This is the first warning in the book of Hebrews. And it’s not a soft one. Hebrews 2:1–4 tells us plainly: if we have received a message greater than that of angels, a covenant confirmed by Christ, attested by eyewitnesses, and affirmed by the Spirit through signs and wonders—then we must pay very close attention to it. Otherwise, we will drift. And drifting is not a passive problem—it is the beginning of shipwrecked faith.

Hebrews 1:4 shifts to a new comparison—Jesus is greater than the angels. For many modern readers, this may seem unimportant. “Of course Jesus is better than angels,” we think. But for the first-century Jewish-Christian audience, angels were revered.

Throughout Hebrews, we’ll see a pattern. The author brings up a part of the Old Testament—be it the law, a prophet, or a priest—and then he shows us how Jesus surpasses it. Again and again, we’ll hear: “This was great… but Jesus is better.”