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Hebrews 1:4 – Having become as much better than the angels
“Although today some non-Messianic Jews, reacting against Christianity, insist that Judaism has never expected the Messiah to be different from any other man, there can be no question that in the first century many Jews, both those attracted to Yeshua and those repelled by him, understood that the Messiah would be more than human but how much more?
“…’Behold , my servant shall (deal wisely) prosper.’ This is King Messiah. ‘He shall be exalted and extolled beyond Moses, and raised high above the ministering angels.’ (Yalkut Shim’oni 2:53:3, on Isaiah 52:13; quoted in B.F. Westcott, The Epistle to the Hebrews, p.16).@ (Stern, p.664)
The very first apostolic confession of the divinity of Jesus as the “Son of God” came from Nathaniel who equated being “the Son of God” to being “the King of Israel.” (Jn.1:49) Verse 41 of John 1 shows that being the “Son of God” and the “King of Israel” and being the “Christ” or the “Messiah” all referred to the same person.
The reason the writer has to focus on Jesus being greater than angels was the belief that angels were God’s medium for delivering the Law of Moses. Also compare 2:2 and Gal.1:8.
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