29 Dec. Hebrews 3:1-4:1

29 Dec. Jesus is greater than Moses

"So all of you holy brothers and sisters, who were called by God, think about Jesus, who was sent to us and is the high priest of our faith."

"Jesus was faithful to God as Moses was in God's family. Jesus has more honour than Moses, just as the builder of a house has more honour than the house itself. Every house is built by someone, but the builder of everything is God himself."

"Moses was faithful in God's family as a servant, and he told what God would say in the future. But Christ is faithful as a Son over God's house. As we are God's house if we keep on being very sure about our great hope."

"So it is as the Holy Spirit says:
'Today listen to what he says.
Do not be stubborn as in the past
when you turned against God,
when you tested God in the desert.'..."

"Who heard God's voice and was against him? It was all those people Moses led out of Egypt. And with whom was God angry for 40 years? He was angry with those who sinned, who died in the desert..."

"Now, since God has left us the promise that we may enter his rest, let us be very careful so none of you will fail to enter."

(Hebrews 3:1 - 4:1)

The Letter to the Hebrews is probably the most difficult letter in the New Testament for modern-day Christians to follow and understand. This is because it addresses Jewish Christians who were very familiar with the Old Testament Jewish Scriptures in a way that most Christians today are not.

It was written, specifically, to those who were tempted to revert to Judaism, or to Judaise their new faith in Jesus. So it is full of references back to the Jewish Scriptures which can be found in the Old Testament. It confirms that Jesus Christ is the full and final revelation of God’s word – far surpassing any partial revelation given by the Old Testament patriarchs and prophets.

To 'prove' this, the author states that Jesus is greater than the Jews’ great ancestor Moses. He explains that Moses was a faithful servant in God’s ‘house’ – the chosen people of God – but Jesus is superior as he is the Son who has been put in charge of God’s ‘household’.

So the believers should hold fast to the confidence they had when they first believed in Jesus Christ. They shouldn’t rebel against God like those who were led out of Egypt by Moses (see Exodus 16:1-3, 32:1-4 & Numbers 14:1-4).

Indeed, God offers the believers a promise that he withheld from those who rebelled in the desert. He promises them ‘rest’ – peace and fulfilment (see Matthew 11:28-29) – if only they have faith in his word.

The photo shows Mount Sinai (by Mohammed Moussa), where God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses as the Jewish people escaped across the desert from Egypt (see Exodus 20:1-20).