Consider Jesus 2-23-25 PM
I. Consider the position of Jesus (Hebrews 3:1).
A. The writer starts with the word “wherefore”.
1. This points back to what is discussed in the 2nd chapter.
2. We noticed several reasons why Jesus put on flesh.
3. Ultimately, it was to be our Savior and give us the aid we need to make it to heaven.
B. Because of that we need to fix our eyes on, consider, Jesus.
C. He begins by addressing the audience as holy brethren.
1. Being a Jew did not make them holy, Jesus did.
2. They were not brethren because they were Jews, at least in the spiritual sense, but because they were in Christ.
D. They were holy brethren because they were partakers of the heavenly calling.
1. The calling is that of the gospel about which we read in 2 Thessalonians 2:14.
2. They were fellow sharers in that great blessing of having answered the gospel call.
E. Both of these designations were important reminders of why the target audience had left Judaism.
1. Only in Christ can one be holy and only in Christ can there be true spiritual brotherhood.
2. Only when one is in Christ can one say he has properly partook of the heavenly calling.
3. Judaism could not do it and, for us, denominationalism or anything else can’t do it.
4. When we are tempted to fall away, we need to remember that only in Christ are these privileges and blessings found.
F. Our writer now points us to two titles that Jesus wears.
1. The first is Apostle.
a. This is the only passage in the Bible that calls Jesus an Apostle.
b. The meaning is the same as in other places, one who is sent.
c. Jesus was most definitely sent by the Father.
(1) John 17:3;
(2) John 12:44;
(3) 1 John 4:10.
d. Jesus is the only One sent from heaven by God for the saving of man.
e. No one else has ever been sent to save us or them, so how foolish would it be to turn from the only One sent to save us!
2. The second is High Priest.
a. This is another topic that the writer will develop later in the book.
b. This would have stood out to the Hebrew Christians.
c. They were being called back into Judaism to high priest that was no longer able to reach God.
d. Not only that, Moses, their beloved leader, was never a high priest.
(1) His brother Aaron was and the line descended from him.
(2) As great as Moses was, he could not do the things Aaron had done as priest and now Jesus was reigning as High Priest.
G. Moses had been an apostle for God since he was sent by Him to Egypt, however he did not come down from heaven as Jesus had.
H. Moses never was a high priest as Jesus is
I. We should consider Jesus because of His position.
II. Consider the passion of Jesus (Hebrews 3:2).
A. Jesus had a passion for doing the will of the Father.
1. He was faithful to God in all that was asked of Him.
2. God gave Jesus certain things to do and Jesus was faithful in all of them.
B. Notice that the writer is careful to not down Moses in any way.
1. He lets them know that Moses was faithful as well.
2. The truth is, though, even Moses sinned.
C. Jesus lived to do the will of the Father.
1. John 8:29 - notice the word always.
2. John 6:38 - Jesus did not come down to do what He wanted to do, but to do God’s will.
D. As these people were being tempted to fall, what a great reminder of the passion they should have for Jesus.
1. Jesus was faithful in all things, even dying on the cross.
2. He set an example for them to follow in being passionate about God even in the face of adversity.
E. He set an example for us as well.
1. The society in which we live is getting increasingly hostile towards people of faith.
2. Are we going to cave in and give up, or, like Jesus, stand firm in doing the will of the Father even in the face of persecution?
F. We need to consider the passion of Jesus for doing the God’s will in all things and allow that to motivate us!
III. Consider the prominence of Jesus (Hebrews 3:3-6).
A. The writer now gets to the main point he was inspired to make in this section: Jesus is greater or better than Moses!
B. Jesus is worthy of more honor, or more prominence, than Moses because Jesus built the house in which Moses served!.
1. The writer has already pointed out that angels had a hand in the delivering of the Old Law (Hebrews 2:2).
2. He now points out that Jesus built the house of the Old Testament.
C. The writer has already pointed out that all things owe their origin to Jesus (Hebrews 1:2, 8, 10).
1. Jesus was most definitely involved in the Old Testament (1 Corinthians 10:1-4).
2. Jesus is the Creator, or Builder, of all things (John 1:1-3).
D. Since Jesus built the house, He is worthy of more honor than the one who served in the house.
E. Verse 4 is an amazing verse.
1. It seems that it doesn’t even really belong here, because if you read verse 3 and go right into verse 5, skipping verse 4, it flows perfectly.
2. However, verse 4 gives us some tremendous material.
3. This is a shout to the divinity of Jesus, first of all.
a. He had just called Jesus the builder of the house of the Old Covenant in which Moses served.
b. Now the writer says that that the Builder of all things is God, thus making Jesus God.
c. This could never be said of Moses, another fact of the prominence of Jesus over Moses.
4. Second of all, this gives us the power to use the teleological argument for the existence of God.
a. This is the argument that since the world and universe show design, there must be a Grand Designer.
b. There is no way an atheist can truly deal with this argument for the existence of God!
c. This is one of those “ungetoverable” arguments.
F. The writer turns his attention to Moses in verse 5, again showing great care to not down Moses in any way.
1. Moses was a servant of God and this is a reference to Numbers 12:7.
2. He brought the Old Law to the people that spoke of great things to come.
G. However, Jesus is more prominent because He is a Son in God’s house and not a servant!
H. Again, as great as Moses was, there was no way this could be said of him.