A GREATER THAN MOSES
A GREATER THAN MOSES
What is the writer’s purpose in Hebrews? He is concerned to demonstrate the superior value of the Christian faith to the Jew’s religion. Under the relentless pressure of persecution, the Hebrew Christians to whom he writes are considering a return to Judaism. Such a return, the writer argues, would constitute the abandoning of the superior for the inferior, the substitution of the shadow for the substance. The Jews greatly valued their religion because it had been given through eminent prophets like Samuel, Elijah, and Daniel and through the medium of angels. The Christian faith, however, was superior to the Jewish religion because it came directly from the Son of God, One who is superior to prophets and angels. The Jews, furthermore, highly esteemed Moses, a man who spoke “face to face with God”and was sent as God’s special messenger to the fathers. Through Moses, God delivered the people from Egypt, gave the Law, and led them through the wilderness. He was God’s “apostle”[i.e. one who is sent on a special mission], God’s “prophet,” {Deuteronomy 18:15} and God’s mediator [the word “priest”inHebrews 3:1(pontifex) means “bridge builder”or “mediator”].But Christianity has the advantage over the Jew’s religion because the Lord Jesus Christ is superior to Moses. In fact, He is our “Moses,” our prophet and mediator, as Moses himself predicted:
“ I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak unto them all that I command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.” {Deuteronomy 18:18-19}
Jesus is, then, the fulfillment of this prophecy. He is superior to Moses in terms of the fact that Moses was God’s servant but Jesus is God’s Son. The author of the Christian religion, then, is preferable to Moses. He is the builder of the “house of God;” Moses was merely a part of that “house.” The danger of apostasy from the Christian faith, then, is more grave than the consequences of disobedience to Moses. The question inherent in these words is sobering: “Are you in God’s household? Are you a part of his dwelling place among men?” The writer answers that participation in “God’s house”is conditional on “holding fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.” {Hebrews 3:6}
What exactly is he saying? He is saying: “You claim that Moses is your leader? Very well, then. Moses was faithful to God. He held fast the revelation that God gave to him. That revelation pointed forward to a greater Prophet that God would raise up. Now that greater Prophet has come. His name is Jesus Christ. Just as Moses was faithful to hold fast God’s truth, Jesus Christ was faithful to the truth the Father committed to him. You have ‘professed’ {Hebrews 3:1} faith in Him, leaving the inferior (Moses’ law) for the superior (Christ’s gospel). But now, you are in danger of apostasy; you are ready to abandon your confession of Christ and return to the Jew’s religion. Be aware, then, that you are in danger of forfeiting God’s presence, for you are only His ‘house,’ that is, He will only dwell among you ‘if you hold fast’ your confession at the beginning until the very end. You must be faithful, like Moses and like Jesus, if you want God to acknowledge you as His special people.” In the light of this riveting argument, the writer proceeds to startle them with the second warning in the epistle- a warning against “unbelief.” Don’t let your heart become hardened, he warns. Alluding to the failure of the Israelites to trust God in the wilderness, he implies that they are responding in the same way in the midst of their adversity. The Israelites murmured and complained, questioning “Is the Lord among us or not.” {Exodus 17:1-7} They accused Him of leading them out into the wilderness to die. Finally they conspired to appoint themselves a leader to return back to Egypt. {Numbers 14:1-4} At that point, God’s patience was exhausted. He would tolerate their unbelief no longer. Since they wished to die instead of trusting Him to supply their needs and protect them each day, He granted their request. The people dropped dead, one by one, beneath the scorching Arabian sun. The story stands as an everlasting reminder of the seriousness of unbelief and the subtle danger of a gradual hardening of the heart.
“ Hebrews,” the writer warns, “guard your heart. Don’t repeat the mistake of your forefathers. Beware of the hardened heart of unbelief. Instead, hold fast your confidence and hope. Consider Jesus who was faithful to his task. Remember your confession of Christ at the beginning and be faithful to the very end. Don’t murmur or complain, lest you provoke the Lord to anger.”