Hebrews 3
03 Sep 2026 - Theology
Superior to Moses
Hebrews 3:1 - “Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;”
The NIV translation says “fix your thoughts on…”
The writer of Hebrews then compares Jesus Christ with Moses. Just as Moses was faithful in “his house”, so also Christ was faithful. The “house” refers to God’s people, meaning the community of believers, often referred to as “the children of God”. Moses was a member of this house, but Jesus Christ is worthy of more glory because He is the builder of the house. (2-4)
Hebrews 3:5 - “And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after;”
Moses was a servant, and his faith was a testimony of “those things which were to be spoken after”. What are those future things?
The future things, or “things which were to be spoken after” Moses, refer to the message of the gospel and the full revelation of Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 3:6 - “But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.”
We (believers) are members of the house of God, meaning the community of believers, if we hold fast to the confidence and hope we have in Christ until our death. We can rejoice in our hope and confidence because of our salvation!
Hebrews 3:7-11 - “Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)”
This is a direct quote from Psalm 95, and refers to the generation of Moses whom God took out of slavery in Egypt, and who wandered in the desert for 40 years. Because of their grumbling and testing of the Lord, we see in Numbers 14 that the Lord does not allow them to enter “my rest”, meaning the Promised Land.
Numbers 14:21-23 - “Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the Lord fills the whole earth, not one of those who saw my glory and the signs I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times— not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their ancestors. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it.”
Numbers 14:29-30 - “In this wilderness your bodies will fall—every one of you twenty years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me. Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home…”
Looking back at Hebrews 3, we see a repetition of the same concepts in verses 15-19. Bible scholars have identified this to be a chiasm:
- A: “hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of hope” (6)
- B: “today if you will hear his voice” (7)
- C: “harden not your hearts, as in the provocation” (8)
- D: “your fathers tempted me, proved me” (9)
- E: grief (10)
- F: “they shall not enter into my rest” (11)
- A’: “hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast” (14)
- B’: “today if you will hear his voice” (15)
- C’: “harden not your hearts, as in the provocation” (15)
- D’: “for some, when they had heard, did provoke” (16)
- E’: grief (17)
- F’: “they should not enter into his rest” (18)
As we have seen with chiasms, what is in the middle of the two halfs tends to be most important - in this case verses 12 and 13.
Hebrews 3:12-13 - “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.”
We see a call to “take heed”, lest there be any unbelief, and to exhort one another daily. It appears that the author of Hebrews is taking a concept that had a previous application and giving it another application for today. There is a former, physical application that refers to Ancient Israel. There is also a new, spiritual application that applies to believers.
| The Former Application | The New Application | |
|---|---|---|
| The Leader: | Moses | Jesus |
| The “Today”: | A specific day of testing in the wilderness | Any day still called “today” (the present time) |
| The Danger: | A hardened heart that led to physical rebellion | An unbelieving heart that leads a person to fall away from the living God |
| The “Rest”: | Entry into the Promised Land of Canaan | A spiritual fellowship with God through Christ |
The writer of Hebrews will expound more on this comparison in the next chapter.
References
- The Hebrew - Greek Key Study Bible (KJV Version)