1:4 - So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.

Having declared seven great facts about the Son, our author asserts His superiority over the the angels.

But why angels?

There is reflected even in the NT a common Jewish belief that angels—even as they worship around God's throne—serve His biddings. Speaking before the Sanhedrin, e.g., Stephen referred to the angels who spoke into Moses's life: it was an angel who "appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai . . ." (Acts 7:30), he "was sent to be their ruler and deliverer by God himself, through the angel who appeared to him in the bush" (v35). Moses was "in the assembly in the desert, with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai . . . and he received living words to pass on to us" (Acts 7:38) and that the men of the Sanhedrin "have received the law that was put into effect through angels but have not obeyed it" (7:53). Paul, e.g., speaks of the law being "put into effect through angels by a mediator" (Gal 3:19). Paul also alludes to the fact that, in some circles, angels were worshipped, and he calls on the Christians in Colossae not to enticed by those who do such a thing (Col 2:18).

The author to the Hebrews evidently shares, together with his audience, a similar view of the angel's role in revelation. Exhorting his audience to pay attention to the Son, he says, "For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him" (2:2-3).

What was done through the agency of the angels was, from the author's perspective, parallel to the "many and diverse ways" God had revealed Himself in the past. An examination of how they pare against the Son is, therefore, a powerful way to begin a demonstration of the Son's superiority. To do this our author cites, in the rest of this chapter, seven passages from the OT as evidence of his assertion. But should the author not also demonstrate that the Son is superior to "the prophets"? He should and he will do so. Let us be patient and hear him out.