Consider the Faithfulness of Jesus

Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God’s house. 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. (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.) Now Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, 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.

On Veterans Day we remember and honor whose who faithfully responded to the call of their country, especially in the face of life threatening danger. Their example is an inspiration to all of us to be faithful to our call as citizens.

As chapter three of Hebrews begins, the author of Hebrews is using the same strategy. The church he is writing to is facing increasing persecution and it appears that some in this church might be called to make the ultimate sacrifice to be true to their confession. Some have already renowned their confession of faith and returned to Christ rejecting Judaism. Others are losing their confidence in their confession and are becoming timid in their confession. To inspire them towards faithfulness he exhorts them to consider the faithfulness of Jesus.

He does this by contrasting Jesus’ faithfulness to Moses’ faithfulness. For centuries Moses had been the Superman of the People of God. The book of Hebrews begin with this words...

Hebrews 1:1 ESV

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets,

The greatest of these prophetic voices was Moses! When we see in our English bibles subheadings such as “Jesus Greater Than Moses” or “Jesus Superior Than Moses,” we must not think the author of Hebrews is criticizing or putting down Moses. To the contrary, Moses is still a hero of the faith, but now an even greater Hero has arrived and His name is Jesus!

Hebrews 1:2 ESV

but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.

The word “consider” in Heb 1:1 means to think very carefully and deeply about something. We are to exhaust all our mental resources thinking about Jesus and what he has done. This isn’t about how much intelligence we have, but how well we are using what we have! So let’s think deeply and carefully about the example of Moses and Jesus.

Moses was a Faithful Member of God’s House, Jesus is the Faithful Builder

We find this in verses 3-4:

Hebrews 3:3–4 ESV

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. (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.)

As we think carefully about this verse we see there is a comparison between a house and the builder of the house. Throughout Scripture the People of God are often called the “house of God.” We see this, for example, in our text today in Heb 3:6. As a member of the People of God, Moses is a part of the “house of God.” So this is a comparison between Moses (the house) and the builder of the house (Jesus).

But how can Jesus be the builder of the house when Heb 3:4 makes it clear that the builder is God the Father? What is going on? Well, it is the same thing we saw in Heb 1:2, because of the unity between the three persons of the Trinity, the Bible speaks in different places of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are the Creators of the universe. This is true not only of creation, but all the mighty acts of God.

So in building a great multitude of people who would become the Household of God we see this:

God the Father planned from all eternity who would be members of the Household of God.

Jesus’ redemptive work made it possible for the elect to be apart of the Household of God.

The Holy Spirit works in their hearts and minds so that they become faithful members of the Household of God.

Do you now see how great the faithfulness of Jesus is? It was Jesus’ faithfulness to His calling that made it possible for Moses and all of us to be faithful members of God’s Household!

In verses 5 and 6, the author of Hebrews turns to a second comparison that show us the great faithfulness of Jesus.

Hebrews 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, 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.

Moses was a Faithful Steward in God’s House, Jesus is a Faithful Son

This second comparison requires a little background information for a modern reader to understand. A steward in the ancient world was a person who managed a household in the absence of the owner or his eldest adult son. Prior to Christ’s incarnation, the prophets, priests and kings of Israel were the stewards of God’s Household. The sad testimony of the Old Testament is that most of these men proved to be bad stewards, however, there were good stewards such as the prophet Jeremiah, the priest Ezra and king David. The most faithful of all the Old Covenant stewards was Moses.

When you look at how bad and corrupt the leadership of Israel was in the first century you can understand why the people longed for a New Moses. God Himself, speaking through Moses had given Israel the expectation that there would come a New and Greater Moses.

Deuteronomy 18:15 ESV

“The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen—

Jesus was the fulfillment of this prophecy. Notice in Heb 3:1 that Jesus is called “apostle.” An apostle is one who is sent by a ruler with the authority to speak for and represent that ruler. This is the same ministry that Moses and the other Old Testament prophets had. The biblical idea of prophet was much different that what pagans held or most people today hold. The common definition of a prophet is one who foresees or predicts the future. The biblical idea, as we have just seen, includes much more. Jesus was sent by the Father (Jn 17:18) with authority (Jn 14:10) to speak for the Father to mankind (Jn 14:9).

Jesus proved Himself faithful not only as an apostle (or prophet), but as a high priest as well! Here too, Jesus proved himself superior in faithfulness to Moses. Moses was from the tribe of Levi and he often acted in the role of priest, in fact, Ps 99:6 explicitly calls Moses a priest. Moses demonstrated himself faithful as a steward by acting as a priest, but now Jesus has demonstrated Himself as even more faithful priest because He is the Son!

There is a third comparison that is easy to miss. It is also found in verse 5.

Hebrews 3:5 ESV

Now Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later,

Notice those words, “to testify to the things that were to be spoken later.” This is a reference to Moses’ testimony to the Gospel message proclaimed and fulfilled by Jesus. Paul would write:

Romans 3:21 ESV

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—

Jesus Himself said...

John 5:46 ESV

For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me.

Therefore, the third way Jesus’ faithfulness is greater than Moses’ is...

Moses Gave Faithful Testimony, Jesus is the Fulfillment of That Testimony

One of the most powerful witnesses to the faithfulness of Jesus is the Old Testament. After His resurrection, Jesus met with His disciples and he said to them...

Luke 24:44–47 ESV

Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

Notice the words “must be fulfilled.” As you read the Gospels you cannot help but be impressed by the great care Jesus took to make sure He fulfilled each and every prophecy, even if this fulfillment ment His suffering and death! Jesus was faithful to His calling!

This brings us to our calling and our faithfulness...

Conclusion: Hold Fast to Jesus

We find our calling in verse 1 and in verse 6. In verse 1 our calling is called a “heavenly calling.” Our calling comes from God Himself! We are called to hold on to our confession of Christ with “confidence” and “boasting.” But this is hard to do when we face opposition. Often when we face opposition, we lose our confidence and boldness. Sometimes we are tempted to even abandon our confession all together.

When times like that come we need to consider the faithfulness of Jesus. Let His faithfulness inspire you to faithfulness! Let us pray.

Lord God, that you for the example of faithfulness that Jesus gives us. By your Holy Spirit enable us to be faithful to our calling to confess the Lord Jesus as Savior and Lord, even if this confession means we suffer persecution or even death. Amen.

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