Hebrews Part 4
Notes
Transcript
Tonight we will begin in chapter 3,
and I’ll read from verse 1-6 to start.
but I want to make a few preliminary comments
First, let me remind us of the overarching theme of Hebrews
It is important to keep this in your mind as you read
The Author is trying to persuade the audience
that Jesus established a better everything.
We are moving from good to better in every regard.
Better prophet
Better Priest
Better Rest
Better Covenant
Better Sacrifice
etc.
In Chapter 2, It was established that
Jesus founded a better plan of Salvation
Which came through him becoming a brother to us
while still simultaneously being our Father.
The key verse is verse 11
11 For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers,
Jesus sanctifies, or makes holy
and we are those who are sanctified, or made holy
and we are his brothers
Now, I’m sure this is understood by most of you
but let me say this in case it is not
When we see the term “brother” or “son”
and the context is referenceing all those who are saved
It applies to males and females.
It is only a very recent English tradition
to use genderless pronounce like “they/them”
speech to refer to males and females.
It was the standard still when I was growing up to always use “he/him”
Then it became standard to say both he and she or him and her.
Then it became a more recent standard to alternate.
Using “she” in the first paragraph,
and then “he” in the second paragraph.
And finally, they are now evolving to use “they/them”
Even when the pronoun is referring a singular person.
It is important that we do not judge the Bible by modern English standards.
The authors were not being exclusive
or sexist
They were following the grammar rules of their day
and the rules that lasted up until the last 10-15 years.
I know most of you probably know this,
but just in case it wasn’t clear
I want you to realize that when it says we are “sons’ of God
or brothers of Christ
It applies to both males and females.
So, we have been sactified - aka as being made holy
and we have become brothers of Christ.
Therefore, we are all “holy brothers”.
And that is how verse 1 of chapter 3 begins.
1 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.)
5 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.
Ok, we are beginning to get into the meat of the Author’s arguments here
He laid the thesis down in his introduction
and here He starts out with Point number 1
Which is:
The Rest in the NT is better than the rest of the OT.
This discussion about the better rest
spans chapters 3 and 4 of this book.
And the climax of the argument is found in chapter 4
9 So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God,
10 for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.
So, there are 3 rests that are compared in this argument
The rest of Joshua - when they finally entered Canaan
The Rest of God - on the seventh day of Creation
The Rest we experience in the NT
And the writer is arguing that the rest of Joshua
Was not sufficient
but only porting forward to a better rest
and that rest promised in the NT
when we are filled with God’s Spirit
and then we have the same kind of rest
that God had when he rested during Creation
That’s the framework of the argument
And the author begins by talking about Moses
and those who did not enter the rest with Joshua
and the reason was because of unbelief
And the premise here is that unbelief and disobedience
will prevent you from entering any rest that God promises
either the rest of Joshua or the NT rest.
1 Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession,
As stated, verse one builds on the fact that we are brothers of Christ
Holy and separated from this world
And also puts a plug in there that Jesus is our high priest
which is what the next topic is about
once the author finishes talking about the “rest”
Here Jesus is also called the “apostle”.
This is a Greek word that originally referred to
the commander of a naval expedition that was intended to colonize new territory
Overtime, the Greek word shifted to a more figurative meaning
which was simply “To be sent for a specific purpose”
and it no longer really applied to anything related to naval epeditions.
An example of this type of semantic shift in modern english is the word Broadcast
If I say Broadcast, what do you think about?
TV? Radio?
Sending audio or video out to a lot of people?
But the word originally mean to scatter seeds in farming
You took the seeds in your hand
and you “broadly cast” them around on the ground
No one even thinks about farming today when you hear the word broadcast
but understanding that original use of the word helps us see why it applies to the newer usage
When we broadcast something today
we are spread ideas around the world
just like a farmer used to spread seeds around his garden.
So, Apostle was orginally a naval term
The Apostle was not anyone going on a cruise
He was sent with the same authority as the sender
to claim land as the senders land
and create a new colony across the ocean.
Here Jesus is sent with the same authority as the Father
To claim people as sons of God
and at the same time he is the Priest
As Apostle, Jesus is representing God the Father to man
As high Priest, Jesus is representing Man to God the Father
He is the only one capable of holding both those titles simultaneously
Apostle and High Priest
The ONE Mediator, the man Christ Jesus.
5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
The MAN, Christ Jesus is the ONE mediator
He alone stands in the gap for us.
That’s why Jesus said
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
If you want to get to the Father
You have to go through the man christ Jesus.
He simultaneously has the full authority and power of the Father as Apostle
and the full legal right to represent men, as High Priest.
Now, finally, verse 2.
2 who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God’s house.
So, this verse is now comparing Jesus and Moses
Jesus was faithful to the one who appointed him as an Apostle
Which is God the Father
And the appointment as Apostle
is for the purpose of making each of us sons of God
Like the original meaning of the word was to colonize new lands.
And Jesus was faithful is doing that
and by “colonizing” us
Jesus is claiming us as sons of God
and simultaneously brothers of Christ
thereby making us part of his family
And here, we are going to talk about “houses”.
and it is important to understand that “houses” is referring to “family”
Not just a building
Albeit, the word play will be in use in a moment
where the author is going to refer to a literal physical building
But first, he refers to Moses being faithful in all God’s house
Here, I want to point out that this translation choice is not good IMO
The word “God’s” is not in the Greek text.
It literally says Moses also was faithful in all “HIS” house.
And the simplest understanding is that “his” refers to Moses
Meaning, Moses was faithful among his own family.
Now the family of Moses is the family of God
since they were all the Children of God
So it isn’t incorrect to say “God’s House”
but I just don’t think that is accurate
2 Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house.
And what we will find if we replace “God’s House” with what it actually says
which is “his house”.
Then the author is making the case that Moses has a family
and Jesus has a family
and while they were both found to be faithful members of their own families
Jesus has more glory that Moses
because Moses was faithful IN his family
But Jesus was both faithul IN his family
and the God who is the builder, or creator, or Head of the Family
and this ties right into the Apostle/Priest statement in verse 1
Jesus is the one being sent, and the one representing the ones being “colonize”
Jesus is both the God over the family and the man in the family
He didn’t just save us from above
he can down and joined our family
and brought us up to himself
So, I’m of the opinion that it should say “his house”
and as we read, I’m going to make that correction to the ESV
there’s no perfect translation
but the word of God is perfect as it is originally written
and the author said “his”
and “his” cannot easily refer to God the Father in these cases
at least in my opinion
2 who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God’s house.
so Jesus is faithful in his family, as our brother
like Moses was faithful in his own family
but…
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.
So, the one who builds a house has more honor than the house itself
Therefore, Jesus has more honor than Moses
What does this mean?
Again, Moses was faithful in his own family
So, God called him to lead his family to rest (aka Canaan)
But Jesus wasn’t just IN the family
He was simultaneously Head of the family.
Moses led God’s Children
Jesus led his own children
Moses was a brother of God’s Children
Jesus was a brother and the father at the same time.
He wasn’t just in the house
He built the house
He wasn’t just a member of the family
He was the Father of the family
Now, watch this…
4 (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.)
All families come from God the Father no matter who the earthly father is.
So, Jesus is greater than Moses
because Jesus is the builder of the house
AKA… the head of the family
AKA God the Father.
Wow.
He goes on to say that Moses was servant, but Jesus was a son.
5 Now Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later,
Again, God’s house here is acutally “his house”,
and I believe it means Moses’ house… not God’s house.
So, Moses was chosen to serve his family
and it was for the purpose of foreshadowing the real thing
And we will see this a few times in the book of Hebrews
where the author points to OT events as types and shadows of things to come 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.
Again, here is says “God’s house”, but the Greek says “his house”
and I still think the author intended to compare Moses’s family with Jesus’ family
Which is a comparison between the Hebrews and the Christians if you really think about it.
So, really, it is saying that Christ is faithful over is own house as a son.
And then he says.. we are in his house
whose house?
Christ’s house…
but there is a condition.
IF indeed we hold fast…
And that is the crux of the issue here
The audience of this original letter
were in danger of not holding fast
they were wanting to let go
and go back to just being part of the house of Moses
A return to Judaism
their Hebrew roots
And we see this in many other NT letters
Where there are those that want to keep following Jewish tradition
and we are even seeing it today with those called Hebrew Roots
and other’s who are doing exactly what the NT said not to do
we can’t return to Moses’ house
We are in the house of Jesus now
and we must HOLD FAST he says.
And it is our HOPE that he says we need to hold fast to
but not just our HOPE
but to the confidence and boasting in our hope
what does that mean?
Confidence here means courage against sometimes intimidating circumstances
So, even if people are pressuring us to let go
or even threatening us
we need to confidently hold fast to our hope
Boasting here, means taking pride in something
but not in an arrogant way
but celebrating the reason why we have hope
In other words
We are not ashamed of the Gospel
we are proud to be called Christians
So there is this sense that the readers are being pressured to give up on Christ
and return to their old ways
either through ridicule or intimidation tactics
and the author says, you’ve got nothing to be ashamed of
and no reason to doubt
that Jesus Christ is the only hope we have.
And Hope (elpis): In the New Testament,
hope is not wishful thinking (e.g., "I hope it doesn't rain").
It is the confident and certain expectation of a future reality that has been promised by God.
Which here, is that we are part of his family
And ultimately,
there is nothing to return too anyways
Moses was not the fulfillment of true rest
we can’t go back to his family
Jesus is the true rest
and we should hold fast to that…
And that is what is being argued here.
And all through the book of Hebrews we will see this theme
Hold fast to the hope
don’t fall away
and the reason is always because it is better than what came before
A large portion of Psalm 95 is then quoted as evidence for this argument
Verse 7-11 all come from that Psalm, starting with the word “Today”
and the word “Today” is repeated several times by the author to make a point later
7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear his voice,
8 do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness,
9 where your fathers put me to the test and saw my works for forty years.
10 Therefore I was provoked with that generation, and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart; they have not known my ways.’
11 As I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter my rest.’ ”
Now, I won’t take the time here
to explain what Psalm 95 is talking about in great detail
because that is the author is about to do for us
all throughout the rest of chapter 3
and most of chapter 4
the author is going to keep referring back to these words from Psalm 95
and he is going to tell us what it really meant
Now, as with many OT prophecies
they had a dual meaning
one that could be understood by the original audience
and one that could be understood by the NT audience
The original context is talking about
the testing of God at the waters of Meribah and Massah
They had seen the miracles of God
10 plagues on Egypt
the parting of the read seas
the manna falling from Heaven
and yet, they continued to question God
This will tie into chapter 6 in Hebrews when we get there
And is where the author gets very serious about what happens
when we have seen God’s power
and still question it.
but the premises is laid down here in chapter 3 verse 12
right after talking about Ps 95.
12 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.
This is the heart of the issue
this is what the author is preaching
hold fast is the positive word
don’t fall away is the negative equivalent
We will see both the positive and negative sides of that coin repeated over and over
13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
Here, the author is referring back to that first line that he quoted from Psalm 95.
Verse 7 and 8 in the Psalm
and verse 7 and 8 here as well.
“Today” is emphasized as being applied to his day
and by extension our day
He says as long as a day is called “today”
we need to be careful not to have our hearts hardened
like the Psalm says in verse 8.
In other words, this phrase is just as relevant today
as it was back when it was written
Verse 14 and 15 tells us why it still applies to us…
14 For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.
We are in the same family as Christ
, and there is that “IF” again
We already saw that in verse 6
and here it is repeated
IF we hold fast…
and not for a few days
but until the end.
15 As it is said, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”
So, the author quotes from Ps 95 again
and here the point is that ‘if you hear his voice”
So, the author is tying “if we hold fast”
to “if you hear his voice”
and the point being that the thing we are holding fast to
is the actual words of God
which is the “message” of salvation
we were told to not drift away from in chapter 2
So this ties all the way back to…
1 Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.
2 For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution,
3 how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard,
So it was that “message” that was declared by the Lord
that we “heard today”
in Ps 95.
At least that is what the author of Hebrews is trying to tell us.
We heard the words of Jesus
and we must hold fast
and not be like the ones who heard from Moses
and still rebelled in the wilderness…
16 For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses?
16 For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses.
17 And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness?
18 And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient?
19 So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.
