Keep Your Focus on Jesus!
Don't Stop Now!
A study of the NT book of Hebrews
by Pastor Frank Rice
Hebrews 3:1-6
How fortuitous! At this special time of the year believers are encouraged not to lose sight of the real meaning of Christmas. The only way to actually do that is to keep our minds focused on the real meaning of Christmas, the birth of God’s Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. But we’re not the first audience to receive that challenge and we’ll not be the last. We have a tendency to lose focus on what really matters! As we continue our earthly spiritual journey we must consider Jesus, the epitome and example of faithfulness, if we desire to be faithful!
I. Consider the Similarities Between Moses and Jesus (Vv. 1-2)!
v The goal is to challenge believers to carefully consider Jesus!
1. The terms “holy” and “brethren” indicate these are believers.
2. Used with “partakers of the heavenly calling,” there is little doubt these Jewish Christians were struggling with their commitment to Messiah in a hostile environment.
3. Some were looking back, asking, “Did I do the right thing?” Some were looking forward, asking “Is it really worth it?”
v The goal is to challenge believers to carefully consider Jesus!
1. They are told to give focused attention to Jesus, to “bring their minds down upon” Him in serious, careful study, concentrated gaze, and determined effort (Luke12:24).
2. We do confess Him as One sent from God to deliver us!
3. We do confess Him as High Priest who is faithful and has made atonement on our behalf (2:17). (Think about it!)
v The challenge is to carefully consider Jesus in comparison to their hero Moses whom they greatly revered (Numb 12:6-8)!
1. Moses was divinely chosen and miraculously preserved (in the basket).
2. Moses was the incomparable deliverer (out of Egypt).
3. Moses was Israel’s supreme and unique prophet. God issued a solemn warning to any who ventured to speak against him!
4. Moses was Israel’s Lawgiver. His name is synonymous with the Law. (Try to appreciate the Jewish mindset!) [It is no simple task to wean Jewish people from Moses to Jesus! It’s often a daunting assignment to get people to withdraw their trust in things with which they are familiar to place it squarely on Jesus Christ and Him alone!]
5. Moses was Israel’s original and greatest historian.
6. Moses was the humblest man on the face of the earth!
7. Moses was the only one to speak with God face to face.
8. Moses’ body was buried personally by God (Deut 34:6).
9. Moses’ name appears more often in scripture than anyone except David! (763 times compared to 1031!)
v The challenge is to consider the faithfulness of these “sent ones.” Without demeaning Moses, we are pointed to the Messiah. “The pastor first establishes the Son’s preeminence in the most effective way by contrasting Him with the highest heavenly beings. Then he turns to Moses because of Moses role as premier role as agent of OT revelation, mediator of the Old Covenant, and leader of the people of God. It was Moses who established the priesthood and sacrificial system that foreshadowed Christ.” (Cockerill)
II. Consider the Contrasts Between Moses and Jesus (Vv. 3-6)!
v Moses was a sent one. Christ is a sent One & also High Priest!
1. Jesus is the Apostle! No one else in the NT ever calls Him this! He is the Ambassador, the final and complete revelation, the authorized representative of the Father!
2. But Christ Jesus is also the High Priest whom we confess. The priest is a bridge-builder. He must know both man & God. He must speak to God for men & to men for God.
3. Jesus is the perfect High Priest because He is fully man and fully God; He represents man to God and God to man. “His glory is superior not merely in degree but in kind.” (Cockerill)
v Moses was in the house. Christ is over the house!
1. Moses was part of the house; Christ was the builder of it. The term includes planning, building, and furnishing.
2. The term “house” doesn’t refer to a physical building but the household of faith whose existence argues for a builder.
v Moses was a servant in the house. Christ is Son over the house!
The term servant (used only here) indicates the willingness to serve, personally and freely rendered, and a position of honor. It is far above a slave but he is still a servant, not a son!
v Moses spoke of the hope. Christ is the Hope! He is counted and considered as worthy of more glory than Moses!
1. Moses spoke of hope (Deut18:15, 18-19; Luke 24:27). Christ is the fulfillment of the promise, the Hope of Israel!
2. “While all those he is addressing may appear to be God’s people, some of them are not. Only final perseverance will reveal who were and who were not genuine believers.” (Cockerill)
3. “Continuance in the Christian life is the test of reality.”
4. “Those who hold fast their confidence and hope are proving that they are truly born again.”
5. “Those who have trusted Christ prove this confession by their steadfastness, confidence, and joyful hope.”
6. “The doctrine of the final perseverance of the saints has as its corollary the salutary teaching that the saints are the people who persevere to the end.”
You’ll never make it through this life without Him and surely you have no hope in the next! "Consider Him and come to your decision before you leave this place."
Fix your eyes on Him for your salvation, security, and sanity!