A Better Way: Better than Moses
Hebrews • Sermon • Submitted
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Intro:
5 And Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward, 6 but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.
5 And Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward, 6 but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.
Tonight, we will continue our study through the book of Hebrews, we’ve titled this series, [A Better Way]. The subject of tonight’s message is, [Better than Moses].
As I read , thought of heroes.
My brother loved superheroes. From an early age even into high school, he was fond of Superman. He watched all the superhero movies and TV shows.
He could knew their fictional backgrounds. He could explain their connections between the superheroes. Me on the other hand, it never really made sense.
But that is not to say I did not have heroes. Heroes are both fictional and real. Throughout history, men like George Washington, Andrew Jackson, General Custer, Ulysses S. Grant, or Dwight Eisenhower were famous war heroes.
People in my family have had heroes. For instance, my grandma viewed Franklin Roosevelt as the hero of her generation. My mom viewed her dad, Grandpa Kilgore as her hero. If I had to name two of my heroes, it is Pastor Tucker and Pastor Davis.
Regardless of an individual’s hero, I have noticed one thing in common. People do not want to hear anyone talk bad about their hero.
In Grandma’s house, we didn’t speak ill of Jesus or FDR!
Mom will not let ANYONE speak bad about her dad.
And I have had words with a couple people to bad mouthed my heroes/pastors.
With this in mind, let’s try to think like the recipients of the letter of Hebrews. They were Jewish Christians who met Jesus and accepted Him as their Savior.
However, they experienced great persecution. Therefore, they began to drift back into their Jewish faith. They decided it was safer to follow the rituals and routines of the Old Testament.
To make his point, the author methodically explained the fact that Jesus is the better way. If they looked for something better, they would never find it because they found the best through Jesus.
First he showed Jesus is better than the angels. Some might have wondered, as a Man, was Jesus better than the angels? The answer is yes, because He is the Son of God.
Therefore, they needed to carefully consider the consequences of drifting back into Judaism. Notice, they had not totally forsaken their walk with Christ.
But they were tempted to turn away. The writer of Hebrews loved them enough to speak the truth in love, even when it was a uncomfortable for the reader.
Unlike other authors who would give their title and credentials at the beginning of the letter. This author remained anonymous and went right into Jesus’ superiority over everything they held dear.
IN chapter three, he turns his attention to one of the heroes of the Old Testament: Moses. He wants them to see Jesus is better than Moses.
At first, they might have bristled at these words, but he wanted them to realize the power Jesus holds.
To make this point, we will see [Compared with Moses], [Common Mistakes], and [Call to Mercy].
Let’s begin
1. Compared with Moses
1. Compared with Moses
1 Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus, 2 who was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was faithful in all His house. 3 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. 4 For every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God. 5 And Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward, 6 but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.
Before he specifically mentions Moses, he first explains the two-fold role of Jesus as Apostle and High Priest.
An Apostle was sent by the God to reveal the Father to people.
A High Priest represents people to the Father.
Therefore, Jesus showed us the love of the Father. Then He stands as our High Priest connecting us to the Father through His sacrifice. Jesus was faithful in His roles.
Likewise, Moses was faithful to his call. When God gave him the Law (Exodus and Leviticus), he revealed God’s righteousness to the people of Israel.
Then there we times Moses represented Israel to God. On multiple occasions, God wanted to wipe out the Israelites because of their sins. However, Moses interceded on their behalf.
The writer first compares Moses with Jesus and showed they were both faithful to God. BUT, Jesus is better for a number of reasons.
Jesus is the builder of the house. The word house in scripture often refers to the people of God/family. Moses was a part of God’s house/family. But who built the house?
Jesus is the builder. He is the Creator and sustained of humanity. Therefore, He built Moses into the man people considered a hero.
Furthermore, Jesus is better because He is the fulfillment of all Moses worked for and desired. Remember when Jesus met with Moses and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration, there was not competition.
Moses rejoiced because he understood Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law. Moses was a faithful servant in the house of the Lord. But Jesus owns the house!
Moses was great in all he did. BUT, Jesus is better than Moses because He is God’s Son! The author is not putting Moses down, instead He is showing Jesus is even better.
Moses was worthy of some glory, but Jesus is worthy of greater glory.
Moses was a member of God’s house. But Jesus built God’s house
MOses was
Moses testified of things to come, Jesus fulfilled the testimony.
After comparing Jesus with Moses, the writer discussed people’s...
2. Common Mistakes
2. Common Mistakes
7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you will hear His voice, 8 Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, In the day of trial in the wilderness, 9 Where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, And saw My works forty years. 10 Therefore I was angry with that generation, And said, ‘They always go astray in their heart, And they have not known My ways.’ 11 So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’ ”
7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you will hear His voice, 8 Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, In the day of trial in the wilderness, 9 Where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, And saw My works forty years. 10 Therefore I was angry with that generation, And said, ‘They always go astray in their heart, And they have not known My ways.’ 11 So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’ ”
As great as Moses was in God’s Salvation History, he still reflected a group of people who were rebellious. To make his point, the write of Hebrews continues to use Old Testament passages.
The verses we read come from , which was a call to worship. However, the it also served as a warning to God’s people not to become hardhearted.
The Israelites consistently showed their pride before God, testing Him over and over. When Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, they journey to the Promised Land should have taken around two weeks.
Instead, they wandered in the wilderness for forty years. One author suggests, “They hadn’t simply lost sight of the road, they lost sight of their God.” (Swindoll).
Let’s look at a few examples.
No sooner than they left Egypt, they arrived at the Red Sea. Their rejoicing turned into rebellion. They scolded Moses for bringing them to the Red Sea to die.
God intervened and parted the waters and killed their enemies. But their thankfulness was short lived. Soon thereafter, they complained because they were hungry.
God sent Manna from heaven to satisfy their needs. They eventually got tired of the Manna and God sent them so much quail they didn’t want anymore.
They complained about everything. When God did something good, they quickly forgot. When something bad happened, they constantly wanted to return to Egypt.
They even pushed Moses and Aaron to the edge. Their quarreling overwhelmed Moses when God instructed him to tell the rock to make water, he struck the rock.
His act of disobedience disqualified him from entering the Promised Land. Moses was a great man, but he shows common mistakes people make.
12 Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; 13 but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, 15 while it is said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”
The writer warns them not to act like the rebellious Israelites. Why would he give them this warning? They wanted to return to the Jewish faith.
They wanted to look to Moses’s example instead of Jesus’s life. Of all the people over they age of twenty Moses led through the wilderness, only two entered the Promised Land.
Therefore, if they turned from their faith to go back to what was comfortable, they would become hardhearted, just like the people Moses led.
This does not have to become our fate, for we are partakers of Christ. Through Jesus, God’s people have a living and active relationship with Him.
They needed to heed the warning, do not make the common mistake of assuming we do not need God. When people do this, they harden their hearts in rebellion against God.
The writer of Hebrews showed, compared Moses with Jesus. If they return to the ways of Moses, they would fall into the common mistakes of the enemy. The writer concludes by issuing a...
3. Call to Mercy
3. Call to Mercy
16 For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses? 17 Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? 19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.
16 For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses? 17 Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? 19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.
The writer asks a series of questions to get their attention. Before we look at them, let’s understand why he asked them.
After reviewing what happened to the Israelites, some might think, well that will NEVER happen to me. I would NEVER do that to God, I am an exception.
Who has ever had those thoughts? I have learned, when I say or think I would NEVER, I end up doing what I claimed I would never do.
Now let’s look at the questions.
Who rebelled against Moses? It wasn’t those who were born in the wilderness, it was those who were once slaves in Egypt and now tasted freedom.
Who made God angry? It wasn’t those who entered the Promised Land under Joshua, it was those who wandered in the wilderness for forty years.
Who died in the wilderness? It wasn’t the new generations of Israelites, it was the ones who crossed the Red Sea and witnessed God’s miraculous power.
To Who did God say, you will never my rest in the Promised Land It was the ones who disobeyed him and chose to live in rebellion against the goodness of God.
It was the ones who disobeyed him and chose to live in rebellion against the goodness of God.
What is the writers point?
Becoming hard hearted like the people in Moses’ day is not limited to the ancient Israelites. Anyone who ignores God’s call to mercy will become hardened.
He wanted them to understand, when this happens, they will be like the Israelites, unable to enter into the promises of God because of their unbelief.
The mere fact that he wrote this letter shows God’s deep mercy for them. Because of external persecution, they wanted to return to their previous way of living.
They knew of Moses and all the good he did. The thought they might return to Old Covenant ways and still experience the blessings of God.
God mercifully plead to them through the writer, don’t turn back. Moses was good, butJesus is so much better.
Close:
The Jewish Christian’s problem is not unique to their era. Difficult times come for anyone who turns their eyes off of the Lord and on to another person.
For them it was Moses. I’ve always liked the story and life of Moses, but I have not ever faced the temptation to place him above Jesus.
However, here is the temptation, the enemy would love it if we start to trust in someone or something else greater than Jesus.
Someone- let me say this, God places people in our lives at various times, but we must never allow them to outrank God. Be it a spouse, a friend, a child, or even a pastor.
That does not mean we become islands unto ourselves living the mantra, its just you and me Jesus. NO. We desperately need each other.
However, our relationships and friendships should not take the place of our relationship and friendship with Jesus.
Something- some may trust in people, while other people trust in what they know or what they have. Education, while important, will not save us. We can never become intellectual enough to stop needing Jesus.
Furthermore, we cannot put our trust in our possessions, our finances, or our experiences.
Some seem to think they have enough and everything is fine. Others might assume they have experienced enough of God and do not need much more.
TODAY, God is peaking to us and asking us to listen to His voice. He wants to remain the first priority. He wants to be our Hero. When we list the most influential people in our lives, JESUS must ALWAYS stay at the top!
We cannot put Him down the list. We should not exhaust all other options and they say, well all I can do is pray. We start with prayer and drawing closer to Him.
Church history is full of people who got off track because they replaced Jesus with someone else. The Jewish Christians tried to do this, but the author explained to them, Jesus is better than Moses.
Today, the same truth still holds.
For my grandmother, we might have to tell her, Jesus is better than FDR.
For my mother, Jesus is better than her father.
For me, Jesus is better than Pastor Tucker or Pastor Davis.
I remember in 2011 my best friend Isaac came to Missouri. I met his parents in Joplin and we went back to Salem on a Friday. I didn’t tell him then, but that next morning we had to get up at 5:00 am to go to Poplar Bluff for a conference.
at the conference, during worship, the presence of God was so strong. Pastor Davis looked at us and said, you are young men, and as an older pastor, I want to tell you IT’S ALL ABOUT JESUS.
Those have never escaped me. When we make it all about Jesus, our relationships with others will grow stronger. Our lives will get better. And our hope will grow.
No one can compare to Jesus. When we try to replace Him we make a common mistake many others have made. SO let’s thank God for His mercy tonight!