Consider Jesus - Hebrews 3:1-6

Jesus is God. He became a man in order to restore dominion over the earth back to humanity and to restore the sinless relationship between God and man. In order to do this, He became our high priest. That’s a review from sections one, two, three, and four covering Hebrews 1-2.

 

This review is the foundation to our current passage, Hebrews 3:1-6.

 

The word “therefore” is repeated often throughout this entire book as the author builds his case as to Jesus’ identity and purpose. In fact, the author uses this simple word much more frequently than any other New Testament author. That’s why a repetitious building of our case as we progress through each section is so important. We can’t pick one section and build a whole case for or against Jesus’ Messianic position based on it; this book is written to build upon itself.

 

Our current section begins with “therefore” so the review at the beginning of this article is important. Because Jesus did all that He did, therefore, consider Him. Consider Jesus. To the readers of the book of Hebrews, you’ve considered Moses, our apostle sent to bring our people out of slavery. You’ve considered Aaron, our high priest who made atonement for our sins. Now… “consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession” (Hebrews 3:1).

 



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Moses and Jesus – Let’s compare and contrast

 

The author of Hebrews isn’t going to ask you to forget all about Moses and blindly follow Jesus. He’s presenting a well-laid argument for Jesus’ superiority over Moses. But before we go there, let’s first see how they’re similar.

 

Jesus is similar to Moses

Other similarities may exist but we see three listed in this passage. “He [Jesus] was faithful to the One who appointed Him, just as Moses was in all God’s household” (Hebrews 3:2).

 

Both men were faithful. It may seem obvious but it’s a powerful similarity. They are both part of the promises made through Abraham. “Just as Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness, then understand that those who have faith are Abraham’s sons. Now the Scripture saw in advance that God would justify the Gentiles by faith and told the good news ahead of time to Abraham, saying, All the nations will be blessed through you. So those who have faith are blessed with Abraham who had faith” (Galatians 3:6-9).

 

Both men were appointed by God. Hebrews 3:2 says God appointed Jesus to His task. Acts 7:44 says the same thing about Moses, “Our ancestors had the tabernacle of the testimony in the wilderness, just as He who spoke to Moses commanded him to make it according to the pattern he had seen.” God called Moses to the top of the mountain to give him clear instructions for how to make the tabernacle.

 

Both men served in the Tabernacle.

• Hebrews 3:2 says Moses was faithful “in all God’s household.” The word for household can refer to “the house of God, the tabernacle.” Considering God appointed Moses to the task of building the tabernacle (Acts 7:44) and considered him faithful (See also Numbers 12:7-8), I believe it’s a safe assumption that the use of the word “household” refers to the tabernacle.
• You may be thinking that Jesus never served in the Tabernacle. After all, Solomon had the temple built during his reign so they no longer needed the tabernacle. It was gone almost 1,000 years before Jesus birth. God appointed Jesus to a different tabernacle in which He also was faithful. Earlier we read Acts 7:44. A few verses later, after a brief summary of the history of the tabernacle and temple, we read, “However, the Most High does not dwell in sanctuaries made with hands, as the prophet says: Heaven is my throne, and earth My footstool. What sort of house will you build for Me? Says the Lord, or what is My resting place? Did not My hand make all these things?” (Acts 7:48-50). The italicized portion is a quote from the Old Testament in Isaiah 66:1-2 – an unfulfilled prophecy of our future judgment balanced with our hope and restoration. Jesus will be front and center then as He serves faithfully in His universal tabernacle. (See also Ephesians 1:20-23.)

 

One big difference

As with the similarities, other differences exist. For example, Jesus is sinless whereas Moses wasn’t. However, this section chooses to focus on only one key difference. “For Jesus is considered worthy of more glory than Moses, just as the builder has more honor than the house” (Hebrews 3:3).

 

Both men were worthy of glory. Ok, I know. That’s actually a similarity but it fits better in this section because of where we’re going to go with it.

• Moses was worthy of glory. He met with God in open conversation. When he did so, his face would glow so brightly that he scared the people. From then on, he had to wear a veil over his face (Exodus 34:29-35). When Aaron and Miriam became angry with Moses’ position, God rebuked them. He honored Moses as His faithful servant whom He could speak to directly. He even said Moses could see “the form of the Lord” (Numbers 12, quote from verse 8). The priest Korah led over 250 men in rebellion against Moses’ leadership. God spoke to Moses and Aaron, “Separate yourselves from this community so I may consume them instantly.” In the end, God brought judgment on over 14,000 people because they rebelled against Moses (Numbers 16). It’s safe to say, God considered Moses to be a man worthy of honor.
• Jesus was worthy of glory. God said so at Jesus’ baptism, “This is My beloved Son. I take delight in Him!” (Matthew 3:13-17, quote from verse 17). He said so again at Jesus’ transfiguration, “This is My beloved Son; listen to Him!” (Mark 9:2-13, quote from verse 7). Finally, at Jesus’ resurrection, through the prophecy of King David, “He was not left in Hades, and His flesh did not experience decay” (Acts 2:25-35, quote from verse 31).

 

But Jesus is worthy of more glory. Jesus is worthy of more glory because the “builder has more honor than the house” (Hebrews 3:3). In other words, Jesus is the word made flesh who spoke the universe into creation. The Creator is more worthy than the creation. Jesus is more worthy than Moses.

 

Jesus is more worthy because, as Creator, His tabernacle is all of creation whereas Moses’ tabernacle – although designed by God – was only a tent. His Gospel message is superior to Moses’ message of the Law (Acts 13:37-39, Romans 8:1-4).

 

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Finally, Jesus is worthy of more glory because He is the Son over the whole creation of God’s tabernacle whereas Moses was a servant in the earthly tabernacle (Hebrews 3:5-6). Jesus is the Son over it all; Moses is a Servant in a smaller version.

 

So why consider Jesus over Moses?

 

Both men were faithful, appointed by God, and served in their respective tabernacles. Both of them were worthy of glory and honor. But Jesus is more worthy. He is more worthy because He is the Creator, not the creation. He is more worthy because He brought a gospel message of grace for all people of creation rather than the Law’s message of death for those under it. He is more worthy of glory because He is the Son of God whom God put over all rather than a servant in an earthly tent. We consider Jesus because He is more worthy.

 

In the end, we consider Jesus because “we are that household if we hold on to the courage and the confidence of our hope” (Hebrews 3:6). That’s not something that’s going to simply happen on its own, though. We have to hold on to it. The world is going to try to pull it away from us. In a previous section we discussed the importance of paying attention to God’s message. We can’t be careless with it or let it slip from our minds. We must pay attention and take it seriously. We see that same idea here. The world will try to pull away our abundant life made possible by walking with the Savior. We have to cling to it – holding on tight to keep it in our grasp.

 

We consider Jesus – we hold on to His message – with a confident, courageous speech that lets the world know what He has to offer. We hold on to His message as our only source of hope in a world that is quickly becoming a rough place for those who choose to follow Him. We consider Jesus – we hold on to His message – until the end when we behold Him face to face and our faith becomes sight.

 

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