Hebrews
“Who’s the Goat?’
Hebrews 3:1-6
The Goat or Greatest Of All Time is a conversation we have about different people in different categories of life. Think about this for a minute, Lebron or Jordan? Manning or Brady? Tiger or Jack? We all have that one person or one experience that we can’t get over. No matter who steps up next, we can never accept that they are better, because such and such is the GOAT. Here we have the author of Hebrews talking about Jesus to the Hebrew Jews about their Goat, Moses. In the eyes of the Hebrew Jews no one would ever compete with Moses, he was the greatest. But now they are presented with someone Greater.
Why they thought Moses was the Goat.
- He was protected as a child. Put in a basket and raised in Pharaoh’s palace.
- God spoke face to face with him.
- God’s glory shined on his face.
- He wrote the Pentateuch – First five books of the Bible
- God gave him the Ten Commandments. The Law. The Law of Moses.
- He led the people of Israel out of slavery during the Exodus.
- God spoke to him through a burning bush.
- The red sea was split by him.
- The plagues of Israel
- The tabernacle and Ark of the covenant was planned under his leadership.
- He led his people to the Promised Land.
So for the Hebrew Jews, Moses was the Greatest of All time. And still today he is. So the Hebrews author is now showing them who Jesus is and that Moses was great, but JESUS IS GREATER. Talk about a tough conversation.
Why Jesus is Greater than Moses
Verse 1
Hebrews 3:1, “Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession.”
Therefore = After all that I have just said, check this out.
Consider = implies attention and continuous observation. Take this in and try to understand. Weigh this against that.
Holy Brethren = Fellow Christians. True Brothers.
PARTOOK = Metecho – which means to take a hold of something that is not naturally one’s own kind. NOW THEY ARE THE PARTAKERS.
Jesus – Apostle = “The Sent-One from God.” One sent. (1:1 – in these last days has spoken to us in His Son.) Apostles were messengers of God. He is the Supreme Messenger. Moses too was a Messenger, but Jesus is Greater. (Only time Apostle title is given to Jesus in Scripture.) The one that brings God to us. Ambassador.
Jesus – High Priest = Powerful, sympathetic, merciful, faithful, saving, reconciling, protective, helpful, brotherly. (All John MacArthur’s words.) The one that goes to God for us.
The two things that Hebrew Jews needed. God brought to them, and them taken to God.
Now there is ONE that does both and HE IS GREATER.
This is our confession. Jesus is the son of God and the author and finisher of our faith and salvation.
Verse 2
Hebrews 3:2, “He was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was in all His house.”
The author compares the faithfulness of Moses and Jesus. Trying to point similarities to then point out the differences.
Appointed = both appointed by God.
Moses was seen as faithful to God and following God, the author is saying yes he was and Jesus was too. He was sent by God and was faithful to that calling just as Moses.
The house (the people of Israel) This was his house. Moses was faithful to deliver for the people the things God had instructed and led them under God’s watchful eye. He was faithful to this calling. And now Jesus is faithful in the same way, but now we are the Church. He speaks, and leads, and protects us just as the Father has instructed.
Verse 3 – 4
Hebrews 3:3-4, “For He has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, by just so much as the builder of the house has more honor than the house. For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.”
Now a huge difference is pointed out. WORTHY OF MORE GLORY.
Moses was PART of the house. JESUS BUILT THE HOUSE.
John MacArthur – “The Builder is greater than any of the instruments or tools He uses to Build it.” Jesus is the builder.
Imagine thinking more of the Art than the Artist who dreamed it, created it from nothing. Made it be so.
John MacArthur – “To hold on to the forms of Judaism or to its greatest leader is to hold on only to the symbol of reality or to an instrument of reality. To hold on to Jesus is to hold on to reality itself.”
Verse 5
Hebrews 3:5, “Now Moses was faithful to all His house as a Servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken later.”
Another Huge different. Moses was a servant of God.
Faithful to the testimony of what were to be spoken later. Moses was point forward to the promises of God to come! Later, after him.
He was a faithful obedient servant of God. Between Exodus 35-40 there are 22 references to Moses’ faithfulness to God.
Moses was obedient and faithful and scripture tells of it over and over. But he was simply and ONLY a servant. Servants are temporary, they come and go.
As wonderful and faithful as Moses was, he was still just a simple servant, or instrument to God’s bigger picture. Others have picked up where Moses left off. All servants continuing to carry the baton of Glory of God.
HOWEVER JESUS IS……….
Verse 6
Hebrews 3:6, “but Christ was faithful as a Son over His House – whose house we are. If we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end.”
Jesus is the Son. He is forever. A son is forever. He is over the house.
Hebrews 10:1, “For the law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of the things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near.”
John MacArthur, “Judaism did not understand then, and does not understand now, that Moses was faithful primarily as a testimony to things which were yet to come in Christ. Judaism without Christ, the Old Testament without the New Testament, is incomplete. It is the Shadow without the substance. It was the shadow of the perfect substance that was to come, and if you reject the substance, the shadow is worthless. On the other hand, if a person truly accepted the shadow, he would also accept the substance when it became known.”
