Ap – The Superiority of Messiah to Moshe in His Person and Work 3: 1-4

The Superiority of Messiah
to Moshe in His Person and Work
3: 1-4

The superiority of Messiah to Moshe in his person and work DIG: What is the main reason that the Jewish people hold Moses in such high regard? Read Exodus 3:1-13 and John 14:6-14. List some differences between the ways Yeshua and Moshe accepted their calls. What are some of the practical applications of what has been written about Jesus in Chapters 1 and 2? What is the significance of Christ being God’s messenger as High Priest?

REFLECT: To reduce temptation, keep your mind occupied with God’s Word and other good thoughts. You defeat bad thoughts by thinking of something better. This is the principle of replacement. You overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21). The Adversary can’t get your attention when your mind is preoccupied with something else. That’s why the Bible repeatedly tells us to always think about Jesus. Fill your mind with those things that are good and that deserve praise: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and honorable (Philippians 4:8 GNT).

Next to Abraham, Moshe was undoubtedly the man most revered by the Jewish people. To go back to the Levitical system meant to go back to Moses, and the recipients of this letter to the Hebrews were greatly tempted to do just that. It was important that the writer convince his readers the Yeshua Messiah is greater than Moshe, for the entire Levitical system came through Moses. In this file, we learn that Jesus Christ was superior to Moshe in three respects; He was an apostle, a high priest, and a builder.⁷⁸

Therefore, brothers and sisters whom God has set apart, who share in the call from heaven, always think about Yeshua, whom we acknowledge publically as God’s Apostle and High Priest of our confession (3:1). These two titles are not used of Jesus anywhere else in the New Covenant. The writer implored his readers to always think about Yeshua. Most of them had already made their confession that Jesus was their Savior, the next step, was to make Christ their Lord and to learn from Him (Mt 11:29). This was no quick glance at Yeshua. It is a careful consideration of who He is and what He has done. It was as if the writer was saying to them, “You don’t need anything else. He is sufficient. Now that you have the supreme Reality, keep your attention on Him.” The little embattled Messianic community needed to always think about Messiah and not angels, not Moshe, or the Levitical system that was trying to lure them back.⁷⁹

Messiah the Apostle (Greek: apostolon): Although Moses was never called an apostle in the Bible, he could be considered one in the sense of conveying God’s truth and wishes to the people of Isra’el. Therefore, the writer is not using the term Apostle in the same sense as the twelve apostles (see the commentary on The Life of Christ, to see link click Cy – These are the Names of the Twelve Apostles), but simply as a messenger. It was through Him that a new dispensation came into being and by whom a new covenant was made. Through Moshe, the First Covenant was made (see the commentary on Exodus Dd – The Mosaic Covenant) and the Dispensation of Torah was brought in. Through Yeshua the B’rit Chadashah was made (see the commentary on Jeremiah Eo – I Will Make a New Covenant with the People of Isra’el) and the Dispensation of Grace was brought in. As a result, Jesus was superior because He brought a better covenant and because He Himself was a better sacrifice. Yeshua Messiah is the supreme Apostle, the One sent as God’s “last Word” to sinful mankind (John 3:17, 34; 5:36, 38; 6:29, 57; 7:29; 8:42; 10:36; 11:42; and 17:3).

Messiah the High Priest (Hebrew: cohen gadol): Although Moshe could be considered a type of apostle, he was not a priest at all, much less a high priest. That title belonged to his brother Aaron. But Jesus was not only an Apostle, He was a High Priest. Yeshua fulfills this role by interceding for the people (2:17), just as Moses did when the people worshiped the golden calf (Exodus 32). These two titles were given to Jesus: Apostle, which makes Him like Moshe; and High Priest, which makes Him like Aaron. The apostolic theme will be developed in 3:1 to 4:13 and the High Priest theme will be developed in 4:14 to 7:28. Therefore, Messiah is superior to Moses because He held two offices, whereas Moshe held only one. He is the High Priest of our confession, meaning the readers have publicly confessed their faith. The content of their confession was that Jesus is the Messiah (4:14 and 10:23). Now they need to consider who He is as the Apostle and High Priest of their faith.⁸⁰ He is the Supreme Priest, the supreme Mediator, between God and mankind. He is not only the Sent-One from God with all God’s power, speaking God’s voice, but He is the One who brings mankind and God together. Consequently, He brings God to mankind and mankind to God.

The comparison of Moses and Jesus was a most delicate one for the Messianic community. Moshe was the object of deep veneration to those Jewish readers. He carried out God’s plan. He came out of Egypt into the wilderness. Ha’Shem refined him. It took forty years for YHVH to make Moses usable; then, for the next forty years ADONAI used him. He was faithful in the wilderness, and it is this faithfulness that the Ruach emphasizes.⁸¹ So Moses was not sinless as was Christ, but he was faithful and obeyed God’s will. This would be an encouragement to those first-century Messianic believers to remain faithful to Messiah; even in the midst of the trials they were experiencing. Instead of going back to Moses, the persecuted Messianic community should imitate Moses and be faithful to their new calling in Christ. The writer shows great tact by showing that both Moshe and Messiah were faithful, before declaring that while Moses was faithful as a servant, Christ was faithful as the Son (see Aq – The Superiority of Messiah to Moshe in His Position).

Messiah is (present tense) faithful to God the Father, who appointed Him; just as “Moshe was (past tense) faithful in all God’s house” (Hebrews 3:2 CJB quoting Numbers 12:7 CJB). The house is the house of Isra’el. Moses was faithful in his work in the house of Isra’el. But Jesus was grater in faithfulness than Moses because even Moshe failed occasionally, Yeshua, however, never failed. Jesus is faithful to God the Father who appointed Him.

Messiah the Builder: But now, having prepared the ground, the writer comes out boldly with the assertion that Yeshua deserves more honor than Moshe, just as the builder of the house deserves more honor than the house itself (3:3 CJB). Messiah built the house of Isra’el; Moses was a member of that house. Since Jesus has more honor than the house of Isra’el, it follows that He is worthy of more honor than Moshe, for he is a member of that house. Since Christ is better than Moses, the Covenant that He inaugurated must be better than the one Moses was instrumental in bringing in, and for that reason the superior Workman turns out a superior product.⁸²

The writer now guards against any possible misunderstanding on the part of his readers by stating: For every house is built by someone, but the One who built everything is God (3:4 CJB). Messiah is not only viewed as the Builder of the house of Isra’el, but as the Builder of everything. The Builder is greater than any of His tools. Moses was part of the house of Isra’el and an instrument ADONAI used in building it. To hold on to the forms of Judaism or to its greatest leader would be to hold on to the symbol of the reality, or to an instrument of that reality. To hold onto Yeshua was to hold on to reality itself.⁸³ Therefore, in His Person and His work, Yeshua is viewed as superior to Moses.

Moses is commended in this passage for his faithfulness as a steward of what God gave him. Could it be said of you that you are a faithful steward? How well are you managing the resources God has entrusted to you, such as your time, money, spiritual gifts, children, or ministry? Are you holding back any of those areas and not acknowledging God’s rightful ownership? Remember, a steward doesn’t own anything; he or she merely manages it for the owner. Ask the LORD to help you to be a faithful steward of all He has given you and to show you if you are being unfaithful in managing any of His resources.⁸⁴