Better than Moses

Hebrews 3:1-6, “Better than Moses”

If you’re like me, you buy a lot of generic brands as opposed to the big brand names. Typically, I find the generics to be almost indistinguishable from the brand-name products, and because I’m cheap, I don’t mind buying the off-label stuff. That said, every so often, substitutes just won’t do. When I ate a lot of ice cream, Blue Bell was worth the extra expense. Off-label only takes you so far…it can’t get you a scoop or two of good homemade vanilla.

It should go without saying that when it comes to our salvation, there is no substitute for Jesus. It should go without saying, but experience proves it needs to be said. Why? Because people (even professing Christians) tend to replace Him at the slightest prompting. Someone comes along with promises of shortcuts or special prayers to special people, and all of a sudden, we start switching out Jesus with substitutes.

It was the same way with the Hebrew Christians to whom this book was originally written. These were men and women who, while in their Hebrew backgrounds and traditions, professed faith in Jesus as Messiah. It was wonderful, but there was a problem: some of these Hebrew Christians were starting to turn back from their initial professions. Instead of finding their sacrifice and security in Jesus, they started looking again to their past substitutes, things like the temple sacrificial system and the law of Moses. They weren’t holding fast any confidence in Christ, thus opening themselves to great spiritual danger.

Thus was the necessity of the book of Hebrews with its author systematically demonstrating Jesus’ superiority to the Hebrew traditions and practices of the past. By no means were these things bad, but Jesus’ fulfillment of them is far better. For instance, Jesus is better than the angels even though the angels are messengers and ministering spirits of God. Jesus isn’t a spirit; He is the incarnate Son of God. He was made temporarily lower than the angels, but this was God’s plan in order that Jesus might be the captain of our salvation paving the way for us to be brought back into the glory of God.

If the first major comparison of the book was between Jesus and the angels, the second is between Jesus and Moses. Among men of the earth through history, perhaps none is so revered by those of Israelite backgrounds than Moses. It was through Moses that God freed His people from Egyptian slavery. It was through Moses that God gave His law. It was through Moses that God gave the Biblical books of the Pentateuch. Moses was a faithful servant of God, a friend of God, and a truly honorable man. Even so, Jesus is better. Jesus is better than Moses because Jesus is the Son of God. We are to look to Him alone, holding fast to our confession/profession of faith.

How should we look to (consider) Jesus? (1) As the faithful Apostle and High Priest, (2) as the worthy Builder of God’s house, (3) as the superior Son of God.

Hebrews 3:1–6

• Jesus, the faithful Apostle and High Priest (1-2).

1 Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, …

2. Before we consider the main point of the verse, we need to first consider the brotherhood of Christians seen in this first part of the sentence. The author plainly considers his readers to be his peers, his fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. The terminology he uses in the beginning of v1 calls back to some of the previous ideas in Chapter 2.
   1. They are “brethren” in that Jesus declared them to be His own “brethren” (2:11), being unashamed to do so, as they (we!) are those whom Jesus sanctifies (sets apart) unto God.
   2. They are “holy brethren” because Jesus made them (us) holy through His work of propitiation as our merciful and faithful High Priest (2:17). As will be seen in later chapters, Jesus not only presents our sacrifice unto God, but He Himself is our sacrifice unto God, which why His sacrifice on our behalf is permanently accepted by God.
   3. They are “partakers of the heavenly calling,” in that not only has Jesus “called” us as brothers (2:11), but our call is upwards, God’s plan being to “[bring] many sons to glory,” (2:10). Our calling is from heaven, to heaven…it is from the Son of God sent from heaven, who does His work of salvation in our lives making it possible for us to go to heaven when we die. It is a true heavenly calling!
3. These were all descriptions the original author felt certain of, regarding his original readers. What is less certain is whether it applies to us. That is a question you and I must each answer honestly before the Lord God. Ask yourself: does this apply to you? Have you “partaken” of Jesus’ heavenly calling, having been made “holy” by His sacrifice, certain that He will recognize you as one of His own brothers or sisters? It is one thing to claim certain truths about yourself; it is another to actually partake in those things. You can claim you love Texas BBQ, that it’s your favorite food in the whole world – maybe you even love the smell of it and the thought of it…but until you actually take a bite, you haven’t partaken. Until you taste it, you don’t actually know anything about it. – It doesn’t stretch the analogy to apply this to a person’s faith in Jesus as Lord. You can say certain things about Him – you can claim to worship Him and even love Him…but until you actually partake of Him by faith, you don’t truly know Him. Psalm 34:8: “Taste and see that the Lord is good; bless is the man who trusts in Him.” Have you yet ‘tasted’ of Jesus by faith? Stop talking about Jesus and talking around Jesus; put your talk into practice and commit your trust to Him!

… consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus,

1. The command to “consider,” which is exactly what we might assume the word to be: to think – in this form, to “think about,” or “think upon.” The idea is that of careful consideration and notice. The writer doesn’t want his readers to give Jesus a passing thought and some lip-service; he wants them to sit up straight and pay close attention.
2. Consider whom? “Christ Jesus,” as “the Apostle and High Priest of our confession.” If you’re following in a different Bible translation, this might stand out as different, as many Bible versions don’t use the term “Christ” in v1, waiting until v6 to introduce it. As with many other variances, this is due to differences in the ancient manuscripts. Whereas the oldest manuscripts do not contain the word in v1, the large majority do (upwards to 97%). The word does have bearing on the overall passage, as seen in its undisputed use in v6. – With that said, this first section in Chapter 3 is the first time in the book that the writer uses the title “” Depending on how one counts the word, it is used 13 times throughout the entire book. For a book of this size, that is relatively rare. Compare that with some of the other NT books. To the Romans, Paul used it 68 times. In the book of Acts, Luke uses it 31 times. The far shorter letter of 1 Peter uses it 21 times in its 5 chapters. Obviously, not every Biblical writer is the same, each having his own style and emphasis. If nothing else, it shows a glaring difference between the writer of the book of Hebrews and other writers like Paul. But besides the issue of authorship, there is the issue of theme. The writer of Hebrews certainly believes that Jesus is the Christ (the title is repeated 13x, after all!), but the writer was more interesting in demonstrating Jesus as both priest and propitiatory sacrifice, more than showing Him to be the Davidic king. Of course, He is this…He is simultaneously King, Prophet, Priest, and Passover Lamb. It should not surprise us that some authors emphasize certain aspects while other authors emphasize different ones.
3. What does it actually mean for Jesus to be Christ? We tend to use the term as Jesus’ name, as if He lived in the home of Joseph and Mary ‘Christ,’ this being Jesus’ family-name or surname. Not so! “Christ” is not a name, but a title. To call Jesus the Christ is like calling Jesus the King. Christ Jesus is King Jesus (although “king” is not a direct translation). Christ = Messiah = Mashiach (מָשִׁיחַ) = Anointed One. Someone who was anointed and set apart for a divine service might easily be termed as lesser ‘christ / messiah.’ When David refused to harm King Saul in the caves of En Gedi, David said that he would not stretch out his hand against the “Lord’s anointed,” (1 Sam 24:11). Here, the word is mashiach (מָשִׁיחַ), which the LXX translates as christos (χριστός) = christ. The kings of Israel were anointed by God’s prophets to reign over God’s people, having been set apart for this purpose, the physical anointing of oil symbolizing the powerful anointing of the Holy Spirit. – When the writer of Hebrews (and all the Bible) describes Jesus as the Christ, the description is that of Jesus being King in the lineage of David. It is the declaration that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah sent by God to Israel, the fulfillment of not only the Davidic promises, but of all the promises that God made to His people throughout history beginning in the Garden of Eden.
4. What difference does it make here? The writer tells his readers to “consider” Jesus. Who is He? He is “Apostle…High Priest” and “Christ.” He is the One for whom Israel was waiting. Jesus is the Seed of the woman promised to Adam and Eve – He is the blessing to the world promised to Abraham – He is the prophet promised to be greater than Moses – He is the King in the lineage of David, perpetuating David’s kingdom forever. Jesus is the fulfillment of all these promises. The people of Israel need not look for anyone else. God already sent the very best…He sent them Christ.
   1. It is the idea of sending that is reflected in the title of “” We don’t normally think of anyone other than Jesus’ initial 12 disciples (along with Paul and a few others) being called “apostles,” but the term literally means “one who is sent.” In this sense, any number of people might be considered ‘apostles’ of God. God sent Moses to Pharaoh – God sent Elijah and Elisha to the evil kings of Israel – God sent Jonah to the wicked Assyrians calling them to repentance, etc. More than all of them, God sent Jesus. God sent Jesus when He gave His only begotten Son, sending Him to seek and to save the lost. None was sent on a more important divine mission than Jesus, God the Son sent by God the Father in the power of God the Spirit to save rebellious sinners like us. Praise God He sent the preeminent Apostle for our sakes! (And now, we are sent by Him to take His good news to the world.)
   2. As for Jesus being our great “High Priest,” this was introduced to the readers in Ch 2 and will be a primary theme through much of the book. The mention in v1 is basically still part of the idea’s introduction which was given in 2:17. (Remember that chapter breaks are not part of the inspired text.) As our High Priest, Jesus has a dual function: to represent God to us, and to represent us to God. He brings to us God’s word, God’s judgments, and God’s forgiveness, while He takes our prayers, worship, and atonement to God on our behalf. He is our Mediator, the one Mediator between God and men (1 Tim 2:5). We go to God not through saints, nor through Jesus’ earthly mother Mary; we go to God only through the High Priest He sent to us: the Lord Jesus Himself.
5. It is this Man the writer called his readers to consider. Think upon this One, this Christ Jesus. This is the One we confess as Lord, our “confession” being more than mere words we recite in a creed, but the true belief and conviction of our hearts. Don’t get the wrong idea: creeds can be helpful in that they distill basic theological truth from the Bible, but our salvation is not found in the recitation of creeds (as if they are ‘magic words’ that save); our salvation is found our confession that Jesus is Christ the Lord. Paul affirmed as much to the Romans: Romans 10:9, “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Here, the idea of confession is not that of being honest about your sins to God, confessing them to Him and receiving forgiveness and cleansing through Jesus (which He does gladly according to His promise ~ 1 Jn 1:9). Rather, confession is agreement, contextually agreeing with God the truths about Jesus. If you confess (agree) with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, truly believing in faith that God raised Jesus from the grave after being crucified for your sin, “you will be saved.” Our salvation is not found in our good works (even the fruit of repentance that comes as a result of our forgiveness and regeneration) – nor is it found in ritualistic recitation of a bunch of theological truths, regardless how Biblical those truths might be. True salvation is found with true faith, held in our hearts and expressed through our lips that Jesus is Lord and Christ.

2 who was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was faithful in all His house.

1. The writer introduces Moses at this point, even while understanding Moses required no introduction with his original Hebrew readers. To these Hebrews, perhaps none of their ancestors was as faithful to God than Moses or perhaps Abraham himself. Moses had been faithful to represent God to the nation of Israel, not as a priest, but as the premier prophet and (arguably) the initial judge. Without exaggeration, the entire civil and theological system for the Hebrews was founded on the faithful work of Moses. If Moses had not been steadfast to communicate God’s word to the people, then the people would not have had their covenant, their society, their sacrificial system, or even their freedom. Who knows how much longer the Hebrews would have suffered under Egyptian slavery, if it had not been for the faithful obedience of Moses? When it came to the “house” of God (either in terms of the people of God on the temple of God), none was as faithful as Moses.
2. Yet along with him (and soon to be shown as superior to him) is the Lord Jesus, as the “faithful” One who was “appointed” by God the Father. This was God’s work, set apart for Jesus, the role for which Jesus’ incarnate humanity was made. On this, we need to be careful. As God the Son, Jesus was never He is eternally begotten of the Father and was in the beginning with Father. As the Son of God (the Logos), there was never a time He came into existence, because as God, He has always ‘been.’ From eternity past, there has always been Father, Son, Spirit, the Triune God existing as One. Yet, as affirmed in Chapter 2, there came a point in time when God the Son was made incarnate…and in that sense, God “appointed” Jesus, making Him human. This was Jesus’ everlasting appointment and role…and He fulfilled it perfectly, being faithful in every respect. Not one thing that needed to be done was left undone. He taught what needed to be taught – He performed the signs that needed performing – He endured all the wrath that required enduring – He died the one death that was necessary, in His dying breath declaring, “It is finished,” (Jn 19:30). That statement could not be said if Jesus had been even the slightest bit unfaithful. He couldn’t have done 99% of the work and called it ‘good enough.’ He did it all, being completely faithful.
   1. There is good news in this for you and for every Christian: It means that there is no sin you can commit which is outside the scope of Jesus to forgive. When Jesus died, He died for it all. When Jesus faithfully finished the work of your atonement, He didn’t go half-way; He finished it all. As a born-again believer, you will never get to the point that you trip and stumble ‘one time too many,’ as if Jesus died for 1 million of your sins, but not 1 million and one. His faithfulness unto God guarantees your total and forever forgiveness! 
   2. That said, Jesus’ forgiveness is never something to take for granted. The writer of Hebrews will have other things to say about those who trample the blood of Jesus underfoot, and it isn’t good. For those who ritualistically claim Jesus without any sincere confession of faith, hoping to use Jesus’ cross as permission for their sin…there is no assurance for them. Yet there is still hope: forsake that sin, turning to Jesus in true faith and be saved!
3. Exactly how faithful was Jesus? There is no “was” about it! The past tense “was” is an unfortunate translation carried by most major Bible translations, one not used by the writer of Hebrews. When referring to Jesus in v2, the writer does not use the past tense, but the present. Jesus was not only faithful to God the Father in the past; He still is faithful to God the Father today. A more literal translation might be: “being steadfast (faithful) to Him who did appoint Him, as also Moses in all His house,” (YLT). Jesus has always been faithful to His Father, He still is faithful, and He will always be faithful. Although Jesus had a historical earthly ministry completed nearly 2000 years ago at the cross, resurrection, and ascension, Jesus’ life and service to God the Father is ongoing. He lives today. We see it even in our everyday language. The official date is April 21, 2024 AD, AD = anno domini = “in the year of our Lord.” e., the year 2024 is the 2024^th year of our Lord’s resurrection. He is alive, recognized even by our worldwide calendar (despite the atheist and secular attempts to erase the connection).
   1. Today, Jesus is alive, and Jesus is active. Today, Jesus serves at the right hand of God, making constant intercession for His saints, advocating on your behalf. Today, Jesus is alive and well, and one day very soon will return this earth in power and glory. Even in the day in which Jesus administers God’s judgment upon the world, He will still be faithful in every regard.

• Jesus, the worthy builder of God’s house (3-4).

3 For this One has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as He who built the house has more honor than the house.

1. This is when the writer probably started raising some eyebrows among his original readers. It was one thing to consider the Messiah to be better than the angels (as amazing as angles might be). It is another for Him to be better than Moses. Yet that is exactly the point of the writer. Jesus (known as “this One”) is inherently “counted worthy of more glory than Moses.” Notice the writer didn’t say that Moses was a lowdown rotten sinner (though Moses knew his own heart just like each of us know ours!). Surely Moses does deserve honor among the believing Hebrews and Gentiles alike, revered as a true servant of God and a great example in many ways for us to follow. Moses certainly wasn’t perfect, but he wasn’t to be cast away. Even so, Jesus is better. Jesus is to be considered worthy of “more glory,” and in fact, has already “been counted worthy” of such glory. God the Father has already given His Son more glory than Moses ever received. Surely Moses was honored and blessed by God, being able to personally witness the back-parts of the glory of God, and be called the friend and servant of God. But it is Jesus who received all authority in heaven and on earth. It is Jesus of whom the Father twice said, “This is My beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased.” Moses cannot help but have less glory than Jesus, simply because of their roles. Moses is part of the “house” of God, being just like the rest of us (sinners requiring God’s forgiveness and grace). But Jesus is “He who built the house.”
2. At this point in the argument of the writer, that is the key: Jesus built God’s house, so it is right for him to have “more honor than the house.” Question: Has Jesus built the house? Arguably, Moses built the original tabernacle, which laid the groundwork for the later temple. What did Jesus do regarding the house of God? Quite literally, everything! Jesus, being the image of the invisible God (Col 1:15) is the One whom Moses saw, from whom Moses received instruction. The preincarnate Jesus Christ is foundational to both the Old Testament tabernacle and temple. Beyond that, Jesus personally builds God’s house in the New Testament. Remember what He told Peter about Peter’s grand confession of faith that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God? Matthew 16:17–18, “(17) Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. (18) And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”Who builds Jesus’ church? Jesus Himself. As the church, we are the house of God, and Jesus builds us. He saves us – He sanctifies us – He makes us His own. He fills us with His Spirit, enabling us to glorify God. Without Jesus, we are nothing; with Jesus, we are His church, blessed to be the dwelling place of the living God. – Is Jesus thus worthy of more glory than Moses? Absolutely, and He has already been counted as such.

4 For every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God.

1. It seems almost as if this is a mere sidenote, but the author makes the specific point that God is the builder of all things. He is the Creator, and thus, the Owner of all things. No house stands without it being designed and constructed by at least one person (if not several!), and nothing in the universe exists without it having been conceived and created by God. He is our world’s builder, its Creator. The same point was made back in 2:10 when the writer asserted of God the Father, “for whom are all things and by whom are all things.” The meaning is clear: God is our Creator. He made us and we exist for Him. We do not exist as the result of happenstance. Our world is not here because of the formula: time + matter + chance. You are not the result of human chaos. You are not an accident. God created this universe, this planet, this human race, and you. You have value because you were designed, formed, guided, and loved by God.
   1. This isn’t the message we get from the world! Our culture would have you believe that you are nothing but a random conglomeration of meaningless chemicals that have no purpose in existing other than perhaps passing on your DNA to another generation, and even that is of debatable significance. If that didn’t lead a person directly to despair, it certainly leads the person to idolatry. How so? If there is no personal Creator, then we are our own ‘creators,’ being the masters of our own fate, the final arbiters of who we are. We end up worshipping ourselves, doing exactly what Paul wrote in the opening chapter of Romans, describing how people suppress the truth in unrighteousness, ultimately worshipping the creature rather than the Creator (Rom 1:18-25).
   2. Want proof? Just look at our nation. Many of the hot-topic touch points in our culture war are (foundationally) rejections of the idea of God as our Creator. If we reject God making men and women in His own image, then we start remaking ourselves declaring men to be women (or dogs or cats or trees, etc.). When we reject God as the Author of life, then we believe we have the right to take life when we want, even when it is still in the womb (not even recognizing a baby as human, rather calling it a ‘clump of cells’). It all stems from rejecting God as Creator, refusing to recognize Him as the Builder of all things, the One to whom we rightly owe our allegiance and worship.
2. Why does this matter in Hebrews 3? Follow the comparison of the author. In v3, it is “this One” who is “counted worthy of more glory than Moses,” in the same way that the builder of a house has more glory than the house itself. The author then goes on to say that the One who build the house (along with “all things”) is God. Thereby, Jesus is The comparison throughout this passage is not between the Father and Moses. For the original readers, that was obvious. Of course God the Father is worthy of more glory than Moses…that was never in doubt. What some of the original Hebrew Christian readers were doing was not pulling back from God the Father, but Jesus the Son. Jesus was being shown to be worthy of more glory than Moses (as beloved as Moses was among the Hebrews). Why is He worthy of more glory? Because He built the house. But who can possibly build God’s house other than God Himself? Only God can build God’s house. Because Jesus built the house (being worthy of the same glory as the builder), then it follows that Jesus is God. In this light, v4 is no mere sidenote commentary on creation; it is a statement of Jesus’ own deity!
   1. This is the stumbling block for so many today. They are glad to see Jesus as a wonderful teacher and example. They revere Jesus as being the one who died on the cross, and perhaps even give lip-service to the idea that Jesus rose from the dead. But Jesus being God of true God? That is where they stop short. Beloved, know this: apart from Jesus being God of true God, we cannot be saved! In Hebrews 2, the author wrote of the wonders of Jesus’ incarnation. He had to be made human (“to be made like His brethren,” 2:17) if we were to have a faithful High Priest and a substitution-sacrifice who would “taste death” on our behalf (2:9). Apart from Jesus being made human, we have no salvation. But likewise, apart from Jesus being fully God, we also have no salvation. Jesus cannot be ‘partly’ God or ‘mostly’ God and save. A ‘mostly’ God is not A ‘kind of’ God is a liar, guilty of His own sin for He claimed to be the “I AM” worshipped by Abraham and Moses. Only the true God can say the things Jesus said and not be guilty of blasphemy. Only the true God can face temptation straight in the eye and not sin. While only a human can take the place of another human, only God can offer life of infinite value for untold numbers of human lives. Jesus must be both God and Man (1) for Him to offer substitutionary sacrifice, and (2) for His sacrifice to be legitimately offered to every man, woman, and child in history.

• Jesus, the Son superior to the servant (5-6).

5 And Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward,

5. Notice that while the writer affirms Jesus’ superiority to Moses, the writer never denigrates Moses. Moses too, was “faithful” to all that God gave him to do. Specifically, the writer says that Moses was faithful “as a servant” in the “house” of God. The term for “servant” is interesting in that it isn’t one of the other two normal words in the New Testament often translated servant (diakonos or doulos). Here, the word is therapōn (θεράπων ~ therapeutic, therapy), the verb form of the word often used to translate the idea of healing. Someone who heals, helps…thus, someone in a household that helps might be considered a servant. Again, it is an unusual word in the New Testament, this noun being used only here in Hebrews 3:5. That said, it is a common word in the LXX, even used explicitly with Moses in both Exodus and Numbers. No doubt, when the writer of Hebrews called Moses a therapōn-servant of the Lord, it would have called to mind the Exodus and Numbers accounts. In fact, v5 might be a summary of the LXX translation of Numbers 12:7, in which God defends Moses’ reputation against the grumbling of his brother and sister (Aaron and Miriam). Moses hadn’t promoted himself to be something he wasn’t; the Lord God set Moses in place as His own prophet and God knew him to be faithful. Numbers 12:7, “(7) Not so with My servant Moses; He is faithful in all My house.” The Greek terms for “servant” and “faithful” and “house” are precisely the terms that the writer of Hebrews used in 3:5. This was a commendation of Moses, and the writer was not taking away from it whatsoever. God used Moses in momentous ways! There was no doubt that this man had been truly “faithful” to God, serving God in whatever way he could, desiring to be a help to his Lord.
6. Where was Moses faithful? “In” the house of God, “as a servant” of God. Moses had important work to do among the people of God, work that God Himself gave him to do. But the work that Moses did was as a servant. (Which is worthy work! All of us who are saved desire to be used as God’s servants!) And the work Moses performed was effective. The “testimony” of what he did still lives even to our own present day. Not only was Moses’ testimony still repeated among the Hebrew Christians to whom this book was originally written, but Moses is still read 2000+ years later in synagogues and churches alike. Every time you read the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, you read the testimony of Moses (and in the New Testament, we can see how it points to Jesus). In the end, we all can be sincerely thankful for his faithful service unto God!

6 but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.

1. Jesus is specifically (and undisputably) said in v6 to be “Christ,” and as Christ, He is “a Son” over the house of God, God’s house being “His own house.” Much could be in view here, especially when we remember that the Christ/Messiah was the Davidic king according to the promise of God, and with God specifically promising to David that the promised Messiah would be claimed by God as His own: “he shall be My Son,” (2 Sam 7:14, also referenced in Hb 1:5). With that in mind, the context speaks less of David and more of Moses, seemingly referring to Jesus as the Son less as the King of Israel and more in His role/identity as the Son of God. Moses, as valuable and honorable as he was, was only a servant; Jesus is the Son. Obviously, Jesus Himself is a Servant (the premier Servant!) and He specifically said that He came not to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many (Mt 20:28). He gave the ultimate illustration of serving when He laid aside His outer garments to wash the feet of the disciples (Jn 13, which itself was a picture of the cross). With that acknowledged, Jesus’ many acts of service, along with His humble incarnation when He took on the form of a bondservant (Phil 2:7) does not lessen Jesus’ innate identity as God the Son. He is, was, and always will be the eternal Son of God. This is who He is, whereas His acts of service are things that He does. As the Son, Jesus has rights, authority, and honor that are His alone. Moses was a friend of God, and by the grace of Jesus Christ might even be born-again and adopted as a child of God, but that is a privilege and grace assigned to him (just like it is to us). No one needed to make Jesus the Son; this is who He has always been. Thus, Jesus has honor as the Son. Jesus has position as the Son, having the right to rule His own house. Jesus, for all of the ways that He graciously becomes like us in His incarnation, as well as for all of the ways He brings us into His own inheritance with God through His gifts of grace…He will always be distinct from us because He will always be God the Son and we will always be created men and women.
   1. This is where the ‘little gods’ doctrine taught by so many of the word-faith teachers goes so wrong, diving headlong into heresy. We cannot do all that God does, be it God the Father, God the Son, or God the Spirit. The only things we can do are the things that God allows and empowers us to do. At times, it may be miraculous. Paul was able to cast demons out of people, and Peter was able to heal the sick, not because of any inherent power they had, but because the Holy Spirit empowered them for the moment. Such is the case with any exercise of the spiritual gifts. What God empowers us to do, we can do…but that is the end of it. We cannot control or claim these things for ourselves. We do not hold any power of creation in our faith. We dare not believe we are in any way equal with God, for we most certainly are not. For all the blessings that we have in Christ, at the end of the day He is God and we are not. He is worthy of honor, worship, and glory, and we are not.
2. Contextually, the writer of Hebrews speaks of Christ’s authority over His own house as a Son (showing Jesus to be better than Moses yet again), affirming that we as the New Testament church “are” the “house” Jesus has built. All of us who believe in Jesus as Lord and Christ, be it the Hebrews to whom this letter was originally written, or the Gentiles all over the world who heard and responded to the gospel in faith…all of us are included: “whose house we are.” Jesus has built us, including us in His beloved church (the house of His own creation, the temple of the Holy Spirit, and His own future bride). What grace! What blessing and privilege! 
3. Yet while we read of this blessing and privilege, we also read a sobering tiny word that follows: “” It’s sobering in this case because of the way that it is used. It isn’t always this way. Sometimes, the Greek can indicate a ‘presumed-true’ condition, where the ‘if’ actually gives us more confidence that something is true. Other times, it is truly what we would consider to be a conditional clause, a hypothetical possibility. Hebrews 3:6 is one of those times. This is a hypothetical condition: What is the only way we know we are part of the house Jesus builds? “If we hold fast the confidence and rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.” Christians are to hold fast to Christ, our adhering firmly to Jesus not being optional. The implication being that if someone does not hold to Jesus, that person does not have confidence and rejoicing in hope…he/she does not have sure confidence of heaven. – Admittedly, this raises all kinds of questions for many Christians. People tend to struggle with eternal security already, and warnings like this might add to the burden. Does this mean that Christians can lose our salvation? Does it mean that we can never have assurance of our salvation because no one can guarantee that they will always hold fast to Jesus? The answer to both questions: No. Remember to read the text for what it says; not for what it doesn’t say. Nowhere does the writer say anything about anyone losing his/her salvation. Neither does he say that Christians can never be secure in Jesus’ promises. People like you and me might read those ideas into the verse, but we cannot read the verse and see those ideas already there. Is this passage a warning? Sure, and there are several similar warnings throughout the book (many of which have been very controversial), but please do not divorce this warning from the Biblical context. (Context is crucial in Bible interpretation!) Even with this warning, the writer does not question the salvation of his readers. Remember how he addressed them in v1: as “holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling.” Those are not terms used with the unsaved. The writer truly believed his readers shared his common confession that Jesus is the Christ.
4. Why then, did he give the warning? Because his readers needed it! Someone headed for a cliff needs to be warned away from the edge, even if they aren’t yet driving off it. We warn people ahead of danger, precisely so they aren’t harmed by it. So too, in spiritual matters…especially in matters of salvation. Even as born-again Christians, we need these kinds of warnings. After all, we don’t always hold fast. We sometimes slip into sin and seasons of doubt. These seasons do not void our salvation, but they certainly rob us of our joy of it. And regarding those who might actually be false converts, these warnings are necessary to awaken them to their danger. Someone who makes a quick profession of faith yet walks away from Jesus not looking back is certainly someone not holding fast to the confidence and hope of Jesus. Jesus Himself warned us that there would be many like this, who seemed to receive and respond to the seed of the word, yet has no abiding root and wither, or have the word choked out of their lives through the distractions of this world (Mt 13). Not all who hear the word and raise their hand at an invitation are actually saved. Certainly, those who do not hold fast to Jesus, who have turned away from Him, refusing to find refuge and confidence in Jesus have no assurance in Jesus’ promises.
   1. But they can! Those who have not yet trusted in Jesus, can trust in Him. Even those who are not 100% of their confidence being in Him and His offer of salvation can respond to Him in true and/or renewed faith today.

Conclusion:

As for the original readers of this letter, they needed the warning provided by the writer. They were in danger of not holding fast to the confidence that could have in Christ, instead turning more of their attention to Moses. But Jesus is far better than Moses! 

• Moses was sent by God and faithful to his own calling, but only Jesus is God’s faithful Apostle and great High Priest.
• Moses had honor in his own fashion, but Jesus is counted worthy of more glory as the Builder of God’s house, being God Himself.
• Moses was a faithful servant of God, but only Jesus is the Son of God, having authority over all God’s people.

Is Jesus better than Moses? In every way, yes! 

Some of us might be thinking, “Okay, I can see how this is highly relevant to Christians with Jewish backgrounds. But what about the rest of us? As a Gentile, I’ve never wondered about Jesus’ superiority to Moses. It’s never been an issue for me.” Fair enough. Two responses: (1) The Bible isn’t all about you. God gave it to all of us as His people, and certain parts will hit a bit harder for some than others. That’s okay. There are still Jewish people getting saved every day, and this is just as relevant for them as ever. (2) As Gentiles, we might not have compared Jesus to Moses, but we certainly compare Him to everything else. At least the Hebrew Christians were starting to substitute Jesus with another godly Biblical figure like Moses; we tend to choose a lot worse than Moses!

Jesus cannot be replaced…by anyone. Not by Moses – not by Mary – not by any person in history, be it religious, secular, philosophical, or whatever. There is no replacement for Jesus because He is better than all. No one else has been sent by God as His own Apostle, serving as our High Priest. No one else is worthy to build the house of God. No one else is God’s own Son, in whom our salvation rests. It is Jesus alone…so we are to consider Him alone, holding fast to Him alone.

Is that what you’re doing? Are you looking to Christ, finding all your hope in Him? When we are partakers of His heavenly calling, we have grand assurance of His forgiveness and promise of eternal life. When we rely upon Him alone to make us His holy brethren, then we have confidence that holds firm, despite our stumbling and seasons of doubt. When Jesus is our all, then whatever else hits us – however else we trip ourselves up…we know we still belong to Christ. We are part of His house, and He will not let us go.