Worthy of More Glory than Moses (Hebrews 3:1-6)- Pastor Kenneth Collins Maple

Would you take your Bibles then and open up to

the New Testament book of Hebrews? Hebrews chapter

Hebrews 3:1–6

3 verses 1 through 6. We're continuing our sermon

series through this book. And I want to remind

you, as you're turning there, as you're finding

your seats of what the book of Hebrews does,

it makes a lot of comparisons, a lot of contrasts.

And we have seen thus far that Jesus is greater

than all of his creation. And we are reminded

that all things were made through Jesus. And

this same sort of greater theme continues now

into chapter three. Would you follow along with

me? Verses one through six. Therefore, holy brothers,

you who share in a heavenly calling, consider

Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession,

who is faithful to him who appointed him, just

as Moses also was faithful in all God's house.

For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory

than Moses, as much more glory 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 were to be spoken later. But

Christ is faithful over God's house as a son,

and we are his house if indeed We hold fast our

confidence and our boasting and our hope. This

is God's word. Let us pray. Father, we do thank

you for the book of Hebrews. And as we dive into

this text, certainly, Lord, we may have questions.

And so I ask, Lord, that you would open up our

hearts and our minds, that you would grant us

understanding. and that we would rightly rejoice

glory in the God man, Jesus Christ, in whose

name we pray. Amen. Hypothetically speaking,

let us say that you had to tell the story of

the Bible to someone, but you could only do so

using four biblical individuals. Could you do

that? And whom would you use to tell the story

of Scripture in what we might say is the Mount

Rushmore of biblical individuals? Take a moment,

think about it. Who do you believe is absolutely

essential for telling the story of Holy Scripture?

Your minds may be going to Abraham. You may be

thinking about David. Perhaps you're thinking

of Mary. And what about the Apostle Paul? Who

is on your Mount Rushmore? Certainly we know

Jesus is there and He is above the mountain.

But within your list, did you have Moses? If

you didn't, you're probably wondering how do

I get Moses in there? Moses is great. Everybody

loves Moses. Moses the one who got the Israelites

out of Egypt as he followed the Lord's call upon

his life. And he did those plagues and he got

them across the Red Sea walking on dry ground

with the Egyptians pursuing them. This is Moses

in the Song of Moses in Exodus 15. This is Moses

on Mount Sinai and the Ten Commandments and the

Mosaic Covenant. This is Moses in the burning

bush. This is Moses with Elijah at the Mount

of Transfiguration. What's not to love about

Moses? When it comes to first place in Scripture,

we might be tempted to put Moses there, but what

verses 1 through 6 do is to have us, yes, consider

Moses, but the text says consider Christ. So

remember how the book of Hebrews does things,

how Jesus is said to be greater than the angels

and Jesus is the greater prophet, priest and

king. And here we have another comparison, this

with Moses. Yes, Jesus is greater than Moses.

After all, Moses is a type of Christ. Not the

other way around. And so two points to consider

today. One, Jesus is the builder of the house

and Jesus is the son. Before we cover those two

points, I just want to share some introductions

and some comparisons that are here. First of

all, notice the audience of verse one. Therefore,

holy brothers, right, saints, K people have been

redeemed. We must remember the main problem of

this, that the writer of Hebrews is writing to

some portion of people that are considering returning

to the old covenant. They're considering turning

their backs on Jesus. But notice what the writer

does. He reminds them, he reminds true believers

of their place in Christ. He reminds them of

their heavenly calling. In verse one, he reminds

them of their status, that if you are in Christ,

you are made holy by Him. In this way, the writer

of Hebrews acts as a good biblical counselor.

He says, consider Jesus. This is a word for them

because. What's going on? We've already talked

about this as the writer of Hebrews is addressing

a people who were, yes, considering going back

to the old way. But the reason that they were

considering going back was because of persecution,

because of troubles brought on by their Christian

faith. And so what does he tell them? Don't go

backwards go forwards and that even when you

are you are depressed You are downcast you are

pursued at every angle by people who hate you

because of your faith Remember the gospel The

writer could have said remember that before the

world hated you it hated Jesus and so consider

again Jesus as the Apostle and the high priest

of our confession, he's saying, and he's saying

this to you too, lift your gaze above your current

problems, above your current situation, and see

that Jesus, he is at the right hand of the Father

right now making intercession for you, and he

is where your true home is. And you only have

salvation in His name. And so do not turn your

backs upon Jesus. I heard one other preacher

saying it like this. If everybody in your environment

everybody in your sphere, everybody within your

friend group or your family, if they all turn

their backs on Jesus, don't you do it. Don't

do it. It is a terrible, horrific mistake because

we must remember what Jesus has done and he has

done something that Moses could not do and Abraham

could not do and David could not do, the Apostle

Paul could not do, Mary could not do. And you

can't do it, and your neighbor can't do it, and

your friend can't do it, and your mother can't

do it. No one can do it. Jesus laid down His

life so that you would have life. And in His

name alone, there is everlasting life. And yet,

as clear as that is, I know within our text there

might be some things that maybe confuse us. And

so I hope to be able to help look in verse 1,

as Jesus is called the apostle. Now when we hear

the word apostle, our minds naturally go to,

well, you know, the apostles. So why is Jesus

called an apostle here? What does the word apostle

mean? It means one who is sent. And is it not

true? that Jesus was sent by the Father. Isn't

it true that Jesus comes to do all of the Father's

will? Yes, it is. And so once again, we see the

connection between the Father and the Son. As

a matter of fact, verses three and four tell

us very plainly that Jesus is God. Imagine hearing

that. as somebody who is tempted to go back to

the old covenant to abandon Jesus, to be reminded

that Jesus is one with the Father, that Jesus

is God. And he is the high priest of our confession.

And really what the writer is doing then, he

is laying the groundwork for what's to come.

Because as we consider that Jesus is called an

apostle and that Jesus is our great high priest,

Was Moses a great high priest? Certainly Moses

did much priestly activity and certainly we remember

Aaron in this way too, but Aaron and Moses cannot

cannot compare to Jesus and what he does as our

great high priest and yet at the same time as

I say this the writer of Hebrews does have a

very high view of Moses he does the writer of

Hebrews says that both are worthy of glory and

both are faithful just as Moses is faithful in

all God's house but Jesus is greater and at the

same time this does not diminish the faithfulness

of Moses actually it elevates it just because

Jesus is worthy of more glory does not diminish

the work that God did through Moses not at all

I like to think of it like this. Have you ever

heard of an athlete who accomplishes something

great and it puts him in the conversation with

other greats and someone will say, you know,

no one else has done that since Mickey Mantle

or Babe Ruth or Willie Mays. And sometimes the

athlete will say something like it is just a

privilege to be mentioned in the same conversation

as those men. Moses is in the conversation. But

how so? Well, look in verse five. Moses was faithful

in all God's house as a servant to do what? To

testify to the things that were to be spoken

later. And so what are the things to be spoken

later? What is this talking about? The ministry

of Moses testifies to that of Jesus. And I can

prove it to you. John 5, 46 says, for if you

believed Moses, you would believe me, because

he wrote about me. Rick Phillips says, Moses'

ministry was not in conflict with Christ, but

Moses was a servant whose labor was part of Christ's

ultimate work. And so you see Moses' ministry

points us ahead to Jesus. And so let's look at

these two points now. One, that Jesus is the

builder. And secondly, that Jesus is the son.

It says that both are common in faithfulness,

both are worthy of glory. But look in verse three,

because verse three sets them apart. Because

they're both faithful, but one's greater. How

so? Well, It uses an analogy of a house, of a

building, and Scripture actually does that quite

often here. And so you see it again, and we should

be reminded of the promise that was made to David.

If you remember 2 Samuel chapter 7, the Davidic

2 Samuel 7 · chapter mention

covenant, what does God promise to David? He

promises one who's going to come and build his

house. Now, the immediate fulfillment is certainly

that God did provide David a son to build the

house, the temple. He provided Solomon, right?

But the Davidic covenant points beyond Solomon.

The Davidic covenant points us all the way to

the forever, eternal, promised King. And this

is easy to see, that Jesus is worthy of more

glory like a builder is worthy of more than the

house itself. And so once again, Christ is the

builder, Moses is the house. And as such, Christ

is worthy of more glory and more honor for more

reasons than we can possibly count, but specifically

here for building his people. Because there's

nobody else who could do it. Perhaps your minds

are thinking of Psalm 127, how that Psalm begins,

unless the Lord builds the house, those who build

it labor in vain. Christ must be the builder

of the house. And Jesus, you have a better house.

Christ is the builder or the house collapses.

Perhaps you remember what Jesus has to say about

the house that's built on the rock versus the

house that's built on the sand. And here we also

may remember Jesus' promise to build. It's in

Matthew 16. It happens at Caesarea Philippi.

It is there that Jesus asks his disciples, Who

do you say that I am? And what does Peter say?

He says you are the Christ. What does Christ

mean? It means the anointed one. This is getting

at the promises of scripture. Peter is acknowledging

that Jesus was is the promised one throughout

redemptive history to save God's people from

their sins and so Peter says you are the Christ

but notice something special here as You look

at verse 6 But Christ is faithful This is the

first usage of the word Christ within the book

of Hebrews and so maybe possibly The writer of

Hebrews is reflecting on that confession by Peter.

You are the Christ. One commentator says here,

perhaps Christ is used for the first time here

because of the contrast between the great figure

of the old covenant, Moses, and the expected

figure associated with the new covenant, the

Messiah. And as such, as Jesus is the Christ,

friends, he is still building his church. He

is still building his church and he promised

the gates of hell will not prevail. Perhaps you

remember 1st Peter 2, 9 through 10. But you are

a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation,

a people for his own possession, that you may

proclaim the excellencies of him who called you

out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once

you were not a people, but now you are God's

people. Once you had not received mercy, but

now you have received mercy. Christ is building

his church. Christ is building his people. And

you, believer, who are committed to the work

and the worship of this church, you are living

proof. This church is living proof and all of

the churches that are being planted across the

world are living proof Jesus is still building

his church and the gates of hell will not prevail

and Yet sadly Church membership has gone by the

wayside these days We recognize Jesus is so committed

to his church that he established the church

and he died for the church. And yet there are

so many who call themselves Christians who do

not commit to the church at all. They won't commit

to the work and the worship of the church. People

won't commit to evangelism. People won't commit

to Bible study together. People won't commit

to tithing. People won't commit to worship. But

friends, this is our chief end to glorify God.

And we do so when we gather like this in worship.

Because again, Christ is worthy. But not only

is he worthy as the builder of the church, Christ

Jesus is worthy as the Son. And so let's consider

the second point. considering the place of Moses

and Jesus in the household. What the writer of

Hebrews is doing really is doing apologetics.

And by apologetics I don't mean saying you're

sorry. The writer is making a defense for Christ.

and making a defense for the new covenant. And

he gives us his reasoning that as Moses was faithful

as a servant in God's household, Christ is faithful

as a son. And so you see, both Moses and Jesus

are faithful, but there is only one begotten

and one beloved son. I already referred a couple

of Sundays ago to Jesus. the Mount of Transfiguration,

but I'm going to use it again because it illustrates

this perfectly you remember Matthew 17 and Mark

9 and Luke 9 Jesus takes his disciples three

of them Peter James and John they're on this

mountain and appearing before them is who else

but Moses and Elijah right and Peter says Lord,

it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will

make three tents, three tabernacles here, one

for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah. But

friends, there are problems with Peter's wish,

one of them being that he seems to place Jesus

on the same level of glory as Elijah and Moses.

But then he is interrupted. in his speech, because

there is a voice coming from the cloud that says,

this is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased,

echoing the words of Jesus' baptism. Now on some

level, I think we can understand why Peter went

there. Because as Moses is on the Mount of Transfiguration,

there is only one other time that an event remotely

close to that has ever happened. yes it was with

Moses on Mount Sinai as he was shining just like

Jesus is shining on the Mount of Transfiguration

and so you can see why Peter expresses his wish

because Moses is there but friends that's that

event is not chiefly about Moses and it's not

about Elijah it's about Jesus Because that voice

comes through saying this is my beloved son,

but then the voice from Yahweh says Listen to

him Not listen to Moses not listen to Elijah

listen to him and To use the words from our passage

today. We might say consider him But friends

that is man's chief problem, isn't it? people

who go through all of life Never considering

Jesus, the problem be it idolatry, and that we

place our trust elsewhere, we give our worship

elsewhere, but again, verse four, Jesus is God,

not Moses, and not Elijah, and not any other

biblical individual, not any individual that

you know today, not your best friend, not your

boss, not your mom, not your dad, it is Christ

alone. And Christ has been promised ever since

the fall to be this Son. For you remember Genesis

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3, the promise of such a Son to bruise

the head of the serpent. You see, yes, Moses

did incredible things, not to diminish that at

all. Moses was successful over Pharaoh, but Jesus

is successful over the devil. You see Christ

has a greater enemy and Christ promises a greater

salvation and Christ promises a greater promised

land. But how does he do it? How does he do it?

Do you remember in John chapter two when Jesus

is talking to the Jewish people and he said destroy

this temple and in three days I will raise it

up and the people are like Are you kidding me?

It took 46 years for us to build this temple.

And you're gonna raise it in three days, but

friends, we of course know the answer. He was

talking about the temple of his body. He was

talking about resurrection. How is it possible

that he brings us into the greater promised land?

It's possible because of the death and the resurrection.

You see the problem? If I can go back yet again

to Peter on the Mount of Transfiguration, the

problem, the real problem with Peter is when

he says, hey, let's just stay right here and

we'll make these tabernacles is that he was attempting

to get to the glory without the cross. All glory,

no cross. But Jesus was sent to lay down his

life for us. But friends, he didn't stay there.

because He arose on the third day and He atoned

for all of your sins, all of them. And proving

that He is greater, He was raised. And in Him

we also will be raised. Death does not have the

final say. And so in light of that fact, friends,

we need to press on. Look at verse six. We need

to hold fast. and we are his house, if indeed

we hold fast our confidence and are boasting

in our hope. We have already seen the writer

of Hebrews laying out his defense, but now comes

the instruction. As Christ is over the house,

The writer tells these brothers and sisters,

you belong to that house only if you hold on

to the confidence and your hope in Christ Jesus.

But notice, he's not just telling them that.

He's not just pointing fingers at them. He's

also pointing his fingers at himself. We are

his house. If indeed we hold fast our confession

and are boasting in our hope, he is preaching

the gospel to himself. Friends, we got to do

that too. We got to do that too. How shall we

hold fast if we don't preach the gospel to ourselves?

And if we don't have others speaking the gospel

into our lives? He groups himself into this.

He says we have to hold fast. We have to persevere.

You see, when it comes down to it, what these

people were thinking about doing is no longer

trusting in Jesus, but trusting in Moses, attempting

to avoid persecution. But friends, that doesn't

guarantee very much. And it certainly does not

guarantee a heavenly calling. There is no hope

in that. And so let me ask you, where's your

hope today? Where is your hope? Oftentimes we

use the word hope rather nebulously or hopelessly.

When we talk about hope today, we usually mean

wishful thinking. I hope you have a great day.

I hope Clemson wins the game. But friends, there's

no guarantee in these things. But the hope that

is offered in Christ is real gospel hope, and

you can be sure of it. Because Christ is the

son and Christ is the builder He is he is these

things and because he is you can not only have

hope you can boast in it according to verse 6

And yet as I begin to close I understand how

verse 6 may perplex us Because it's conditional

isn't it if we hold fast If we hold fast I know

how we feel about that. Sometimes we might wish

the text to say, Jesus is holding fast to you.

Like somehow, some way, the only way that we

can keep from apostasy is to hold on by our fingertips.

I was listening to a song just the other day

that puts this in a way that I really like. You

may have heard this song, When I Fear My Faith

Will Fail. Christ will hold me fast. When the

tempter would prevail, he will hold me fast.

I could never keep my hold through life's fearful

path, for my love is often cold. He must hold

me fast, for my Savior loves me so. He will hold

me fast. Friends we look at this verse 6 and

we might say why couldn't the writer have given

us a song like that? He will hold me fast And

so why is this so conditional why is there that

word if It sounds like the writer is not a very

good Presbyterian But friends, that's not true

Because holding fast is what we do by faith We

are called to exhibit our faith and called to

exhibit our faith at all times You are called

to exhibit your faith when you face that diagnosis

You are called to face that even when you lose

a loved one You are called to faithful living

when you don't get that promotion or when your

kids don't like you You are called to faith at

all times even should persecution come your way.

But friends, as you wonder about that word if,

am I holding on tight enough? Consider this,

faith doesn't come from you. Faith is not generated

by you. Faith comes from God, for it is by grace

that you have been saved through faith. It is

not from yourselves. It is the gift of God, and

he has given you faith, And He has given you

the means to grow in your faith. So do not neglect

these things. And furthermore, within our passage,

as we wonder about this word, if am I holding

on? Haven't you seen so far the faithfulness

of Christ? It is firstly about the faithfulness

of Christ before it's ever about your faithfulness.

And so, yes, friends, we can cling to Him in

faith. as he holds on tight to us. And so maybe

you are going through a difficult time. Maybe

you do need this encouragement. Friends, remember

the promises of scripture. Remember the covenants.

Remember the promise of the son, the builder

of the house who was crucified but also raised.

Christ has kept his promises. God keeps his covenants.

And this is enough. This is enough for us to

continue hanging on knowing that he is hanging

on to us remember the faithfulness of Christ

in all things and how God has bestowed upon you

faith and He will get you through let's pray