Please note that this article is derived from a sermon series on Hebrews given in Bermondsey Gospel Hall, the audio of which can be found here.
Having previously covered Hebrews 1, the Revelation of the Son in, and Hebrews 2, the Salvation in the Son, last week we began Hebrews 3, which focuses on the Congregation under the Son. We saw the opening verse of Hebrews 3 first highlights our Christian Identity, a holy family with a heavenly future, before moving on to our Christian Focus. While the author uses this description of our Christian Identity to catch our attention, it is upon Jesus that he asks us to fix our gaze. For the focus of the Christian life is not on our family, or our future, but the figure of Jesus Christ. ‘Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus…’. What is it that we are to consider about Christ? Two aspects of Jesus are held out for us to observe, ‘the apostle and high priest of our confession’. Last week we noted that these two roles continue the two themes set out at the beginning of Hebrews 1, the main themes of the entire letter: the Message and Ministry of the Superior Son. As John Piper summarises, Jesus is both the Word from God and the Way to God. Jesus not only brings God to us but can bring us to God.
As we move into Hebrews 3:2 today, we will still be Considering Christ. That is the instruction in 3:1 that dominates the entire paragraph. The purpose of the whole paragraph is to explain why we are to consider Christ and what we are to consider about him. This week, we will focus on the central piece of the 3:1-6, verses 2-6a and shall see that the method employed by the author in these verses, to convince his readers to consider Jesus, can be described as Measuring Moses.
The technique used by the author to draw attention to the superiority of Jesus is one we have all used before. Imagine that later today you are outside and look across the London skyline, while the buildings in the City of London and Canary Wharf are impressive, it is now the Shard that draws our attention. As you look up at it, you might wonder how tall it really is. From the back on your mind you remember a tour guide telling you once that Big Ben is just under 100 meters (it is in fact 96 meters). Looking at the skyline you will notice that the Shard appears around three times as tall as Big Ben, and so arrive at a reasonably accurate estimate of the Shard being 300 meters in height. We can ascertain the scale of something unknown to us by comparing it without another object that is known to us. Not only have we all done this before, but the author has as well. Throughout Hebrews 1 and 2 the author was using the same method in relation to the angels. This began in Hebrews 1:4, where we are told that the angels have an excellent name. Throughout Hebrews 1 we seen some of their excellence, being the winds and flames of God (1:7), great and powerful forces that God uses to bring about his purposes in this world. However, the author doesn’t tell us this just so we will appreciate the excellent name of the angels. His purpose is to highlight the more excellent name of Jesus (1:4). In demonstrating the magnificence of the angels, the author lays down the benchmark that helps us to understand the majesty of Jesus. For if angels are excellent, and Jesus is significantly superior to them, as is shown by the quotes in Hebrews 1, how excellent must Jesus be?
In Hebrews 3, the author leaves the angels behind and identifies a new benchmark for comparison with Jesus. The author will do this again and again throughout the rest of the book, explaining the excellence of how God has worked in the past before comparing it with the even more excellent Jesus. That is why some have summarised Hebrews in three simple words, ‘Jesus is Better’, for that is what the author demonstrates time and time again. This time, it is the turn of Moses to be compared with Christ.
This Measuring of Moses occurs in two stages, first with respect to faithfulness (3:2) and then in relation to glory (3:3-6a). This is a two-lap race, first Jesus and Moses compete against each other in their faithfulness, and then we shall compare their glory. However, there is no need to wait in suspense for the results of the race, for we shall see that while Moses is Faithful as a Servant, Jesus is Glorious as a Son.
1. FAITHFUL AS A SERVANT – Consistently carry out your calling from God
Why does the author choose to compare Moses with Christ? Why not Abraham? Or David? It is for the same reason as if we were standing outside trying to estimate the height of the Shard, it would be pointless comparing it with the Statute of Liberty. At only 3 meters below Big Ben, it would provide almost as helpful a benchmark. That is, except for the fact that it is in New York. We can’t see the Statue of Liberty alongside the Shard, their proximity isn’t close enough to make a comparison with our eyes. However, it’s not just proximity that you need when finding a benchmark. You also need a similar kind of measurement. It is no use knowing how heavy Big Ben is, it is the height that is important. You need a benchmark close enough in proximity and similar enough in kind in order to make a helpful comparison.
Therefore, who in the bible is close enough in proximity and similar enough in kind to Jesus for the author to use as a valid benchmark. In particular, who is similar enough to Jesus in his role as ‘apostle and high priest’, which are the aspects of his person we are to consider, for comparison? As we shall see, Moses fits the description perfectly, for through the prophecies of the Old Testament he is drawn alongside Christ for our comparison, and in his role over Israel as prophet and priest there is a direct correlation.
Moses was a priest. We often ascribe the priesthood to his brother Aaron, and correctly so as he was the first high priest. However, Moses was born of the tribe of Levi and Psalm 99:6 makes clear that ‘Moses and Aaron were among his priests…’. However, it is as a prophet that Moses is more widely and famously known. Moses was not just a prophet, but before the coming of Jesus, Moses was the prophet, the ‘unrivalled channel of divine communication without equal before Christ.’ (Cockerhill) While prophets like Elijah and Elisha, Jeremiah and Isaiah, come to mind, it is Moses who is the pre-eminent, pirmary prophet of the Old Testament. It is Moses that wrote the first five books of the Bible, the Pentateuch. But even more significantly, God has declared Moses to be his main, his primary prophet. In Numbers 12, we have a story of two other leaders in Israel comparing themselves to Moses, complaining at the superiority given to him. It was in fact Moses’ brother and sister, Aaron and Miriam. We are told, ‘Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses…they said, "Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?" And the LORD heard it…. And the LORD came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the tent and called Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forward. And he said, "Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the LORD make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream. Not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house. With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the LORD.’ (Numbers 12:1–8) Moses, the primary prophet of God, the one to whom God had revealed himself more than any other.
How then did Moses perform in this role? If we are to compare him to Jesus as apostle and high priest, we must understand how successful Moses was as a prophet and priest. Whether you consider the Old or New Testament, the answer is the same: Moses was faithful. We’ve already read together from Numbers 12:6-8 where God declares ‘He is faithful in all my house’. That verdict is repeated here in Hebrews 3:2, in a clear reference to Numbers 12:6-8, and it is emphasised at the end of the paragraph in 3:5, ‘Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant.’ As prophet and priest, he was faithful. Moses was faithful as a servant.
If you have ever started a new job, you will often spend the first few days going through some training. As well as any practical training you have to complete, such as teaching you how to use a machine or showing you where everything is, you will undergo training to help you understand the duties and responsibilities of the role. What is expected of you? To what standard must you work? If there was training for God’s servants, an explanation of what standard is expected of us in serving God, it would go something like what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 4:1-2, ‘This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.’ Those who have responsibilities and resources entrusted to them by God, servants and stewards, are to be found faithful. Not only does Paul provide us with this training, but if we read the Gospels, we will see Jesus training his disciples in this as well. Jesus told at least two parables about a master leaving his servants at home to carry out a task (Luke 12:42-43; Matthew 25:21). Both teach us the same lesson, but it is the wording in Matthew 25:21 that has become famous. In that parable, the master is going on a journey away and so leaves all of his property in the possession of his servants for their careful management. Upon the master’s return he finds two of the servants have managed the money wisely, while the other was lazy and ignored the resources he was responsible for. To the wise servants, we are told that the master will say to them upon his return, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ (Matthew 25:21) Faithfulness. That is what was required of servants, like Moses. That is what is required of us. As Christians, we have all been given roles by God. You have a role in the family, whether as a sibling, child or parent, and a role in the church, whether as an elder, teacher, evangelist or as a brother and sister in this family of God who is responsible for exhorting and encouraging one another. Not only has God given us roles, but he was given us resources. Our time, energy and money. Our skills and spiritual gifts. As servants of God who have been given both roles and resources, we have a responsibility to be faithful. To wisely deploy our God given gifts for his glory. To consistently carry out our callings from God. As servants, like Moses, it is our responsibility to be faithful. Are you being faithful as a servant?
If this standard of a servant seems either unattainable or unsustainable for you, I want to remind you of the limits of your responsibility. Moses is considered faithful even though he seemed to fail. Despite the faithfulness of Moses as a leader, a prophet and priest, the people didn’t make it to the promise land. They refused to enter in with him, in Numbers 14 they rebelled against Moses. They failed to have faith in God and follow their faithful leader. The exodus ended in failure, for that generation died without reaching the promise land. It was their sons and daughters who entered it, led by Joshua not Moses. And yet, despite this failure, Moses was considered faithful. His faithfulness was not nullified simply because the people would not follow. He was faithful as a leader, even though those he led were faithless. This is true of almost all of God’s servants in the Bible, including great prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah. Indeed, by all worldly standards, the ministry of Jesus himself was a failure. And yet they were all considered to be faithful, for they consistently carried out their callings, even in challenging circumstances. It is not a gardener’s job to make things grow, he relies on the weather. It is not a lawyer’s job to win the case, he relies on the facts. Paul would say, ‘I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.’ (1 Corinthians 3:6) It is not our responsibility to work miracles, it is God’s. It is not within our power to bring about change, it is in God’s. All we are to do is to make the best of the circumstance we find ourselves in, consistently carrying out our callings and relying on God to bring about the consequences. We must do what we can, but we can only do so much. We can be faithful, even when we seem to fail. For Moses, that failure went beyond the people. It was also personal. Unlike Christ, Moses was not perfect. Moses messed up. Moses let God down. On one occasion, Moses disobeyed God, instead of commanding the rock to yield its water, as he himself was commanded, he struck it with his staff and was disqualified for entering the land as well. Prior to being called by God to lead his people, Moses had struck and killed an Egyptian. Moses the murder. And yet, even though his faith faltered, despite past failures in his former life, Moses was considered faithful. By God’s grace you can be faithful, despite your flaws, if you consistently carry out your calling from God.
In Measuring Moses, the author has found that he is faithful. Indeed, Moses is raised to such a standard that the author can say that Jesus was faithful ‘just as Moses also was faithful’ (3:2). There is a similarity between the faithfulness of Christ and that of Moses. However, at the end of the paragraph the author highlights the key distinction between them. There is a certain similarity in their prophetic and priestly roles, but there is also a clear distinction. While Moses was faithful as a servant, Jesus is faithful as a son (3:6). And we shall see that because of that distinction, Jesus is not only a faithful, but a glorious son.
2. GLORIOUS AS A SON – Consider Christ who has created the church
We passed a significant anniversary last weekend. Ten years ago, at the 2009 World Athletics Championships in Berlin, Usain Bolt set the current world record in the 100m. He had dominated in the 2008 Olympics, setting the previous record of 9.69 seconds, and so it was no surprise when, around halfway down the track in the 2009 final, we seen Bolt pull away from his nearest competitor Tyson Gay. That day, Tyson Gay ran the 100m in 9.71 seconds, a new national record for an American. However, despite his brilliance, he was second best, for Bolt ran the race in 9.58 seconds. Nobody has ever beaten that time. In this race, we should not be surprised if, halfway through our verses, Christ pulls away from his nearest competitor. Moses might run an excellent race, break previous records, but he can’t keep up with Christ. Not only should we not be surprised as spectators, but Moses himself would not be surprised to see Christ pulling ahead as he looked across the track. Moses told us that this would happen, that one day God would send a superior prophet. In Deuteronomy 18:15, Moses proclaimed to the people, ‘The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you…it is to him you shall listen…’. In Acts 3:22, Peter clearly confirms that Jesus Christ is the prophet that fulfils that prophecy. And not only that prophecy, but the series of prophecies throughout the Old Testament predicting a future prophet, priest and king (1 Samuel 2:35; 2 Samuel 7:14; 1 Chronicles 17:12-14). Thomas Schreiner summarises the point for us, stating ‘Moses is not the goal of revelation, but a pointer along the way to something better.’ Indeed, the author emphasises this in 3:5: Moses was faithful ‘to testify to the things that were to be spoken later’. That word ‘testify’ is the same as used in Hebrews 1:1-2 and 2:2-3 for ‘speak’. In his faithful service, Moses was speaking to us of a future servant who would succeed and be superior to him. Moses was but a taste, a type, of what was to come. Indeed, that is what Hebrews will explore, as it works through the prophetic message and priestly ministry in the Old Testament, given to Moses, to show the superiority of the Son.
The author doesn’t actually say that Jesus is superior to Moses in his faithfulness. In fact, he equates rather than distinguishes their faithfulness in verse 2. However, he immediately goes on to tell us that Jesus has great glory. ‘For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses…’. For an audience familiar with the Old Testament, as the readers of this letter were, this would have made them sit up and listen. For Moses’ ministry was perhaps the most glorious within the Old Testament. Moses’ ministry started in Exodus 3, when he in confronted with the LORD in the burning bush, he finds himself standing on holy ground. Sent back to Egypt to free Israel, it is through the testimony of Moses that the ten plagues descend, bringing the might nation to its knees. The children of Israel are freed and follow their faithful leader Moses out of Egypt and to the Promise Land. The armies of Pharaoh are overcome in the passage through the Red Sea, with it parting as Moses stretched out his hand. It is through Moses that God provided for his people in the wilderness, manna falling from the heavens and water flowing from the rocks. Even up to this point, Moses has had a glorious service, and yet the summit is still ahead. For perhaps the pinnacle of Moses’ glory is seen on Mount Sinai. In Exodus 19, there is the crash of thunder and the flash of lighting, thick cloud covers the mountain and a trumpet call cries out. The people of Israel tremble in fear, firmly frozen at the bottom of the mountain, and for good reason. For Exodus 19:20 records, ‘The LORD came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. And the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.’ Up and down that mountain Moses would go, collecting messages from God about his law and then going back down to deliver them to his people. At one time he stayed for 7 days and 7 nights in God’s presence, at another it was 40 days and 40 nights. During his final time at the top of the mountain we are told that, ‘The LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. The LORD passed before him…And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped.’ (Exodus 34:5–8) When he descended from Mount Sinai on that last occasion, with the Ten Commandments in his hand, we are told that ‘the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God’ (Exodus 34:29), the people were terrified at this radiance of God’s glory, and so Moses veil his face to cover it. Undoubtedly, the ministry of Moses was literally radiating with glory!
And yet, the author tells us here that ‘Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses…’. Throughout the Bible, the glory of Jesus is demonstrated to be greater than that of Moses. On the mountain, God came and passed before Moses, but in Bethlehem, God came in the person of Jesus Christ. God may have spoken mouth to mouth with Moses, but in Jesus God speaks directly to each one of us. On the mountain, Moses may have beheld the form of God, but in Jesus we have the form of God brought to us. Coming down from the mountain, Moses may have reflected the glory of God from his face. However, Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 4:6 that the glory of God is in Jesus’ face, ‘the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.’ The Word of God may have been shared with Moses so that he could declare it to the people, but John would testify, ‘the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.’ (John 1:14) The Son is more glorious than the servant.
Jesus is worthy of more glory than Moses, ‘as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honour than the house itself.’ The reason given by the author here for the superior glory of Jesus is that the glory of a building belongs to the builder. The Old Testament prophecies didn’t point forward to another servant like Moses, a steward who is in the house managing. The prophecies looked forward to a son who would build a house for God (1 Samuel 2:35; 2 Samuel 7:14; 1 Chronicles 17:12-14). The term builder here refers to one who makes or prepares, to an ‘establisher’ (Cockerill). I’m confident that more of you will be familiar with the name Steve Jobs than Tim Cook. Steve Jobs established Apple, while Tim Cook is the current CEO. More of you will have heard of Bill Gates than Steve Ballmer or Satya Nadella, for Bill Gates made Microsoft, while they simply manage it. Not many of you will know that David Ison is the Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral, but you may know that Christopher Wren was the architect. When it comes to building something, the builders gets the glory. So when we come to the house of God, which the New Testament declares to be not the temple as his dwelling place but believers, the people of God, as Paul would proclaim ‘the household of God, which is the church of the living God’ (1 Timothy 3:15), the one who created the church should get the glory. The one who purchased this people, who on the cross bore the punishment for their sins in their place, that is who should get all the praise. While the author tells us that Moses is in the house (3:2,5), Jesus is over it (3:6). Moses is part of the house, but Jesus purchased it. Yes, Moses did his job faithfully, but Jesus was faithful in doing a far greater job. That’s why Moses is faithful as a servant, but Jesus is glorious as a son. That is why Jesus has been anointed with the oil of gladness beyond all his companions (1:9) and has been crowned with glory and honour (2:9). That is why we are to consider him.
‘Therefore, holy brothers…, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, who was faithful…For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses…’. If you are a Christian, the reason we are to consider Christ is that he is worthy of the highest glory, even when measured against Moses. As a faithful apostle and high priest he has revealed God fully and finally to us, and has purchased full and final forgiveness for us. As the congregation of God, we are to consider Christ, the one who created us through his crucifixion and resurrection. In light of this being the Son whom we serve, let us not be like the grumbling Israelites in the wilderness, complaining the circumstances God has placed us in. Let us be like Moses, consistently carrying out our callings. Let us not be like the lazy and wicked servants in the parables of Jesus, lounging around while our master is away or letting our resources go unused. Let us be like the good and wise servants who consistently carried out their callings. Let us be faithful as servants.
If you are not a Christian, I would once again urge you to consider Christ as well, the greatness and glory of his work: bringing God to us so we may know about him and bringing us to God so that we may be with him. There is no other Saviour, only the son can save, for he alone died and rose again. His faithfulness as a Son, as a Saviour, is shown by saving all those who turn from their sins and trust in him. ‘If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.’ (1 John 1:8–9)
ALEXANDER ARRELL