The Ultimate Apostle and High Priest

Text:

Hebrews 3:1-19

Christ is better than Moses

Why should we consider Jesus?

Jesus, as an Apostle and High Priest was faithful to the one who sent him.  His mission was completed during his ministry while here on this earth ending in His death on the Cross.  His ministry ended fulfilling his High Priestly calling.

The difference between Moses and Jesus as Apostle and High Priest

Moses was faithful as a servant.  

Jesus Christ was faithful as the builder, the architect,over the house of God and being so, is more honorable than the house of God which Moses was servant over.  Jesus was also faithful as a son.

John 10:12 A hireling is not as the son who will care for the mission’s success. The servant or hireling is faithful in his work because he chooses to be obedient to his master.  The Son is faithful because He is Wholly committed to the cause of His Father who has a “special” relationship with his Son.

Moses Spoke of the Future, but Jesus is the Future and spoke of Himself.  He is God Revealed both in flesh and word.

What is the difference between an apostle and high priest?

The apostle is sent and represents God to man while the high priest represents man to God.

Why is Jesus worthy of more honor than Moses?

As we discussed previously, Moses was a servant over God’s Household and Jesus is the Architect and builder of it as well as the Son in God’s Household.

We have committed to being part of the household of God, yet only if we live steadfastly, hanging onto and rejoicing in the hope of our Salvation until the end.  There is no excuse for living a wishy washy life for God living as if it were in a tide-pool of life where the wave of life come crashing in and alter who we are in Christ!

What was the unforgivable sin in the wilderness?

The Israelites hardened their hearts through unbelief and tested the goodness/grace of God.

What does it mean to “harden your heart as in the provocation”?

-Provocation = irritation (par-ap-ik-ras-mos) Greek

-Harden = render stubborn (sklay-roo`no) Greek

The Israelites provoked God to wrath or we could say He was getting irritated with them because their hearts were stubborn and rebellious.  Though they had seen the Hand of God working throughout their experience, they refused to believe and trust in the Goodness of God and were determined to make their own way into the “rest” that was prepared for them.

What is meant by “I sware in my wrath, they shall not enter into my rest”?

Rest refers to reposing down or abode

Rest in this passage refers to the rest that could be found in the Land of Canaan and would only be realized once the idolatrous neighbors were destroyed.

-Something to think about-  God sware in His wrath.  The word sware in the Greek refers to a declared oath.  What is the difference between God swearing that something wouldn’t happen and us as mankind swearing the same.

God has given us a command that we should not swear at all because we are human and finite and cannot change anything about what will happen.  God on the other hand as God has the authority and power to make happen what he has chosen to swear.  If we as mankind swear by the name of God in essence we a holding God accountable for the oath we have just made and how ridiculous is that?

Note:  The writer of Hebrews, though his message in this passage is one of warning, exhorts the readers in a loving yet pleading manner.  “Take heed, brethren” is used to garner their attention into a focused observation of their way of life.

It seems as though it is easy to maintain a form of Godliness, but then deny the power thereof.  II Timothy 3:5

Things to notice: a heart of unbelief is evil with which we will depart from the Living God.

What does it mean to have heart of unbelief?

Unbelief = Faithlessness or unfaithfulness (Greek)

We so often are guilty of unbelief because when God asks us to walk through a trying time, we tend to lose heart and our trust in the hand of God more than falters.  In some cases we look at our circumstances we are in and panic showing a complete lack of trust in the guiding hand of God in our lives.  Many times we have placed our trust in our circumstances and when they are less than ideal physically we have to re-evaluate our place of trust.

We may even go through the motions of giving our circumstances to God, but then when we get up off our knees from prayer, the problems we have seem to follow us around, because we have grabbed them again as we left the sanctuary of prayer.  Is this showing a trust in God or a belief that He will take care of you according to His ultimate plan?

Are we geared for self-preservation and how does that affect God’s Plan for us?

A lot of our trust issues are rooted in our perspective on God’s Plan for us.  We need to keep in mind that God has a plan that He will perform if we allow Him and it will bring Him the Glory He deserves.  We need to back off from trying to order our lives and let God govern our path, and then as we grow in faith, God will get His Glory spread around because then we as His sons are committed to His cause and not ours.

Exhort = To Call Near, invite, invoke by imploring, or consolation.  (2) Beseech, call for, intreat, or pray (Greek)

-Something to think about-  Are you, on a daily basis encouraging fellow Christians to remain on the path of truth?

Do we get so caught up in our lives that we have neglected provoking each other to good works?

What is meant by “lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin”?

Sin is indeed deceitful and so quickly our humanity embraces sinful behavior. Romans 7:8,11-25  We can have the best intentions of keeping ourselves free from sin, but as long as we are in this flesh we will have to battle against our carnal desires.  If we stay steadfast in the Lord we will remain partakers of the household of God.

As in all wars, there may be some spiritual battles that we lose due to not taking hold of the power/backup that is available to us.  If we remain committed to the fight we can be considered to be steadfast.  Are we gaining ground spiritually or are we losing ground?

Basically we again are made aware of the provoking of God to wrath in the life of the Israelites during their journey through the desert.  The writer of Hebrews does point out here that not everyone had provoked God to wrath or rebelled against Him.

God was grieved with His people for 40 Years and for those who had rebelled through unbelief, they could not enter into the rest He had prepared for them.