Christ's House is Superior

Jesus Christ our Great High Priest:

Hebrews 2:17–3:3 NKJV

Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted. Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus, who was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was faithful in all His house. 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.

Hebrews

In this current Hebrew’s series, we are entering a new section.

This section comprises one of the largest sections in the book, spanning from chapter 2:17 all the way through to chapter 13:11, where the theme of Christ as our great High Priest is the main topic.

Also, there are several topics that pertain to His role as High Priest.

I think the saddest part of this section is that most Christians are willfully ignorant to its importance and relevance to their salvation.

It certainly goes without saying, that if more people knew what this was about and how it relates to the law, there would be less confusion and bad teaching concerning both.

Part -1 “the supersedence of Christ’s House.”

So entering into this section of Hebrews, we find that every high priest serves in a place.

So today we are going to look at the house of the high priest!

I. Who built the house?

well, in order to understand it better, we will make some comparisons:

A. Moses’ house was built by man.

Made of wood mostly overlaid with gold, and the artifacts within it.

Covered with colored tapestries representing the attributes of God.

Covered with badger skins dyed blood red, to represent the blood of the sacrifice.

B. Christ’s house is built by God.

It is Made up of living stones.

1 Peter 2:4–5 NKJV

Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

It is called into place by grace and secured through faith.

Ephesians 2:8–9 NKJV

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

II. What does the house represent?

A. Moses’ was a picture of something else.

How we know that is because if the tabernacle that Moses was instructed to build was to be in itself the object of its representation, then God would have not allowed Solomon to build its replacement.

And if that building was to be the representation of the tabernacle, God would not have caused it to be destroyed in 70 AD.

No, clearly the Tabernacle represented something else!

B. Christ’s is the Picture.

This is why the glory of God remained in the tabernacle.

This is where the atonement for sin needed to be made on the mercy seat.

Christ is the High Priest who alone can enter the holy of holies to make an atonement for our sins.

And, the house in which God is building is the body of Christ, which is where the sacrifice for sin is present for all eternity, cleansing the entire structure.

And as the house is holy, so are we who the house!

C. Moses’ house was dead and a place of death.

Dead because everything it was constructed of was non living.

Death because every animal that entered it gave its blood as a sacrifice.

The Tabernacle under Moses was a place of work and a constant reminder of the gravity of sin, and the impossibility of man to atone for sin.

It was a bloody place of death that pointed to the problem of sinful flesh, and the need for something better.

By all human assessment, the Tabernacle was a slaughter house!

In 1993 I had the opportunity to take a 15 day mission trip to Mexico with two other guys. While in Monteray Mexico we were invited by a Pastor to go down to Mexico city. At the time, it was one of the largest cities in the world with 20,000,000 residents. We were taken to the Aztec Pyramids. I will never forget walking up the very steep stone stairs to the very top of the pyramid of the sun. I was not ready for what I was confronted with: the pyramid contrary to what many think, had a very steep back side almost vertical. We were told by our guide that this was for the casting down of the bodies that were part of their human sacrifices. But what really got my attention was the entire top platform where the stone alter sat, was made of stones like a mosaic. the stones were dark red, still retaining the absorbed color of the blood of the thousands of human lives slaughtered there. Yes, a slaughter house!

D. Christ’s house is living and a place of new birth.

Because we the body of Christ are a spiritual house made up of living stones (each believer), Christ’s house is an eternal, living, organism!

If you think about it, who is it that is added to this building? but those who are born again!

It was a bloody place of death that pointed to the problem of sinful flesh, and the need for something better.

Christ’s house is a maternity ward where new life enters every minute, but where death can never nor ever will be present!

As I ponder through these comparisons I’ve come to this conclusion: God is showing the Jews in these passages what we as Christians should already know!

Why in the world is there so much ignorance and nonsense being propagated in Christian circles. Why do we entangle ourselves with the law, when the entire premise in this book, is to show Christ’s superiority to it?

We have a wonderful High Priest who is active in His house, who we are.

He is working

You and I cannot excuse ourselves from the study of the word of God!

The least we can do is know Him better!

We must learn it, know it, and teach it to others. This is our primary duty as a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ, our Great High Priest!