Better than Moses… (3 points)

• 1^st – The TITLES of Jesus… vs. 1-2
  • 1^st – Holy Brethren… vs. 1
    • THEREFORE…
      • On ACCOUNT of Jesus being BETTER than the Prophets / BETTER than Angels…
      • Our MERCIFUL High Priest who DIED for us – and CHEERS us onto victory!
    • HOLY – hagios [adjective] – to be HOLY / SET APART for Jesus!
      • We are be HOLY because God is HOLY – Leviticus 19:2
      • We are set apart for God – in ALL of our conduct – in everything we do!
      • God empowers us to be set apart – so we are called saints [same root word] …
      • The NT word for church – ekklesia – means to be CALLED OUT of the world!
    • BRETHREN…
      • BRETHREN – adelphos [noun] – meaning we belong to the same country…
      • The word BRETHREN is a NOUN – it speaks of WHO we are in Jesus!
      • We often speak of those who have the same nationality as countrymen / brothers…
      • In the same way Jesus has made us ALL to be BRETHREN in the KINGDOM of God!
    • How we became HOLY BRETHREN…
      • PARTAKERS [adjective] of the heavenly CALLING – we answered the INVITATION…
      • Luke 14:15-24 – Jesus gave a parable about a great Wedding Feast…
      • Revelation 19:9 – “Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!” 
      • Many who were CALLED – mocked – they came up with excuses why they could not come!
      • THEREFORE – the Master told his servants – quickly GO out into the Highways…
      • Go out into the streets and lanes of the city – bring the poor / maimed / and blind…
      • The least likely – the downcast – the rejects – the ones NO one else wants…
      • Go to the Highways – the crossroads – where EVERYONE passed by…
      • The idea is to invite ANYONE – anyone you see – to come to the feast – Romans 10:13
      • Anyone can accept the INVITATION – and become HOLY BRETHREN…
      • The message is urgent – the table is set – God is ready to start the FEAST…
      • Jesus is coming soon to take His church with Him back to heaven…
      • And God does not want anyone to perish – but He gives all men the choice – I Peter 3:9
      • He gives out the INVITATION – and then lets ANY and ALL choose how to respond…
      • We can make light of it – make excuses – and miss out on heaven…
      • Or we can get excited – rejoice – that we have a place at table in heaven!
  • 2^nd – CONSIDER Jesus… vs.1
    • CONSIDER – katanoeō [imperative] – to observe and understand – fix your eyes and mind on…
      • As HOLY BRETHREN – we MUST look at and understand who Jesus is…
      • Jesus – [יְשׁוּעָה] – whose name literally means [יְהוָה] is SALVATION!
      • Why do we have to CONSIDER Jesus – TWO reasons – FIRST because of His TITLES!
      • Jesus has a LOT of TITLES in the Bible – He is the eternally blessed God – Romans 9:5
      • He is the Alpha and Omega – Revelation 1:8 / The Light of the World – John 8:12
      • But here the author gives us THREE titles for Jesus!
    • APOSTLE – speak of the MINISTRY of Jesus…
      • APOSTLE – apostolos [81x in NT] – someone who is SENT OUT / a MESSENGER…
      • The picture is that of an ambassador – a representative of God to the world…
      • Jesus was SENT OUT to give us the MESSAGE of GOSPEL – the GOOD news!
      • John 3:16 – “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
    • HIGH PRIEST – speaks of the ACCESS of Jesus…
      • HIGH PRIEST – [הַכֹּהֵן הַכָּדוֹל] – the ONLY one who could enter the Holiest of All… 
      • On Yom Kippur – he would offer a sacrifice for all the sins of all people – Leviticus 23:27
      • He would enter with the bells on his priestly robe – if they stopped – he was dead…
      • Tradition tells us he would have a rope around his foot – to drag him out…
      • The reason was to show the SEPARATION between God and man!
      • Hebrews 9:7-8 – “Into the [Holiest of All] the high priest went alone once a year… the Holy Spirit indicating this, the way into the Holiest of All was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing.”
      • A SEPARATION that is taken away through the cross of Christ…
      • The VEIL that separated the Holiest of All was TORN in TWO!
      • Mark 15:38 – “Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.”
      • Because Jesus is now our High Priest – we have ACCESS to the presence of God…
      • There is no longer a SEPARATION between God and man!
      • We can now boldly enter the very throne room of God – the Holiest of All!
      • Hebrews 4:16 – “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
    • CHRIST – speaks of ABILITY of Jesus…
      • CHRIST – 569x in NT – means the ANOINTED one…
      • ANOINTED – chriō [5x in NT] – to equip / call someone with a purpose…
      • Luke 4:18 – “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has ANOINTED Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives… to set at liberty those who are oppressed.”
      • If we ever ask the question – is Jesus ABLE to HELP– the answer is always YES…
      • He is THE ANOINTED one – He can do MORE than we can even IMAGINE!
      • Ephesians 3:20 – “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think…”
  • 3^rd – FAITHFUL like Moses… vs. 2
    • The SECOND reason we are to CONSIDER Jesus – He was FAITHFUL…
      • The author gives us a comparison to show just how FAITHFUL Jesus was…
      • MOSES – was also faithful [assumed word] in all his HOUSE…
      • HOUSE – oikos [114x in NT] – can refer to a HOUSE or the PEOPLE in the HOUSE…
      • MOSES was FAITHFUL to his HOUSE – referring to the nation of ISRAEL…
      • Numbers 12:7 – “My servant Moses; He is FAITHFUL in all My HOUSE.”
      • There is no GREATER old testament character to Israel – then MOSES…
      • He is the one who DELIVERED Israel from bondage in Egypt – the LAW GIVER!
      • Deuteronomy 34:9-12 – “There has not arisen in Israel a prophet like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, in all the signs and wonders which the LORD sent him to do in the land of Egypt… and by all that mighty power… performed in the sight of all Israel.”
    • Like MOSES – Jesus was FAITHFUL to God who APPOINTED Him…
      • APPOINTED – poieō [576x in NT] – to do / commit / cause – we might say give PURPOSE…
      • The PURPOSE God had for Jesus – was to come to sacrifice Himself on the CROSS!
      • Luke 22:42 – Jesus prayed – not My will but Yours be done…
      • Jesus did not desire to suffer – He did not want to go to the cross!
      • He could have walked away at any point – spared His life – avoided death…
      • But Jesus was FAITHFUL to God who APPOINTED Him – and He died on the cross!
      • Hebrews 12:2 – “For the joy that was set before Him endured the cross…”
    • God has APPOINTED us…
      • Ephesians 2:10 – “We are His workmanship [poiēma] created… for good works…”
      • Too often when we come to God – we try and get him to agree to our plans…
      • Being FAITHFUL – is not about getting God to do what WE want…
      • Being FAITHFUL – is about us coming around to doing what GOD wants…
      • Even if we do not LIKE it – AGREE with it – we TRUST that God knows BEST!

• 2^nd – Work of Jesus …  vs. 3-4
  • 1^st – More HONOR… vs. 3
    • For this ONE [assumed word] has been COUNTED worthy of more honor than MOSES…
      • FOR THIS cause – Jesus having a BETTER title / being FAITHFUL…
      • COUNTED [perfect] – Jesus will ALWAYS be more WORTHY of honor!
    • Jesus was more FAITHFUL than MOSES…
      • Moses REDEEMED a nation from slavery – and gave THEM the LAW of God…
      • Jesus REDEEMED the world from sin and death – and gave US the GRACE of God!
      • The LAW is HOLY – it is the standard of God for being GOOD – Romans 7:12
      • BUT the LAW [Moses] is powerless / can do nothing – to help us change…
      • It can ONLY point out to us ALL our failures – shows us ALL our flaws…
      • Jesus CAN change our desires – so we do NOT want to do the things that are wrong…
      • Only though the power of GRACE – can we have a change of heart!
      • II Corinthians 3:6 – “The old written covenant [Moses] ends in death; but under the new covenant [Jesus] – the Spirit gives life.” [NLT]
  • 2^nd – The BUILDER… vs. 3-4
    • He who BUILT the HOUSE – has MORE honor than the HOUSE [autos] …
      • For every HOUSE is BUILT by someone…
      • The question being hinted at – who BUILT the HOUSE of ISRAEL…
      • It was not MOSES – he HELPED build the HOUSE of ISRAEL …
      • MOSES was given the blueprints from God to BUILD the TABERNACLE – Exodus 26-27
      • But MOSES was also part of that HOUSE – he was an ISRAELITE…
      • MOSES was not a BUILDER – he was a TOOL in the hands of the BUILDER!
    • He who BUILT [participle] all things is God…
      • Jesus is GREATER than MOSES because He is THE BUILDER…
      • As we have already seen – Jesus made everything – Hebrews 1:2/10
      • Not just the things we can see – Jesus created the angels / heaven – Colossians 1:16
      • John 1:3 – “God created everything through him… nothing was created except through him.”
    • HOW Jesus BUILT the HOUSE…
      • I Peter 2:6 – “Behold, I lay in Zion A chief cornerstone…”
      • Anytime you build a house – you need a set of BLUEPRINTS to follow…
      • With so many pieces – so many different parts that have to fit perfectly together…
      • If you do not have a blueprint for a major project – it will end in disaster!
      • The BLUEPRINT God has given to the church – is the WORD of God…
      • The church of God is built upon the foundation / instruction of the Bible!
      • Matthew 16:18 – “On this rock I will build My church…”
      • Unfortunately – many churches today look to the WORLD rather than to Jesus / the Word…
      • In order for a church to grow in size you need to entertain the people…
      • To get money – hold fundraisers to raise money for the church…
      • All ideas that come from the WORLD – nowhere to be found in the WORD!
      • I Peter 2:6 – “He that believes on Jesus will not be put to shame…”
      • WILL NOT be put to shame [ou-me-subjunctive] – the most powerful negation in Greek!
      • There is NO WAY those who put their trust in Jesus will EVER be disappointed in the end!
      • We are never going to be disappointed when we choose to make Jesus our foundation…
      • That does not mean things will always turn out the way we expect…
      • But we can be absolutely certain – that whatever happens – it will be AMAZING!
      • Which is why the BUILDER (Jesus) will always be GREATER than the HOUSE (Moses)!

I Corinthians 3:16 – “Do you not know that you are the temple of God…”

3^rd – Position of Jesus…  vs. 5-6

1^st – The TESTIMONY of Moses… vs. 5

MOSES indeed was FAITHFUL in all his HOUSE as a SERVANT…

Numbers 12:7 – “My SERVANT [עֶבֶד] Moses; He is faithful in all My house.”

SERVANT – [only here NT] – carries the idea of WILLING service to God…

The POSITION of MOSES – was as a willing SERVANT in the HOUSE of the Lord…

And MOSES was FAITHFUL – because he did what God said…

He gave – a TESTIMONY of those things which would be spoken AFTERWARD…

When God spoke to Israel – giving them the first TEN commandments…

The thunder / lightening / smoking mountain – terrified the people to death…

They asked not to hear the voice of God – or see the blazing fire – Exodus 20:19

Moses prophesied God would give Israel another PROPHET – Deuteronomy 18:15

A prophet FROM Israel – like Moses – who would give them the Word of God

The PROPHET- MOSES gave a TESTIMONY about – was Jesus Christ – Acts 3:22

Therefore – Jesus is BETTER than MOSES – because MOSES was a TESTIMONY for Jesus!

2^nd – Jesus is the SON… vs. 6

But [in addition] – CHRIST is a SON over His own HOUSE…

The title SON of God – is used 45 times in the New Testament…

Jesus calls Himself the SON of God – TEN times just in the Book of John…

SON of God is often misunderstood – it has NOTHING to do with the virgin birth…

Before creation Jesus carried the title – because Jesus is God – John 10:30

The title describes His relationship to the Father – the SECOND person in the Trinity! 

Jesus is BETTER than MOSES…

MOSES was NOT the BUILDER – and as a SERVANT he would not INHERIT the HOUSE…

Jesus was the BUILDER – and the SON – who will INHERIT all things!

Therefore – Jesus is EVEN BETTER than the GREATEST man in the Old Testament!

Romans 11:33 – “For OF Him and THROUGH Him and TO Him are ALL things, to whom be glory forever.”

Whose HOUSE we are – if we HOLD FAST [subjunctive] …

In CONFIDENCE – to speak BOLDLY – not be ASHAMED of Jesus…

In REJOICING – to BOAST – not in ourselves but in Jesus…

In the HOPE we have in Jesus – FIRMLY – until the end (when we go to be with the Lord)!

I Peter 2:5 – “You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house…”

We are LIVING stones – being built [present/passive] into a spiritual house!

When Jesus BUILDS a HOUSE – He does not use wood and concrete….

God uses something far more precious – He uses us to BUILD His HOUSE!

And God has a purpose and plan for each of us in His HOUSE!

When King Solomon built the first Temple – all the stones were prepared off site…

They were finished in the quarry – then just assembled on the Temple Mount…

Each stone was a perfect fit – they did not even need mortar between the stones!

I Kings 6:7 – “The temple, when it was being built, was built with stone finished at the quarry, so that no hammer or chisel [or] any iron tool was heard in the temple.”

Did you ever wonder WHY God did not take us right to heaven when we got saved…

WHY leave us here on earth where we got through trials and temptations…

The reason is because we have a lot of ROUGH EDGES that need to be polished off…

We are NOT going to be chiseled and shaped in heaven – the work takes place here!

God put us through trials to mold / shape us into the people He wants us to be…

So that when we arrive in Heaven – we will already be a perfect fit!