Hebrews 3 - Better Than Moses
Welcome and the Story So Far
Well, welcome to the Well Community Church. I am so glad you are hanging out with us here today. To those joining us in person or at one of our campuses and gatherings—specifically our Fig Garden campus, which this morning is mirroring all three gathering times at 8:30, 10:00, and 11:30. We are trying to help people connect to God and to each other in every neighborhood, and we are at capacity at both campuses. That is a wonderful problem to have! So Fig Garden is now mirroring a third gathering with us this morning, and we want to extend a warm welcome to you. And here at the Clovis campus, we have a venue happening in the student center, we have our outdoor theater space happening, and of course, the Rowdies hanging out tonight. We are really trying to create as much space as we can to process life and learn a little bit about Jesus.
If you have your Bibles, open them with me to Hebrews chapter 3. If we have not personally met yet, my name is Brad. As one of the pastors here, I get the privilege of handling God’s Word together with you this week.
If you weren’t with us last week, we are in this series through Hebrews where the overarching theme is: Jesus is better. In chapter 1, we saw that He is a better revelation. In chapter 2, He is better than the angels. We looked at six specific reasons why Jesus is better than the angels. In case you only caught three or four of them and want the rest, let me walk through them quickly, because they set up exactly where we are heading today:
- Jesus is the Son of God; angels are not.
- Jesus is to be worshiped; angels are not.
- Jesus is to rule and reign; angels are not.
- Jesus is preexistent and Creator; angels are not.
- Jesus redeemed the world; angels did not.
- Jesus is our propitiation; angels are not.
Walking through the context of last week, we came to understand in greater detail the incredible work of Christ on our behalf. According to Ephesians 2, we who were once far off have been brought near.
Ephesians 2:13 (NASB)
But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
According to Colossians 1, He actually rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Colossians 1:13-14 (NASB)
For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Our Apostle and High Priest
I set that up because the very first word of Hebrews chapter 3 is “Therefore.” Anytime you see that word, it is almost impossible to understand what is about to be said unless you understand what was just said. Because of the finished work of Christ—because He is better than the angels—we arrive at verse 1.
Hebrews 3:1 (NASB)
Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession;
Because of the work of Christ, we are holy. Because of the work of Christ, we are brothers and sisters adopted into the family of God. Because of the work of Christ, we are fellow partakers of a shared heavenly calling. And therefore, we consider Him, who is two very significant things for us.
First, He is our Apostle. An apostle is one who is sent by God. Jesus was sent by the Father to accomplish the redemptive work for us on the cross. Second, He is our High Priest. A high priest is a mediator. In the Old Testament, the mediator between God and man was the priest. Jesus is our ultimate High Priest.
That begs the question: why did we need a mediator? In Romans 8, Paul drops in a vital reminder: what the law could not do, weak as it was in the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh.
Romans 8:3-4 (NASB)
For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God [did]: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and [as an offering] for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
The law of God was never meant to save you. It was never able to redeem you or reconcile you. Think of the law as a thermometer: it shows you the depth of your illness, but it is not the cure. The law pointed to the reality that you needed a redemption you could never accomplish on your own. For what the law could not do, God did. Jesus came as that perfect sacrifice for us.
Hebrews 3:2 (NASB)
He was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was in all His house.
Now the author sets up a comparison between Jesus and Moses. Yes, spoiler alert: Jesus is better than Moses! But in order to understand the sheer gravity of that statement, we first need to understand who Moses was.
The Greatest in the Old Testament
Turn with me to Exodus chapter 3. We are going to skip a rock across the life of Moses just to see how monumental this man truly was.
To give a little backstory: back in Genesis 11, after the flood narrative, God calls a man named Abram out of Ur of the Chaldees in ancient Mesopotamia. He calls him to leave his homeland and go to a Promised Land he had never seen. Abraham fathers Isaac. Isaac fathers Jacob. Jacob’s name means “trickster” or “heel-catcher.” He gets into a wrestling match with God, which doesn’t go great for his hip, and God changes his name from Jacob to Israel, meaning “he strives with God.” That is where the name Israel comes from.
Jacob has twelve sons, one of whom is Joseph. Joseph gets sold into slavery in Egypt by his brothers. God uses that sovereignly so that when a severe famine hits the land, God’s people find refuge in Egypt. But like house guests where things go sour after three days, those refugees eventually become slaves. For 430 years, God’s people are enslaved in Egypt—until God raises up a deliverer named Moses.
Moses was preserved at birth in the opening chapters of Exodus. He was miraculously adopted into Pharaoh’s household. He grew weary of the oppression of his people, killed an Egyptian who was mistreating a fellow Hebrew, and fled for his life to Midian. He spent forty years in the wilderness until Exodus 3, when he encounters the burning bush.
Exodus 3:1-5 (NASB)
Now Moses was pasturing the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. The angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed. So Moses said, ‘I must turn aside now and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burned up.’ When the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, ‘Moses, Moses!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ Then He said, ‘Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.’
Can you imagine that? You are out pasturing sheep in the desert. You have walked that desert every single day for forty years. You have never seen anything like this. You walk over to inspect it, and the bush calls you by name! God tells him to take off his sandals because he is standing on holy ground, and then drops this assignment on him in verse 10.
Exodus 3:10 (NASB)
‘Therefore, come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.’
Remember why Moses is in Midian: he is a fugitive on the run because he killed a man. The absolute last place on earth he wants to go is Egypt, and the last person he wants to see is Pharaoh. Yet God says, “I am sending you back. You are going to deliver My people.”
Look over at Exodus 14. Moses returns to Egypt. He serves as the harbinger of the ten plagues. He institutes the Passover. He leads the people out of Egypt, and he becomes the conduit for the parting of the Red Sea.
He leads the people out, but geographically speaking, they end up in a cul-de-sac. They have mountains on both sides, the Red Sea directly in front of them, and Pharaoh’s chariot army closing in fast from behind to slaughter them.
Exodus 14:13-15 (NASB)
But Moses said to the people, ’Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the LORD which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever. ‘The LORD will fight for you while you keep silent.’ Then the LORD said to Moses, ’Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the sons of Israel to go forward.
Exodus 14:21 (NASB)
Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD swept the sea [back] by a strong east wind all night and turned the sea into dry land, so the waters were divided.
Moses stretches out his hand, the sea divides, and Israel walks through on dry ground.
Turn to Exodus 19. Moses leads the people to Mount Sinai to receive God’s law.
Exodus 19:18-20 (NASB)
Now Mount Sinai [was] all in smoke because the LORD descended upon it in fire; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently. When the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him with thunder. The LORD came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain; and the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.
We have seen earthquakes in California, and we have seen smoke and fire in Fresno. But imagine standing at the base of a mountain violently quaking, engulfed in billowing smoke like a furnace, with trumpets blasting louder and louder, and God says, “Moses, take a hike up here. I want some time with you.” Talk about courage! Courage is doing what God asks you to do in the presence of fear. Moses goes up the mountain.
Exodus 20:1-2 (NASB)
Then God spoke all these words, saying, ’I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
God speaks the Ten Commandments and gives the 613 laws of the Old Covenant. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Moses pens Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy—the Torah of the Hebrew Scriptures.
Look at Exodus 33:11. God spoke to Moses intimately.
Exodus 33:11 (NASB)
Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses returned to the camp, his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.
And after spending time in the direct presence of God—basking in what the Hebrew text calls the Shekinah glory—Moses’ face literally shone.
Exodus 34:29-30 (NASB)
It came about when Moses was coming down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the testimony [were] in Moses’ hand as he was coming down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because of his speaking with Him. So when Aaron and all the sons of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him.
Moses led God’s people right to the threshold of the Promised Land. He passed the mantle of leadership to Joshua and died on Mount Nebo overlooking the land. God buried him in an unmarked grave, because if the people had known where his bones were, they likely would have turned his tomb into an idol and worshiped him to this day.
Why? Because Moses was faithful to God.
Exodus 40:16 (NASB)
Thus Moses did; according to all that the LORD had commanded him, so he did.
Oh, that this would be said of every single one of us! When you scan the entire Old Testament, there is no one like him.
Deuteronomy 34:10 (NASB)
Since that time no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face,
Who is the greatest figure in the Old Testament? King David? No, Moses. Elijah? No, Moses. Adam? No, Moses. Moses is the GOAT—the greatest of all time in the Old Testament. He is the standard.
And yet, Jesus is better than Moses.
The Builder of the House
Back in Hebrews 3, the author shows us that Jesus is worthy of far more glory than Moses, because Jesus is the Builder of everything.
Hebrews 3:2-4 (NASB)
He was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was in all His house. 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.
Notice how many times the word house appears. It shows up six times in this chapter alone. In the original language, the word is oikos. It refers to people, not brick and mortar. He is talking about the household of God—the people under His care.
Moses was faithful in the house as a servant, but Jesus is faithful over the house as a Son.
Hebrews 3:5-6 (NASB)
Now Moses was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken later; 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.
Moses was a servant inside the house, pointing forward to what would be revealed later. Christ is the Son who rules over the house—and we are His house! We are wrapped into this incredible reality as the people of God.
Continuance: The Proof of Reality
Look closely at the second half of verse 6: “whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end.”
I don’t know how you feel about “if” statements when it comes to salvation, but this is a massive one. What does it mean that we are His house if we hold fast? Theologians have wrestled with this for centuries. One commentator summarized it well: Continuance is the proof of reality. We can tell if we truly belong to the household of God if we stay there. The one who ultimately abandons the faith never truly belonged in the first place.
Theologically speaking, is it possible to lose your salvation? The answer is a definitive no. It is not possible.
1 John 5:11-13 (NASB)
And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.
Our salvation is anchored securely in the finished work of Jesus Christ. The only way you could lose your salvation, having genuinely embraced the gospel, is if Jesus could somehow fail or sin. On the cross, He cried out, “It is finished!” He was buried, He rose victorious from the grave, and He ascended to sit at the right hand of the Father as proof that His sacrifice was fully accepted. Jesus Himself said in John 18:9, “Of those whom You have given Me, I lost not one.”
John 18:9 (NASB)
to fulfill the word which He spoke, ‘Of those whom You have given Me I lost not one.’
Besides, how could you lose something you never earned in the first place?
Titus 3:3-7 (NASB)
For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and [His] love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to [the] hope of eternal life.
He saved us not on the basis of our righteous deeds, but according to His mercy. Salvation is a gift received by grace, not a prize earned by performance. You cannot lose your salvation.
However, is it possible for someone to think they have embraced the gospel when they actually haven’t? The answer to that is yes. How do we know genuine faith? According to Hebrews, it is perseverance. It is the continuation of our pursuit of God. When a heart is truly transformed by the gospel, old things pass away and new things come.
1 John 2:19 (NASB)
They went out from us, but they were not [really] of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but [they went out], so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.
There are people who hang around the things of God through mere proximity. They hear the Word, they know the lingo, and they attend church regularly. But if their hearts have never been regenerated, they are attempting the impossible: trying to live a life pleasing to God in the power of the flesh. Romans 8 tells us that those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
Romans 8:8 (NASB)
and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
Colossians 1 echoes this exact truth.
Colossians 1:21-23 (NASB)
And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, [engaged] in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach– if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister.
Real faith bears fruit over time. That is why Jesus challenged the religious leaders to “bear fruit in keeping with repentance.” A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. You will know them by their fruit.
The Raven and the Dove
Consider an illustration from the Old Testament flood narrative. God judges the earth with a flood, and Noah builds an ark. Inside the ark, Noah, his family, and the animals are preserved. As the floodwaters recede, Noah sends out two different birds to test the waters: a raven and a dove.
A raven is a scavenger. It can feed off the decay and death of the world without hesitation. To a raven, a floating carcass is a buffet! It is out there living its best life in the midst of devastation. But when Noah releases the dove, Scripture says the dove found no resting place for the sole of her foot, so she returned to the ark.
Both birds were protected inside the ark. But the raven went out and happily feasted on death. The dove could not do that; it had to return to safety. A raven cannot live like a dove over time, and a dove cannot live like a raven over time.
This is also like the prodigal son. He takes his father’s inheritance, runs off to a far country, and blows it all on wild living. He ends up in a pigpen feeding swine. In that moment of absolute brokenness, he comes to his senses. He realizes, “Even my father’s servants have it better than this! I am going home.” The prodigal was a dove who tried living like a raven for a season, but he couldn’t sustain it. Conviction drove him back to the father.
The Danger of an Unbelieving Heart
This leads us to the second major warning in Hebrews: the danger of disbelieving the gospel.
Hebrews 3:7-11 (NASB)
Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, ’TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS AS WHEN THEY PROVOKED ME, AS IN THE DAY OF TRIAL IN THE WILDERNESS, WHERE YOUR FATHERS TRIED [Me] BY TESTING [Me], AND SAW MY WORKS FOR FORTY YEARS. ’THEREFORE I WAS ANGRY WITH THIS GENERATION, AND SAID, ‘THEY ALWAYS GO ASTRAY IN THEIR HEART, AND THEY DID NOT KNOW MY WAYS’; AS I SWORE IN MY WRATH, ‘THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST.’’
The argument in verses 12 through 19 is straightforward: if unbelief prevented Israel from entering the earthly rest of the Promised Land under Moses, how much more dangerous is unbelief in Jesus Christ, which keeps us from eternal rest in Him?
Hebrews 3:12-14 (NASB)
Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is [still] called ‘Today,’ so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end,
Notice who falls away: those with an evil, unbelieving heart. He is not talking about a sincere Christian who is wrestling with temptation or having a bad week. He is talking about someone who professes faith on the outside while harboring an unregenerate, unbelieving heart on the inside—a raven pretending to be a dove.
Instead of letting our hearts become hardened by sin’s deceitfulness, we are called to encourage one another daily. Even though we are new creations in Christ, old habits and fleshly patterns still war against us. Embracing the gospel does not eliminate all temptation. The question is: what do you do when sin confronts you?
A raven indulges in sin. A dove says, “This is not who I am anymore. This grieves my Lord, and I cannot stay here.”
Jesus illustrated this in the Parable of the Sower. Seed is scattered across four soils: the hard path, the rocky ground, the thorny ground, and the good soil. The seed on the hard path is snatched away immediately—those folks are totally indifferent to God. The seed on rocky ground shoots up with immediate excitement, all passion and no depth, but withers under trial. The seed among thorns grows, but the worries of life and deceitfulness of wealth choke it out so that it yields no fruit. The seed in good soil produces an abundant harvest.
How should an authentic believer respond to sin?
Titus 2:11-12 (NASB)
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age,
The gospel instructs us to deny ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright lives. In Romans 6, Paul commands us not to let sin reign in our mortal bodies.
Romans 6:12-13 (NASB)
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin [as] instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members [as] instruments of righteousness to God.
Why would you toy with secret sin? Why harbor a hidden compromise that slowly hardens your heart? If there is sin in your life, uproot it viciously! Confess it to God, who is faithful and just to forgive and cleanse you. Confess it to trusted brothers and sisters so they can pray for you and walk with you.
1 Corinthians 9:26-27 (NASB)
Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.
Paul said, “I discipline my body and keep it under control.” That is the authentic Christian life. It is about dealing with the lumber. Jesus told us to get the log out of our own eye before addressing the speck in our brother’s eye.
Matthew 7:3-5 (NASB)
’Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? ’Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? ’You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.
The Christian life is all about the lumber—yours and your neighbor’s. Our first job is our own log, but the highest expression of community love is helping one another walk in holiness. If you see a blind spot in my life, love me enough to point it out. We do not claim perfection, but we press on.
Philippians 3:12-14 (NASB)
Not that I have already obtained [it] or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of [it] yet; but one thing [I do]: forgetting what [lies] behind and reaching forward to what [lies] ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Doubt vs. Disbelief
In the days of Moses, the people hardened their hearts, let unbelief take over, and drifted from the living God.
Hebrews 3:15-19 (NASB)
while it is said, ‘TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS, AS WHEN THEY PROVOKED ME.’ For who provoked [Him] when they had heard? Indeed, did not all those who came out of Egypt [led] by Moses? And with whom was He angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient? [So] we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief.
An entire generation died in the wilderness because of unbelief. God brought their children into the Promised Land instead.
I want to make an important distinction here between doubt and disbelief. The problem in this passage is not honest doubt. If you are a Christian with unanswered questions, that is normal. We are finite creatures trying to comprehend an infinite, omniscient God. How much of God’s mind do you think we fully grasp? Just a fraction! If you had an easy answer for every mystery of the universe, your God would be far too small.
Hebrews is not warning against honest questions. It is warning against disbelief—a willful, hardened rejection of the gospel.
Three Questions to Consider
As we close, this passage leaves us with three vital takeaways:
- Jesus is better than Moses. Moses was an honorable servant in God’s house, but Jesus is the Son and Creator over the house.
- Are you a dove or a raven? It is worth examining your heart.
2 Corinthians 13:5 (NASB)
Test yourselves [to see] if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you– unless indeed you fail the test?
You cannot lose your salvation, but you certainly want to be sure you possess it. Make sure your faith rests squarely on Jesus Christ.
- What is your relationship to sin? What are you doing with the compromise in your life? Playing with pet sins is like keeping a baby tiger in your living room. It may seem cute and harmless now, but if you feed it, it will grow up and consume you.
Instead of letting sin harden our hearts, let us be a people who confess quickly, repent deeply, walk in the light, and keep our hearts soft before God.
Let’s pray.
Father, thank You for the incredible privilege we have to be found in Christ. Thank You for the security of our salvation, anchored entirely in His finished work. Lord, I pray that as we examine our hearts, You would give us honesty, humility, and a desire to walk in authentic community. If anyone here has been living like a raven—feasting on the world with a hardened heart—would today be the day they turn to You? Soften our hearts. Keep us steadfast. We yield our lives to You afresh today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.