Christ Our High Priest
Book of Hebrews • Sermon • Submitted
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Moses
Moses
Next to Abraham, Moses was the man revered most by the Jewish people. Moses led them out of captivity in Egypt. Moses gave them the Law. The entire system of Jewish religion comes down to Moses. It is important for the Jewish readers of this letter to understand that Jesus was superior to Moses.
The Lord had spoken with Moses face to face and had handed down the law to him in person!
11 Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses returned to the camp, his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.
13 “Then You came down on Mount Sinai, And spoke with them from heaven; You gave them just ordinances and true laws, Good statutes and commandments. 14 “So You made known to them Your holy sabbath, And laid down for them commandments, statutes and law, Through Your servant Moses.
Let us begin this morning in Hebrews 3:1-2
1 Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession; 2 He was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was in all His house.
“Holy Brethren” denotes a people who are in the family of God, that have been set apart by the Grace of God. “Partakers of a heavenly calling” tells us they are part of the Church - the body of Christ.
Because of this, they were able to give a confession of their faith in Christ. Indeed, all true Christians are able to do the same thing when it comes to their sharing the experience of Salvation.
Twice in this letter the writer exhorts his readers to “hold fast” to that confession - in 4:14 and 10:23. It is that same confession that they were “strangers and exiles on this earth” that sustained the men and women of faith in ages past. (Heb 11:13)
13 All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.
It was not Moses that people should consider, but Jesus. Moses was in the house, but Jesus created it!
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. 4 For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.
Moses was a mere man, called to be a prophet and leader. Moses was called by God - Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was sent into this world by God, to be the last Word to sinful man.
16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.
42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me.
Moses was a prophet, and on occasion priest. But never High Priest; that title belonged to his brother Aaron. But Jesus Christ is the High Priest.
As apostle, Jesus represents God to men; as High priest, He represents men to God.
Moses did represent men to God when he prayed for them, and met God on the mountain on their behalf:
30 On the next day Moses said to the people, “You yourselves have committed a great sin; and now I am going up to the Lord, perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.” 31 Then Moses returned to the Lord, and said, “Alas, this people has committed a great sin, and they have made a god of gold for themselves. 32 “But now, if You will, forgive their sin—and if not, please blot me out from Your book which You have written!”
Moses prepared the way for the coming of the Savior. Jesus is the messenger of God’s grace and truth.
17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.
Returning to verses 3-6:
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. 4 For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God. 5 Now Moses was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken later; 6 but Christ was faithful as a Son over His house—whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end.
When the writer of Hebrews refers to the house, he is referring to the people of God. Moses ministered to Israel under the Old Covenant. Today Jesus Christ ministers to His people through the New Covenant.
In 1 Samual 7, God uses the use of House as both a physical building
4 But in the same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying, 5 “Go and say to My servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Are you the one who should build Me a house to dwell in? 6 “For I have not dwelt in a house since the day I brought up the sons of Israel from Egypt, even to this day; but I have been moving about in a tent, even in a tabernacle. 7 “Wherever I have gone with all the sons of Israel, did I speak a word with one of the tribes of Israel, which I commanded to shepherd My people Israel, saying, ‘Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?’ ” ’
and as a people
12 “When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 “He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
16 “Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.” ’ ”
The contrast between Moses and Jesus is clear: Moses was a servant of the house. Jesus is the son, the heir to the house. Moses was a member of the house. Jesus built the house. This statement declares the divinity of Jesus: If God built all things, and Jesus built the house, then Jesus must be God.
While Moses prophesied of things to come, Jesus is the fulfillment of these things. Jesus brought the full and final light of the Gospel of the grace of God.
Because of our confidence in Christ, we experience Hope (v. 6)
Even in our suffering we can experience joy in our relationship as we hold firm til the end. Jesus Christ is the beloved Son over His house and He will care for every member. He is the faithful High Priest who will provide all the grace we need for the demands of life.
Those who trust Christ prove their confession by their steadfastness, their confidence and their joyful hope, They are not burdened by the past or threatened by the future, but are living in the present as they await the future hope of His return. It is this heavenly calling that motivates believer to keep on living for the Savior even when the going is tough.
The Wilderness
The Wilderness
When the children of Israel wandered in the desert for those 40 years, Joshua and Caleb were two men who honored God with their faith. They watched all their friends and relatives die because they laced the faith of these two, who would eventually enter Caanan. As believers, we know that God is leading us to heaven and we should reveal the same kind of joyful confidence and hope.
7 Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, “Today if you hear His voice, 8 Do not harden your hearts as when they provoked Me, As in the day of trial in the wilderness, 9 Where your fathers tried Me by testing Me, And saw My works for forty years. 10 “Therefore I was angry with this generation, And said, ‘They always go astray in their heart, And they did not know My ways’; 11 As I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’ ”
This is the second exhortation in Hebrews. The first in Hebrews 2:1-4, pointed out the danger of drifting from the Word because of neglect. This exhortation points out the danger of doubting and disbelieving the Word because of hardness of heart. This goes back to the wandering in the desert of the people of Israel. Moses led the people out of bondage to Egypt and led them to the edge of Caanan
The spies who first entered Caanan were mostly frightened and did not believe the promises of God. It was not God’s will that they remain outside the promised land, but the people, with the exception of Moses, Joshua and Caleb, hardened their hearts and thus did not see their hopes realized because they did not trust the promises of God.
Christ led his people out of bondage to sin. Today, we face many obstacles in our road to Heaven and the promised hope that we have. The wilderness of the people of Israel is the experience of believers who do not put their full faith and hope in Christ. Believers who will not claim their spiritual inheritance in Christ. Believers who doubt Gods word and live in unbelief. God is with them as He was with Israel, but they do not enjoy the fullness of God. They are out of Egypt, but not in Caanan.
So, take heed to the lesson of Israel.
12 Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. 13 But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end, 15 while it is said, “Today if you hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts, as when they provoked Me.” 16 For who provoked Him when they had heard? Indeed, did not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses? 17 And with whom was He angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient? 19 So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief.
The writer quotes Psalm 95:7-11, which is God’s response to Israel’s spiritual condition.
7 For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand. Today, if you would hear His voice, 8 Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, As in the day of Massah in the wilderness, 9 “When your fathers tested Me, They tried Me, though they had seen My work. 10 “For forty years I loathed that generation, And said they are a people who err in their heart, And they do not know My ways. 11 “Therefore I swore in My anger, Truly they shall not enter into My rest.”
God had continually shown Israel signs and wonders, providing for them throughout their journey, yet they did not trust Him to deliver Caanan into their hands. Some even wanted to return to bondage in Egypt. That generation died in the wilderness and did not enter into His rest.
What does this say to our generation?
It is important that we take heed and recognize the spiritual dangers that exist. We also need to encourage each other to remain faithful to the Lord. You do not want to go back into bondage of sin. Christians belong to each other and we need each other, Just as Moses, Joshua and Caleb tried to encourage the people of Israel we need to encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ.
The message of Hebrews is that true believers have an eternal salvation because they trust a living Savior who is constantly interceding for us. But our confidence is no excuse for sin. God disciplines His children - remember the wilderness?
When the children of Israel crossed the Jordan they faced many obstacle, one of the first was Jericho. Before Joshua conquered Jericho, he met the living savior:
13 Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us or for our adversaries?” 14 He said, “No; rather I indeed come now as captain of the host of the Lord.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and bowed down, and said to him, “What has my lord to say to his servant?” 15 The captain of the Lord’s host said to Joshua, “Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.
Joshua learned he was second in command, The Lord had a sword in His hand and Joshua fell at His feet in complete submission. It was this private act of worship that gave Joshua his public victory.
We too achieve victory and claim our spiritual inheritance by surrendering to Him and trusting in His Word.