Lesson Five: Hebrews 3:1-6
Moses and Jesus Compared
Moses prophesied that one like him would come after him (Deuteronomy 18:15), and the preacher identifies Jesus, the Messiah, as that one. To be sure, Moses was a faithful servant among God’s people in the wilderness, but Jesus is the faithful Son over God’s people whose glory far exceeds the glory that reflected off Moses’ face. Consequently, let those who have ears to hear pay close attention to the identity of Jesus and hold on to the confidence and hope Jesus has brought us.
Hebrews 3:1, to some degree, summarizes the substance of the sermon. It opens with a thesis (1:1-4), moves to a transitional exhortation (4:14-16), and concludes with the final transitional exhortation (10:19-26). The parts of the sermon are illustrated and anticipated by Hebrews 3:1.
Therefore, brothers and sisters, holy partners in a heavenly calling, consider that Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses also “was faithful in all God’s house.” Yet Jesus is worthy of more glory than Moses, just as the builder of a house has more 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 would be spoken later. 6 Christ, however, was faithful over God’s house as a son, and we are his house if we hold firm the confidence and the pride that belong to hope.
Moses prophesied that one like him would come after him (Deuteronomy 18:15), and the preacher identifies Jesus, the Messiah, as that one. To be sure, Moses was a faithful servant among God’s people in the wilderness, but Jesus is the faithful Son over God’s people whose glory far exceeds the glory that reflected off Moses’ face. Consequently, let those who have ears to hear pay close attention to the identity of Jesus and hold on to the confidence and hope Jesus has brought us.
Hebrews 3:1, to some degree, summarizes the substance of the sermon. It opens with a thesis (1:1-4), moves to a transitional exhortation (4:14-16), and concludes with the final transitional exhortation (10:19-26). The parts of the sermon are illustrated and anticipated by Hebrews 3:1.[1]
| Hebrews 3:1 | The Structure of Hebrews |
| Jesus as Apostle (Sent Messenger) | Listen to the Son’s Speech (1:1-4:13) |
| Jesus as Heavenly High Priest | Embrace Jesus as Our High Priest (4:14-10:18) |
| Partners in the Heavenly Calling | Live as Participants in the Drama (10:19-12:29) |
Naming Jesus as an apostle highlights that he was sent as a messenger to God’s people. God has spoken through the prophets (Hebrews 1:1), the angels (Hebrews 2:2), and Moses (Hebrews 3:5), and now speaks through the Son, who is God’s apostle. He is superior to the prophets, angels, and even Moses who was God’s servant (therapon) in Israel (the only one so named in the Torah).
Naming Jesus as a high priest anticipates the main theme of the second section of the sermon which emphasizes the nature of his priesthood and how Jesus offered himself to God in the heavenly sanctuary.
Identifying his readers as partners or participants in what God is doing in the world, the preacher reminds them that God has graced them and welcomed them into God’s story so that they might share in the benefits, glory, and mission of the Son. The preacher says we are (participants, sharers):
- Partakers in a heavenly calling (Hebrews 3:1)
- Partakers in Christ (Hebrews 3:14)
- Partakers of the Holy Spirit (Hebrews 6:4)
- Partakers of the discipline of suffering (Hebrews 12:8).
The preacher uses this word to highlight the high nature of our calling and in what sort of world believers participate. It is a heavenly calling, that is, our calling is characterized by the heavenly work of Christ and our own entrance into heavenly spaces. We participate in Christ, and we participate in the Spirit. As we journey through the wilderness on our way to enter the promised rest, we also share in suffering, just as Jesus did, even though he was Son.
This is the Christian profession. We confess Jesus as our apostle and high priest. This may reflect some kind of formal confession, whether at baptism, in the assembly, or some summary of the faith. The focus is the identity and work of Jesus, and this the center of the Christian Faith itself and its central confession.
Moses was the lawgiver, the liberator of Israel from Egyptian slavery, and a prophet who foreshadowed the coming of the Messiah. Yet, the Messiah is worthy of more glory than Moses. Hebrews 3:2-6 compares Moses and the Messiah.
| Faithful Moses | Faithful Jesus |
| Faithful Servant (ὡς θεράπων) | Faithful Son (ὡς υἱὸς), the Messiah |
| In (ἐν) the house | Over (ἐπὶ) the house |
| Glory (of face to face with God) | Worthy of more glory (radiance of God) |
| Israel as God’s House | Divine Builder of God’s House |
This comparison is grounded in Numbers 12:7. Both Moses and Jesus are faithful. Moses is called a “servant,” and, in the Greek translation, uses a word that primarily describes Moses in the Torah (Exodus 4:10, 11; 14:31; Numbers 11:11; 12:7; Deuteronomy 3:24; Joshua 1:2; 8:31, 33). He is the servant, not merely a servant (as some translations might leave the impression in Hebrews 3:5). Yet, at every point, the Messiah is superior to Moses. This does not diminish Moses but recognizes that Jesus the Messiah is God’s goal and the savior of the world as well as the one who shares the divine nature (Hebrews 1:1-3).
While Moses is a servant in the house, Jesus is a son over the house. The house refers to the people of God rather than a concrete building. The house is the assembly of the Lord in Israel and ultimately the whole assembly gathered around God’s throne (Hebrews 12:23). God in Jesus has built this house, and Jesus is the heir of God’s house. Moreover, Jesus participated in the building of this house; the Son is the instrument of creation (Hebrews 1:2).
Therefore, Jesus is worthy of more glory than Moses. This was part of the point in Numbers 12 where Moses is the who had seen God’s glory “face to face.” Miriam and Aaron resented the role Moses had, but Moses is called God’s servant and the one who had experienced the glory of God. The face of Moses shone with glory whenever he met with God. Yet, the glory of the Son is not derived or a mirror but the radiance of God’s own glory (Hebrews 1:2). The glory of the Son is a not only different in degree from the glory of Moses but different in kind.
The preacher is saying, “Listen to Moses, yes! More importantly, listen to the Son!” This is the profession of our faith, that is, Jesus, the Son of God, is God’s faithful anointed whom God sent as an apostle and high priest for our sake. The Son is unique. He is the Son over the house of God. Therefore, hold on to this confession because it is our confidence and hope!
[1] The chart is adapted from Cynthia Long Westfall, “A Discourse Analysis of Hebrews,” available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhsuwwtXwSk at the forty-three-minute mark.