CONSIDER CHRIST (Hebrews 3:1-6 August 24, 2003)

Transcription

1 CONSIDER CHRIST (Hebrews 3:1-6 August 24, 2003) Last week, I switched on the TV and as I was flicking the channels noticed that one of the cults that really gets my blood boiling was on yet again. I m sure you have seen them on Briz 31. They always have a little logo in the bottom corner that says The Message. They have a well-dressed man speaking in an office and the theme is always the same why every church but theirs is false and why Jesus was not God and never claimed to be God. This TV program is the main evangelistic arm of a dangerous Filipino cult Iglesia Ni Christo. They look and sound slick. And it is quietly making some big inroads here in Australia. They recently opened their first Brisbane church in Cooper s Plains. But what got my blood really boiling this time was that they focussed on the very Old Testament verses that we have been looking at in Hebrews that demonstrate conclusively that Jesus was divine and was God only in their hands it all gets turned upside down and Jesus gets reduced to the status of a mere man. It was classic stuff. They took verses out of context. They compared verses out of context. They then gave quotes from a very strange version of the Bible The Holy Bible Translated from Ancient Eastern Manuscripts by George Lamsa. And they did it all so skilfully that those with little real understanding of the Bible would say they re right Jesus isn t divine He isn t God. And then comes the spiel that went something like this: As you can clearly see, even the Holy Scriptures do not support the teaching that Jesus is God. And of course this makes logical sense. How can God be one and three? Why would God demean Himself by becoming man? This teaching by all the major churches makes no sense. And on one level I would say Amen the doctrine of God becoming man is foolishness it is incomprehensible to human wisdom. But, as we saw last time in chapter 2 of Hebrews the author of Hebrews shows that without God becoming man there would be no salvation for men. As hard as it is for us to grasp as incomprehensible as that is to human minds unless Christ is God then we are dead in our sins and trespasses and we are without hope. This is why the true church has always fought so hard on this issue. And it is why this has always been a stumbling block and point of contention. 1

2 And for a Jew this is the very doctrine that has always been so difficult to accept. The author of Hebrews understood this and in chapter 2:5-18 he told us that the incarnation God becoming man was essential for three reasons: v So that Christ could be anointed the heir of eternity. vv. 5-8a. v So that Christ could take on flesh and blood and die for us. vv. 8b-18. v So that Christ could become our great High Priest. vv Without God as man there is no salvation! But now in the verses we are going to look at tonight, he continues on with the idea of Christ God Himself as our great High Priest. But, there is a difference in verses 17 and 18 of chapter 2 he was dealing with the necessity of Christ becoming like us becoming human so that He could empathise with us and suffer for us. But now, from the first verse of chapter 3 onwards he is no longer proving the deity of Christ from the Scriptures He is showing what Christ who is God has done. Verse 1 of chapter 3 begins with therefore. Therefore since this Jesus is the Christ the anointed holy One who is God Himself therefore because of this Consider what it means that as God He is the Apostle and High Priest of our confession. Jesus is the Apostle or divine messenger from God who has spoken in these last days. And He is our great divine High Priest. And it is this term High Priest that then becomes the focus for the next eight chapters. As we work through this book, I want you to notice that this idea of Jesus as the High Priest becomes the dominant theme in this book up until the end of chapter 10. Every chapter between chapter 3 and chapter 10 deals with this theme. Look with me at this. Chapter 4 verse 14: Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God. Chapter 5 verse 10: [Christ is designated] by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek. Chapter 6 verse 20: Jesus has become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. 2

3 Chapter 7 verse 24: Jesus continues forever, [He] holds His priesthood permanently. Chapter 8 verse 1: We have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens. Chapter 9 verse 11: But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come. Chapter 10 verse 21: We have a great priest over the house of God. For eight chapters the dominant theme the theological centre of the book becomes the High Priesthood of Jesus. This becomes crucial in understanding the book because in these eight chapters there are sections that at first glance appear to move away from this theme. But in fact the author of Hebrews has not moved away from the theme he is still dealing with it. For example, the passage we will look at next time, 3:7-4:13 deals with the theme of rest. But in fact this theme is still related to Christ as our great High Priest. Moses was faithful as a servant in the house of God but even he could not even lead his people into the rest of the promised land. In comparison Christ was faithful as a Son over the house of God and as our great High Priest He actually led His people into the greater rest the eternal rest of salvation. These next eight chapters deal with what it means that Jesus is our divine great High Priest. So tonight s sermon, these six verses are crucial. They set the scene for the next eight chapters. These six verses introduce Jesus as a great High Priest who is the Son over the household of God s people. A High Priest over a house becomes a crucial part of the argument. Verse 2 and verses 5 and 6 say the same thing Jesus as our High Priest, was faithful to God the Father over His house as Moses was faithful over the house entrusted to Him. Then right at the end of this whole section that deals with Jesus as our Great High Priest, in chapter 10 verse 21 we find this: We have a great priest over the house of God. 3

4 The point is not just that Jesus is our High Priest the point made is that as our High Priest Jesus was faithful in building the house of God. Jesus is the one who rescued men from the kingdom of darkness and transferred them to the kingdom of God. He built the house of God. That much is pretty clear. But, if you are actually thinking there is a question about these verses that should leap out at you. Where does this idea of Jesus as the great High Priest over a house come from? We don t find this theme anywhere else in the New Testament. In chapters 1 and 2 the author of Hebrews spoke of Jesus as the Son. He directly quoted or alluded to 2 Samuel 7 where Nathan prophesied that a Son in the line of David would come to rule over the house of God. So we can understand Jesus as the Davidic King over God s house but where does this idea of Jesus as the High Priest over a house of God come from? And what is so significant about Him being faithful over this house? We need to understand this if we are to grasp the argument of this book. Well once again the author of Hebrews simply assumes that our knowledge and understanding of the Old Testament is so extensive that the very mention of the words faithful priest would bring certain verses and themes from the Old Testament to our minds. In fact there are two sets of Scriptures that deal with this idea of a faithful divine priest. One set of Scriptures are those that deal with a divine High Priest in the order of Melchizedek who must come. He will turn to those Scriptures in chapters 5, 6 and 7. But here, he has another set of Old Testament Scriptures in mind. Last time we saw that in defending the necessity of the incarnation, in 2:17 he introduced Christ as the faithful high priest. And it is the concept of a faithful high priest that he zeroes in on. And he focuses on Jesus as the faithful priest over the house of God. Look at Hebrews 3:1-6: Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession; 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 honour than the house. For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God. 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 4

5 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. Faithful priest and house. Now I m not going to embarrass you and ask you which set of Scriptures the words faithful priest and house should bring to mind. Most of us don t have the kind of training in the Old Testament that sends our thoughts straight to the relevant passages and biblical themes. I know, I had to spend a morning working my way through the Old Testament. So let me just show you the relevant passages and themes that should be flashing through our minds. In Exodus 29 Aaron and his sons were anointed as the priests to the people of God. In verse 9 of Exodus 29 God decreed that the priesthood would be a perpetual statute an ongoing statute. Aaron had two sons Eleazar and Ithamar. While both sons and their descendants would serve as priests in Numbers 20:25-28 the Lord decreed that the son who would replace Aaron as the high priest was Eleazar. A little later in Numbers we find that one of Eleazar s sons Phinehas distinguished himself with zeal in serving the Lord at Baal Peor. For this he was given this promise in Numbers 25:13: It shall be for him and his descendants after him, a covenant of a perpetual priesthood. Again, a promise of a perpetual or everlasting priesthood. While this promise is made to Aaron and again to Phinehas, there is a hint that it goes beyond them. To have an everlasting priesthood you need a line of priests going on forever or you need one great priest who will live and minister forever. So even here there is a nascent hint of a divine great high priest. Then story then takes a bit of a twist. God has promised a high priestly office that would last forever. And while it seems that the Lord indicated that this High Priesthood should descend through Eleazar, somewhere in the time of the judges the office of High Priest moved to the descendants of Ithamar the other son of Aaron. So when the book of 1 Samuel begins the High Priest is Eli who is a descendant of Ithamar. To pick up what happens next, turn with me to 1 Samuel 2. Let me set this in context for you. This chapter deals with the faithlessness of the house of Eli. His sons are running amok. Defiling the sacrifice. Defiling women. And Eli failed to deal with his sons. 5

6 And then in verse 27 a prophet, a man of God comes and delivers a prophecy to Eli. 1 Samuel 2 verse 28, the Lord said through this prophet: Did I not choose them from all the tribes of Israel to be My priests, to go up to My altar, to burn incense, to carry an ephod before Me; and did I not give to the house of your father all the fire offerings of the sons of Israel? God chose Aaron and his sons as His priests. He chose them to be faithful. To mediate between God and His household His people. But they were not faithful. They sinned. And the sin extended all the way to the top to the High Priest and his sons. Eli was as culpable as his sons because in refusing to deal with his sons he honoured them above God. So, verses 30-31: Therefore the Lord God of Israel declares, I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father should walk before Me forever ; but now the Lord declares, Far be it from Me for those who honour Me I will honour, and those who despise Me will be lightly esteemed. Behold, the days are coming when I will break your strength and the strength of your father s house so that there will not be an old man in your house. God had promised that there would be a High Priesthood descending from Aaron that would last forever. Eli was the High Priest. But as we have seen that promise was supposed to come through the descendants of Eleazar and Phinehas, not Ithamar. So because the Lord is faithful to His promise and because Eli had failed in his faithfulness, God swore that He would remove the honour of the high priesthood from the house of Eli. Then comes this verse, verse 35: But I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who will do according to what is in My heart and in My soul; and I will build him an enduring house, and he will walk before My anointed always. In the place of Eli and his house, God would raise up a faithful priest who would serve over an enduring house or a faithful house. Who is this referring to? On the one hand, this refers to a human priestly line where the high priesthood is returned to the line of Eleazar. Turn over to 1 Kings 1. 6

7 David was old and about to die. He had declared that the son who would rule in his place would be Solomon. But Adonijah another son, exalted himself and declared that he would be king. Look at verse 7. Abiathar who was the high priest, who was of the house of Eli and a descendant of Ithamar followed Adonijah and helped him. The high priest had conspired against the wishes of David the anointed of God. Note verse 8 Zadok the priest the descendant of Eleazar did not join Adonijah. If you read on you see that Zadok remained loyal to David and Solomon. Now look down to 1 Kings 2:26-27: Then to Abiathar the priest the king said, Go to Anathoth to your own field, for you deserve to die; but I will not put you to death at this time, because you carried the ark of the Lord God before my father David, and because you were afflicted in everything with which my father was afflicted. So Solomon dismissed Abiathar from being priest to the Lord, in order to fulfil the word of the Lord, which He had spoken concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh. And down to verse 35: The king appointed Zadok the priest in the place of Abiathar. Abiathar, the last descendant of the house of Eli was removed from the position of high priest because of his faithlessness. And Zadok, a descendant of Eleazar was appointed as high priest because of his faithfulness, in fulfilment of the prophecy made to Eli. If I have lost you don t worry because the important point is coming. On one level you might think that this prophecy is fulfilled. But, turn back again to 1 Samuel 2. In verses 29 and 30 the Lord says that the house of Eli forfeited the right to serve as High priest because of their disobedience. But we know that many of the descendants of Zadok were corrupt and despicable. Caiaphas, the high priest involved in the death of Christ was a Zadokite. So the final fulfilment of this prophecy a priest who would do all that was in the heart and soul of God a priest who will minister forever there is a sense in which the final fulfilment of this prophecy must go beyond an earthly priest. And an enduring house or a faithful house could only be built by a holy God become flesh Christ Himself. This word enduring or faithful is the same word that is used for the house God would build for David as prophesied in 2 Samuel 7. So the final fulfilment of this prophecy of a faithful priest over a faithful house could only be fulfilled in Christ. 7

8 So if this did not immediately flash into your mind, then you need to understand that it is this whole stream of typology that the author of Hebrews picks up on. The Old Testament itself anticipated a coming divine priest who would minister faithfully over the house of God. It is all there if you dig. But I tell you while the book of Hebrews is absolutely filled with some of the deepest and most insightful theology in the New Testament these gems aren t just lying there hand picked, hand wrapped and ready to digest. You have to dig for them. You have to grasp the flow and themes of the Old Testament. You have to see how God has woven all the themes into one united tapestry. It is hard work. It is why some friends of mine in the ministry think I am crazy for preaching through Hebrews. But I want you to see that this digging and struggling is worth it. When you dig, it shows the full glory of the plan of salvation. This book has a special place in my life it was the first book of the Bible I taught through. I still have a tape from 1987 of me teaching on the first verses of Hebrews 1. But, as I look back on that first effort, I missed so much of the riches of this book. Part of that was me not digging but part of that came from my earlier years as a Christian when I was weaned on the writings of dispensational writers. Those of you raised in these types of churches will know what I mean. These authors often spoke of the church as a parenthesis. Of the cross as plan B. The idea was that Jesus came to this world intending to set up His kingdom but the Jews rejected Him so instead of setting up His earthly kingdom He went to the cross and now will come back later to set up His earthly kingdom. Now I am better equipped to grasp what Hebrews is saying and I realise that such theology holds no validity. From eternity past Christ was going to the cross. He was always going to be our great High Priest who suffered and died for us. He was always going to be declared the Son of God and the divine High Priest by His resurrection from the dead. This was never plan B. This was always the plan and as the author of Hebrews shows us that this plan was indeed revealed throughout the writings of the prophets and patriarchs. God is in control. Nothing can sway His plan. Nothing takes Him by surprise. The beginning and the end of history are already written. And the key to it all is Christ. 8

9 All the author of Hebrews is doing is showing us the truth as written by the prophets in earlier times. The Scriptures said a divine High Priest who was faithful over the house of God would come. And here in these verses, the author of Hebrews compares Christ as this priestly head of a household with Moses who was also the head of a household. Don t get confused. The point of comparison is not that Christ was more faithful than Moses. It is true that Christ was more faithful Moses grumbled against God Moses disobeyed God in striking the rock. Yet Christ was faithful in all things. But what the author of Hebrews points out is that overall Moses was a faithful servant and is called as much in Scripture. What the point of comparison is can be found in verses 5 and 6 Moses was faithful as a servant in the house but Christ was faithful as the Son over the house. Christ s position in relation to the house of God was greater He was the Son. And as the Son, as the High Priest Christ did what Moses could not do. He built the house. He actually made us holy and saved us. He enabled us to partake of the heavenly calling. He made us into members of God s household. As the High Priest He actually saved us. As great as Moses was nothing he did actually saved us. He was a servant not the Son who built the house. The author of Hebrews is continuing with his theme of Christ is greater. In chapters 1 and 2 he said that Christ was greater than angels because while angels minister to those who will inherit salvation it was Christ who actually saved them. Here he says that Christ was greater than Moses because while Moses served as a servant to the household of God it was Christ who built the household of God by saving them. As great as angels are as great as Moses was Christ is far greater. That is the sum and substance of this message but I had better show you from the text. Look with me at this text Hebrews 3:1: Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession. 9

10 Therefore, because Christ is divine. Holy brethren as those made holy by Christ. Partakers of a heavenly calling as those made partakers of heaven by Christ. Because of these things consider Christ. Consider Christ who is: The Apostle the messenger from God who has spoken to us in these last days in Son. And the High Priest. Priests mediated between God and man. The High Priest entered the holy of holies once a year to beg God to forgive the sin of the nation. But this High Priest actually deals with sin chapters 8, 9 and 10 will deal with this. Christ is the Apostle and High Priest of our confession we confess that we have faith that Jesus of Nazareth is the divine messenger and mediator from God. Consider Christ. Do you hear the author of Hebrews here? He is begging and pleading with his Jewish brothers. They have waited millennia for this day. They have longed for the coming of the Messiah. So consider Christ. And this should be our plea Consider Christ! God loved us enough to enter this world to suffer and die to become the Son, the heir, the High Priest. He came to do what no angel, no man, no created being could do. So won t you consider Him? There are times I have shared the gospel and I walk away sorrowful, angry, confused because they won t even consider Christ. I know they are dead in their trespasses and sins. I know that the only way of salvation is Christ. I know they will not escape if they neglect so great a salvation. And I hear this: I don t want to know about Jesus. 10

11 I am happy as I am. I m glad you have something to believe in I don t need it. They won t even consider Christ! To get the Jews attention, the author of Hebrews then says consider Christ in comparison to Moses. Moses who led the nation out of Egypt, Moses who gave the Law, Moses the most revered person in Jewish history. Compare Christ with Moses. I stopped this week to try and find an Australian analogy. Someone revered as a faithful leader. And I struggled. Who do we revere? No politician came easily to mind Menzies is the closest but few would revere him. Bradman is the nearest I could get but he is a great cricketer he is not revered as a faithful servant. You cant compare Christ and Bradman. If I were preaching this in America Washington or Lincoln are closer analogies. Or Ghandi in India. But it still isn t close enough. None of these figures went close to the type of reverence the Jews have for Moses. In fact thinking of how Moslems speak of Muhammad is as close as I could get. The author of Hebrews says consider Christ compare Him with the man you revere most. Verse 2: He was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was in all His house. Both were faithful. Listen to how the Lord described Moses in Numbers 12:7: He is faithful in all My household. The great difference comes in the task given to them. Verse 3: For He has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, by just so much as the builder of the house has more honour than the house. Here is the point Moses for all his greatness was merely a part of the house. He is a part of the household of God called out in eternity past. 11

12 But, Christ is the builder of the house. Without Christ Abraham and Moses and David would not be a part of the household of God. Without the death and resurrection of Christ without Christ s High Priestly work to reconcile man to God no one Old Covenant or New Covenant would be saved. Christ is greater than Moses as the builder of a house is greater than the house. Verse 4: For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God. The One greater than Moses, the One who built the house of which Moses is a part this One is God. Verses 5 and 6: 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. Moses was a servant in the household of God. He obeyed God as a faithful servant. He led Israel out of Egypt He gave the Law. The Law he gave even testified of Christ who would come. But he did not build the house nor is it his house. In contrast, Christ built the house He saved those who are a part of the people of God and He owns them they are His inheritance and possession. He is the Son. The end of verse 6: Whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end. And here is the point If we trust Christ if our confidence and hope is in Him then we are His house. We are saved. We are part of the people of God. Christ came to this world as the High Priest to die so that we might become a part of the household of God. But this requires us to trust Christ and hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope until the end. In one sense this passage reminded me of what we looked at this morning in Revelation. The Jews didn t like this God. A God become man. A High Priest who died for them. 12

13 But like it or not Christ is God. And like it or not without His mediation on the cross as our High Priest no one is saved. But if you cling to Him. If you persevere to the end. If you trust Him till you close your eyes in death. Then you can have every confidence that salvation is yours you are a part of the household of God. My brothers and sisters. There is no other God but Christ. There is no other salvation but Christ. There is no other Gospel but Christ. Sidney Carter wrote this disturbing poem: But God is up in heaven And he doesn t do a thing, With a million angels watching, And they never move a wing. It s God they ought to crucify Instead of you and me, I said to this Carpenter A-hanging on the tree. 1 I for one am profoundly thankful that Christ became man to hang on that tree to become our High Priest that we might live. 1 Philip Yancey, The Jesus I Never Knew (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1995) p