Hebrews Chapter 3

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The writer has presented Jesus Christ as being superior to the prophets and to angels. Now he transitions into presenting Jesus as superior to another Jewish religious icon. 

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 1 Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest. 2 He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house.

1. Why bring Moses into this discussion?

This section presents the superiority of Jesus over the highly revered Moses. The Lord had spoken with Moses “face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend” (Ex 33:11) and had given the law to him (Ne 9:13, 14). The commandments and rituals of the law were the Jews’ supreme priorities, and to them Moses and the law were synonymous. Both the OT and the NT refer to the commands of God as the “law of Moses” (Jos 8:31; 1Ki 2:3; Lk 2:22; Ac 13:39). Yet, as great as Moses was, Jesus was infinitely greater. MSBN

While Moses was one of God’s most faithful servants (vv. 2, 5), Jesus is the faithful high priest and Son of God. Thus Jesus is worthy of more glory (vv. 1–2, 6). This leads to exhortations and warnings (3:6–4:13). ESVN

“The author steadily develops his argument that Jesus is supremely great. He is greater than the angels, the author of a great salvation, and great enough to become man to accomplish it. Now the author turns his attention to Moses, regarded by the Jews as the greatest of men. . . . The writer does nothing to belittle Moses. Nor does he criticize him. He accepts Moses’ greatness but shows that as great as he was, Jesus was greater by far.” It was important to convince the Jewish readers that Jesus Christ is greater than Moses because the entire Jewish religion came through Moses. Christianity came through Christ. CN

2. What reason does the writer give that we should fix our attention, consider or take note of Jesus?

It is important that we understand to whom this exhortation is addressed. Without looking beyond chapter 3, we can see from verse 1 that the recipients are addressed as . . .

. . . holy brethren

. . . partners in a heavenly call

. . . those who confess Jesus as Apostle and High Priest.

By these designations, we are informed that the author is addressing fellow believers.

The exhortation is a simple one, “take note of Jesus.” The NASB simply renders, “consider Jesus,” and the NIV more fully renders “fix your thoughts on Jesus” (I think I like this one best). This sounds a great deal like the exhortation we will find later in Hebrews 12:

Keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy set out for him he endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:2, emphasis mine).

What is it, in particular, that the author wants us to take note of regarding Jesus? He tells us in this verse – we are to take note of Jesus as the “apostle and high priest” whom we confess as such. In other words, we are to give considerable thought to the Jesus in whom we have put our trust, concerning Him in whom we profess to believe. We are not just to “practice what we preach;” we are to “ponder what we proclaim.”

“Take note of Jesus” – as others have noted, this could not only serve as the summation of this lengthy exhortation, it could very well capsulize the message of the entire Book of Hebrews. It might even be a summary of the message of the Bible. Where else should we look?

The author is about to compare (and then contrast) Jesus with the much revered Moses. These two areas – apostle and high priest – are those areas which our author has chosen to demonstrate the superiority of the Lord Jesus to Moses. That comparison is about to begin in the next verse. RD

The key to the understanding of Hebrews may rest in the thought of consider him. From katanoēsate, “observe attentively, fix your thoughts, mark with attention.” This same thought appears again in 12:3. In 3:1, 2 the emphasis is upon Christ as being faithful; in 12:3 it is upon his having endured. Here the brethren are encouraged to look to Jesus as Apostle (“messenger”; only here is this title used of Christ in the NT) and High Priest, an office that is more and more fully explained to the readers. Confession (homologias) rather than profession (av). The term relates to believers confessing to Christ as their high priest. WBC

3. How is Jesus similar to Moses?

Moses and Jesus shared much in common. In a sense, both had roles which involved priestly duties and a kind of apostleship. We know that Aaron, Moses’ brother, was the high priest, but it was Moses who sprinkled the blood of the covenant on the altar and on the people in Exodus 24:1-8. Later, Moses consecrated Aaron and his sons by offering sacrifices and applying the blood to (or around) the altar and to Aaron and his sons. He then anointed them with oil (Leviticus 8:18-36). Before long, our author will go into great detail concerning our Lord’s priestly ministry.

Exodus 24:1-8 (NKJV) 
1  Now He said to Moses, “Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from afar. 2  And Moses alone shall come near the LORD, but they shall not come near; nor shall the people go up with him.” 3  So Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD and all the judgments. And all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words which the LORD has said we will do.” 4  And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD. And he rose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars according to the twelve tribes of Israel. 5  Then he sent young men of the children of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the LORD. 6  And Moses took half the blood and put it in basins, and half the blood he sprinkled on the altar. 7  Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the LORD has said we will do, and be obedient.” 8  And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, “This is the blood of the covenant which the LORD has made with you according to all these words.”

Moses was a kind of apostle as well. If an apostle is a “sent one,” then Moses was clearly sent by God to Egypt, where he would speak to men for God. Jesus was also an apostle in the sense that He was sent to earth by the Father to lead men from captivity to freedom. As Moses was the one through whom the Law was given, Jesus was the One through whom God finally and fully spoke (Hebrews 1:1-3). Both Moses and Jesus, our author tells us, were faithful to their divine calling. But having briefly noted their similarities, the author will now move to his real interest – their differences, which demonstrate that Jesus is vastly superior to Moses.RD

To grasp why the author of Hebrews contrasted Jesus Christ with Moses, we must understand how Jews viewed this Old Testament patriarch. They never forgot that he was their deliverer from Egyptian bondage. Through Moses, they received the law from God at Mount Sinai. He was indeed a great man. At the close of Deuteronomy, we have an incomparable tribute:

No prophet has arisen again in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face. He was unparalleled for all the signs and wonders the Lord sent him to do against the land of Egypt—to Pharaoh, to all his officials, and to all his land, and for all the mighty acts of power and terrifying deeds that Moses performed in the sight of all Israel. (Dt 34:10-12) 

Even Jews who professed to believe in Jesus Christ had difficulty accepting the fact that there could be a prophet greater than Moses. Paul faced incredible persecution from Jews who claimed to believe in Jesus Christ but who still followed the law of Moses. Some of them even tried to assassinate him because they thought he was downplaying Moses (Ac 21:20-21).

The author of Hebrews honored Moses, as all believers throughout history should. However, he made it clear that we must above all “consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession” (Heb 3:1). Moses was a servant, but Christ is the Son (vv. 5-6), making Jesus equal with the Father and the Holy Spirit, and superior to any other person. Though Moses was a great leader, he was simply a member of “God’s household,” but Jesus is the “foundation” and “head” of the household of God (v. 5; 1Co 3:11; Col 1:18), which now includes both Jews and Gentiles.  LESB

3 Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. 4 For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. 5 “Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house,”[a] bearing witness to what would be spoken by God in the future. 6 But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory.

4. What house?

The common metaphor is that of a house. The difference? Christ built the house; Moses served in the house. As in Jn 1:17, the juxtaposition of Moses and Christ is clearly stated. In the same fashion the juxtaposition of the old covenant and the new covenant is intimated. The emphasis is upon faithfulness, however. Incomparable in position, Christ is faithful as a son, over his house (asv, v. 6).  Whose house are we refers to believers, the company of the redeemed of God, whose faith is a continuing faith. Their faith is manifested in a joyful confidence (parrēsian, “free speech, outspokenness”; and thus outspoken or cheerful confidence) which becomes a glorying of our hope in the Son. Christ is the object as well as the basis of their confidence and their hope. Unto the end (mechri telous). Until hope becomes reality. WBC

John 1:17  for the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 

Inasmuch as He who built the house has more honor than the house. For every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God. And Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward, 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.

a. Inasmuch as He who built the house has more honor than the house: Moses was a member of the household of God, but Jesus is the creator of that house, worthy of greater glory.

i. The ancient Rabbis considered Moses t

o be the greatest man ever, greater than the angels.  The writer to the Hebrews does nothing to criticize Moses; he only looks to properly exalt Jesus.

b. Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant . . . but Christ as a Son over His own house: Moses was a faithful servant, but he was never called a Son in the way Jesus is.

c. Whose house we are if we hold fast: We are a part of Jesus’ household if we hold fast.  The writer to the Hebrews is encouraging those who felt like turning back, helping them to hold fast by explaining the benefits of hanging in there.

i. True commitment to Jesus is demonstrated over the long term, not just in an initial burst.  We trust that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ (Php_1:6).

ii. Whose house we are: 1Pe_2:4-5 says we are being built up a spiritual house.  God has a work to build through His people, even as one might build a house. GC

The superiority of Christ over Moses is shown in two comparisons: (1) Moses was a servant, whereas Christ is a son, and (2) Moses was in God’s house, i.e., a part of it, whereas Christ is over God’s house.  3:5 faithful … in all God’s house. See Nu 12:7 . NIVSN

Numbers 12:7 But this is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house. 

 7 So, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the wilderness, 9 where your ancestors tested and tried me, though for forty years they saw what I did. 10 That is why I was angry with that generation; I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways.’ 11 So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’ “

5. How does this quote from Psalms relate?

The writer cites Ps 95:7–11 as the words of its ultimate author, the Holy Spirit. This passage describes the Israelites’ wilderness wanderings after their delivery from Egypt. Despite God’s miraculous works and His gracious, providential faithfulness to them, the people still failed to commit themselves to Him in faith.  Today. The reference is to the present moment while the words of God are fresh in the mind. There is a sense of urgency to immediately give heed to the voice of God. This urgency is emphasized by repeating the reference to “today” from Ps 95:7 three more times (vv. 13, 15; 4:7) and is the theme of the writer’s exposition. My rest. The earthly rest which God promised to give was life in the land of Canaan which Israel would receive as their inheritance (Dt 12:9, 10; Jos 21:44; 1Ki 8:56). Because of rebellion against God, an entire generation of the children of Israel was prohibited from entering into that rest in the Promised Land (cf. Dt 28:65; La 1:3). The application of this picture is to an individual’s spiritual rest in the Lord, which has precedent in the OT (cf. Ps 116:7; Is 28:12). At salvation, every believer enters the true rest, the realm of spiritual promise, never again laboring to achieve through personal effort a righteousness that pleases God. The Lord wanted both kinds of rest for that generation who was delivered from Egypt. MSBN

Hebrews 3:7–11 interprets this portion of Psalm 95, and Israel is given to us as an example. Let’s consider this for a moment. The generation of Israel that came out of Egypt doubted God, and because of their doubt they never entered the land of Canaan. 

When the children of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, as they crossed over the Red Sea, they sang the song of Moses—“… I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea!” (Exod. 15:1). “God has delivered us—how great He is!” After they left Sinai, an eleven–day journey could have gotten them into the Promised Land. But no, they had to send spies in to search out the land. It wasn’t necessary—God said He would take care of them, but they didn’t believe God. So God yielded to their wishes and let them send in spies. Although the spies did see the wonderful land, they were most impressed by the giants, and they saw themselves as grasshoppers. They didn’t see God. They returned to the people with a false report—except Caleb and Joshua who insisted that God could handle the giants if they trusted Him. But the people accepted the majority report (this is my reason for believing that committees are not satisfactory for doing the Lord’s work), and they spent forty years on a journey that should have taken a few days. What was the reason? Unbelief.

You see, they didn’t believe God enough to enter into the land. They believed Him enough to come out of Egypt, but not enough to enter Canaan. God said that that generation of unbelievers would die in the wilderness and He would bring their children into the Land of Promise. And we find later that Joshua did bring the next generation into the land. They had to cross another body of water, the river Jordan. How did they do it? Well, God sent the ark of the covenant (symbolic of God’s presence) ahead on the shoulders of the priests. When their feet touched the brink of the river, the waters of Jordan were cut off. “And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan” (Josh. 3:17). Then they took twelve stones out of the middle of the river, where the priests still stood with the ark, and placed them as a memorial on the shore. Then they replaced them with twelve stones from the Land of Promise. When the waters of Jordan returned and covered those twelve stones, it was symbolic of the death of Christ. The twelve stones which were taken out of the river and placed as a monument on the other side speak of the resurrection of Christ. JVM

 12 See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.

6. Why such as stern warning?

Drawing on several key words in Psalm 95, Hebrews warns against allowing the unbelief of a hardened, sinful heart to cause one to fall away (Gk. apostēnai, “turn away from, forsake, apostatize from”; cf. Luke 8:13; 1 Tim. 4:1). His counter to this danger is both to encourage personal commitment (take care) and to call on the church to walk together in mutual encouragement (exhort one another). as long as it is called “today.” From the perspective of God’s saving plans for world history, the church lives in a special moment in which the Lord has come, spoken, and gone, and believers await his return—faith is called for in this hour, and mutual exhortation sustains and strengthens faith. ESVN

Luke 8:13  Those on the rocky ground are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away.

1 Timothy 4:1 The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.

Here is an exhortation to apply this lesson from the past. Note again that those to whom the writer addressed this epistle were believers. Their danger was apostasy, departure from God, not failure to come to God in saving faith.

“The rebellion he warns against consists of departing from a living, dynamic person, not from some dead doctrine. Jews might retort that they served the same God as the Christians so that they would not be departing from God if they went back to Judaism. But to reject God’s highest revelation is to depart from God, no matter how many preliminary revelations are retained.”

The Greek words translated “to apostatize” (lit. to stand away, aphistemi) and “apostasy” (defection,apostasia) do not indicate in themselves whether believers or unbelievers are in view. The reader must determine this by the context. Here believers seem to be in view (as in Luke 8:13; Acts 15:38; 1 Tim. 4:1; cf. Luke 2:38; 2 Tim. 2:12b; 4:4) since the writer called them “brethren.” Some people refer to Christian apostates as backsliders. However the apostates in view here were very serious backsliders. In other contexts, unsaved apostates are in view (e.g., Luke 13:27; cf. 2 Thess. 2:11). In still other passages there is not sufficient information to pass judgment on their salvation (e.g., 2 Thess. 2:3; cf. Titus 1:14). Other Scripture seems to reveal quite clearly that genuine Christians can renounce their faith (Matt. 10:33; Mark 8:32; 2 Tim. 2:12; Rev. 3:8). However this does not mean they will lose their salvation (John 10:28; 2 Tim. 2:13).

“No believer today, Jew or Gentile, could go back into the Mosaic legal system since the temple is gone and there is no priesthood. But every believer is tempted to give up his confession of Christ and go back into the world system’s life of compromise and bondage.”

As often in Hebrews, references to God as “living” imply that He is the giver of life.

If a sinner continues in his sin, he may conclude that sin does not matter, as the Israelites at Kadesh Barnea did. Their unbelief there was the tenth instance of unbelief since they left Egypt (cf. Num. 14:21-23). This is sin’s deceitfulness. Sin matters very much. The writer counseled his readers to encourage each other to continue to walk with God. He did this to help us avoid the rationalizing that we can get into when we do not confess and forsake our sins. Meeting with other Christians for mutual encouragement regularly can be a great help to any Christian in remembering that failing to continue to trust God will bring bad consequences. Mutual encouragement in godliness is something we all need daily so we do not become hardened to sin.

“A hardened attitude is not a sudden aberration, but a habitual state of mind.”

We need to get started “today,” while there is still opportunity.

“One of the best ways of keeping ourselves true is to help other people, and the duty is here set forth of exhorting one another. There is scarcely anything more striking in Christian experience than the fact that in helping others we often help ourselves.” CN

Numbers 14:21-23 Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the LORD fills the whole earth, 22  not one of those who saw my glory and the signs I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times— 23  not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their ancestors. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it.

  14 We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end. 15 As has just been said: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.” 16 Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? 17 And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies perished in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? 19 So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.

7. What are the consequences of ignoring this warning?

The quotation from Ps 95:7, 8 is repeated (cf. v. 7). The first quotation was followed with exposition emphasizing “today” and the urgency that word conveys. This second quotation is followed with exposition emphasizing rebellion (vv. 15, 16) and presenting the theme of obedience by means of its antithesis, disobedience. Four different terms are employed to drive the point of rebellion home: “provoked” (v. 16), “sinned” (v. 17), “disobedient” (v. 18), and “unbelief” (v. 19). This initial third  of the writer’s exposition of Ps 95:7–11 is summed up by the obvious conclusion that the Israelites who died in the wilderness were victims of their own unbelief (v. 19). MSBN

Here, the author says it in a plain and straightforward manner: True Christians are those who hold fast to their faith in the Lord Jesus. They never forsake their faith in Him for salvation. They may stumble and fall, but they do not cease to trust in the shed blood of Jesus as the only means of their salvation. And thus, those who appear to be drifting away from their faith and devotion to Jesus are urged not to become hard of heart, which leads to rebellion.

When the author cites the portion of Psalm 95 that urges his readers to listen as God speaks“Today,” he underscores the fact that the Christian life is a day-by-day experience. We live out our faith a day at a time. And so the critical question for us is this: Am I listening to what God has to say to me through Christ today, and I am obedient to what He tells me? If not, I am on the path of sin which leads to death. God will not allow me to taste eternal judgment, but He will intercept me at various points and with various forms of discipline. It is simply not worth the price to drift away and to become hard hearted.

The author is not looking for information when he asks these three questions, because he gives us the answers. By asking and answering these questions, the author is seeking to call attention to the facts of the matter. First, those who heard and rebelled were those who came out of Egypt under the leadership of Moses. Moses was the one whom the Jews (including Jewish believers) revered, and yet those he led failed. This adds weight to the author’s earlier emphasis on the superiority of Christ to Moses. And those who had Moses as their leader not only heard what God spoke through Moses, they also saw the attesting miracles that God worked through Moses. This generation that failed had more revelation than any generation up to that point in history (and for many generations to come).

The second question and answer calls attention to the fact that those with whom God was angry for forty years were also those whose bodies were strewn throughout the desert. In other words, just as God kept His promises made through Moses (of deliverance for Israel, and of judgment upon the Egyptians), He also kept His word with regard to the consequences Israel must face for their persistent rebellion. God means what He says, and He keeps His word, for blessing and for discipline.

Third, those who failed to enter God’s promised rest were those who disobeyed. The Israelites continually rebelled against God’s commands. Disobedience to God’s commands is rebellion, and rebellion brings discipline.

Now we’ve come to the root of it all – unbelief. That generation of Israelites did not believe God, even though they saw example after example of how God kept His word through Moses. Again and again, God announced a coming plague, and each came as and when God said. Again and again, God announced that He would remove a plague. And each time it came about just as (and when) God said. The Israelites complained and rebelled when they were hungry or thirsty, even though God had promised to meet all their needs. And, in the end, the Israelites failed to believe that God would give them victory over the giants in the land. The root evil behind Israel’s failure to enter into God’s “rest” was unbelief. RD

ESVN……………..….ESV Study Bible Notes

MSBN……………….MacArthur NASB Study   Notes

NIVSN……………….NIV Study Notes.

JVM ………………….J Vernon McGee’s Commentary

BN ……………………Barnes Notes

WBC………….…….Wycliffe Bible Commentary

CN ……….…………..Constables Notes

IC……………….…….Ironside Commentary

NET…………….…….Net Bible Study Notes.

JFB……………………Jamieson Fausset  Brown Commentary

VWS………………….Vincent Word Studies

CMM………………..Commentary on Matthew and Mark

BDB……………..….Barclay’s Daily Study Bible (NT)

Darby……………….John Darby’s Synopsis of the OT and NT

Johnson……………Johnson’s Notes on the New Testament

NTCMM…………..The New Testament Commentary:  Matthew and Mark.

EHS………………….Expositions of the Holy Scriptures

CPP…………………The Complete Pulpit Commentary

SBC…………………..Sermon Bible Commentary

K&D…………………Keil and Deilitzsch Commentary on the OT

EBC……………….…Expositors Bible Commentary

CBSC……………….Cambridge Bible for Schools and College

GC……………………Guzik Commentary

RD…………………..Robert  Deffinbaugh

NSB …………………The Nelson Study Bible

MHC…………………Matthew Henry Commentary

CSTTB………Chuck Smith Through The Bible

LESB…………….Life Essentials Study Bible.

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