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Hebrews 3:1-6

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The writer of Hebrews has been making the case that Jesus Christ is superior to the angels and yet came to earth as a man in order to be the proper redeemer of mankind. Now the writer presents Jesus Christ as superior to Moses, the great leader that the Jews held in such high esteem. Jesus is faithful to His Father, just as Moses was, and yet Jesus is worthy of more glory than Moses because He is God.

1 Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;

“Wherefore [therefore]” – After pointing out that Jesus did not come as an angel but as a human being in order to be a proper high priest and redeemer to reconcile us to God, the writer of Hebrews says “therefore” Jesus Christ bears further scrutiny to see the other characteristics that demonstrate His superiority as the Son of God.

“holy [sacred; set apart for God] brethren, partakers [to share in] of the heavenly calling [invitation]” – The writer is writing to the Jews, God’s chosen people. They are “holy brethren” because God has chosen the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to be a special treasure to Himself (Deut. 14:2 “For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar [treasured] people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth”). The “heavenly calling” that they have a share in comes from the invitation of God to follow and obey Him. The writer is reminding his Jewish readers that they are in a special position as recipients of the promises of God.

“consider the Apostle [one sent; messenger] and High Priest of our profession [what one professes to believe], Christ [anointed] Jesus” – Because of special position that the Jews are in, the writer urges his Jewish readers to consider the fulfillment of the central promise of God to Israel: Christ (Messiah) Jesus. “Christ” is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word “Messiah” because they both mean “anointed.” The writer describes Jesus as both “Apostle” and “High Priest.” As apostle, Jesus is the one sent from God to bring the message of salvation (John. 1:18 “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him”). As high priest, Jesus is the intercessor between God and man and the One Who sprinkled His own blood on the heavenly altar as the sacrifice for our sins. Christ’s role as high priest is explored in more detail beginning in the next chapter. Christ is described as the Apostle and High Priest of our profession. The Jews professed to believe in God and to obey Him. The writer is urging his Jewish readers to take a good look at Jesus Christ so that they will understand that Jesus is the focus of what they profess to believe about God.

2 Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house.

“Who was faithful to him that appointed [made] him” – The Greek word for “appointed” means “made” but not in the sense of creation. It refers to the changing of a role or position (Heb. 2:9a “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death”). The writer points to Jesus’ faithfulness, because Jesus was faithful to the One Who had made Him the Apostle and High Priest of their profession. God had sent Jesus to be the Jews’ Messiah and Jesus was faithful to all that His Father had sent Him to do. John 8:29 “And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.” John 17:4 “I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.”

“as also Moses was faithful in all his house” – The phrase “all his house” refers to Israel, the family of people that God had raised up Moses to lead and care for. The Jews held Moses in high esteem and the writer here is acknowledging that Moses was faithful to the tasks that God had given him in his ministry to Israel. The writer’s point is that Jesus was just as faithful as Moses in performing the job that God had given to Him.

3 For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house.

“For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses” – Moses was glorified as the great leader that God used to give the law and lead the children of Israel out of Egypt and for the next 40 years in the wilderness. In fact, when Stephen was stoned he was being accused of speaking “blasphemous words against Moses and against God” (Acts 6:11 “Then they suborned men, which said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God”). They were in effect elevating Moses to a level comparable to God so that speaking against Moses was virtually as serious as speaking against God. However, the writer says that “this man” (Jesus) is considered to be worthy of more glory than Moses.

“inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house” – The writer gives the reasoning behind his statement that Jesus is worthy of more glory than Moses. A person who has built a house deserves more glory than the house that he built. For that reason, Jesus is worthy of more glory than Moses. The “house” in this case is the house that Moses was faithful in ministering to (v. 2), which is the nation of Israel. God created the nation of Israel (Gen. 46:3 (God speaking to Jacob) “And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation”) and since Jesus is God, He is the creator of Israel and thus is more worthy of glory than Moses, who himself is a member of the nation of Israel.

4 For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God.

When you see a house, you know someone has built it. It did not spring into existence on its own. However, God is the One Who created the person who built that house, along with all the things that have not been created by human hand. Everything exists because God created it.

5 And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after;

“And Moses verily [truly] was faithful in all his house, as a servant” – The writer again emphasizes that fact that Moses truly was faithful in ministering to Israel (his house), but he puts the role of Moses into perspective. Moses’ role was that of a servant.

“for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after” – Moses’ role as a servant included the task of testifying of the coming Messiah (Christ). Jesus pointed this out: John 5:45-47 “Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?” Although Jesus did not specify which OT passages He was referring to, one passage was likely Deut. 18:15: “The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken.” The Jews held Moses in the highest regard and yet Moses himself testified of the coming of Jesus Christ.

6 But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.

“But Christ as a son” – Moses’ role was of a servant but Christ’s role is of a Son, with all the power and glory due to the Son of God.

“over his own house” – This verse is written in parallel to the previous verse which was speaking of Moses’ faithfulness so the words “was faithful” are implied. Christ as a Son was faithful over his own house. Christ was born as a Jew and so “his own house” is another reference to Israel (and by extension all who believe on Christ for salvation). Matt. 15:27 “And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table.” Matt. 15:24 “But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

“whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end” – Being of Jewish bloodline did not mean that a person was automatically saved. The Apostle Paul explained that salvation was of faith and if a Jew did not benefit from the promises that God has made to Israel it was not because the promises were faulty but because of a lack of faith: Rom. 9:6 “Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel.” A Jew was not part of the true Israel if he did not come by faith. Here, the writer of Hebrews is saying that someone who is truly saved will hold fast in their confidence in salvation through Christ alone and will not return to the Levitical law to help them stay saved. We can be confident and rejoice in the fact that Jesus Christ is all we need for salvation.

Verses 7-19: The writer quotes Psalm 95:7-11 and warns his Jewish readers not to follow the example of their ancestors who tempted God through their unbelief and lost the opportunity to go to the promised land. The writer makes the point that their ancestors who died in the wilderness did so because of their unbelief while those with faith in the LORD (Joshua and Caleb) were allowed to live and enter the promised land. The factor that made the difference was faith, and the writer concludes this chapter with this statement: “So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief” (v. 19).

Hebrews 4:1-13: The final verse of the passage quoted in chapter 3 (Psa. 95:11) quotes the LORD saying “Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.” The writer now explains that the rest spoken of by the LORD involves more than the rest of entering the promised land of Canaan. This rest includes the millennial kingdom of Christ on earth as well as the rest that believers will have in heaven. The writer warns again that unbelief will prevent us from entering this rest just as it did the Israelites who died during the 40 years in the wilderness because they did not believe that the LORD would fulfill the promise of bringing them into the land of Canaan. He also warns that we cannot hide our unbelief from God for He can see beyond our actions and see the thoughts and intents of our heart.