Hebrews 3:1-6 | Jesus is Greater than Moses | Is Baptism our Confession?

Hebrews 3 and the Call to Consider Jesus

If you have your Bibles, please turn with me to Hebrews chapter 3. We've made it to the third chapter. We're going to be considering verses 1 through 6. Hebrews 3, 1 through 6. Join me in prayer. O God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we worship you, the triune God, where we come to you, Lord, asking you to meet with us in your word.

O God, I pray that as I preach, you speak to your people. You speak to me, Lord. All the efforts that's made through this is no good if you do not speak to us, Lord. I pray that I have correctly interpreted your word, and I pray that you will use it to feed your children in Christ's name.

Amen.

All right, so we made it to chapter 3, which I don't remember, when was it that we started Hebrews? Does anyone remember? Where's my people at, all right? I need someone to keep track with things that I do, because you know that I cannot keep track.

So to give a little intro before we get into chapter 3, we know that not only is Jesus greater than angels, as we see in chapter 1, but he was also made lower than the angels, as we looked at in chapter 2.

Chapter 1 is devoted to that point, that Jesus is greater than angels. And it tells us why he's greater than angels, that he has the same essence as the Father, that he is God, that he is God. He is, not only is he God, he holds all things together, that everything that's happening right now in this world is held together by Jesus Christ.

It's not held together by angels, it's held together by God, Jesus Christ. And it tells us that he's at the right hand of the Father. It explains that he is our high priest, and it goes into greater detail of explaining that in chapter 2.

But it makes mention that he is the majesty on high. He sat down at the right hand of the majesty, and the thing that made him more superior to angels over all of it was the name that he was given. And the name was son, that Jesus Christ is the son of the living God.

I mean, that was the confession of Peter, right?

Jesus said, who do people say that I am?

Peter says, you are the Christ, the son of the living God. Jesus is the son. And in chapter 2, he brings it down. He said, not only is he greater than angels, but he was made lower than the angels. And he was made lower to put the world in submission, to subdue the world, to hypotasso the world.

When he got into the incarnation, how he was, not only is he was Christ, was Jesus made man, the way your hand fills a glove, God filled a human body, but he was made a specific race, a Hebrew. He was made this specific race, this Hebrew, in order to be the high priest.

Because it was the high priest who sacrificed for the forgiveness of sins. But not only is he the high priest, but he is the payment, he is the propitiation. That when God reached into his pocket, the way that I gave that analogy of me reaching into my pocket and paying something for someone, that if Trinity was to break a window, that if the window was 80 bucks, that my 80 bucks would be the propitiation.

Not only is Jesus the high priest, but he is the propitiation. That God sent him to be the high priest and the propitiation. So he was made lower than the angels, a certain race, a Hebrew, to be the high priest in order to pay our payment, the record of debt that you and I owe.

And so now in chapter three, we're gonna be looking at verses one through six. Our theme for today is that Jesus is greater than Moses. So not only is he greater than angels, but he's greater than Moses.

And at this time you had what's called angel worship, but what they worshiped most of all was the law. And the law was given through Moses. Notice it's the law of God, but it's referred to as the law of Moses because these people regarded Moses.

Moses was very high in their view until it wasn't. As you read through the Old Testament, that seems to be the case. Our timeless truth today is if you are in Christ, you are a part of God's house, and that is the church.

If you are in Christ, if you have received Christ by faith and you have been added to the church by baptism, you are a part of the house of God. And our text today, the writer of the book of Hebrews tells them that they should consider Christ.

And I believe you too, you and I need to consider Christ. If Christ had left a fingerprint in the pages of scriptures, it is in the book of Hebrews. If anywhere throughout the Bible, if Jesus Christ was to have left his fingerprint,.

It is this book.

There's no other book has more Christ in it than Hebrews. The Christology that this book has to offer is blows my mind. Like if you ever wanna hear about Christ, you need to go through Hebrews. This is where it's at.

This is where it's at. So read with me, please, our text for today. Hebrews chapter three, verses one through six. Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus. The apostle and high priest of our confession, who was faithful to him who appointed him just as Moses also was faithful in all God's house.

For he has been counted worthy, for he has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, as much more glory as the builder of the house has honor than the house itself. For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.

Now, Moses was faithful in all God's house as a servant to testify to the things that were to be spoken later. But Christ is faithful over God's house as a son, and we are his house. If indeed we hold fast to our confidence and our boasting and hope.

In our outline today, we will consider three ways that Jesus is counted more worthy than Moses. Number one, he is our confession. He is our confession. Jesus Christ is our confession. Notice we don't confess Moses, we confess Christ.

Number two, the builder slash Jesus versus the building slash Moses. And number three, we'll look at Moses versus Jesus. So as we transition, I want to read to you a piece of scripture, two verses from Genesis chapter 15.

So this is God making his covenant with Abraham. And he says to Abraham in chapter 15, verses 13 and 14, he says this, the Lord said to Abram, know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs, and they will be servants there.

Word servants here is slaves. And they will be afflicted for 400 years. But I will bring judgment on that nation that they serve, and afterwards they shall come out with great possession. So right here, before Abraham has Isaac, and Isaac has Jacob, and Jacob has the 12 sons, he is told that his people, that his descendants, are going to be enslaved by a nation.

And we know that nation to be Egypt. Specifically for 400 years. So all these free will choices that's made throughout this time leads up to them being enslaved. And we know the story, again, Abraham has Isaac, Isaac has Jacob, Jacob, I mean, Isaac chooses, blesses Jacob over Esau through some mischief that was taking place.

Jacob has 12 sons. Joseph being second to the last. And Joseph has this dream. And in this, he kept having these dreams. But one of the dreams was that his father, his mother, and his brothers, who was described as the sun, moon, and stars, were going to bow down to him.

They were going to bow down to him. And so, and in doing so, his brothers, being jealous of Joseph and the love that his father has for Joseph, they plotted to kill him. But instead of killing him, they ended up selling him as a slave, as a servant.

And during this time, Joseph works his way into being the second in command of Egypt. And as being second in command of Egypt, I'm just trying to give you this story in a slump version. This is a 10 ,000 view of it, just for the sake of time.

And in this time, his brothers come to Egypt because of a famine that has taken place. And they're put into a land called Gosha. And they begin to multiply. Joseph dies. And then comes a pharaoh who knows not Joseph.

And this pharaoh starts to enslave the Hebrews. And in this time, there became a decree that since their multiplying was so great that they were going to start killing off all the male childs. And Moses was born during this time whenever this was taking place.

And so Moses was put into a basket, sent into a river. Again, this is a 10 ,000 foot view. Sent into a river. Someone in Pharaoh's house, a daughter, takes Moses and raises him as her own. And so Moses, one day, he sees an Egyptian beating a Hebrew and he kills him.

And then out of fear that he was gonna be captured, he runs into the wilderness. And then 40 years later, after God coming to him in a burning bush, he comes back and he brings his people out of captivity and they wander in the wilderness for another 40 years.

Anyways, but during this time, Moses is looked at as the one who has given God's law. This is the law of Moses. These people, Exodus 33, verse 11 says this. This is what God says about Moses. Says, thus says the Lord.

Thus the Lord, excuse me, thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face as a man speaks to his friends. Now, earlier I mentioned that the Jews loved Moses until they didn't. When you read the account in Exodus numbers, Exodus numbers, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, Moses had to mediate for the people because the people kept messing up.

And every time Moses would go somewhere, like when he would go to the mountain to receive the law, the people will remember, who is this Moses? We don't know what God has done with this Moses. And so they pull out their earrings, they take off their rings, they throw it to the fire.

A golden calf pops out and they begin to worship. The calf. They always complain, oh Moses, why did you bring us out of Egypt?

We would rather be back as slaves in Egypt.

Than to be here with you. They had this, when you're reading the Old Testament, there doesn't seem like this high respected order for Moses. Like it doesn't seem like that exists anywhere. But then when you get into the New Testament, there seems to be a Jewish reform, a Jewish reformation take place.

And this would have happened during that period of the intertestaminal period. Remember whenever we was going through Daniel, Daniel prophesied a period of 490 years. So in this 490 years, there was a period of 400 years that there is no scripture.

There is no scripture being written, God's not speaking. There's extra biblical writings where you can read about this time period, which for the sake of time we don't have, we cannot get into. But there seems to be during this time, a Jewish reformation.

Back to Moses, basically. Let's go back to Moses. You know the ones that our forefathers were brought out of Egypt with, who was supposed to have loved Moses, but complained about him. They loved him, but they didn't.

Whenever he went somewhere, they worshiped something else. Let's go back and do what our forefathers should have done. Let's take his law and let's just live by it. Let's just live by this law. Whatever it says, let's just do it.

Matter of fact, let's add some stuff to it, make sure that we're doing it right. And so that's what seems to be taking place when you get into the New Testament. It's a reformation, a reformed Jewish religion.

Jesus Is Our Confession

So to our first point, he is our confession. Hebrews 3, verse one. Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus the apostle and high priest of our confession. First of all, we look to the word therefore.

So we know therefore is speaking about since Jesus is higher than the angels, since he's above the angels, but he was made lower than the angels. He's greater than the angels, but he was made lower than the angels.

Therefore, since this, this is therefore holy brothers who share in the heavenly calling. So therefore, the verse 17 has a therefore. It says, therefore, he was made like his brothers in every respect so that he might be the merciful and faithful high priest.

So this therefore is pointing to the antecedent, the one that was before it, the therefore. Therefore, since Jesus, who is greater than angels, but was made lower than angels, made like his brothers to be a high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of his people.

Since that happened, he's saying, therefore, you holy brothers, you who believe in him, you who share in the heavenly calling, consider. The word therefore here is an adverb. It basically means for that reason.

So for the reason that he is greater than the angels, for the reason that he was made lower than the angels, for this purpose of being the high priest, for being our propitiation, therefore, you holy brothers, you who profess Christ, you need to, you who have the heavenly calling, consider.

So we have since Jesus is God, the creator of all things, the true prophet, who has been given final revelation, the high priest, the king, the name above every name, which is son. Since he is greater than the angels, he was made lower than the angels, therefore, for that reason, all of you holy brothers, you who share in this calling, consider.

Holy brothers here has to be Christians. Whenever you look beforehand, when he was calling them brothers, there's two antecedents. You had the brothers who were of faith, those who profess Christ by faith, but then you had the brothers that were, that he called brothers because he was made a Hebrew.

He specifically calls them holy brothers, you who share in the heavenly calling, consider. So the writer of Hebrews is speaking to a group of people and he is addressing them as Christians, as believers.

Whether they are or not, that's a different subject. But he tells them to consider. The word consider here in Greek is kata noia, no, kata noel, excuse me, kata noel. Kata noel means to fully observe, to behold, to consider, discover, or to perceive.

So the question is, why should they, or you, or myself, why is it that we should consider? So the consider here is pointing us to the apostle and high priest. It says, because he is the apostle and high priest.

It says, consider Jesus the apostle and high priest of our confession. So the word apostle means sent one. All right, remember, what is the covenant of redemption? God the Father sent God the Son, right?

This is the only place in scripture that Jesus is called an apostle, the only place. And it's right after chapter two, which chapter two deals with him being sent. It deals with the covenant of redemption that Jesus came to accomplish the purpose of the Father.

And right here, chapter three, we should consider him, Jesus, the apostle, the one who God the Father sent to accomplish his purpose.

And notice the purpose,.

The apostle and high priest of our confession. The purpose was him being a high priest. The high priest is the mediator. He's the one that mediates. We looked over that last week. So for the sake of time, we won't go into that any further.

But as an apostle, he speaks for God to the people. We see that in scripture, right? He has come to bring a message. As an apostle, not only is he sent to do the will of the Father, but he comes to bring a message, the message of the kingdom of God, the gospel of the kingdom.

But as a high priest, so as an apostle, he comes to speak for God to the people. And as a high priest, he speaks to God for the people. So what does he do for it? He says that he's at the right hand of the Father and he makes in accessory in prayer.

For who?

For those that draw near to him by faith.

He mediates for us.

We have one mediator between God and man, and that is the man, Jesus Christ. And so chapter three is not leaving off chapter two. As a matter of fact, it begins with it. It's saying, you holy brothers, you who share the heavenly calling, because of what has already taken place, you should consider Jesus, who is our apostle, who was sent from God for the purpose of being a high priest to make propitiation.

But it says that he is the apostle and high priest of our confession. What is our confession? I mentioned it earlier, the confession that we see that he is the Christ. That Jesus asks us a question, who do people say that I am?

And some say you're Elijah, some say you're Jeremiah or one of the prophets. Then he says, but who do you say that I am? Peter speaks up and he says that you are the Christ. You are the son of the living God.

Jesus says, blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my father who is in heaven. So that is a confession. We as Christians, one of our confessions is that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God.

Another one is found in Romans. Romans chapter 10. Romans chapter 10, verses eight and nine. But who, Romans 10, eight and nine.

But what do you say?

I'm sorry, is it nine and 10, excuse me. Because if you confess, notice the word, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

For with the heart, one believes and is justified and with the mouth, one confesses and is saved. So a confession, Jesus is Lord, Jesus is the Christ and we believe that he has been raised from the dead.

This is our confession, right? This is something that as Christians, we must confess. If you do not believe that Jesus is the Christ, you're not a Christian. If you do not believe Jesus is Lord,.

You are not a Christian.

Listen, if you do not believe that Jesus actually rose from the dead, you're not a Christian, you're not, sorry, you're not. And let me tell you something, if you truly believe that he rose from the dead, your life changes dramatically, dramatically.

Some scholars believe that it refers to the early baptismal confession, that our confession was found in our baptism. Now, why would some see baptism as the confession? I have pulled together some supporting texts to consider, for us to consider.

Romans 6 is the first one. Romans chapter 6, beginning in verse 1. What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means. How can we who die to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ, Jesus, were baptized into his death?

We were buried, therefore, with him by baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in the newness of life. It's kind of like his baptism is a type for our antitype of walking in life, but then again, our walking in new life is an antitype of the future resurrection of us being resurrected with new bodies.

It's kind of like a weird play on words here. For if we have been united with him in his death, in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. Again, speaking of the shadow and the substance.

We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. So how was we crucified with him? That's the question.

And it tells you, verse four, we were buried, therefore, with him by baptism into his death. So our baptism is a picture of the crucifixion. That's what this is saying. And so scholars look back at this and say that our baptism, this is reformed scholars, is our confession.

So our baptism is a picture of the gospel, the death, burial, and resurrection. Also, look with me at Galatians. Galatians chapter three, verses, well first, Galatians two says, I have been crucified with Christ.

It's no longer I who live, but it's Christ that lives in me. So if we have been crucified with Christ, our being crucified with Christ points to baptism. And I'll try my best to prove it right here. Galatians 3 .22, Galatians 3 .22.

It says, but the scriptures imprison everything under sin so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. The promise being the Holy Spirit. Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law and imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed.

So then the law was our guardian until Christ came in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under our guardian for in Christ Jesus, you are all sons of God through faith.

Now listen to verse 27. For as many of you who were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek. There is neither slave nor free. There's neither male nor female. You are all one in Jesus Christ.

So we receive Christ by faith. And what does a person that receives Christ by faith do? They go and be baptized. They confess with baptism. Romans 13 .14 says to put on the Lord Jesus and make no provision to satisfy the flesh.

Well, how do you put on the Lord Jesus? Galatians 3 .27 tells you. For as many have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. So how do you put on Christ?

Baptism.

Like they look back at these verses and they say, this is our confession. One more. Acts chapter two. There's a lot of people that love Acts chapter two. Hallelujah, holler back. Verses 36 through 41.

Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified, speaking to the Jews. Now, when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and they said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, brothers, what shall we do?

Still speaking to the Jews. And Peter said to them, repent and believe. And every one of you in the name of Jesus, repent and be baptized. Every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the Holy Spirit.

For the promise is for you and your children and for those who are far off and everyone who the Lord calls to himself. And with many other words, he bore witness and continued to exhort them saying, save yourselves from this crooked generation.

So those who received his word were baptized and they were added that day about 3000 souls. So here's what I wrote down. Those who received the word spoken about Christ, turned from their sins, were baptized and added to the church.

That's why we see baptism as a sign. We go through the Lord's supper. The only way anyone can take the Lord's supper is if they have received Christ by faith. You cannot receive him by baptism. Baptism is not the entrance into the covenant.

Faith is the entrance into the covenant. You have to receive Christ by faith, but the sign of that covenant, your confession of that covenant is you have to be baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Does that make sense? And so the reformed view is our confession is our baptism. It's not what saved us.

It's faith.

We're saved by grace through faith. We believe, but the confession is baptism. When I baptize someone, I ask them this. I say, do you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God? And do you believe in your heart that God has raised this Jesus from the dead?

And when they say yes, I baptize them. That's the confession. I believe, just like those scholars, that our baptism is our confession. Point number two. The builder slash Jesus versus the building, versus the building slash Moses.

Hebrews 2, I mean Hebrews 3, 2 through 4. Who was faithful to him who appointed him just as Moses was faithful in all God's house. For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, as much more glory as the building of the house has more glory than the house itself.

For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God. So a lot of times when I'm out street preaching or witnessing, I'll say to someone, could I convince you that, and I'll point to a building.

Like I would say, how much preaching would I have to do to convince you that that building built itself? Or today, if I was to say, hey, is there any way at all that I could convince you that that cabinet built itself?

And it's no, no. As a matter of fact, I would be looked like a fool to try to convince you that that cabinet built itself. And when I'm out on the streets, and I'll make that clear, I would look like a fool to try to convince you that buildings build themselves.

Buildings do not build themselves. Cabinets do not make themselves. Paintings do not paint themselves. But what it does do is it gives glory to the painter. It gives, that cabinet gives glory to the person that made that cabinet.

Buildings give glory to the builder. And you have to ask yourself, well, what's more important, a building or a builder? The other night, my wife and I, we watched a movie. I would highly recommend it.

It's really good. It's like a world disaster movie. It's called Greenland. And in it was kind of like this lottery thing took place to where certain people got messages and telling them that they have been selected amongst the families to go to a certain area, to get on a plane, to be taken into a bunker.

And the guy here that the movie is orchestrated around was a builder. He built skyscrapers. And so people knew that we're gonna need someone when everything just kind of blows up and falls apart. We're gonna need someone that's alive that can build skyscrapers.

His life and his knowledge was glory because all those structures that he built gave glory to him, to him. And that's what this is telling us, that Moses is the building. God is the builder. God is the builder.

Moses's job was to point back at God. Moses was to give glory to God. Hebrews 8, verse six says this, but as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is much more excellent than the ode as the covenant he mediates is better since it is enticed with better promises.

Moses was a building giving glory to the builder. The builder itself enters the building. Remember I say creation, I mean like the creator entered creation, that the infinite became finite. Here it's showing that the builder takes residence in the building.

The builder comes into the building and he takes residence. Listen to, and here's why. John 1, seven, for the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. We cannot live under the law of Moses.

We need grace, we need truth. They, at that time, they needed grace and they needed truth. Verse four, for the house is built by, for every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.

The word God here is the word theos, the word theos, and we see it in Hebrews 1, verse three. Speaking of Jesus, he is the radiance and the glory of God, theos, the exact imprint of his nature. Speaking of Jesus, he upholds the universe by the word of his power.

So we have God entering the builder, entering his building. And it's during the time of this Jewish reformation, this Jewish reform, where instead of praising the builder, they were worshiping the building.

Instead of giving glory to the builder that entered the building, they were worshiping the building. They were worshiping Moses. They were worshiping the covenant of the law, the covenant of works. The last point, I'll kind of sum everything together.

Moses and Jesus: Servant, Son, and the House of God

Point number three, Jesus versus, Moses versus Jesus. Hebrews 3, five through six says, now Moses was faithful in all God's house as a servant to testify to the things that were spoken later. But Christ is faithful over God's house as a son, and we are his house if indeed we hold fast to our confidence and our boasting and our hope.

So Moses versus Jesus. This is some of the things that I kind of jotted down. Moses served as a prophet. Jesus served as the greatest prophet. Moses honored God as a servant. Jesus remained honor as God's son.

Moses led God's people out of bondage of Egypt. Jesus leads people out of bondage of sin. Moses administrated the law. Jesus fulfills the law. Moses received the law from angels. Jesus receives worship from angels.

Moses sinned. Jesus never sinned. Moses died and was buried, had a ministry and had a ministry that could only condemn and not save. Jesus died, but he rose from the dead and had a ministry that has brought righteousness and eternal salvation.

Moses had fading glory. Jesus has glory that is eternal. The building is not greater than the builder. The building gives glory to builders. And the fact is, is that Moses was giving glory to the builder, but it was that reformation.

It was those Jews who were trying to reform. He missed it. When the builder came into the building and they began to worship the building and not the builder. Notice the verse, notice we have these words here, God's house.

In verse five and in verse six, one is a faithful servant while the other is faithful as a son. Look, verse five. Now, Moses was faithful in all God's house as a servant to testify to the things that were to be spoken later.

The word servant here, this is the only place in the New Testament where this word for servant is used. The Greek word is therapon, therapon. It actually means an attendant. He was living in the house.

He was living in that building. An attendant, a servant, a servant. And also what this word servant as an attendant is pointing to in the, whenever you look into the Greek, in the, it's actually pointing, it actually points to Moses as God's servant who is discharging his duties.