5 For to which of the angels did He ever say, “YOU ARE MY SON, TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU”? And again, “I WILL BE A FATHER TO HIM AND HE SHALL BE A SON TO ME”? 6 And when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says, “AND LET ALL THE ANGELS OF GOD WORSHIP HIM.” 7 And of the angels He says, “WHO MAKES HIS ANGELS WINDS, AND HIS MINISTERS A FLAME OF FIRE.”

As magnificent as angels are, they are no comparison to the Lord Jesus Christ. In his denunciation of the king of Tyre, Ezekiel sees the angel Lucifer in his pre-fallen state as exalted, the pinnacle of God’s creation. “Thus says the Lord GOD, ‘You had the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty’ ” (Ezek 28:12). Even so, he was not a son! All else has a creaturely relationship to God, but not so the Son.

The author here quotes Psalm 2:7 (which is also quoted in Acts 13:33; Hebrews 5:5). In fact, this book of Hebrews relies heavily on the Old Testament in making its point. This also reflects that his original readership was largely Jewish and well versed in the Hebrew scriptures, sometimes repeating the same quotations. Psalm 2 is considered Messianic in that it not only depicts David’s situation, but also foreshadows the coming Messiah, the descendent of David. Of course, the coming Messiah is Jesus Christ. The verse reflects the sense in the ancient world that the king was considered to have a special, familial rela-tionship with God. So it was not blasphemous for David to include this notion of God saying to him, “You are my son, today I have begotten you.” It was a sort of divine inaugural proclamation to kingship. The previous verse clearly identifies this, “I have installed My King upon Zion, My holy mountain.”

However, the psalm clearly depicts more than David, and the author of Hebrews points this out by applying it to Christ. He is the true son, of which David is symbolic. Indeed, how often is Jesus referred to as “the Son of David.” So as David was declared to be the son in a figurative way, Jesus was declared to be the son in actuality. That is the whole distinguishing point here. Jesus is the unique Son of God; the angels have no such relationship with God.

This sonship is reinforced with another quote, “I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me” (2 Sam 7:14). Jesus is the firstborn (note, it does not say Jesus is the first-created). This is a status, the firstborn represents priority and privilege. Angels do not have that status or privilege. Rather their role is to worship the Son. They are servants of Christ, not equals to Him. He outranks them completely by virtue here of His superior relationship to the Father.

Lord, I will place nothing ahead of worshiping You, for You are supreme over all, even the angels.