Heb 3:1-6 Full Notes

 Review: The first pillar of Judaism: Angels

Heb 3:1-4 (ESV) Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, 2 who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God's house. 3 For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses—as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. 4 (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.)

• Second pillar of Judaism:  Moses
• Moses seems like a stepdown from angels (and chapter two would support that), but Moses has a special standing in scripture
• The name Moses appears 762 times in the OT and 85 times in the NT -- more than any other name other than Jesus and David
• Moses was not a patriarch but for a first century Jew was held in more esteem than angels or the patriarchs
• … and as you will see in a little bit, Moses was a man who waited a long time for his opportunity to make an impact …
• What do we learn about the audience? (verse 1)
• They are holy brothers
• They share in the heavenly calling
• They confess Jesus as their Apostle and High Priest
• Key word: "consider" (Grk: katanoeo, NT:2657)
• "to give proper and decisive thought about something - 'to consider carefully, to be concerned about.' " (from Greek-English Lexicon Based on Semantic Domain)
• To consider carefully or to fix one's eyes or mind upon (from Thayer's)
• APPLICATION: Knowing Jesus is the key to the Christian life and to a walking faith
• Why call Jesus "our apostle?"
• He is like Moses.  He carried a message from God to the people
• In this case, he is the message
• Also, Moses brought the Mosaic Covenant and Law

John 1:17 (ESV) — 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

• Jesus brought the New Covenant and Grace

Revelation 15:3 (ESV) — 3 And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying,

“Great and amazing are your deeds,

O Lord God the Almighty!

Just and true are your ways,

O King of the nations!

• Why a high priest?
• A high priest represents men to God
• Hebrews is the only place in the NT where Jesus is called an Apostle and a high Priest
• What does it mean when it says that Moses was faithful in all God's house?  (Num 12:7)
• The house is the house of Israel (more clear in vs 6).  The context is Miriam and Aaron speaking against Moses leadership, partly because he had married a Cushite wife
• Num 12:1-11 (ESV) Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman. 2 And they said, "Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?" And the Lord heard it. 3 Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth. 4 And suddenly the Lord said to Moses and to Aaron and Miriam, "Come out, you three, to the tent of meeting." And the three of them came out. 5 And the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the tent and called Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forward. 6 And he said, "Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream. 7 Not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house. 8 With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?" 9 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them, and he departed.
  
  10 When the cloud removed from over the tent, behold, Miriam was leprous, like snow. And Aaron turned toward Miriam, and behold, she was leprous. 11 And Aaron said to Moses, "Oh, my lord, do not punish us because we have done foolishly and have sinned.
• Yet was Moses always faithful?
• Moses destroyed the first ten commandments (a point which God reminds him)
• Moses disobeyed God at Meribah (and lost his chance to enter the promised land)
• Why is Jesus better than Moses?
• Because Jesus is the builder of everything (the designer or creator is always greater than the user)
• Application:
• One, you can be called faithful without being perfect
• Two, you can confess Jesus, but you need to go farther than a public confession.  Knowing Jesus needs be the central thought and direction of our life
• Three, implied warning -- not to speak against God's house. It is easy to be critical of the church and of the leadership. And I do believe there is a way to approach that, but it should never be a common conversation

Heb 3:5-6 (ESV) Now Moses was faithful in all God's house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, 6 but Christ is faithful over God's house as a son. And we are his house if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.

• How are Moses and Jesus differentiated in these verses?
• Moses was only a servant in the house
• Jesus is over the whole house (note: we are the house)
• Jesus is a son
• Why the phrase "if we hold on?"
• Mark of a true believer is that we hold on
• The point is that continuance in faith is evidence that a person actually believed.  Lack of continuance in faith does not mean the person is not saved; it only means that the person does not have the evidence that faith exists (Fructenbaum, 2005)