Today is Canada Day!. It is the day our country is supposed to remember its founding. Canada is 157 years old as a country today. 157 years is not a very long time. In those few years much has happened. Today there are less true Bible-believing churches in this country than there were in the past. The educational system has deteriorated further this past year. Our country has yielded more attention to the sodomite community. We have seen an increase in the use of harmful drugs and thus an increase in unnecessary deaths. I know the politicians and others who will get up and speak today will not mention these things. Some will speak of the “successes” of our country. Others will expose some of the rot in this country but they have their own brand of rot they want to promote.
Today as in any other day, we need to pay attention to that which is needed in this country, more than anything else. The writer of the book of Hebrews was directed by God to continue to remind us of the importance of Jesus Christ.
In verse 1 we are reminded that the recipients here are “holy brethren”. What makes a person a holy brother? We are told that it is those who are partakers of the heavenly calling. Holy Brethren are those who have turned to God in repentance and been saved through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
In our text we are called to “consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus. New Evangelicalism has painted Him as some kind of a rock star. He is so cool and so calculated and His face has this glow to it. Jesus Christ is so much more than any man, but He is nothing like the New Evangelical image of Him. We need to see Him as God described Him.
He is called the Apostle and High Priest of our profession. An apostle is an ambassador, one that is sent forth with orders. Notice that in our passage the word “Apostle” is capitalized. This is speaking of a particular Apostle named Christ Jesus. He is referred to here first of all as the anointed one of God. Christ Jesus is the second person of the Godhead who accepted the assignment of being sent to this earth to be the Saviour of mankind.
He is also the High Priest of our profession. He is the Mediator through whom we have access to God the Father. There are those who think they can pray directly to God the Father. They think it is beneath them to pray in Jesus’ name. They think they are so much wiser than God. Their prayers go nowhere. They condemn themselves every time they pray. But others in the crowd will add their “amen” to that wickedness. Jesus Christ did only sprinkle the blood of an animal on the Mercy Seat. It was His own blood that He presented to the Father. He is the everlasting High Priest.
The name “Christ” speaks of Jesus as the anointed one of the Father. God the Father proclaimed Him to be His beloved Son in Whom He was well pleased. He is the Messiah. He is the only Saviour.
The name Jesus means “Jehovah is salvation”. Jesus Christ is THE Saviour of mankind. There is none other. He offers salvation to all. It is applicable only to those who turn to God in repentance and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour.
The “profession” here is the acknowledgement of Christ Jesus as my personal Saviour and Apostle. He is the only Saviour and there is no other. He provided salvation for all. His shed blood provides the only means of forgiveness of sins.
In verse 2 we read that He was faithful to Him that appointed Him. Jesus was faithful to His Father. The comparison is to Moses, a well known person in the nation of Israel. Moses was faithful in all his house. We are reminded here that faithfulness is important. It is not optional but it is required. Jesus Christ was faithful to Him that appointed Him. Moses was faithful in all his house. He served as leader of the nation of Israel and faced much pressure as leader. He pleaded with God to be merciful to the rebellious people. He complained to God about having to lead such a stiff-necked people. However, he remained leader until his death.
In verse 3 we see that Jesus Christ was counted worthy of more glory than Moses. Jesus Christ is superior to Moses, that great man of God. Moses was born into a Hebrew family. His father and mother agreed to risk his death by putting him into a basket and then into the river in the hopes that Pharaoh’s daughter would take pity on him. They did not know what Pharaoh’s daughter would do, but God knew. God worked in Pharaoh’s daughter’s heart to cause her to have compassion on this little baby. She took that child home to Pharaoh’s court and Pharaoh allowed her to keep him and raise him. He would spend his childhood and young adulthood years in Pharaoh’s country. He was well educated in Egyptian customs. However, his mother had a great influence over him in the short time she had him. He never accepted the Egyptian pagan religion.
He chose not to settle for the pleasures of sin. He chose to identify with the children of Israel. His identification with them cost him his place in Pharaoh’s house. He had to flee and he ended up in the land of Midian. He married a Midianitish woman and became a sheep herder for her father. From there God would call him to lead His people, the nation of Israel, out of bondage and into the land that He had promised to Abraham several hundred years earlier.
Moses was faithful, but not as much as Jesus Christ was. Verse 3 tells us that the builder of the house has greater honour than the house. Jesus Christ is the Builder of the house. He was there with the other two persons of the Godhead in the choosing of Abram and Sarai and the renaming of them as Abraham and Sarah. He was there when the nation of Israel was being developed and moved to Egypt during a famine. He was there to guide that nation through the faithfulness of Joseph. Israel struggled for a time, but during that time, God was seeking to teach them the importance of trusting Him.
In verse 4 we are reminded that every house is builded by some man. A family does not just drop out of the sky. A family requires a father and a mother. The father and mother have influence over their children. They are supposed to guide and direct those children to encourage them to seek the Lord. Most parents fail miserably in that important work. Most children choose to reject the good influence that comes from godly parents. Parents cannot build a house if they reject the true God.
We are reminded that God built all things. Notice here that the text is talking about Jesus Christ, but calling Him God in our text as well. Jesus Christ, as the second person of the Godhead, is greater than Moses. He chose Moses. He trained Moses. He guided Moses in bringing the nation of Israel out of Egyptian bondage. The nation of Israel has proved over the years that it is nothing without God. They have spent hundreds of years in exile. They are still struggling to find peace in the land that God promised to Abraham. They are struggling because they are not allowing God to build their house. They want to build it their own way.
Jesus Christ is better than Moses, but the nation of Israel does not want to follow Jesus Christ. During the time of Moses, the nation often grumbled and complained about his leadership. They also complained about God’s leadership. Moses found it difficult to put up with the complaining. He took matters into his own hands and missed out on an important opportunity. He did not miss out on heaven, but he could not set his feet in the land of Canaan. He saw the land from a distance, but could not enter into it.
Jesus Christ was the faithful Apostle and High Priest and He was able to provide salvation for mankind through His shed blood and death on the cross. He is better than His creation. He is without sin. He never faced corruption. He rose again victorious over sin and death and is seated on the right hand of His Father in glory today. We have the hope of heaven because Jesus Christ provided the way of hope for man.
Pastor Bartel