Jesus: Better Than Moses
Hebrews 3:1-6
Introduction.
This sermon will be a little shorter today as we consider how Jesus is better than Moses.
We will be considering only the first 6 verses of Hebrews 3.
The rest of Ch. 3 flows well into most of Ch. 4, so we will consider that together next time.
Recall the earlier context of who Jesus is.
First, God speaks through Him.
He is better than angels, being the Son of God, our King, and our Creator.
He was made a little lower than the angels.
Instead of being a weakness, He can identify with us far better than before.
He was also able to suffer and die for our sins.
This leads us into our lesson today.
Identities.
Similarities with Moses.
Differences with Moses.
Body.
Identities (3:1).
Addressee.
We first note that the writer is speaking to “holy brethren [and] partakers of the heavenly calling.”
You see, He calls Christians “holy.”
Indeed, we are to be holy because God is holy.
We have spent much time considering what that means based on our discussions on Leviticus.
Recall, it is to be sanctified, set apart for a specific purpose.
And we have, indeed, been sanctified, set apart by the blood of Christ.
And we are a spiritual brotherhood, a family that lives for Him.
Not only that, he states that we are “partakers of the heavenly calling.”
That word, “partaker,” will become very important later.
Those who are partakers of the heavenly calling are holy brethren, saved by the blood of the Lamb of God.
Such people are “partakers of Christ if [they] hold fast the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end” (3:14).
This confidence can be cast away, which will result in judgment (10:35).
And such people are “partakers of the Holy Spirit” who could potentially “fall away” (6:4-6).
We share in these things together!
Jesus’ Identity.
He is an Apostle.
This is the only place in which this particular name is linked to Him.
To understand it, we must consider the basic definition of the word.
Of course, this is one who has been sent.
Surely, this applies to Jesus (John 6:40).
Many others were sent and could bear that title, but Christ bears it distinctly, just as He does the title of Son of God.
He is the High Priest of our confession.
The idea of His being our High Priest has been touched on before, and will be the major focus of later lessons.
For now, let us consider “our confession.”
The idea of confession also carries with it the idea of profession.
What do we confess or profess about Christ?
Paul calls it that “good confession [that was confessed] in the presence of many witnesses” (1 Tim. 6:12).
He also says that “with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Rom. 9:10).
That good confession is that beautiful profession that the Ethiopian eunuch made when he was baptized into Christ, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God” (Acts 8:37).
He made a declaration about his faith in the Lord Jesus, something that the writer of Hebrews had been doing up to this point.
This is a confession, a belief, a truth that we are to “hold fast … without wavering, for He who promised is faithful” (Heb. 4:14; 10:23).
But first we’ll see a few similarities that Jesus has with Moses.
Similarities with Moses (3:2).
Prophet.
Before we get into what Hebrews says, let’s consider what Moses prophesied (Deut. 18:15, 18).
A Prophet like Moses was to come.
He was going to speak on God’s behalf, as a prophet does, and be a Lawgiver as Moses was.
In fact, that will be a big point brought out later in Hebrews.
Apostle.
As we stated, an apostle is literally one who is sent.
Jesus was one who was sent by the Father to the earth.
The Lord called Him on the mountain in the burning bush, and sent him to Egypt to deliver the Israelites out of Pharaoh’s hand.
He also was sent to bring the law of God to the people.
But all this would not have been possible if Moses were not faithful.
Faithful.
This may well have been an allusion to a passage in Num. 12:7.
In Numbers 12, Aaron and Miriam stage a minor coup against Moses, but the Lord calls the three before Him.
In fact, we cited this passage a few weeks ago when we were considering the various ways God spoke to people in time past.
But now we focus on the last part of vs. 7.
“He is faithful in all My house.”
This makes Moses a steward in the house of God, the house that belongs to God.
Oh won’t it be grand to hear our Lord say that we have been faithful in all His house? I pray that both you and I hear that one day.
Christ is faithful, too, faithful to the point of allowing Himself to be crucified on the cross.
What willingness, what faithfulness that He exemplified.
But there were quite a few differences between Christ and Moses, too.
Differences with Moses (3:3-6).
House Builder (3:3).
One of the main differences between Christ and Moses is the glory they would receive.
Moses is one of the most, if not the most revered, man in Judaism.
He brought the Law down from Mt. Sinai, guided the Israelites to the Promised Land (which we’ll talk more about next week).
Why does Christ have more honor than that? Because Christ built the house!
You see, Moses was involved in preparing for the building of that house, while Christ actually built it.
It’s true that Moses had the tabernacle built, but the true house of God is His church!
As we talked about this morning, that church and its Builder was prophesied so long before.
Moses prepared for it, but Christ built it.
As a result, Christ receives more glory and honor.
After all, He told the Apostles He would build it (Matt. 16:18).
And in Acts 2 we see it being built!
Here we see a contrast between preparation and fulfillment.
Who is the one that is better: one who gathers all the materials for building a house, or one who actually builds it?
Both are necessary in order for a house to get built, right?
It’s like gathering a recipe together. You set all the ingredients before you, but the cake won’t bake itself even if the ingredients are all on the same counter.
It’s like the creation of life. Scientists have tried to posit ways in which non-life could have produced life, but they have all failed miserably when put to the test.
All the building blocks might be there, but unless someone “breathes into his nostrils the breath of life” (Gen. 2:7), you have nothing but amino acids and minerals.
As we read in 1 Chronicles, David prepared for the building of the temple, but his son Solomon gets the honor of building it in 2 Chronicles.
One of the primary things we notice in this passage is the idea that Moses had prepared for the Lord’s house to be built, but it was Christ who built it.
The writer then offers an aside, stating something quite obvious to most people—that every house is built by someone (3:4).
I say it’s obvious to most people—it’s not obvious to many atheists out there.
To claim that this universe, this world, that life itself was not built but just happened is ridiculous beyond measure.
God has ultimately built all things: the world, the church, everything.
This does not deny that others assisted in the building of such things.
We already established the Son’s role in creating the world, and especially that of building His church.
Christ not only built it, but it belongs to Him.
He is a Son over His house (3:5-6).
The writer repeats the similarity between Christ and Moses concerning their faithfulness.
But the contrast here is that Moses was faithful as a servant in the house of God.
He prophesied of what was to come, preparing the way for Jesus.
Jesus is so much more than a Servant, but a Son!
Moses is a servant in the house, Christ is a Son over the house.
Not just any house, but His own house.
This house, as we’ve discussed, is His church.
If you need anymore proof, it’s right there: “whose house we are.”
The church of Christ is not a building, but it is a people.
We belong to Him, we are His house.
Peter reminds us of this, that we “as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 2:5).
This house that belongs to Christ that He built.
But there is an “if” there in 3:6, one of the smallest words in English, and one of the smallest words in Greek, too.
Such a conditional phrase, indicating that if we do not do what follows, we are not His house.
We are to “hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.”
This morning we talked of the hope we have in Christ—this is something we must hold on to!
This hope is understood as something which we have a confident expectation in being fulfilled.
This is reflected in the idea that we are to be confident in that hope.
That hope also is meant to be something in which we rejoice! This is the hope of a home in heaven, to be with our Lord one day.
If that’s not something to rejoice in, I don’t know what is!
This is also something we must hold fast to, never letting go, being diligent to hold onto it, lest we drift away (2:1).
This is a concept we’ll see time and again in Hebrews, holding fast to the faith.
And this is something we need to do “to the end.”
This needs to last for the remainder of our lives—until our time on this earth is done we are to be faithful!
Only then are we truly the house that belongs to Christ.
Conclusion.
While Christ is over the house, Moses was merely a servant.
But he was a faithful servant, a position he was not ashamed of.
And it’s a position we ought to have as well, faithful servants to the Lord.
One of the themes of Hebrews is holding on to the faith, not letting it slip.
Moses did not let it slip, and neither should we.
It’s not our house, but it does belong to our Lord.
If we want to be His house, a spiritual house offering spiritual sacrifices, then we need to get right with God today!
This passage begins talking with Moses.
But it continues talking about how things were under Moses, which further illustrates how much better Jesus is to him.
Then we see how the Israelites acted under Moses, and then under Joshua.
Since they weren’t the best examples, let us be better (3:7–4:13).
When we do this, get right with God to be part of His house, we become holy brethren.
Not only holy brethren, but partakers of the heavenly calling.
Not only that, but partakers of Christ and of the Spirit (3:14; 6:4).
If we are outside of His house, we become like those outside of Rahab’s house when Joshua came to Jericho.
If you recall, only those inside her house could be saved from the destruction of that city.
And the same is for us—only those inside the house of God, the church that belongs to Christ will be saved the destruction that’s coming.
Get right with Him today!