Sermon Synopsis
The Hebrew Christians to whom this epistle was addressed to were wavering in their spiritual walk and attitude. Hebrews 3:1-6 gives 3 key exhortations.
Please note: This transcript is provided as close to verbatim record of the sermon.
Jesus Is Greater Than Moses
Hebrews 3:1–6
Introduction
Good morning, brothers and sisters.
Thank you for your prayers over the week. Many members have reached out to me with your prayers and encouragement, and I should say it has been a blessing and a very wonderful encouragement to me. I pray that today’s message will be a blessing to you as well.
Let us open with a word of prayer.
Opening Prayer
Holy Father, we thank You for this time again, Lord, that we can come into Your presence, Lord, and worship You through our Lord Jesus Christ. Lord, we pray that You will bless us in today’s ministry. You will bless us with Your Word. Lord, we also pray that You will open our hearts and minds, that we would be able to see the wonderful things from Your Word. We pray all these things in the mighty name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
I hope you all have been enjoying the studies and sermons on Hebrews. I have been personally enjoying this study and these sermons on Hebrews so far. I have to admit that all the while I had a different perception regarding Hebrews. I always thought this is a very serious exposition on the Old Testament, and you always have a lot of comparison between Old Testament laws and Jesus Christ. It was more convenient for me always to go straight away to Hebrews 11 and take comfort in reading about the hall of fame of faith.
But I realized after these sermons that I missed the underlying theme and message of the whole of Hebrews, which is the Lord Jesus Christ—the supremacy, the superiority, of the Lord Jesus Christ. Today morning we will be hearing again a message on the superiority and supremacy of the Lord Jesus Christ.
In the past weeks, we have been hearing about how God spoke through Jesus Christ, the Son of God. We heard that we have to pay attention to Him. We should not be drifting. We also heard that He is better than angels. We heard that He is the Son of God who came down as the Son of Man to die for our sins. These are all things that we know.
Today morning, when I was setting up the slides with Andrew, he asked me the name of my presentation. I told him, “Jesus Is Greater Than Moses.” They asked me, “Isn’t that a given right? We all know that fact. Why do we need another sermon to say that Jesus is better than Moses?”
But, dear brothers and sisters, I would say that it is often very hard for us to discern the better.
We are often distracted by a lot of challenges in our life, and most of the time we settle down with the good things of spiritual life. We come into services, and we are quite settled down with the good things, and we sometimes miss the better one. In secular life, it is easier for us to discern between good and better. We know what is a good deal. We know what is a better deal. As parents, we know what is good for our children. We know what is better for our children. We know what is a good product. We know what is a better product.
But when it comes to Christian life, when it comes to the spiritual walk, we are often distracted by a lot of things around us. It is easier and more convenient, like me, to settle down for the good things of spiritual life. As C. S. Lewis put it, we are often too easily pleased. It is more convenient that way. And it requires a lot of careful discernment to find out the better things of spiritual life.
I will give an example. Paul speaks about prayer, where his prayer is that you may be able to discern what is best. I will also give an example from Luke, where Jesus is visiting the home of Martha. We know that in the home of Martha, Martha is very busy serving the Lord, busy preparing. I always sided with Martha. Imagine Jesus Christ coming to your home—how busy you all would be, right? But then Martha complained to the Lord, saying that her sister was not helping.
See what the Bible says in verse 40: “Martha was distracted by all the preparations that she had to make.”
Serving was good. Serving the Lord is definitely good. But the good thing became a distraction—a distraction from seeing the better part. The better part was to be at Jesus’ feet. And look at what Jesus says: “But few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
So this is where the discernment comes. This is where the discernment comes between choosing the better and choosing the good.
In the past weeks, we heard that the Hebrew Christians had become distracted and wavering in their spiritual faith and attitude. They are drifting from the Lord Jesus Christ, the author and perfecter of their faith. They are now trying to embrace the good things out of Judaism. You see, Judaism has a lot of good things. Everything that is inside Judaism was a shadow and type of Christ, and now they are wavering and trying to embrace the good elements of Judaism.
Today we will be considering another great person of Judaism, one of the most respected persons in Judaism. From the picture itself we know that this is Moses. It is very obvious that Moses is one of the key figures in Judaism. He is the prophet, the one who mediated the law, the one who mediated the covenant, the one who led the Israelites from Egypt, the one who led, cared for, and provided for them through the Lord during the wilderness journey.
Moses is not a simple and ordinary Jewish person. Moses is a very great and revered person in Judaism. And it is now very natural for the Jews, or Jewish Christians, to settle down for this good person and to miss out on the greatness and supremacy of the Lord Jesus Christ.
In today’s passage, this is exactly what we are trying to look at—how the writer of Hebrews is trying to shift, or reshift, their focus from the shadow to the substance, from the servant, faithful servant Moses, to the Son of God; how the author is trying to shift the focus from promises to fulfillment; and how he is trying to explain and establish that Jesus is better than Moses, one of the key persons in Judaism.
Reading of the Passage
Let us read our portion today, Hebrews 3:1–6. I am reading from the NIV version.
Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess. He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house. Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house, testifying to what would be said in the future. But Christ is faithful as a son over God’s house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast.
May the Lord bless the reading of His Word.
If you carefully look at all these six verses, you can actually find a mention of the ministry and person of Jesus Christ in every one of these verses. Maybe I will leave that for later work—our homework today. But what the writer is trying to explain here is this: look at the emphasis again and again on Moses and Jesus. The key message underlying these six verses is to reshift their focus from the person of Moses to the greater person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And within the context of the ministry of Moses, the writer is trying to give three exhortations to consider. I could say that these three exhortations are not just for Jewish Christians, but for modern-day Christians like us. This is still relevant to us.
You see, with the ministry of Moses, the Israelites had a very good and privileged position. They were once in bondage, in slavery in Egypt, and they were called out. God sent a prophet to Egypt to gather them, to call them out, and to bring them out of Egypt. We read in Exodus and in the early part of the Old Testament that they are a chosen nation, and these are the only people who got that privilege. Israel is a chosen nation.
We read that Israel is a firstborn son. As a firstborn son, they were saved, they were redeemed, they were led, they were provided with heavenly blessings, with heavenly manna, and they were given the law. They were brought to Mount Sinai. They were given the temple. The temple is basically God’s dwelling among them, which means God dwelt among them. God’s glory came down to them, and they were brought to the Promised Land, a land flowing with milk and honey.
See, these are all wonderful, wonderful positions.
But for a wavering Jewish Christian, these are good enough—good enough to be satisfied. But that is what the writer is saying: now reshift your attention from this good position to the better one. You are holy brothers and partakers of a heavenly calling. Is that not a very great shift in position—from just being a chosen nation toward a holy people with a heavenly calling?
For a Jew or for a Jewish Christian to understand that a person is holy is very startling. They know that only God is holy. You cannot come to God without being a holy person, unless you have to bring offerings and sacrifices to cover your sins. And the writer is saying that you are holy brothers not because of something that you do, but because of the finished work of Jesus Christ. Which means they no longer have to bring any sacrifices. It is all done and completed by the work and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ.
As we read in Hebrews 2:11 and 17, “Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers,” and “that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.”
This is indeed a different and elevated position. They are holy brothers. They no longer need any more sacrifices. It has all been done by the Lord Jesus Christ. And He has made atonement for sins. By the Lord Jesus Christ, we call God “Abba, Father.” This is indeed a different and better position for the Hebrews.
What about the calling? They are called to Mount Zion. They are called to the church of God. They are called to the heavenly Jerusalem. It is no longer the earthly Jerusalem. It is no longer Mount Sinai, but Mount Zion, the heavenly Jerusalem. And because we are in Christ, the Jewish Christian and us, we are heirs—heirs of God, co-heirs with Christ. Is that not an elevated position?
And in Hebrews 11:40, we read, “God had planned something better for us.” Even the forefathers of the Jews believed this. They did not settle for the earthly inheritance, but they were looking for a greater inheritance, a glorious inheritance, a better one planned in heaven.
Dear brothers and sisters, it is a wonderful shift of position, from just being in a good position toward a better position because of the better work of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
But the question we ask ourselves as modern-day Christians is this: we are Gentiles. We could not claim anything like the Jewish Christians could claim. We were outside the commonwealth of Israel. We were outside the citizenship of Israel. We were Gentiles. We were enemies. We had nothing to boast of. We were outside all these privileges. Do we have a better position now? Are we directly, through the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, touched by Him? We are holy brothers and partakers of the heavenly calling.
But the question that we should ask ourselves is this: in our daily Christian walk, do we really cherish this position?
When we come to worship, we often say that we are a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people who have received mercy. But what about your daily life? What about our daily lives? Do we really cherish this position in our daily walk? Do we have this attitude in our daily walk?
In secular life we often admire others. We often give a higher regard to royals and nobles and celebrities in the world. But are we not the real celebrities? We are bought with the precious blood of Jesus Christ, and there is nothing greater and more precious than the blood of Jesus Christ. So do we really cherish this great, great position?
Do we also have this heavenward attitude? In Hebrews we read that Abraham was looking forward, and the forefathers were looking for a better country. Moses himself was looking ahead. Paul says in Philippians that he was called heavenward in Christ Jesus. They all had this heavenward attitude.
Dear brothers and sisters, we are partakers of a heavenly calling. Do we have this heavenward attitude in our daily lives? If we cherish our position, we would then be able to cherish the Lord behind this position. If we cherish this position, then we would have a grateful and worshipful heart, and our worship will be sincere. Our thanksgiving will be sincere once we cherish our position.
Let us go to the second exhortation.
Consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest. Fix your thoughts on Him. We read that in verse 1: “Consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest.”
Who is an apostle? An apostle is somebody who is sent on a mission. And a priest is somebody who represents the people before God. This is in the spiritual context. Here Jesus is called an apostle. Perhaps this is the only place where Jesus is called an apostle.
Why is Jesus called an apostle? Because Jesus was sent on a mission from God to man. And what was the mission? He was sent to lead us out of the bondage of sin and slavery.
And He is also called a high priest. Why? Because He is the priest who is representing us, who is interceding for us, interceding for our sins, interceding for our position. And Jesus, in that aspect, is an apostle and He is an eternal high priest. His priesthood will never end.
What about Moses? Moses, by the function of his ministry, can also be called an apostle. Even though we do not read that in the Bible, by function he is also an apostle because he was also sent to the Israelites, sent on a mission to lead them out of slavery in Egypt. And Moses also performed the function of a priest, where he represented the people before God. He also pleaded for the people. He also interceded for the people. In that way, Moses is also an apostle and a priest.
But if you carefully study the Scriptures, we can read that the function and ministry of Moses is a shadow of Jesus Christ. The substance is the Lord Jesus Christ. Whatever we read about Moses and his ministry was all pointing toward Jesus. They were all a shadow and type of Jesus.
And Moses himself testified to this. We read that in verse 5, “testifying to what would be said in the future.” Which means Moses also said the same thing. In Deuteronomy 18:17–18, we read where Moses himself says, “The Lord said to me, ‘What they say is good. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers.’” Moses was also testifying about Jesus—a prophet like you from your brothers.
And when John the Baptist came, the Jews sent priests and Levites to John the Baptist, and they asked this question: “Are you the Prophet?” They were looking for that person—the Prophet. And when Jesus was performing miracles in John 6:14, they said, “Surely this is the Prophet.” This is the man. This is the person. This is the Prophet.
They were all waiting for the apostle and the high priest, the Lord Jesus Christ.
So the writer is exhorting the Hebrews, the Jewish Christians, to fix your thoughts on the Prophet, the Apostle, the eternal High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ.
See, knowing is not just enough. Knowing that Jesus is apostle and high priest is not enough. What the real exhortation here is: fix your thoughts.
When a person drifts from the Lord Jesus Christ, that is when he starts to waver. The moment he takes off his eyes from Jesus Christ, that is when the person starts to drift and waver. And here we have the solution—the spiritual solution—for all the problems that we have in our life, for all the encouragement that a believer needs: fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest.
So, dear brothers and sisters, let me ask this question. Are you really tired? Are you tempted? Are you weary? Are you wandering? Are you confused? Are you overwhelmed in your life? The solution is right there. The solution is: fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest.
And to those who are serving, are you fixing your thoughts on Jesus the high priest? The moment you take your eyes off Jesus in your service, that is when things start to look mechanical. Are you worshipping? Fix your thoughts on Jesus the apostle. Often we worship, and we waver in our thoughts regarding our worship. But always fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest. Fix your thoughts on Jesus only.
Are you ministering? Are you leading? Fix your thoughts on Jesus. Are you teaching? Are you praying? Fix your thoughts on Jesus. He is our high priest.
Dear brothers and sisters, the final exhortation: consider the Son over the servant.
As I said before, Moses is not an ordinary Jewish person. He was greatly commended, as we read in Numbers 12:7. This is one of the greatest commendations any man could get from God. We read in that verse: “But this is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house.”
Moses was a faithful servant in God’s house. But look at the phrase here. Look carefully. Moses was a servant in the house. He is not outside the house. He is part of the household of Israel. Moses is also a mediator in terms of law. He is also a mediator in terms of covenant. We read about the Mosaic covenant. Moses also helped the Israelites set up the tabernacle, the presence of God, the dwelling of God among them. And everything about the tabernacle is a shadow of Jesus Christ. Moses also reflected God’s glory, even though it faded.
Moses was faithful. Moses was a great, great servant. But that is not enough. We are to consider the Son over the servant.
And who is Jesus Christ here? He is the Son of God, and He is the Creator. We read that elaborately in verses 3 to 5—how God is the builder of a house, and the building of creation is a divine attribute, and Jesus is the builder, which means He is God. Jesus is God, and that settles everything. Moses is a person, a servant, but Jesus is the Son of God. He is God Himself. He is the Creator. He is divine.
That is why Jesus said, “I will build my church.” The church is built on Him, and He is the chief cornerstone of the church. Leaders may go, people may go, empires may go, governments may go, but the local assembly, the church, will always remain, because it is built on the foundation of Jesus Christ, and He Himself is the chief cornerstone.
It is very easy for Jews, or even in our culture, to understand that the son is over the servant. When we speak about a son, he is also an heir. He is the lord of the house. He is the heir of the house. And Jesus, the eternal King, is the one and only mediator, as we read in 1 Timothy 2:5.
Jesus is indeed better. He is greater than Moses.
But knowing all this—is that sufficient? These are all matters of head knowledge. We know about this. Why do we need another sermon about Jesus being better? Why do we need to be re-emphasized on the fact that Jesus is better? The real question we need to ask is this: do we really understand and appreciate the preeminent glory of Jesus Christ?
Let me read quickly from Colossians 1:15–18:
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. By him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together
As the writer to the Hebrews puts it, in Hebrews, Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor. But do we truly give this greater honor to the Lord Jesus Christ in our lives?
Let me give two quick examples.
When Jesus was in the midst of the disciples, in Luke chapter 21, the disciples were giving a temple tour to Jesus Christ. They were showing Him how beautiful the stones of the temple were.
You see, the temple is the dwelling place of God—and the God of the temple was standing in their midst. Yet they failed to see Him. Instead, they were looking at the beautiful stones.
May this be a reminder to all of us. We know the preeminence of Jesus Christ, but does it truly affect us? Do we really give the due honor to the Lord Jesus Christ?
We read in Revelation 3:19 about the place of our Lord Jesus Christ at the end of the church age. Often we use that verse in gospel messages. But look at where Jesus is.
He is outside the church, knocking on the door.
The Lord of the assembly is outside the assembly, knocking on the door.
Dear brothers and sisters, do we truly give the greater honor, the greater acceptance, and acknowledge this greater preeminence?
Revering the Lordship of Christ
Do we revere Christ as our Lord?
As 1 Peter says, do we truly revere and respect the lordship of our Lord Jesus Christ in our lives? We call Him “Lord,” but does He truly have lordship in our hearts and minds?
Let us re-examine our lives—our personal lives and our assembly lives. Let us re-examine the position, the preeminence, and the lordship of Jesus Christ in our assembly life and in our personal lives.
May God help us.
Final Exhortations
Finally, dear brothers and sisters:
Let us give the due honor to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Closing Prayer
Heavenly Father,
We thank You that once again we could come into Your presence through Your Word. Lord, thank You for speaking to us. We pray that Your Word will grow in us and affect our walk and our worship in the coming days.
Lord, we pray that You will bless these words. Change our walk, change our minds, change our hearts, so that we may continue to acknowledge Your lordship and continue to fix our thoughts and minds on You.
Help us in our lives, that we may continue to worship You with a sincere heart and love You with a sincere heart.
We pray all these things in the mighty name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Messages: 17
