Hebrews 3:1-6 — Jesus > Moses

READ THIS: Hebrews 3:1-6

1 Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest. 2 He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house. 3 Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. 4 For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. 5 “Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house,” bearing witness to what would be spoken by God in the future. 6 But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory.

WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY?

We get hit with a classic “therefore” at the start of this passage, which means it’s important that we keep in mind what was just written before it. We learned yesterday that Jesus was fully God and fully human, tempted in every way like we are, yet He did not fall into that temptation. Because of this, the author says that we should fix our thoughts completely onto Jesus and acknowledge Him as our priest! During the Old Testament days up until Jesus, priests were chosen by God to be a sort of bridge between God and His people, speaking with God and offering sacrifices to Him on behalf of the people. Moses is known as one of the greatest priests, especially in the Old Testament, because of how close he was to God, but the author claims that Jesus is an even greater priest than Moses!

But why? Re-read verse 3… “the builder if a house has greater honor than the house itself!” Because Jesus is fully God, He is technically the builder of the temple, making Him greater than those who serve in it. But remember, Jesus is also fully human, so He is ALSO a priest and bridges the gap between us and God! “But wait, Dan/Liz/Jenna… we don’t go to temples anymore!” You’re right! The Bible says that our own bodies are like temples where God dwells through the Holy Spirit, and because of Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross, we have a permanent connection between God and us!

THINK ABOUT IT:

1. Where is it hard for you to fix your thoughts on Jesus? What helps you keep Jesus on your mind?
 
2. Verse 6 says that we are a part of God’s house if we hold firmly to the confidence we have in Jesus. What do you think holding firmly to confidence looks like today?

TRY THIS:

Today, write the word “temple” or the phrase “I am God’s temple” somewhere you can see it (on a sticky note, your hand, or something else). Every time you see it, take a moment to center your thoughts on Jesus!

SONG OF THE WEEK:
 
This week, we see how Jesus lived His life and that points us to living our lives differently! Think about this concept through the song of the week!


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