Sermon for St. Michael and all holy angels Sunday, September 27, 2026
Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. Amen.
Hebrews 1:1-14 In the past, God spoke to our forefathers by the prophets at many times and in many ways. 2In these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. 3The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact imprint of the divine nature. He sustains all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he took his seat at the right hand of the Majesty on high. 4The Son became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. 5For to which of the angels did God ever say: “You are my Son. Today I have begotten you?” And again: “I will be his Father, and he will be my Son.” 6And again, when he brought his firstborn into the world, he said: “Let all God’s angels worship him.” 7About the angels he says: “He makes his messengers winds and his ministers flaming fire.” 8But about the Son he says: “God, your throne is forever and ever, and the scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom. 9You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of joy beyond your companions.” 10And he says: “In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of your hands. 11They will perish, but you remain. They will all become old like a garment. 12You will roll them up like a robe, and they will be changed like a garment. But you are the same, and your years will never end.” 13To which of the angels has he ever said: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool under your feet?” 14Are not all angels ministering spirits sent out to serve for the benefit of those who are going to inherit salvation? (EHV)
This Angel of the Lord is God’s Son.
Dear friends in Christ,
It isn’t hard to imagine that God chose Israel as His people, not because of any merit in them, but because they were so representative of all mankind. Though there were many who became believers upon hearing the Word of God, the people as a whole often struggled with weak faith and easily lapsed into idolatry and rebelliousness. Then, the people of Jewish descent who were among the first believers in Jesus were often subject to serious persecution by their own people.
The friends, relatives, and neighbors who had not believed in Jesus thought these early Christians were making a grave mistake by following Christ. This became an even more serious stumbling block to their faith in Jesus when the Roman emperor banned Christianity as a religion while still allowing the Jewish faith to continue being practiced. To hold on to their new faith in Jesus required great perseverance in the face of strong opposition. Again, it isn’t hard to imagine that we could become subject to the same types of persecution. Our world, also, is infiltrated with vast hosts of people who reject Jesus as God, and who oppose Him, and us, at every opportunity.
It is to these persecuted Christians, who had grown up in the faith of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that the writer brings the encouragement of this letter. The writer is teaching and showing his fellow former Jews that Jesus truly is the reason for the Old Testament writings and the fulfillment of the same. This remains just as important for you and me. We need to see Jesus for who He truly is.
Now, the Jews, with the exception of the Sadducees, believed in the angels and that God sends them to help us and deliver messages. They knew the Scriptures and the accounts of angels bringing messages to the prophets. They remembered the visits of the Angel of the Lord. However, just as in our world, many people were being tormented with the lie that Jesus was merely another angel, prophet, or other messenger from God. It is not an unusual taunt Satan uses: tell people Jesus is just a man, or just an angel, or just a prophet or teacher, and why should anyone believe in Jesus as their Savior? The message given here is that This Angel of the Lord is God’s Son.
The writer acknowledges that God had communicated with their forefathers in many ways. He does not deny that God sends His angels to protect and defend us. Indeed, we too know the Scriptures assuring promise, “He will give a command to his angels concerning you, to guard you in all your ways.” (Psalm 91:11) Yet, even as holy and dedicated as the holy angels are to serving God by helping us, there is a tremendous difference between the created angels and Jesus.
Therefore, the writer reminds those under persecution, “In these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.” He was reminding these persecuted brothers that what they had learned from the apostles is indeed a message of love from God, and hearing these words, we remember that this is not new news. Moses had long earlier reported God’s Word, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness.” (Genesis 1:26) Just as St. John also reported, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him everything was made, and without him not one thing was made that has been made.” (John 1:1-3) It is through Christ Jesus that God made the universe and everything it contains and still sustains it.
At the same time, it wasn’t enough to satisfy God’s love that His Son was involved in creating and sustaining this world. Remember, God is love. He is forever faithfully kind to His creation demonstrating His love for all He created. Therefore, we read, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact imprint of the divine nature. He sustains all things by his powerful word.” God works through His spoken Word. Through His Word, He created everything and still sustains it, and it is through His Word that God gives the faith in Jesus that saves us. Still, there is more to the story.
Here, the writer takes the reader to what is important for our eternal lives and destination. Walking away from Jesus doesn’t protect a person from anything. In fact, rejecting Jesus in the hope of saving one’s skin from persecution leads to eternal death. Jesus explained to His disciples, “In fact whoever wants to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. After all, what will it benefit a person if he gains the whole world, but forfeits his soul? Or what can a person give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:25-26) What have we to offer God except our sin? The answer is nothing of value. Before God, all mankind must fall in abject despair of anything good in themselves, “because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) Yet, God doesn’t leave us in that tragic position, as the writer again declares, “After he had provided purification for sins, he took his seat at the right hand of the Majesty on high.”
With His holy life and death on the cross, Jesus became both our Great High Priest and the sacrificial Lamb when He offered Himself to God on the cross in our place. With His resurrection from the grave Jesus proved that His work had accomplished the forgiveness and peace that God had promised. We read again, “After he had provided purification for sins, he took his seat at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” The first readers of this letter had known those promises from youth. They had heard the reports of the evangelists. They had seen and believed what Jesus had done. The message for them and us is never to let go of the sure hope we have in Jesus.
Apparently, some false teachers were pushing the idea that angels would help them even if they abandoned Jesus, but apart from Christ there is no salvation. Jesus had stated it plainly, “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father, except through me.” (John 14:6) Furthermore, we have the testimony of the Father from heaven. St. Peter testifies, “He received honor and glory from God the Father, when the voice came to him from within the Majestic Glory, saying, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’ We heard this voice, which came out of heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain.” (2 Peter 1:17-18)
Here, the writer again argues for faith in Jesus, saying, “The Son became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. For to which of the angels did God ever say: ‘You are my Son. Today I have begotten you?’ And again: ‘I will be his Father, and he will be my Son.’ And again, when he brought his firstborn into the world, he said: ‘Let all God’s angels worship him.’” Thus, to anyone who would call Jesus merely a teacher or messenger, we boldly declare, This Angel of the Lord is God’s Son.
None of this is to say that the holy angels are not important or powerful. About the angels he says: “He makes his messengers winds and his ministers flaming fire.” I can confidently assure all of you that we have been blessed far more by the angels than any of us realize. How often have we been spared from disaster because God sent an angel to block harm from touching us? Most of the time, we don’t see or have any comprehension of their intervention on our behalf. But about the Son he says: “God, your throne is forever and ever, and the scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of joy beyond your companions.”
God Himself calls Jesus God. Much of our world would prefer to deny the Trinity. However, to deny any one person of the Trinity is to deny God completely. But, by sending His Son into this world of sorrow and pain, God has removed condemnation from our future. Through the faith He works in us by the power of His Holy Spirit in the Word and Baptism, God has rescued us from eternal separation from Him and at the same time brought us into His eternal kingdom of peace in heaven.
Finally, the writer reminds his people that in the end, all the material things of this earth will end. All these created things will perish. However, God alone is forever and ever unchanged. Our writer speaks to the Lord, “They will perish, but you remain. They will all become old like a garment. You will roll them up like a robe, and they will be changed like a garment. But you are the same, and your years will never end.” Jesus Christ, God our Savior, will return to judge the world. This world will pass away and be replaced by the new creation God has planned. He will send His angels on that last day to sort out the believers from the unbelievers, and those who are connected with Jesus by faith will return with Him into eternal glory.
Dear friends, we celebrate the angels today because God uses them to help us, but we especially celebrate He who is both the Angel of the Lord and our Savior, Jesus Christ. In Him we move and have our being; in Him we have forgiveness of all sin and life everlasting. This Angel of the Lord is God’s Son. Amen.
Now, to our Lord and Savior and God, we offer up this prayer, God be merciful to us and bless us, and cause His face to shine upon us, that Your way may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations. Amen.