Hebrews 1:10-12 (HCSB)
And:
In the beginning, Lord,
You established the earth,
and the heavens are the works of Your hands;
they will perish, but You remain.
They will all wear out like clothing;
You will roll them up like a cloak,
and they will be changed like a robe.
But You are the same,
and Your years will never end.
Moving forward on his theme of the superiority of Jesus over angels, the writer of Hebrews turns to Psalm 102:25-27. Psalm 102 is identified as the prayer of an afflicted man crying out to the Lord for deliverance, and his testimony of how God ultimately delivered him.
Some might be confused by this writer’s use of this Scripture to talk about Jesus, because this section of the Psalm is a hymn of praise to God as the Creator. But remember that in verse 2, the writer of Hebrews identifies Jesus as the one through whom all things in the universe were created, and in verse 3 as the one who sustains all created things. So, with that understanding, this hymn of creation and sustaining definitely applies to Jesus as God the Son.
But the focus of this section is only tangentially about the creative power of Jesus. Its central focus is the contrast of the temporality of all created things with the eternity of Jesus.
As immense and impressive as the created universe is, with such diversity of stars and planets and galaxies, it is all temporary. One day it will all be destroyed by fire (2 Peter 3:10), with the heavens being rolled up like a scroll (Revelation 6:14). In view of the immensity of the universe, nearly 30 billion light years across, it is hard for finite minds to even consider how this could happen. But for the infinitely knowledgeable and all-powerful God, it is no problem.
The writer contrasts the temporality of the seemingly infinite universe with the eternity of the seemingly finite Son of God. Even though Jesus appeared in a real human body, even though he emptied Himself of his divine glory while he lived among people (Philippians 2:5-11), he always was the infinite God in the flesh who remains the same forever and whose years will never end.
Father, how easily we are deceived by appearances! The universe is so vast that it seems infinite to us, and many are tempted to endue it with divinity, saying that the universe brought itself into existence and brought forth life through the slow process of evolution. And Jesus appeared in a physical body, so that many are tempted to write him off as a mere man. But in the end, it is the universe that is finite and temporal, and Jesus is the infinite, all-powerful one, who not only created the vast universe, but who keeps it running, until the day He stops, and it will all vanish, leaving only the eternal things. This is more than our limited, finite brains can fully grasp, but You have given us enough to accept its truth if we’re willing. Thank You, Lord, for Your goodness, Your grace and Your power. Amen.