Christ is Better than Moses

What is it that is having you waver in your faith? When we first put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ and acknowledge our need for a Savior, we get filled with joy and confidence. We are “on fire” for the Lord. Many of us start wavering in our faith as time passes. We start thinking that we have to do all these things to be right with God. What is it, today, that you are relying on to make you right with God? A successful job? A good prayer life? Church attendance?

The writer of the book of Hebrews wants to portray Jesus Christ as superior to every other option to the readers. The readers of this letter are Jewish Christians who once lived by the law, but have confessed their faith in Jesus Christ. These readers have endured persecution for their faith. The readers are beginning to get discouraged in trusting in something that they cannot see. These Jewish Christians are questioning their faith and considering going back to the old ways of the law.

Let’s not forget that there were still many others around that were still living by the law. And who was the one God used to give His law? Moses!. Bringing their sacrifices to the temple. They were trusting in the high priest to intercede with God for them.

Pay attention that all these things are very tangible. And so the Jewish believers at this time were having trouble with trusting in what they couldn’t see, when all around them, they saw others trusting in very tangible things.

The writer of Hebrews wants to remind them of the profession they once made and what it meant.

v.1 – “Holy Brethren…”: The writer wastes no time in reminding these Hebrews that their confession of faith in Christ, at once, made them members of a holy brotherhood and separated them from their unbelieving kinsmen. At the time, many believers were falling back to the law and forgetting that they are now “holy brethren.”

- “…partakers of a heavenly calling…”: Christians are people who have heard and believed a heavenly calling, and are therefore partakers of it.

- We have been gripped by this calling. The word of God broke through our resistance, took hold of us with the truth and love of Christ, and reconciled us to God, and is now leading us home to Heaven… “heavenly calling.”

- To be partakers of this “heavenly calling,” we need two things: A word from God and a way to God. We will learn more about these two requirements later in the study.

- “…consider Jesus…”: Although we are partakers of this “heavenly calling,” we must realize that we are still sinners. Hopefully not, but someone in this room might be a sexual sinner, a lying sinner, a stealing sinner. You see, our “heavenly calling” does not hang on our righteousness. Our hope and confidence hangs on Jesus. This is why v.1 continues on to say, “consider Jesus.” We must realize that nothing we do makes us right with God. Our heavenly calling hangs on only one thing and that is what Jesus Christ has already done!

- What’s amazing is that this is something that we often think unbelievers should do. “Consider Jesus,” we say to the seeker. There is nothing wrong with that, but this book of Hebrews is devoted to helping Christians “consider Jesus.”

- Some might say, “Well don’t Christians automatically consider Jesus?” NO! If you look back to chapter 2, we see a warning was given to these believers. Hebrews 2:1, “We must pay closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.” The warning is to “pay close attention to what they’ve heard.” What have they heard? The Gospel. So then what is the danger? The danger is constantly in our way that we will stop considering Jesus and become more interested in other things and drift away from the word and perhaps never return, proving that we were never truly partakers of the “heavenly calling.” So the danger is that we will drift away if we stop considering Jesus daily.

- The book of Hebrews calls us “Christians” to consider Jesus again and again, daily!

- This whole book of Hebrews is about Christians “considering Jesus.” Consider Jesus. Fix your eyes upon Him.

- “…the Apostle and High Priest of our confession.”: As the Apostle He speaks to us from God, as our High Priest He speaks for us to God. These two descriptions of Jesus correspond with our two needs we talked about earlier. We need two things to be partakers of the “heavenly calling.” We need a word from God and a way to God.

- “Apostle”: means “one who is sent.” So Jesus is the One sent from God to earth with the revelation of His “heavenly calling.”

- “High Priest”: means “one who is a go between, who offers a sacrifice so that there can be reconciliation.” So Jesus is our High Priest.

- So we see that Jesus fulfills both needs of ours to be partakers of the “Heavenly calling.”

v.2 – “Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house.”: This verse automatically disarms prejudice. Why? By according Moses the highest praise. He wants to show that, yes, Moses was faithful, but… The writer starts out this way intentionally. Moses was one of the most revered men by the Jewish culture. From here on through verse 6 he shows the superiority of Jesus over Moses. Yes Moses was faithful in all his house, but the faithfulness of Moses could only be exercised during the limited time of his earthly service, whereas Jesus forever and eternally lives faithfully to exercise the office of Divine Mediator from His throne in Heaven (Acts 2:36; Heb. 5:5).

- So at the same time as giving Moses credit, the writer also shows the superiority of Jesus. The writer purposely makes a comparison before he makes the contrast.

v.3 – “For He has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, by just so much as the builder of the house has more honor than the house.”: Verse 3 tells us that Jesus is worthy of more glory than Moses in relation to God’s house. Why? Because Jesus is the builder of the house and Moses is a part of the house. The writer is saying that Jesus is to the people of God as a builder is to a house. Moses is to the people of God as one of the people of God. In short, Jesus is the builder of Moses. Jesus made Moses.

- So in verse three we see the contrast in that Jesus has more glory over Moses as a builder has more glory over the house he builds.

v.4 – “For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.”: Pay attention to this closely. Look at what the writer just proved to the reader…In verse 3 it says that Jesus made the house of God. Verse 4 says that the maker of all things is God. What is this telling us?? This is telling us that Jesus, the Son of God, is God.

- So He made Moses…and He made you! Consider that… He made you!

v.5 – 6a – “Now Moses was faithful in all his house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken later; but Christ was faithful as a Son over His house…”: Moses was a servant in the house of God, but Jesus is a Son over the house of God. The difference between a servant and a son is that the son, by inheritance, owns the house, and is Lord over the house, and provides for those in the house out of his wealth. The servants don’t own anything in the house, and the servants follow the word of the owner.

- So again, Jesus, as a son, is superior to Moses in these three ways: He owns the house of God, He rules the house of God, and He provides for the house of God. By comparison Moses is just a servant of his house. He doesn’t own it, rule it, or provide for it out of his wealth.

- I think we, to often, think that we are doing God a favor by being a faithful servant. We are to only be a faithful servant out of reverence and love.

v.6b – “…whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end.”:

- So pay attention to how the text concludes in verse 6, “…we are His house, His people, we are partakers of the heavenly calling, “…if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end.” The evidence that we are partakers of the heavenly calling is that we don’t throw away our hope! The key word in this verse is the word “if.” We are the house of God… “if…”

- Becoming a Christian and being a Christian happen the same way: by hoping in Jesus. A kind of hoping that produces confidence and boasting in Jesus.

- What are you hoping in this morning? In investments? Fitness programs? Hard work? I would like to suggest that God’s word to you this morning is “Consider Jesus…and hope in Him.