Series: Engage
Sermon: Who is Jesus?
Passage: Hebrews 1:1-4

Main Idea: Jesus is nothing less than God in the flesh.

Purpose: Introduce topic and get the group talking.

1.When people say we are living in a “post-Christian culture,” what does this mean to you?

Purpose: Observe the passage and interact with the text

As a group, read Hebrews 1:1-4.

2. What do we learn about Jesus through this passage?

3. What questions does this passage stir up for you?

4. What does it mean that Jesus “sat down” at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven, and why is this important?

Purpose: Connect observations in God’s Word with observations in our world today.

5. What are different answers that people might give to the question, “Who is Jesus?”

6. There are a lot of people who “believe” that Jesus is God in the flesh, but may not actually follow Him or do what he says. Describe some reasons for this.

Purpose: Internalize God’s Word and apply the truth to your personal life.

Read the following quote by C.S. Lewis:

“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic – on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg – or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to… Now it seems to me obvious that he was neither a lunatic nor a fiend; and consequently, however strange or terrifying or unlikely it may seem, I have to accept the view that He was and is God.”

7. How does this quote from C.S. Lewis speak to you?

8. How did you first engage with Jesus?

9. How does the understanding that Jesus is the person who sits right next to God impact the way you might interact with him?

10. If you believe that Jesus is really God, what prevents you from fully committing your whole life to him?

Purpose: Spend time listening for God’s for direction and guidance as you seek to live out the truths of this passage in your everyday life.

11. Spend some time asking God how He may be inviting you to engage with him more deeply. Share with the group.

12. Then, spend time asking God how He may be inviting you into opportunities to share the audacious Christian claim that Jesus is God. Share with the group.

Close in prayer by asking that God would give you faith to follow him in the specific ways that he has shown you in this time.

Purpose: Introduce topic and get the group talking.

1. When people say we are living in a “post-Christian culture,” what does this mean to you?

Purpose: Observe the passage and interact with the text

As a group, read Hebrews 1:1-4.

2. What do we learn about Jesus through this passage?

– He is God’s spokesperson (similar to Old Testament prophets)
– Appointed as heir of all things – In our times an “heir” is one who gains possession of something by the death of another. In the world of the first century, “heir” emphasized lawful possession, without implying how a person gained possession.
– The universe was made through Him – Christ himself was the Agent of Creation (John 1:3; 1 Cor. 8:6; Col. 1:16).
– He is the radiance of God’s glory – not just a reflection of God’s glory (like Moses in Exodus 34:29-35), but God’s glory is actually emanating from, or sourced in Him) – Jesus “shines” with the brightness of God’s own “glory,” which is frequently used in the Old Testament to signify the presence of God.
– He is the exact representation of God’s being – The writer’s point is that in Jesus, God’s essential nature is revealed to us, for Christ “bears the very stamp of His nature.” (RSV)
– He sustains all things by his powerful word – in Greek the word “pheron” means to “carry along.” The image is one of dynamic action where only Christ’s active support enables the universe and all processes in it to continue operating.
– Provided purification for sins – here the writer changes course and focuses on the fact that this awesome One stepped into space and time to put away our sins. “Purification” in Greek is “katharismos” – meaning cleansing.
– Sits at the right hand of the Father – sitting signifies rest, and work completed. The right hand signifies the place of honor.
– The early church struggled with describing who Jesus was, concluding that He was the “same in being” and the “same in essence.”

(Comments in bold are taken from The Victor Bible Background Commentary: New Testament)

3. What questions does this passage stir up for you?
It might be beneficial for the group to open different versions of the same verses, to compare and seek more understanding. Suggested versions: New Living Translation, New International Version, English Standard Version, The Message (*Not a translation, but a great paraphrase.)

4. What does it mean that Jesus “sat down” at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven, and why is this important?
From question #2 above – sitting signifies rest, and work completed. The right hand signifies the place of honor.

Purpose: Connect observations in God’s Word with observations in our world today.

5. What are different answers that people might give to the question of “Who is Jesus?”
Jesus is the central figure in our Christian faith and also a prominent figure in other religions, including the three major world religions: In Islam He is a prophet. In Hinduism, He is a wise man, a gifted teacher and in some parts of the faith, one of their many gods. In Buddhism, He is an enlightened man and teacher.

6. There are a lot of people who “believe” that Jesus is God in the flesh, but may not actually follow Him or do what he says. Describe some reasons for this.
Intellectual assent is not the same thing as the biblical terms of belief or faith. These terms connote a sense of active trust, not just a mental exercise. Christians with a genuine faith also must wrestle with this tension, because there are places in all of us where our life does not match our beliefs (i.e. if we really believed in who God is, we simply wouldn’t worry, we would naturally obey God’s way, etc.).

Purpose: Internalize God’s Word and apply the truth to your personal life.

Read the following quote by C.S. Lewis:
“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic – on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg – or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to… Now it seems to me obvious that he
was neither a lunatic nor a fiend; and consequently,however strange or terrifying or unlikely it may seem, I have to accept the view that He was and is God.”
7. How does this quote from C.S. Lewis speak to you?

10. If you believe that Jesus is really God, what prevents you from fully committing your whole life to him?

Purpose: Spend time listening for God’s direction and guidance as you seek to live out the truths of this passage in your everyday life.

11. Spend some time asking God how He may be inviting you to engage with him more deeply. Share with the group.

12. Then, spend time asking God how He may be inviting you into opportunities to share the audacious Christian claim that Jesus is God. Share with the group.
Close in prayer by asking that God would give you faith to follow him in the specific ways that he has shown you in this time.