7/30/19
Tom Lowe
Lesson #10 [2C2]: BUILDER VS. BUILDING (HEBREWS 3:3-4)
Scripture: Hebrews 3:3-4 (NIV)
Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.
Introduction:
Knowing that his readers had high regard for angels, the writer of Hebrews had just finished a section where he declared that Jesus Christ is far superior to the angelic beings. In this section, he turns his attention to another hero of the Jewish people?Moses. Moses was/is a great man particularly in the eyes of the Jews. While they had good reasons to admire and praise Moses for his faithfulness, leadership, and great accomplishments, they did not appear as impressive when contrasted to the life of Jesus Christ. So how great was He? Moses is the only man whose funeral God came down from Heaven to direct (Deut. 34:5-6){7].
(Heb.3:3) Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house{1] has greater honor than the house itself.
Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself.
The writer of Hebrews has just summarized his argument that Jesus Christ is worthier of his readers' praise and admiration than any angel. He continues that thought by comparing a house to the builder of the house. His intention isn’t merely to win a debate; he is attempting to show his Hebrew readers the benefits of becoming a Christian?they would then not only become brothers with the Lord and all other believers but “holy” brothers at that (3:1){2].
They would have well understood the importance of the role of High Priest. The High Priest was the figure who stood between the sinful worshipper presenting an offering to God and the holy figure from which forgiveness was being asked. To have a High Priest which had such compassion and empathy and was not ashamed to call them brothers (2:11){6], was certainly a privilege and a blessing.
The Jewish Christians were probably less familiar, as are many contemporary Christians, with the concept of Jesus as an apostle (3:1). But the word simply means “one who is sent,” and Jesus was certainly sent from God to minister to and save a sinful world. He was God’s personal representative and showed humankind in clear and tangible ways what God was like. He demonstrated in no uncertain terms the sometimes overlooked aspects of God’s character: love, mercy, grace, forgiveness, and so on.
Since Jesus represents humankind to God as a high priest and represents God to people as an apostle, He is in a unique position to mediate. This is the great application of Hebrews. If believers do not stand fast in loyalty to Jesus, whatever hope do they have for reconciliation with God?
At this verse, the author begins a contrast between Jesus and Moses. The Jews perceived that Moses was a great man, a great prophet, a great leader, and a great lawgiver. However, Jesus fulfilled all those roles as well?to a greater degree than Moses. Both Moses and Jesus were called by God and sent to help His people; both ministered to people who were oppressed by powerful forces (Egyptians and Romans and the power of sin), and both brought a message from God, and both were being called by God to provide clear direction for living in this world while anticipating a better world to come. And always bear in mind; it is Christ, not Moses, who shed His blood for many for the remission of sins. It is Christ, not Moses, who is the chief cornerstone, elect and precious, on which the church rests. It is Christ, not Moses, who sends forth His Spirit, calls men to repentance, imparts to them the lost image of God, and causes them to grow unto a holy temple in the Lord.
The contrast between Moses and God is clear; Moses was a servant in the house, while Jesus Christ was a Son, and He ruled over the house. Moses was a member of the household, but Jesus built the house! He is the Creator; Moses is a creature. There is the difference, my friend.
There is another factor in Christ’s superiority over Moses. The Prophet Moses spoke about the things that would occur in the future, but Jesus Christ brought the fulfillment of these things (Heb. 3:6){3]. Moses ministered in the shadows, as it were (see Heb. 8:5{5] and 10:1{4]), while Jesus Christ brought the full and final light of the Gospel of the Grace of God.
By the way, the truth in these verses is a powerful argument for the deity of Jesus Christ. If God built all things, and Jesus Christ built God’s house, then Jesus Christ must be God.
(Heb.3:4) For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.
There is only one house of God and one people of God. Moses ministered to the people of God under the Old Covenant. Today, Christ ministers to His church, the people of God under the New Covenant (“whose house are we,” Heb. 3:6{3]). You find an illustration of this dual use of “house,” in 2 Samuel 7. David wanted to build a temple for God, a house in which God could dwell. But God told David that He would build David’s house (Household, family) and make a covenant with David’s descendants.
Moses himself pointed ahead to the Christ who was to come. Jesus said that Moses spoke of Him (John 5:45-47){8], and Paul wrote that Jesus’ message was the same as his own; Salvation through faith in Christ (Romans 9:14-16){9]. So it is a fundamental assumption of the author of Hebrews that God’s church has run continually throughout all stages of history. He refers repeatedly to the people of God but never once distinguishes eras or epochs or generations. In all ages, the people of God are those who are saved by persevering faith in God.
Verse 4 reminds us of John 3:3, “Through him, all things were made; without him, nothing was made that has been made.” Jesus is the builder; human witnesses are but the instruments He uses. The builder is greater than any of the tools He uses. A magnificent building brings attention to the builder. Jesus, through Calvary, brought into existence a house-hold of faith; the family of God. We, who are in the building, ought to call attention to the building.
Special notes and Scripture
[1} The word “house” refers to the people of God, not to a material building.
[2} “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” (Heb. 3:1).
[3} “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” (Heb.3:6).
[4} “The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming--not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship” (Heb. 10:1).
[5} “They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: "See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain” (Heb 8:5).
[6} “Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters” (Heb.2:11)
[7} “And Moses the servant of the LORD died there in Moab, as the LORD had said. He buried him in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, but to this day no one knows where his grave is.” (Deuteronomy 34:5-6).
[8} “Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope. “For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me. “But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?” (John 5:45-47).
[9} “What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be! For He says to Moses, “I WILL HAVE MERCY ON WHOM I HAVE MERCY, AND I WILL HAVE COMPASSION ON WHOM I HAVE COMPASSION.” So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy. (Romans 9:14-16)
