Hebrews 3

Bible study with Pastor Terry Gray


Jesus is greater than Moses (Hebrews 3:1-6)
Men and women of God are servants, for example, Moses. 


Hebrews 3:2, 3:5
Numbers 12
Moses was faithful. He was faithful to God, faithful to Israel, faithful to his people.


It's important to read Hebrews as a Christian Jew back in the days. For them, the Temple was still standing! Can you imagine the dilemma they faced? The Jewish religious leaders condemned them and persecuted them on a daily basis. We also need to remember that Jesus didn't die at the hands of Romans. Jesus died because the Jewish religious leaders wanted Him dead. And if the Jewish leaders could murder Jesus, imagine what they would do to His followers! And so, many Christian Jews at the time considered going back to Judaism. They were under cruel persecution and often thought it might be wiser to go back to the way things were.


The author of Hebrews therefore encourages them to look at Jesus. The Jews placed a lot of emphasis on angels and great Jewish leaders like Moses. We saw in Hebrews 1, the author already hammered home that Jesus is greater than angels. Here, we see the author hammering home that Jesus is greater than Moses. Where is the author going with this? Well, the big idea here is, even when we face heavy persecution, we should remain hopeful, because Jesus beats EVERYTHING. When we are suffering and are ready to give up, we should remember that Jesus is our best safe house. Don't look back, because the past offers no eternal solution. Keep our eyes on Jesus, because He is our savior!


One additional inspiration from this passage is that despite how amazing people are at serving God (and there have been many great servants of God: Abraham, Moses,... Billy Graham, etc.), we need to still keep our eyes on Jesus. It's tempting to elevate these people, but they are just servants of God. If angels quickly told people to stop worshiping them, that should make it clear to us that no one deserves worship than God. Many early Christians also venerated Peter, but again, Peter also made it clear that he is another servant of God, just like the rest of us (1 Peter 5). The idea here is to worship God and only God. Be careful about elevating anyone or anything else.


Daily Precautions (Hebrews 3:7-19)


1. Listen even if we're scared (Hebrews 3:7-11)


2. Have a soft heart (Hebrews 3:12)
Have a heart that is always ready to listen, to learn


3. Deceit of sin hardens our heart (Hebrews 3:13)


4. Stay confident in the Lord (Hebrews 3:14)


5. Do not fall away from God (Hebrews 3:16-19)
Draw close to the God through prayers


Summary
In sum, we should keep our eyes on Jesus, who is our best everything. When Jesus told His disciples that He would send another like him (John), the Greek word used for "another" is the word for "another of the same kind." And who does Jesus send? The Holy Spirit, the 3rd person of God. Hence, even though Jesus is in Heaven right now, we still have His presence in us. With the Holy Spirit residing within us, we have someone who we can call up and just ask Him for comfort, for guidance, for support. Jesus is our future. Do not look back and seek the past just because it is more convenient or comfortable. Jesus is our only solution.