remarkable about Jesus that the author will touch on again when arguing the superiority of Christ:
When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven. (NLT)
In Jesus’ day, priests NEVER sat down. There was no chair in the temple for the priest, because his job of offering sacrifices never ended. In fact, the priest needed to offer sacrifices for his own sin. Jesus’ sacrifice was the only offering that completely covered our sins, because, as the Lamb of God, only He was sinless. That’s why He could cry from the cross, “It is finished!” The sacrificial work was DONE!
That’s why the author of Hebrews will insist there is no further need of priests, mediators between God and man. Jesus finished that work and SAT DOWN at the right hand of the Father, where he now is our advocate. We go to God directly through Him alone. No need to go through any man or dead saints - Jesus is our only mediator. Paul wrote, “For there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus.” (I Timothy 2:5)
Since 70 A.D., when Jerusalem was completely sacked by the Romans, and the temple destroyed, there has been no place for offerings. The earthly altar is gone. It is no longer necessary. This is GREAT news!
Finally, the fact that Jesus is seated in heaven proves that He is superior to anyone else, even the angels. Verse 4 leads us into our next section of Hebrews:
This shows that the Son is far greater than the angels, just as the name God gave him is greater than their names. (NLT)
We’ll see this argued in our next study. Today, rejoice in the fact that your sins - past, present, and future - are gone completely. You have been made pure once and for all time by our only High Priest! The work is FINISHED! Hallelujah!
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