Hello everyone and welcome back to Deeper Waters. I ask for your continued prayers. I have been busy with a project today and I am having a difficult time as there are obstacles that stand in my way. That and there are just many other things going on in my life right now. I know I am general in what I ask, but the Lord knows what is on my heart and he is able to provide. For now, let us go to the text tonight. We will be looking at Hebrews 13:8 and closing out the book of Hebrews with this.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
It’s a simple verse indeed, but it is so profound. The author has been making the point about Jesus being the focal point of history. Everything revolves around Jesus. We spoke about this in our blog last night and how the Jews had a unique view of history and that it was moving towards a point. For the writer of Hebrews, Jesus is that point.
Here we have a statement about the immutability of Jesus. What does that word immutability mean? It means being incapable of change. Now someone will object “Hey! We know that Luke says that Jesus grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man!” That sounds like a change to me.
Fair enough question, but one that misses the point. Our writer surely knew that as well for he is well familiar with the incarnation of Jesus. How is it then that the writer can speak of a Jesus who never changes and yet one who has been made perfect?
He is not speaking of Jesus in his humanity, but Jesus in his deity. Why is this important? Because the Jews certainly knew what it meant for someone to not change. Consider Malachi 3:6:
“I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.
The changelessness of God meant that God was someone they could depend on. The same is true of Christ. We can depend on Christ because he is the one who never changes. We can be sure, however, that the Jews who were hearing this letter, rather it was read or rather it was a sermon as some suspect, would make the connection.
Why does deity never change? Deity is absolutely perfect and is not in time. Being in time would place one in the area of change. There is nothing outside of the nature of God that he can take in that would make him better than he is or he would be less than absolutely perfect. There is nothing he can lose or else he would cease to be absolutely perfect.
In his deity, Jesus is of this nature. The trust that was to be given to YHWH was given to Jesus as well as he has the same nature. The writer of the epistle began by saying that Jesus is the exact representation of God. Now we see that he is that eternal reflection and he never changes, just as the Father never does.
Tomorrow, we shall begin James.
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