Letter to the Hebrews Volume 21

Jesus Christ Far Greater than Moses Part 3


Hebrews 3:5-6 And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after; But Christ as a son over His own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end. KJV


The solemn statement of Moses in Deuteronomy 18:15 (as we affirmed in the last study/commentary) is in itself a confirmation of the superiority of Christ over Moses, for it was Moses who declared that He (Christ) would be the One the people of Israel should listen to. God the Father then affirmed what Moses had spoken to the Israelite people all those years earlier concerning His Son Jesus Christ of Nazareth when He spoke these words from heaven, "While he thus spake, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them: and they feared as they entered into the cloud. And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear Him." (Luke 9:34-35) (KJV). There was never a voice from heaven that said, hear, heed, or hearken to Buddha or Krishna or Muhammad or anyone else for that matter, only our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ. If there would have been other people or many other ways that God wanted human beings to come to Him, would'nt He have declared it in His holy word, however, the writer of Hebrews is the one who declared for us at the very beginning of his letter that God the Father is speaking through One Man only as it is written, "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds; Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on High;" (Hebrews 1:1-3) (KJV).


Therefore, we see now here in Chapter 3 of Hebrews the writer is finalizing his analysis of the comparability of Moses' ministry to that of the coming of Christ thousands of years in the future, "And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after;" (Hebrews 3:5) (KJV). The life and earthly ministry of Moses and his faithfulness to God the Father in his assignment to lead the people of Israel out of enslavement in the land of Egypt was but a testimony of the One to come after him, as it is written, "The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;" (Deuteronomy 18:15) (KJV) Jesus Christ who would humble Himself, even to the point of death on a Cross to lead people out of bondage and enslavement to sin and the devil, as it is written, "Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son: In whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins:" (Colossians 1:13-14) (KJV) into the freedom of new life in Him, as it is written, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." (2 Corinthians 5:17) (KJV).


When the Apostle Peter spoke to the people (shortly after Pentecost), he referenced exactly what Moses had declared to the Hebrew people those many years in the past, saying that what Moses spoke then has now come to pass in the life of our Lord Jesus Christ and His subsequent death, burial, and resurrection from the dead and ascension back to heaven, Peter declared these words to the Jewish/Hebrew people that day, "For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; Him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever He shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that Prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people. Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days. Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you first God, having raised up His Son Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities." (Acts 3:22-26) (KJV). Here is what Adam Clarke had to say of this verse, "The fidelity of Moses was the fidelity of a servant; he was not the framer of that Church or house; he was employed, under God, to arrange and order it: he was steward to the Builder and Owner. Every ordinance under the law was typical; every thing bore a testimony to the things which were to be spoken after; i.e. to Jesus Christ, His suffering, death, and the glory which should follow; and to His Gospel in all its parts. The faithfulness of Moses consisted in his scrupulous attention to every ordinance of God; his framing every thing according to the pattern showed him by the Lord; and his referring all to that Christ of whom he spoke as the Prophet who should come after him, and should be raised up from among themselves; whom they should attentively hear and obey, on pain of being cut off from being the people of the Lord. Hence our Lord told the Jews, John 5:46 : If ye had believed Moses, ye would have believed Me, for he wrote of Me; 'namely;' says Dr. Macknight, 'in the figures, but especially in the prophecies, of the law, where the Gospel dispensation, the coming of its Author, and His character as Messiah, are all described with a precision which adds the greatest lustre of evidence to Jesus and to His Gospel.'"


The writer of Hebrews declares in this next verse how Christ being the Son of God the Father as well as equal with God the Father is the owner of the House (i.e. the Hebrew Nation and every nation on the earth that He created) is far above the steward of the house (Moses), as it is written, "But Christ as a son over His own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end." (Hebrews 3:6) (KJV). The idea here is that Christ has not only built the Hebrew Nation, but also the entire world and all therein, so the Christian Church is His house and all of us who belong to Him, by virtue of a new birth, spiritual birth,  as it is written, "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the Word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the Gospel is preached unto you." (1 Peter 1:23-25) (KJV). We must be obligated by our love for Jesus, as it is written, "If ye love me, keep my commandments." (John 14:15) (KJV) to hold fast with confidence and assurance the testimony of our faith always, at all times, and in all places, no matter what. Rejoicing in our salvation with a stedfast, solid, and sure hope, that is, confident expectation of eternal life in heaven with our Lord Jesus Christ, as it is written, "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory." (Colossians 3:1-4) (KJV).


Here is what Adam Clarke had to say of this verse, "Moses was faithful as a servant in the house; Jesus was faithful, as the first-born Son, Over the house of which He is the Heir and Governor. Here, then, is the conclusion of the argument in reference to Christ's superiority over Moses. Moses did not found the house or family, Christ did; Moses was but in the house, or one of the family, Christ was over the house as its Ruler; Moses was but servant in the house, Christ was the Son and Heir; Moses was in the house of another, Christ in His own house. We are now His Church, and shall continue to be such, and be acknowledged by Him if we maintain our Christian profession, that liberty of access to God, which we now have, and the rejoicing of the hope, i.e. of eternal life, which we shall receive at the resurrection of the dead. The word which is here translated confidence, and which signifies freedom of speech, liberty of access, etc., seems to be used here to distinguish an important Christian privilege. Under the Old Testament no man was permitted to approach to God: even the very mountain on which God published His laws must not be touched by man nor beast; and only the high priest was permitted to enter the holy of holies, and that only once a year, on the great day of atonement; and even then he must have the blood of the victim to propitiate the Divine justice. Under the Christian dispensation the way to the holiest is now laid open; and we have liberty of access, even to the holiest, by the Blood of Jesus. Having such access unto God, by such a Mediator, we may obtain all that grace which is necessary to fit us for eternal glory; and, having the witness of His Spirit in our heart, we have a well grounded hope of endless felicity, and exult in the enjoyment of that hope. But If we retain not the grace, we shall not inherit the glory."


If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...


Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.


Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…