“But Christ is faithful as a son over God’s house.”  (Hebrews 3:6)

First Century Jews held Moses up as the greatest of men. When intense persecution tempted those who had trusted in Christ to abandon following Him, they undoubtedly viewed past times when they were devoted to Moses and His covenant with nostalgic euphoria. Countering any decision to return to Judaism, the writer of Hebrews proves that Jesus is superior to Moses. 

The author has already demonstrated that Christ has become a merciful and faithful high priest (2:17-18). Appealing to their esteem for Moses, the writer affirms that Moses, like Christ, was faithful to God. However, Christ is responsible for so much more. Jesus is not merely God’s servant; He is God’s Son. And as Son, He is the possessor of all things. 

As Hebrew Christians, these readers were familiar with the story of the faithfulness of the Levites when the rest of Israel lost its priestly privileges by trying to return to their old life in Egypt (Exodus 19:6; 32:26-29; Numbers 3:12-13). He exhorts his readers to hold firmly to their confidence and hope in God’s faithful Son to avoid losing their priestly privileges in Christ’s household (see also, 1 Peter 2:5):

Jesus is better than Moses.

Follow Moses’ example of faithfulness in your privilege as Jesus’ followers. 

Moses was great, but Jesus is greater. Take note of Christ, and be faithful to Him.

I. Be faithful to Christ because you value your priestly privileges in His household (3:1-6).

A.The Comparison: Though both were faithful to God, Jesus the Son is greater than Moses the servant (1-5).

1.Concentrate on Jesus, the merciful and faithful high priest, who, like Moses is faithful as the one sent (apostle) to administer God’s “house” (stewardship, or assignment from God, 1-2).

2.But Jesus deserves greater glory because the builder deserves more honor than the building (3).

3.Jesus, as God, built everything. Moses was God’s faithful servant in the “household” of the Old Covenant community, but Jesus is God’s faithful Son in the “household” of the New Covenant community—including the world to come (the entire system of worship Jesus inaugurated as the faithful Son, 4-6a).

Note: The Law was given to a redeemed people. It was not used to earn relationship with God, but to nurture and deepen a people’s relationship with God. This is the backdrop to the Law and the warning passages of Hebrews. This redeemed “household” was the Old Testament community Moses led.

Abraham was saved by faith. And he (Abraham) believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness (Genesis 15:6). Israel was saved by faith. So the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Thus Israel saw the great work which the LORD had done in Egypt; so the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD and His servant Moses… The LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation. This is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him. (Exodus 14:30-31, 15:2)

The Exodus is the great act of salvation of the Israelites where they believed in God. The Exodus is the saving faith as the cross is for the New Testament.

B.The Point: Hold firmly to your confidence and hope in Jesus if you want to keep your privileges in Christ’s household (6b).

1.The writer is moving toward a stern warning against turning away from the living God by returning to Judaism (3:12).  

2.This is a “pre-warning” against losing their priestly privileges in the Son’s priestly house. I believe this includes intimacy in and significance in Christ’s household and Christ’s people. This is precisely what happened to all of Israel except the Levites when they tried to return to the comforts of Egypt rather than following the Living God (Exodus 19:6; 32:26-29; Numbers 3:12-13). 

“When we withdraw from the exercise of our priestly New Testament worship, we are no longer fellowshipping with the other believers. But this does not mean that we are not saved or that we had salvation and lost it.” (Jody Dillow, Reign of the Servant Kings, p 458).

II. Christ, Moses, and You! This section of Hebrews addresses two practical problems everyday Christians face: Celebrity Christianity and Underestimating the Magnitude of the Privilege. 

A.Moses was one of the greatest followers of God in history. But Moses’ importance pales in comparison to the Son of God. There are some great men and women of faith today, but they are not the ones we follow and worship. Watch yourself, Christian. Personal loyalty to a Christian celebrity is a prescription for disenchantment and failure in the Christian life. “Take note of Jesus!”

1.There is nothing wrong with depending on trusted Bible teachers and Christian leaders. But we should be wary of those who are “rock stars” because they often live outside of accountability. 

2.There is everything wrong with viewing these trusted Bible teachers and Christian leaders as our primary source of spiritual nourishment. Only Christ can meet that need.

B.When life gets us down, we may focus on all that God is withholding. Like the readers of Hebrews, we look back on the time before we were in Christ as “when we had it made.” This passage forces us to remember all that God has given us in Christ. The magnitude of the privilege of serving Christ in His “household” eclipses the pain of life on earth as we wait for His Kingdom.

1.When you look at the time before you met Christ or before you started following Him as a devoted disciple, don’t look at it with a false yearning. It was darkness, and your life was not better then. Ask the Holy Spirit to remind you of the three most painful aspects of living outside of the grace of God.

2.When you look at challenges of following Christ, don’t just focus on the mess and the hardships. Ask the Holy Spirit to remind you of the three most rewarding aspects of living in friendship with Jesus Christ.