Better Than Moses

Introduction: Now after having seen the supremacy of Jesus, who is better than prophets and angels, we now see that he is better than Moses, the one through whom the Old Covenant came. The first six verses of sets the stage for the rest of the chapter and so in order to understand the rest of the chapter we must understand verses 1-6.

Let’s start by asking this question: why is it important to understand that Jesus is better than Moses? Well, in order to understand the importance of the argument we must understand what the Jews of that time thought of Moses.

First, the Jews considered Moses to be far above any other Jew who ever lived. God had miraculously spared Moses from death and personally oversaw his burial and in between these points Moses experienced miracle after miracle after miracle. Not to mention the fact that Moses was the one to whom God spoke directly and had seen the very glory of God, and for a brief time literally reflected the glory of God from his face.

Exodus 34:29 NKJV

Now it was so, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the Testimony were in Moses’ hand when he came down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him.

Moses is also the one who led the Jews out of Egypt which was the greatest picture of salvation in the Old Testament. As we see by the actions of the Pharisees (the more popular religious group of Jesus’ day) the Old Testament commands were the highest priorities for the Jews and Moses became synonymous with those priorities as they referred to the commands in the Old Testament as they “law of Moses.” Moses not only delivered to them the Ten Commandments but he also wrote the entire Pentateuch which governed every aspect of Jewish life. In addition to this, Moses gave them the plans for the Tabernacle as well as the Ark of the Covenant.

Remember how highly the Jews considered angels to be? Well, some Jews considered Moses to be even greater than angels. Above anyone who had ever lived, surely Moses was God’s man. Of course Moses was great, but the author of Hebrews wants to make abundantly clear that Jesus if far greater.

Superior in His Office

The passage starts off with the word “therefore.” Therefore always calls our attention back to what has been previously stated. So, on the basis of the fact that Jesus has the power to recover man’s lost destiny as man’s substitute, as the Author of salvation, our Sanctifier, the conqueror of Satan, and our Sympathizer we ought to consider Him. The word consider (κατανοέω) carries with it the idea that the author wants us to place our thoughts on Jesus and let them remain there. In other words, drop everything in your life that you think has given your life any meaning and let your thoughts be fixed on the absolute completeness of Christ. Jesus is the new Apostle (sent one) and the the Priest (intercessor) from God and He is all that anyone will ever need.

*Note: This is true of and written to fellow believers who are called to a superior and heavenly calling. Those who are partakers of the heavenly calling look to Christ as the supreme One. Those who are partakers of the heavenly calling disregard any other means of salvation that man’s wisdom might teach. Those who are partakers of the heavenly calling gaze on Christ and Christ alone. Believers, by faith, consider Him in everything they do, for without faith it is impossible to please God. So, by faith, we consider Christ. When life gets tough and we face problems that we do not have the answer to - consider Christ. When disappointment becomes normal and temptations seem impossible to resist - consider Christ. After all this is the life that we have been called to.

Matthew 11:29 NKJV

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

So, we ought to consider Christ who is the Apostle and High priest of our confession. Although the Old Testament never uses this word, Moses can be considered an apostle of the Old Testament. He was, after all, sent from God as God’s official representative (that is the meaning of the word apostle). Jesus, however, was both apostle and priest. This is the first way that Jesus is superior to Moses. Moses was not a priest at all. Moses held only one office while Jesus held two. Yet, even in the office of apostle, Jesus was better because He both brought a better covenant as well as made that better covenant effective with His own blood.

Superior in His Work

As the author continues in verse 2 he continues by pointing out a similarity between Moses and Jesus. You see, most of us are Gentiles, and it is difficult for us to understand how highly the Jewish mind regarded Moses. In the Jewish mind, pretty much everything connected with God was in some way connected to Moses (God’s great prophet). So, the author deals with the situation delicately by pointing out the validity of Moses in stating that, like Jesus, he was faithful.

This is true and is verified in the Old Testament.

Numbers 12:7–8 NKJV

Not so with My servant Moses; He is faithful in all My house. I speak with him face to face, Even plainly, and not in dark sayings; And he sees the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid To speak against My servant Moses?”

Faithfulness characterized Moses’ life. Just as Moses was faithful to the One who appointed Him so was Jesus - only Jesus was even more faithful. While Moses seldom faltered Jesus never did.

John 10 NKJV

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them. Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd. “Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.” Therefore there was a division again among the Jews because of these sayings. And many of them said, “He has a demon and is mad. Why do you listen to Him?” Others said, “These are not the words of one who has a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?” Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon’s porch. Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, “How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me. But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one.” Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. Jesus answered them, “Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?” The Jews answered Him, saying, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.” Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, “You are gods” ’? If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.” Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand. And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was baptizing at first, and there He stayed. Then many came to Him and said, “John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true.” And many believed in Him there.

John 10:37 NKJV

If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me;

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And, although Moses was faithful, he was still a part of the house while Jesus is the builder of the house.

What do you think house refers to?

Jesus is the builder of the church and is, therefore, greater than any of it’s leaders.

Superior in His Person

Here is the climax of this passage. Indeed, Moses was faithful in the house of God as a servant, but Christ is over the house as a Son. There is a huge difference between sons and servants.

John 8:35 NKJV

And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever.

Interestingly the word used for servant here is θεράπων which is used only this one time in the New Testament. It refers to a servant that serves with dignity and freedom. Moses was faithful as the highest ranking servant of the Old Testament and yet he is a servant and not a son.

The faithfulness of Moses was great and had a special purpose. The faithfulness of Moses was a testimony of the things that would one day be found in Christ. The ministry of Moses and the Old Testament as a whole was a shadow of things to come.

Hebrews 10:1 NKJV

For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect.

A shadow without substance is useless. Jesus is the substance that the shadow was an image of. Anyone who truly accepted the Old Testament and truly believed Moses would also accept Jesus.

John 5:46 NKJV

For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me.

Jesus is the substance and Son of the house.

What is the house of God?

Moses was a servant in someone else’s house while Jesus is the Son over His own house.

Confidence for the Believer

Remember how we said at the beginning that this passage was addressed to believers. The author closes this passage with an evidence for the validity of a believer. How can we know that we are really a part of God’s house? We can know that we are valid believers if we hold fast to the confidence and rejoicing of our hope firm until the end. This does not mean that we must earn our salvation, but it indicates that one who falls away was never a believer in the first place.

1 John 2:19 NKJV

They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.

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Conclusion: So, what does this passage mean for us today? This passage communicates two things to us: 1). We should carefully examine whether we are part of the church. If we continue as a functioning member of the body of Christ then we know that we are of His household. 2). When we know that we are in his household, we should keep our eyes on Him. He is all we need.