“The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven” (Hebrews 1:3).

One of the most important things Jesus did is reveal to us what God is like. To the Greeks God was unfeeling. How could He be God, they surmised, and still feel passion for His creation? To the Jews God was almost unapproachable. He was behind a curtain and only one person, the High Priest, could approach Him once each year. There was a mystery about God. There still is that mystery to many people.

Jesus came to correct every misrepresentation about God. The writer of Hebrews was saying that we don’t know God at all unless we understand Jesus. Jesus is the “radiance of God’s glory.” When we see the sun we are seeing the light that it gave off about 8 1/3 minutes before. It takes light that long for the sun’s light to travel to earth. In the same way Jesus is the radiance of God’s glory. When we see Jesus we are seeing the glory of God. God is hidden from us without the Son, Jesus, who radiates His glory.

Jesus is the “exact representation of his being.” The Greek word is “charakter.” It is the impression left by a stamp. You can look at an impression a stamp has made and tell exactly what the stamp looks like. We can look at Jesus and know exactly what God is like. The Cross wasn’t a loving Savior dying to appease an angry God. It was a loving Savior showing us exactly how much our heavenly Father loves us.

The message of Hebrews is still valid. We aren’t left in the dark about what God is really like. Jesus is the final and complete revelation of God and He is the only way to the Father. Trusting Jesus brings us into a relationship with our heavenly Father who loves us more than we can ever imagine.