A Better Moses

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Introduction

Did you know that Da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi is arguably the most impressive painting in the world that is still privately owned? It sold in 2017 for a record setting 450 million dollars. Most of the world’s most famous paintings are in art museums, but this painting is owned by the Saudi Crown Prince, Muhammad bin Salman.

Could you imagine being able to view that famous piece of art? In case you didn’t know, this is Leonardo’s painting of the Christ. It depicts Jesus holding a hand up, preparing to bless someone. Because it’s privately owned, it’s only been viewed a small amount of times, so could you imagine going to the Saudi Crown Prince’s palace and viewing this piece of art?

Or how about this, while you were there, Leonardo Da Vinci himself were to walk up to you, shake your hand and you got to meet the guy that actually painted it?

Or to go one step further, how about as you were there talking to Da Vinci about his painting of the savior, Jesus himself showed up?

We are continuing our series in Hebrews today called Jesus is Better. And one of the big points I’m going to make today is that Jesus is better because is the creator, not the creation and we have the opportunity to set our eyes on the one who created all things and that should bring us much joy and peace.

Notes are on the app and on the back table.

Main Text

Hebrews 3:1–6 NIV

Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest. He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house. Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. “Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house,” bearing witness to what would be spoken by God in the future. But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory.

Pray!

Context:

Chapter 1 starts with Jesus is the better revelation. He reveals God perfectly to us. He is the exact representation of God. Ch. 1 tells us that Jesus, because he is a son, He is better than the angels.

Chapter 2 continues this line of thought and tells us that Jesus is also better than the angels because he brings a better message. And last week we talked about how that better message really is a message of a better deliverance. He delivers us from Satan, sin and eternal separation from God.

In our passage today, we are told that Jesus is better than Moses. Now, to understand this, we need to spend a little time asking ourselves, why is this important?

In the Jewish mind during this time, there was nobody greater than Moses. Even though Abraham is considered the father of the faith and Jacob, who was renamed Israel, is the namesake of the people, there is no one greater than Moses.

Why? Because Moses gave them the law. And contrary to the way many Christians may feel about the law, the law was seen as good and precious. Now, we don’t get this today because we don’t understand the law. The law, to the Hebrew people, was more than just a set of rules and regulations. The law, or Torah, was all five of the books that begin our Bible - Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. This was called the law and it contains more than just rules.

The reason it’s so revered is that it reveals God. It tells us of God and about his character. And even the rules, the regulations, they tell us more about God’s character and his holiness.

This is why we should love the law, but this why they revered Moses in the way they do.

In fact in John 5:45, Jesus says that they set their hopes on Moses to save them. They even called themselves “disciples of Moses” in John 9:29.

The author of Hebrews, with this understanding, of how great the people thought of Moses, is now going to give us some of the reasons why Jesus is actually better than Moses.

Three ways the Jesus is Greater Than Moses:

(I want to reiterate we shouldn’t hear this as Moses was bad and Jesus is great. But that Moses was amazing and Jesus is amazing-er!)

Jesus Is The Greater Prophet

Jesus is a greater prophet, because his message from God brings us salvation via grace and truth.

Old Testament To New - Before I explain this, let me just remind you of one of the reasons we are studying Hebrews. Hebrews, probably more than any other book in the New Testament, shows us all of the big picture connections to the Old Testament. It shows us how inter-related they are and how all of the Old Testament points forward to Jesus and the entirety of the New Testament is a fulfillment of the Old. We don’t have two separate books in our Bible, but one big book, 66 books in fact, that all point us to one thing, Jesus. It’s this fact, that the Bible is God’s Word and that Jesus is the center of all things, that we can put our trust in.

Prophecy Explained - Now, let me explain prophecy and prophets before we dig into Jesus being the greater prophet. Prophecy is not simply forthtelling, as in telling the future. It may include that, but that’s not the primary way prophecy presents itself. Prophecy, in the most simple expression is this, it’s speaking the Word of God. It’s proclaiming God’s word, what God is speaking today. Now, that word may include a future prediction or it may not, but the essence of prophecy, we learn from revelation is the testimony of Jesus, whom is called the Word of God. So when we prophesy today, the essence of that prophecy should be to point someone to Jesus, not to ourselves or how great we are or to predict who will be president in a few years. The essence of prophecy should always be undergirded by speaking the words of Jesus.

Moses Prophesied of Jesus’s Coming. Moses was a prophet because he gave Israel five full books that we proclaim to be the Word of God. And these books most certainly point us to Jesus. It may never explicitly say Jesus’ name in the text, but the passover lamb is a picture of Jesus. The ark of safety that saved Noah and his family is a picture of Jesus and the salvation he offers. These prophetic pictures are found throughout the Torah or the Law that was given to us by Moses. Moses was a great prophet. He points us to Jesus. But Jesus is a better prophet than Moses.

This message that was given to Moses by the angels, was eclipsed by the greater message of salvation that Jesus brings. That’s why Jesus is better, he brings a better message. Moses gave us the law, but Jesus gives us grace and truth.

Moses would not be upset about this because he himself prophesied about the day in which Jesus would come.

Deuteronomy 18:15–18 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— just as you desired of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.’ And the Lord said to me, ‘They are right in what they have spoken. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.

Moses knew a greater prophet would come. God had revealed it to him, so He prophesies here that God was going to raise us a grater prophet from among the people of Israel. That prophet is Jesus. And he is worthy of more glory than Moses.

Why is that? Our text today tells us why…

Jesus Is The Creator, Not The Creation

Secondly, Jesus is greater than Moses because Moses, like us, is part of the creation, Jesus is the creator. The same hands that formed Moses in the womb and the same hands that were nailed to a cross.

Hebrews 3:3–4 “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.)”

Jesus Is God. So, just as in chapter 1, we see Jesus is greater than the Angels because he is the Son of God, we are now seeing the author of Hebrews taking the argument one step further by saying that not only is Jesus a son, but He is God himself. This is a key understanding for us as Christians.

Jesus is not just a son of God or related to God. We believe that he is God in the flesh. He is God. He created all things. He sustains all things, as the author says in Chapter 1.

John 1:3 ESV

All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Some people have no trouble believing a man named Jesus lived. Jordan Peterson, Joe Rogan, I’ve heard them say things along those lines. People don’t struggle with that part. The part they struggle with is that He is actually God and I need to bow my knee to Him.

Because He is God, you need to worship Him. You need to follow Him. You need to serve Him. You cannot just simply acknowledge Him. You cannot just give him your lip service. You cannot just simply check a box or punch a ticket for the glory train. You must bow your knee to him and surrender your life to His will and His Way.

Jesus Christ never asks anyone to define his position or to understand a creed, but “Who am I to you?” Jesus Christ makes the whole of human destiny depend on a man’s relationship to himself. - Oswald Chambers

He asked his disciples? Who am I to you? Or who do you say that I am? Let me ask you today. Who do you say that Jesus is? Who is He to you?

Is He God or just a religious figure? Is He the ruler of the universe or just a Jewish carpenter who ended up on the wrong side of a botched revolution? Is He the Lord of your life or just a name that gets mentioned on Sundays? Who do you say He is?

Jesus is Greater Because He Created All Things. I could boil this argument down to its simplest form. Jesus is greater than Moses because Jesus created Moses. Moses was just a part of creation. He was a great part. He was a faithful servant, but Jesus is the creator of Moses, which makes him greater.

The final reason Jesus is better is this…

Jesus Is The Faithful Son

Hebrews 3:5–6 “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 Faithful - I want to stress this point, this isn’t not saying Moses was unfaithful, but Jesus was. It’s saying that Moses was faithful as a servant, Jesus was faithful as a son. Both were faithful, but they were faithful in different roles and different roles denotes different responsibilities.

Moses Was A Faithful Servant - His role was different. He was under the Master’s command. Moses followed the Lord and was careful to do what the Lord commanded.

If you know Moses’ story, you know he wasn’t entirely faithful. There were some moments where he failed and consequently he couldn’t enter the Promised Land because of his unfaithfulness, but this isn’t about that. It’s talking about the sum total of his life. If you look at the grand story of God, Moses was faithful.

Jesus Is Faithful As A Son - Notice the change in tense here. Jesus is faithful, Moses was faithful. Moses has passed on. He is dead. Jesus is alive. He reigns forevermore. Jesus Is Faithful. He didn’t just live a faithful life (He did do that), He lives today as a Faithful Son.

This is another callout for Jesus as divine. He is eternal. He has no beginning and no end. Jesus is more than just a man or even a supernatural being, He is God and you must recognize Him as such.

Moses was faithful in God’s House, Jesus is faithful over God’s house. Did you catch that small distinction in the text. You can skim right past it, but notice this difference here. Moses was in the household of God. He was apart of the family as we might say, but Jesus was over the family. He was in charge of it, he was the creator of it, He is the sustainer of it and He is responsible for it. The Faithfulness of Jesus is unmatched by Moses because Jesus has a greater authority.

Upon God’s faithfulness rests our whole hope of future blessedness. Only as He is faithful will His covenants stand and His promises be honored. Only as we have complete assurance that He is faithful may we live in peace and look forward with assurance to the life to come. - A. W. Tozer

Moses Was In God’s House, Jesus Builds God’s House. “And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory.”

Who are you placing your hope in? Who do you have your confidence in? Too often we put our hope in the wrong place. We put our confidence in ourselves, but this passage ends with this strong idea, the only safe place for our hope and confidence, is Jesus. Hold fast to that. Grab ahold of that and never let go.

Application

What are we to do with all of this information? Jesus is better than Moses, so what? The Author of Hebrews is making one big case here. Jesus is worthy of all glory, honor and worship because HE IS GOD and it is your duty to give that to Him. It is our job, after recognizing Him for who He is to now turn and worship Him.

Remember the instructions in the first verse, he says, brothers, fix your thoughts on Jesus, consider Jesus the apostle and high priest of our confession, he says. The author encourages us to focus our thoughts on Jesus and what Jesus has done. He was faithful to the one who appointed him, that would be God the Father.

Fix Your Thoughts On What He Speaks Over You, Not The Lies Of This World - Jesus is the greater prophet, listen to Him! For years I believed the lie that I would never amount to anything, that I would never have an impact, that I wasn’t worthy of love. I found the truth when I looked to Jesus. His words over me are life. He broke the lies off of me and replaced it with his truth. He can do the same for you today.

Fix Your Thoughts On The Controller Of The Universe, Not The Things You Can’t Control. Jesus is the Creator! For many of us, we need this reminder constantly. When anxiety or depression hits you this week and it seems like everything is spinning out of your control, I want you to fix your thoughts on Jesus, the one who is in control of all things. He created all things and He will certainly help you in your anxiety and depression.

Fix Your Thoughts On His Faithfulness, Not Your Unfaithfulness. Jesus is Faithful! We all mess up. If getting saved was based on how perfect we lived, heaven would be empty. But listen, it’s not based on our works, it’s based on His! Salvation isn’t based on our faithfulness or lack thereof, but one the Faithfulness of Jesus. He was faithful even unto death and his death paid for your unfaithfulness and it takes away your shame.

If you are here today and you have never put your trust in Jesus for salvation, let me challenge you to do it today. You can’t be faithful enough, so fix your eyes on Jesus, the one who is faithful and true. If you’d like prayer, or if you want to know more about how to get saved today, please come forward.