Hello everyone and welcome back to Deeper Waters. I thank everyone again for their prayers and I ask that you keep them up please. Things seem to be on an emotional roller coaster here. I don’t want to give too many details, but I’m just waiting for things to get back to a joyous way I remember. Anyhow, let’s get back to the text. Tonight, we’re going to start Hebrews 3. We’re going to be looking at verses 1-6.
1Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess. 2He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house. 3Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. 4For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.5Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house, testifying to what would be said in the future. 6But Christ is faithful as a son over God’s house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast.
I said at the beginning that in the church the writer of the Hebrews was addressing, they had a system of mediators set up who interceded for them with God. Angels were one such group of mediators. Another one was Moses. The writer moves on to tackle this one.
Jesus is here seen as the high priest and apostle. This is the only time he’s called an apostle, which means a sent one. Jesus was sent by God. High priest will be a theme played throughout this book and it will be one addressed further later on.
Now a comparison is made to Moses. Jesus was found faithful to YHWH just as Moses was. However, Jesus is worthy of even greater honor than Moses. The writer makes the comparison to the builder of the house being greater than the house that is built.
If there is a house, it is built by someone. God, however, is the builder of everything so what about Moses? It is obvious that God is greater than the house that is built since a builder is greater than the house as the Hebrews writer has said. (The writers of the New Testament were quite logical in their argumentation.)
Moses was faithful in all of God’s house. In other words, Moses was a servant of YHWH, but his position was just limited to being within the house. However, it is at this point that we find the distinction between him and Christ.
Christ is the one who is not a servant in the house, but he is rather over the house, which could be referring to him as builder of the house as well. The writer then tells us that we are members of that house which also would include Moses. The point in the comparison is that Jesus is not just a servant of the house. He is not even a member of the house. He is put in charge of the house and so is therefore greater than the servants in the house, including Moses.
Conclusion then: Do not reject the mediator of Jesus for that of Moses. Jesus is far greater.
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