8) Hebrews - Consider Him
Notes
Transcript
“Be Reconciled to God” Root of Fruit Sin addressed “Unbelief, Pride, Selfishness”
Gathering
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Hand Out-Catechism - Reading Plan
Call to Worship
21 But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, attested by the Law and the Prophets. 22 The righteousness of God is through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe, since there is no distinction. 23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; 24 they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. 25 God presented him as the mercy seat by his blood, through faith, to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his restraint God passed over the sins previously committed. 26 God presented him to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so that he would be just and justify the one who has faith in Jesus.
Corporate Prayer -
Worship through Song
Scripture Reading
1 Long ago God spoke to our ancestors by the prophets at different times and in different ways. 2 In these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son. God has appointed him heir of all things and made the universe through him. 3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of his nature, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. 4 So he became superior to the angels, just as the name he inherited is more excellent than theirs.
Worship through Song
Worship through Song
Sermon
Prayer
Introduction
Introduction
We live in a country that spends an enormous amount of money and energy to gain our attention, to get us to focus on what they are selling, to get a person to consider them.
We have started the election cycle for 2024 already and candidates are doing everything they can to get every american to focus on them and to discredit the other candidates. This will continue for the next year as they seek for you to consider them for your vote.
Digital social media platforms fight you to spend time in their digital world. With revenues in multi-billion dollars at stake the twitters, Meta, and others strive to get your attention.
Behind much of the revenue on these platforms are the multitude of brands and products that are hoping to get you to see and turn to them. The number of sales that are driven from the advertising is very high so they seek to get you to consider what they sell.
The news media also does this. They desire you to sit and watch their program not so that you are informed but so that they will make money and that you will sit under their agenda. I a host doesn’t draw attention they are let go. If what is going on in the world isn’t attractive enough they will add more. They want your consideration.
Businesses hire, create culture, incentive the worker to consider them for employment.
Men and women spend enormous amounts of time and energy to gain the attention of the opposite sex or their friends, to fit in. What a person wears and how they look is thought out very carefully and the question many ask is will this draw attention to me. Will this help me fit into this group or that group. Will they consider me.
Ideological groups will protest and advertise for consideration of their cause. To see the world the way they do.
And we have an enemy the spirit of the air the devil the prowls around creating scheme after scheme to get men and women to consider anything and every other than Christ and specifically Christ crucified and the Gospel message of Jesus.
For the first two chapters the author of Hebrews has been proclaiming who Jesus is and what he has accomplished. He speaks of Jesus’ positions, his honor, what he has accomplished and last week week looked at the center of all of Jesus’s ministry. That was what was accomplished on the cross. The atonement of God wrath. That humanity has, from the time of Adam and Eve been incurring the wages of sin. As God is a just God there must be and offering to God to appease his wrath and to bring men and women back into God’s goodwill. That is the atoning sacrifice of Jesus.
The author continues to develop what was accomplish by Jesus in the next section which is chapters 3 and 4. He speaks of why they should consider Jesus, he gives a warning, then speaks of the result of considering Jesus. Open your bibles to Hebrews chapter 3.
1 Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession. 2 He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was in all God’s household. 3 For Jesus is considered worthy of more glory than Moses, just as the builder has more honor than the house. 4 Now every house is built by someone, but the one who built everything is God. 5 Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s household, as a testimony to what would be said in the future. 6 But Christ was faithful as a Son over his household. And we are that household if we hold on to our confidence and the hope in which we boast.
Consider Jesus
Consider Jesus
The therefore that starts the chapter connect chapter three with the proceeding chapters. Because of what was accomplished by Jesus lets continue with the conversation. He addresses them in the middle of his writing as holy brothers and sisters. He addresses them as holy. In the previous chapter you may remember that he already spoke of holiness.
11 For the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters, 12 saying: I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters; I will sing hymns to you in the congregation.
Jesus is the one sanctifies, he is the one who makes men and women holy. There is no other way to be sanctified. He accomplished this through atoning for people and because of this Jesus calls them brothers and sisters.
Here the author refers to them as holy brothers and sisters. He has turned to speak directly to believers. Saved by faith men and women in the congregation of the Jewish congregation. The author has already spoke to unbelievers and now he speaks to the believers.
The brothers and sisters share in a heavenly calling. A calling that comes from heaven and is in heaven. They are partners and co-laborers.
12 Not that I have already reached the goal or am already perfect, but I make every effort to take hold of it because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, 14 I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus. 15 Therefore, let all of us who are mature think this way. And if you think differently about anything, God will reveal this also to you. 16 In any case, we should live up to whatever truth we have attained. 17 Join in imitating me, brothers and sisters, and pay careful attention to those who live according to the example you have in us. 18 For I have often told you, and now say again with tears, that many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their end is destruction; their god is their stomach; their glory is in their shame; and they are focused on earthly things, 20 Our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly wait for a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. 21 He will transform the body of our humble condition into the likeness of his glorious body, by the power that enables him to subject everything to himself.
Paul recognizes that in this world we are not made perfect but we stand in a position of holiness by the work of Jesus. Paul has been taken hold of by Jesus. To let go of what was behind, the old covenant the old traditions and and to look ahead. To pursue what has been promised instead of what is here. Pay attention to those that live this way seeking what is forward what is next. Living a citizens of heaven. To be holy is to be separated from this world. A person who immerse themselves in the ways of this world would be hard pressed to claim to be holy.
This is what the author of Hebrews speaks of, the brothers and sisters that share in the heavenly citizenship, “CONSIDER JESUS”. To consider here means to give careful and attentive attention to something. They are to fix their minds and attention on Jesus. To put him above all else.
1 Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession.
He calls Jesus the apostle and high priest of our truth of what we believe. This is profession of belief that Christians proclaim.
He calls Jesus the apostle and high priest. Jesus has two offices. That of apostle and that of high priest.
The office of apostle is given to Jesus here and only here in scripture. The word apostolon mean an envoy or a sent one. Today we may call them ambassadors. They are sent with the power and authority of the ruler who sent them. They spoke for the king or ruler. The author is stating that Jesus is a sent one. An ambassador. Who speaks with power and authority.
49 For I have not spoken on my own, but the Father himself who sent me has given me a command to say everything I have said.
16 For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
Jesus is the perfect sent one. The perfect ambassador for God. As he is the exact expression of the nature of God. He also speaks of the office of high priest which we are not going to cover in detail today as the author will expound on this in much detail in the rest of the book.
He is establishing the offices in preparation for comparing Jesus to a very well known person in Jewish life. He is making a claim of how great and superior that Jesus is over all others but all good comparisons need a base line.
What do I mean by that? What if I told you that I have only have 1 defeat in check in the last 17 years. You may ask how many games have you played. At least a hundred and I only lost once. That must mean that I am a Superior chess player. Right? But what if I told you I have only played against my kids in the last 17 years. That doesn’t make me very good. But if I had a championship and beat Bobby Fisher that would be different wouldn’t it. It is a different baseline.
Jesus Better than Moses
Jesus Better than Moses
2 He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was in all God’s household.
Moses is going to be the baseline to show how superior Jesus is above all others. Moses was revered as the greatest man in Jewish community and rightly so. God used Moses in so many ways most of which were unique to him. From his birth God has his hand on him. God protected him as a child as he was raised in the pharaoh's home. All the way to his death God was at work in his life.
5 So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the Lord’s word. 6 He buried him in the valley in the land of Moab facing Beth-peor, and no one to this day knows where his grave is. 7 Moses was one hundred twenty years old when he died; his eyes were not weak, and his vitality had not left him. 8 The Israelites wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days. Then the days of weeping and mourning for Moses came to an end. 9 Joshua son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him. So the Israelites obeyed him and did as the Lord had commanded Moses. 10 No prophet has arisen again in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face. 11 He was unparalleled for all the signs and wonders the Lord sent him to do against the land of Egypt—to Pharaoh, to all his officials, and to all his land— 12 and for all the mighty acts of power and terrifying deeds that Moses performed in the sight of all Israel.
Moses lead Isreal out of Egypt, parted the red see, spoke to God, brought down the ten commandments, was mediator for Isreal, was judge of Isreal, consecrated the first priests, he wrote the 1st 5 books of the bible what is referred to as the Pentateuch and the governing laws of Isreal. God had Moses give the instructions for the tabernacle and the arc of the covenant. Of all men who have lived Moses by far has been used by God in important ways and the Jewish Community exalted him above everyone else. And rightly so.
The author starts this comparison with how they are a-like. The author at no point is bringing Moses down to lift Jesus up. Moses wasn’t perfect and there is no mention of those mistakes. He is not tearing their of Moses down but establishing how Jesus is the better.
Jesus was faithful to God just as Moses was faithful in God’s household. The word for household here means God’s people not a building or place.
Moses has been proven faithful. He had been proven worthy of the responsibility and accountable for the tasks that God had given him.
7 Not so with my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my household. 8 I speak with him directly, openly, and not in riddles; he sees the form of the Lord. So why were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?”
Arron and Miriam challenge Moses and God personally takes up the charge. God called Moses faithful by name and in defence of accusers. Moses fulfilled the tasks and that God had given him. Not perfectly but faithfully. And Jesus has also been faithful but perfectly faithful.
29 The one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, because I always do what pleases him.”
4 I have glorified you on the earth by completing the work you gave me to do. 5 Now, Father, glorify me in your presence with that glory I had with you before the world existed.
Jesus is compared to Moses by their faithfulness and further describes the comparison.
3 For Jesus is considered worthy of more glory than Moses, just as the builder has more honor than the house. 4 Now every house is built by someone, but the one who built everything is God.
At this point the point is made that Jesus is worthy of more glory than Moses. Moses is part of the house that was built by Jesus. Moses is the most highly exalted of those in the house the builder is exalted even higher since he is the one who built the house. Verse 4 seems to point back to
2 In these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son. God has appointed him heir of all things and made the universe through him.
3 All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created.
The house is dependent on the builder. An incompetent builder builds a poor house and a skilled builder builds an excellent house. The builder of all of creation is God who built through Jesus.
Verse 5 continues
5 Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s household, as a testimony to what would be said in the future.
Moses was a faithful servant as a servant in all God’s house hold. This is a very complimentary description. The word for servant is therapon. There are different words used to describe servants. One commentary described it this way.
Hebrews (1) Jesus’ Superiority to Moses (3:1–6)
A therapōn (“servant”) was an honored servant in an intimate relationship with the master, and the word carries the connotation of one who offered his service rather than being in forced servitude
Out of the five words used for servant. This is the only place in scripture this word was used. It was used to describe the greatest of servants. Even though Moses was part of the people of Isreal he served God above all others. This is very high praise of Moses. Exodus 35 to 40 speaks of Moses faithfulness 22 times.
God used Moses life to foretell, to testify, to speak of what would be said in the future. His life was not accidental. It was part of the great plan of God.
1 Since the law has only a shadow of the good things to come, and not the reality itself of those things, it can never perfect the worshipers by the same sacrifices they continually offer year after year.
He pointed forward to the coming of Jesus.
46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe me, because he wrote about me.
Even though Moses is this great man of God he different than Jesus. For
35 A slave does not remain in the household forever, but a son does remain forever.
The servant is not the Son. A servant, no mater how great is still part of the household. He may have great authority and great responsibility and may perform those duties at the highest level but he is still part of the household. The son on the other hand is over the house hold.
6 But Christ was faithful as a Son over his household. And we are that household if we hold on to our confidence and the hope in which we boast.
The author is elevating Jesus over Moses by their position in the household of God. The household is the people. The people the church.
4 As you come to him, a living stone—rejected by people but chosen and honored by God—5 you yourselves, as living stones, a spiritual house, are being built to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
15 But if I should be delayed, I have written so that you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.
The church is the people. Not the building, not the city, not our homes. The household id the body of Christ. It is the gathered believers of Jesus. That is the household and Jesus is in charge of it all.
Hold onto Jesus
Hold onto Jesus
6 But Christ was faithful as a Son over his household. And we are that household if we hold on to our confidence and the hope in which we boast.
And we are that household, if, if we hold on to our confidence and the hope in which we boast. There is a progression in this passage that
Consider, Faithfulness of Jesus, Description of Moses, Parallelism of House and build twice,Description of Moses, Faithfulness of Jesus, and we return to consider.
The word in verse one that is translated as consider, to fix our eyes, to look intently, is a form of the word used here for “hold”. To stick firmly to something. To hold onto and to never let go. We are to fix our minds and affections on Jesus and Jesus alone.
He is speaking to Christians he is telling them to pay attention and to focus on Jesus.
What does it mean “if” we hold on...
It is like a race that is being ran. A long distance race. Paul uses the analogy of a race being ran. This race is long and hard. Jesus has said follow me and has given us the hope of salvation and eternal life. So people start running. At first the race is exciting and the people that we run with are enjoyable.
But after some time there will be those that get tired of the race. They will lose interest and they will pull off of the race to focus on other things. Things of this world.
Along the race there are challenges and trails, hills and front winds. and there are those that will bow out because it is just to hard. To uncomfortable. The hope of the promised reward just isn’t worth it.
Along the race the side are lined with distraction after distraction, temptation after temptation. All things that want the racers attention. To draw them away. Thing like materialism, or sexual immorality, false gods with false promises. The sides are shoulder to shoulder with these distraction and many and many will turn away to pleasures of this world and they will forget of the promise ahead.
There will even be groups of people along the way that claim to be be Christian and Churches. They may even have many who believe in the promise among them and they call out to an easier way. You don’t have to give up so much to get the promise. You don’t have to race anymore. Follow us and we will take you the short way to the end. They will say things that sound right but will draw people from the race.
There will be those that get so discouraged that they just sit down and stop racing.
These distractions are all around and many will fall into them. But when someone chosen to stray from the path there will be some who grow more and more uncomfortable with where they are at and they will step back into the race. They may fall off again and again but they is always this power to press back into the race and to focus back on the promise of the reward.
It is not the person that draws themselves back into the race it is the persevering of the one who gave the promise. Jesus will draw and preserve his saints to the end. There will be bump and block and side tracks and failure, setbacks and back slides but those that have been given to Jesus will continue to the end.
There will be some that will look out a Jesus calls back to them and they will say “Look what I have done, look at this mess. You had me and I threw it all away. There is no way that I deserve the prize.” And Jesus will say you are right you don’t deserve it. You never did and you never will. But I have earned it and I give it to you not based on who you are or what you have don’t but on who I am and what I have done.
The ones who persevere to the end are not then added to the household, those in the household will make it to the end. The only true proof of someone who is saved it that they endure to the end. That they hold onto the confidence and the hope that we boast.
15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one’s possessions—is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17 And the world with its lust is passing away, but the one who does the will of God remains forever. 18 Children, it is the last hour. And as you have heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. By this we know that it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they did not belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. However, they went out so that it might be made clear that none of them belongs to us.
Conclusion
Conclusion
What has your attention? What in this world is drawing you out of the race? What are you letting draw you attention away from Jesus? What have you decided is better than Jesus. What
has won your consideration? Has the materialism of this world got you attention? Are the schemes of the enemy drawing you away? Are the false teachers gaining a foothold in your mind? Is the enemy telling you that there is another way, that you don’t have to give that up, that gathering with God’s people is optional, that the love of Christ and the love of sin is comparable.
We all have them we just need to have God open our eyes through the words of his book.
We come to the table today. Each and every time we come to the Lord Supper. We are to consider him, focus on him, hold onto him. It is a moment to repent of sins and to ask for forgiveness and to be drawing towards Jesus.
This is a sacrament of the believer. It is ment for those that a saving faith in Jesus Christ. If you are not a believer I ask that you refrain from taking the meal but I also encourage you to come and discuss where you are at. I would love you answer you questions and walk with you.
If you know that you are sinning against God in your life and you are not ready to repent of that and deal with that I also ask that you refrain from taking the meal. This is also something I would love to help you work through.
We are to come to the table humbly repentant and obedient to Him.
Elements
Let us pray.
Prayer
Communion
19 And he took bread, gave thanks, broke it, gave it to them, and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 20 In the same way he also took the cup after supper and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.
Prayer
Song
Closing
Blessing/Benediction
20 Now may the God of peace, who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus—the great Shepherd of the sheep—through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 21 equip you with everything good to do his will, working in us what is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.