Chapter 3:1–19

Till now, the author has shown us that Jesus is greater than the angels. Now is the time to show that He is greater than Moses - which was important for the Jewish Christians to see clearly.

3:1

“Holy brethren” - The Church is a family, unique family. Jesus is our brother and we are also brothers and sisters to each other. “Holy or saint” was used to describe Christians. Why? Because we have been sanctified in baptism and confirmation by the Spirit of God.

“Partakers of the heavenly calling” - it can mean that our “calling” comes from heaven or that our “calling” aims for heaven.

Jesus Christ is the “Apostle” (lit. delegate, messenger, one sent forth with orders) in that He is the One God sent to reveal the Father to humankind (cf. 1:1–2; John 1:14; 3:17, 34; 5:36, 38; et al.). This term is used for Christ only here.

Furthermore He is the “High Priest” in that He is the One God anointed to represent human beings to Himself (2:17–18). Our confession is that for which we take a public stand in baptism, namely, Christianity (cf. 4:14; 10:23).

3:2 - Numbers 12:7 LXX - God defends Moses against Aaron and his older sister Miriam. We can see Moses’ faithfulness in how he served regarding God’s “house,” the tabernacle, and regarding God’s “household,” Israel. He served exactly as God instructed him (cf. Num. 12:7; 1 Sam. 2:35; 1 Chron. 17:14).

The faithfulness of Jesus - in his earthly ministry is similar - He faithfully accomplished God’s will.

3:3–4 We can see the difference between Jesus Christ’s superiority and Moses’ by comparing the builder of a building with the building itself. No matter how grand a building may be its creator always gets more glory than the building itself. Whereas Moses served faithfully in the system of worship the tabernacle represented, Jesus Christ designed that system of worship. These verses are a powerful testimony to the deity of Jesus Christ. If God built everything, and Jesus Christ built God’s house, Jesus Christ is God.

3:5–6 Moses functioned as a servant (Gr. therapon, one who freely renders personal service), but Jesus is God’s Son.

“By defining Moses’ service in this way, the writer indicates that Moses’ status as servant corresponds to that of the angels, who are servants to the heirs of salvation (see … 1:14).”[110]

God’s house over which Jesus Christ sits in authority represents the whole system of worship that our Lord inaugurated with the New Covenant.

We are God’s house - the Church, but that presents a challenge. The writer’s concern was that his readers might not remain faithful to God (cf. Mark 4:5–6, 16–17). This would result in their losing their privilege as priests that included intimate fellowship with God and the opportunity to represent God before people and people before God. This is what the Israelites as a whole lost when they turned away from the Lord and built the golden calf at Mt. Sinai (Exod. 32). Instead of all the Israelites being priests (Exod. 19:6) God limited this privilege to the Levites who remained faithful when the other Israelites apostatized (Exod. 32:26–29; cf. Num. 3:12–13). Just so today it is possible for us to forfeit the privilege of functioning as a priest in the future (cf. 1 Pet. 2:5).

3:7–19 - the warning against losing faith

“The comparison between Christ and Moses leads to one between their followers. The writer uses the conduct of the Israelites as a means of challenging his readers to a closer walk with God.”[114]

The writer next reminded his readers of the fate of the Israelites when they failed to go on believing God at Kadesh Barnea. His purpose was to help them realize the serious consequences of that behavior and to motivate them to persevere faithfully in the apostles’ teaching. This exhortation is really a commentary on Psalm 95:7b–11 in which the writer assumed a correspondence between the successive generations of God’s people and consistency in God’s character.[115] In verse 6 the writer warned of losing our privilege of serving as priests in the present. Now he warned of losing some of our privileges as heirs in the future.

3:7–11 - It is interesting to notice that the quote from Psalm 95 is introduced with “As the Holy Spirit says”. Here we have another indication that the Bible is an inspired word of God.

“Today” stresses the urgency of immediate action. This writer used it eight times in Hebrews. The context of the words quoted (Psalm 95:7b–11) is very significant.

“… the writer of Hebrews appeals to his recipients not to become discontented because of their suffering, and not to let discontentment give way to open rebellion—lest they, like their forefathers, lose the blessings of the privileges that now were available to them as believers.”[116]

“The grand and terrible lesson of Israel’s history is that it is possible to begin well and end poorly. In fact, this tragic human tendency dominates much human spiritual experience.”[117]

“‘Rest’ (katapausis), as used here, points to a place of blessing where there is no more striving but only relaxation in the presence of God and in the certainty that there is no cause for fear.”[118]

“Rest” is another of the writer’s favorite words. For Israel, “rest” meant the enjoyment of all that God had promised the nation, not just entrance into the Promised Land. The next generation of Israelites did enter the Promised Land and experienced rest there because they chose to trust and obey God (cf. Josh. 1:13, 15; 21:44; 22:4; 23:1). For the Christian, “rest” is the enjoyment of all that God has promised us, not just going to heaven. This includes the fullness of rewards that can be ours if we follow the Lord faithfully.

3:12 Here is an exhortation to apply this lesson from the past. Note again that those to whom the writer addressed this epistle were believers. Their danger was apostasy, departure from God, not failure to come to God in saving faith.[119]

Moreover, the warning seems to be directed at the Gentile Christians, that would go back to paganism.

“No believer today, Jew or Gentile, could go back into the Mosaic legal system since the temple is gone and there is no priesthood. But every believer is tempted to give up his confession of Christ and go back into the world system’s life of compromise and bondage.”[122]

As often in Hebrews, references to God as “living” imply that He is the giver of life.[123]

3:13 The writer counseled his readers to encourage each other to continue to walk with God. He knows how important is the support of the community. Meeting with other Christians for mutual encouragement regularly can be a great help to any Christian in remembering that failing to continue to trust God will bring bad consequences. Mutual encouragement in godliness is something we all need daily so we do not become hardened to sin.

“A hardened attitude is not a sudden aberration, but a habitual state of mind.”[124]

We need to get started “today,” while there is still opportunity.

“One of the best ways of keeping ourselves true is to help other people, and the duty is here set forth of exhorting one another. There is scarcely anything more striking in Christian experience than the fact that in helping others we often help ourselves.”[125]

3:14 Even though we are already partakers of a heavenly calling (v. 1), we can only partake of all that God wants us to enjoy in the future with the Messiah by persevering. Conversely we can lose the privilege of partaking with Christ fully if we stop trusting and obeying God.

“To begin well is good, but it is not enough, it is only those who stay the course and finish the race that have any hope of gaining the prize.”[127].

3:15 We see the example of failure in Israel’s unbelief at Kadesh-barnea, which the writer repeated for emphasis.
“The allusions to Num 14 are significant because they indicate that unbelief is not a lack of faith or trust. It is the refusal to believe God. It leads inevitably to a turning away from God in a deliberate act of rejection.”[128]

3:16–19 These verses constitute an exposition of the passage quoted. The questions indicate the diatribe style of rhetoric in which the speaker raises questions and provides answers.

“By saying So we see that [v. 19], the writer assumes that his reasoning will be self-evident.”[130]

“The conclusion thus introduces the motif of the impossibility of a second repentance after apostasy, in anticipation of a fuller treatment later in the sermon (6:4–8; 10:26–31; 12:16–17 …). The hearers are left with the overwhelming impression that unbelief would expose them to the same precarious situation as Israel at Kadesh.”[131]

The apostate generation of Israelites failed to enter the Promised Land when they hardened their hearts and provoked God by their disbelief. The Christians should learn from their experience.


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