Hebrews 3
I. A Superior Person: Christ (1-6)
A. \\#Heb 1:1-3\\ Christ is superior to the prophets.
B. \\#Heb 1:4-14\\ Christ is superior to the angels.
C. \\#Heb 2:1-18\\ Explanation and Emphasis
D. \\#Heb 3:1-6\\ Christ is superior to Moses. When we consider Old
Testament characters that the Jews held in high esteem, Moses would
be at the top of the list. It makes sense that at some time, the
writer would compare Jesus to Moses.
E. \\#Heb 3:7-4:16\\ Explanation and Emphasis
I. \\#Heb 3:1-6\\ Christ is superior to Moses.
A. \\#1\\ The writer makes three statements.
1. One statement is about those to whom he is writing.
a. He calls them "holy brethren" and "partakers of the heavenly
calling…."
b. The writer will direct his remarks to those who claim a
relationship with Christ, although some may not actually be saved.
c. This is not unusual. Most preachers speak to crowds of supposedly
saved church members and yet still challenge the lost to be
saved.
2. One statement is about the One of whom he is writing (Jesus). He is
called…
a. "the Apostle"
(1) The word APOSTLE means MESSENGER.
(2) While Christianity has had many messengers, He alone is THE
MESSENGER.
(3) He left heaven’s golden streets, not only to die for us, but
to be certain we knew who God was and how we could get to
Him.
b. "High Priest"
(1) The High Priest is the one who makes intercession for man
before God.
(2) The writer will spend a good deal of time comparing Christ to
this position later.
c. "Christ"
(1) The word Christ means ANOINTED ONE.
(2) The term connects Jesus to all the Old Testament prophecies of
the coming of the Servant of God.
3. One statement is a challenge; that is, that his readers "consider" Him.
a. That is the point to all the truth that the Bible reveals to us.
b. Once we know, we must give consideration to what we have heard and
make some decisions.
c. No person should take hearing these truths lightly.
B. \\#2-6\\ The writer makes a comparison between Moses and Jesus.
1. \\#2\\ Both were "faithful."
a. Jesus was "faithful to him that appointed him."
(1) That would be God.
(2) God as the Architect planned out salvation’s plan as the
Trinity had determined He would.
b. "Moses was faithful in all his house."
(1) The word HOUSE can mean either the dwelling place of a family
or it can refer to those who dwell together, like a HOUSEHOLD.
(2) In this section, the later meaning makes more sense.
(3) Moses was a member of a household, the Jewish race, and he
served God faithfully in that capacity.
2. \\#3-6\\ However, Jesus "was counted worthy of more glory than Moses."
a. \\#3\\ Why?
(1) Because "he who hath builded the house hath more honour than the
house."
(2) Jesus, as God, both created the household of Israel and owns it.
(3) The Builder and Creator of anything is to be more honored than
the thing the Builder makes.
(4) This is the point that this section makes. The remainder of
the verses in this section re-emphasize the elements of that
point.
b. \\#4\\ Further emphasis concerning the need for a builder.
(1) "every house is builded by some man"-This is a common truth.
Everything built must have a builder.
(2) "but he that built all things is God"-God is the Creator of
planets and nations.
c. \\#5\\ Further emphasis concerning Moses faithfulness.
(1) "Moses verily was faithful in all his house"-Moses was indeed
a faithful member of the house.
(2) "as a servant"-But he served as a servant to the Builder.
(3) "for a testimony"-This is the testimony that Moses left.
d. \\#6\\ Further emphasis concerning Jesus.
(1) "But Christ as a son over his own house."
(a) Jesus is again called the Christ.
(b) Jesus is compared to a son of a powerful owner.
(2) Here is another of those situations where Jesus’ comparison as
a son to the owner and not being recognized as the owner might
make Jesus appear to be inferior to the Father.
(a) Jesus is compared to the son because like a son, He
waits to claim that which is His.
(b) When Jesus died and rose from the grave, He purchased
all things lost in the fall to Himself, but He has
not yet claimed all things.
(c) This truth was mentioned earlier.
Heb 2:8 Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put
all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now
we see not yet all things put under him.
(3) "whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence… unto the
end" - This part of this verse is almost identical to
\\#He 3:14\\. To save space, I will wait until that section
to comment on it. (See the notes on \\#He 3:14-15\\.)
II. \\#Heb 3:7-4:16\\ Explanation and Emphasis-If the readers understand that
Jesus is Creator and Master of the household (Israel), it will change
their behavior. Seven behaviors are mentioned.
A. \\#Heb 3:7-11\\ "Harden not your hearts"
1. \\#7\\ "Wherefore"
a. Like the word THEREFORE, this connects what has been said to
what is to be said.
b. \\#Heb 3:8-11\\ is a quote from \\#Psalm 95:7-11\\.
c. The writer quotes from the Old Testament to emphasize that
if we have heard the Holy Ghost, we would not be wise to
disobey Him.
2. \\#8\\ The writer’s desire was that his readers not react in the
same way some Old Testament Jews reacted when they were
confronted with the will of God.
a. Namely, that they would not harden their hearts and disobey
God.
b. This passage is giving the example of examples concerning
those who did just that.
3. "as in the provocation"
a. A PROVOCATION is when one is PROVOKED.
b. This refers to Israel’s coming out of Egypt and going into the
Promised Land, a time when they simply refused to believe God
and go forward.
c. God refers to this a the time when Israel provoked Him to
reject and judge Israel; for that entire generation was
left to die in the wilderness.
4. God also calls it "the day of temptation."
a. That is, the day Israel tempted God to see what God would do.
b. Now if you could have asked the Jews of that day if they
intended to tempt God, they would probably say, "NO. That
thought never entered our minds."
c. However, anytime we refuse to obey God, we are tempting Him
to judge us by seeing our far we can push Him before He acts.
5. \\#9\\ Those rebellious Jews did "tempt" God.
a. They also "proved" Him. That is they pushed at God to see if
He was true to His word and nature or not.
b. As a result, they "saw" his "works forty years." They learned
that God meant what He said the hard way.
6. \\#10\\ Their rebellion "grieved" God.
a. God is just and so deals with sin, but God is also loving and
thus grieves over us.
b. Yet God knew "They do alway err." Man, when given a choice,
will usually choose the wrong way.
c. And that "they have not known my ways."
(1) Those who constantly rebel are not children who lost their
way. They are lost people who never knew it.
(2) This is the way with all rebels. They rebel because they
are not God’s.
7. \\#11\\ And so God executed judgment against them.
a. "I sware in my wrath"-God felt grief at their sin but He
was also justly angry at them.
b. "They shall not enter into my rest"-The REST being the land
of rest. Yes, Israel would have to fight for awhile, but if
they had been obedient, the land would have soon become their
sanctuary and refuge. As it turned out, it really never was.
B. \\#Heb 3:12\\ "Take heed"
1. The command means to be very careful about something. The writer
continues to emphasize how important it is for these readers to
weigh their decision.
2. "lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief"
a. Here is the root cause of one who would depart from the living
God and something that surely should be considered.
b. He does not believe.
(1) The doubter does not believe that God is who God says He
is or else He would trust and obey Him.
(2) This doubt leaves the doubter unsaved.
c. Here is the crux of the situation.
(1) Those who do not believe will expose themselves by their
behavior.
(a) They will quit on God and go back into the world.
(b) The world is filled with those who tried Christianity
for a time and then returned to the world, with no
apparent conviction of their behavior at all.
(b) If one really believes in Christ as the Bible
proclaims Him, his knowledge will drive him on.
(2) This is argued by many Scriptures:
Hebrews 3:6 "…whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the
rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.
Hebrews 3:14 For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of
our confidence stedfast unto the end;
Hebrews 13:7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for
what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye
bastards, and not sons.
1 John 2:19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been
of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they
might be made manifest that they were not all of us.
C. \\#Heb 3:13-19\\ "But exhort one another"
1. \\#13\\ "lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of
sin"
a. This is not another cause to explain why someone might walk
away from God, but the same reason with a slightly different
emphasis.
(1) It is sin that keeps the heart from believing God.
(2) Sin hardens the heart, causing its victim to walk away
from God instead of believing on Him.
b. Hence, we are to exhort one another.
(1) EXHORT means to ENCOURAGE.
(2) As we exhort each other, we are encouraging the lost to
turn from their sin and encouraging the saved to stay
away from it.
c. "daily" - This exhortation is not an occasional ministry for
us but a regular one. As often as we see each other, let us
encourage other believers to continue with Christ.
2. \\#14\\ "we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold… our
confidence… unto the end."
a. This verse, and verses like it (i.e. \\#He 3:6\\, by itself,
could mean that believers are not saved until they complete
the race and finish it in good standing.
(1) Of course, this verse is not alone and that interpretation
would contradict other passages of the Bible, as well as,
the context of this verse.
(2) To get that interpretation, the word IF would have to be
used as a CONDITIONAL CONJUNCTION. That is, you might
become a partaker with Christ and you might not. It will
depend on how steadfast you are.
b. It is my belief that Paul meant the word IF as a LOGICAL
CONJUNTION.
(1) I believe it would be understood better if the word were
SINCE. SINCE we are partakers of Christ, we will hold fast
until the end.
(2) This interpretation is borne out in \\#15-19\\. See
discussion below.
(3) This, I believe, is the same way the word is used in
\\#He 3:6\\.
3. \\#15\\ The writer again quotes from \\#Psalm 95:7-8\\. This is
the same passage he quoted in \\#He 3:7-8\\.
a. He is quoting it again to emphasize that the Jews coming out of
Egypt are an examples of sin hardening the heart and stopping
their ability to believe on God.
(1) \\#19\\ "they could not enter in because of their
unbelief."
(2) The writer’s point is that those Jews did not walk by
faith, believing that God would deliver the people of
that land into the Jew’s hands.
(3) His conclusion was "they could not enter in," not because
they had done wrong (although they had), but because they
had not BELIEVED.
(4) The writer puts the emphasis on their BELIEVING not
their BEHAVING.
(5) So it is with salvation. It is based not on BEHAVIOR but
on BELIEF and FAITH.
(a) Salvation is not earned or kept by works
\\#Eph 2:8-9\\.
(b) It is a gift of God.
(6) The context (which continues into the next chapter) should
clear up any misunderstanding that might occur in
\\#Heb 3:6, 14\\.
(7) To uses these verses to say that salvation is not given
until we earn it, is to take those verses out of their
context.
b. The writer is encouraging his readers not to let unbelief keep
them from entering into God’s blessedness.
(1) If they walk away from Christ, they will be repeating what
their ancestors did.
(2) Some would want to place the emphasis on the fact that to
walk away is sinful—and it is—but walking away is only
the exterior action of an unbelieving heart.
(3) The writer is encouraging his readers to believe on Jesus,
then walking away is not an option for them.
c. \\#16-18\\ Additional details of the Old Testament example.
(1) Not all provoked God.
(a) \\#16\\ "For some…" - Some heard God, then provoked
Him.
(b) "…howbeit, not all." Yet, not all.
(2) Not all believed God.
(a) \\#17\\ "But with whom was he grieved forty years?"
(b) God was grieved with those who sinned and died in
the wilderness.
(c) But was their deadly sin disobeying or disbelief?
(4) \\#18\\ "to them that believed not?"
(a) The writer answer that question. It was DISBELIEF.
(b) Israel did sin against God in not entering into the
Promised Land, but this was just one more in a long
list of sins that generation committed against God.
(c) The writer is alluding to the deeper cause of their
disobedience.
(d) If the Hebrews who this writer was addressing walk
away from Christ, they will show that they do not
Both sinners and the saved sinned. The reason both groups sin is that our hearts
have hardened. But there is yet a deeper reason why the unsaved refuses to follow
God. It is because he has a heart of unbelief. So it was with the those who left
Egypt and died in the wilderness. So it was with those who grieved God, read this
book and still left Christianity. So it is today when someone comes into the
church but returns to a life of sin with no conviction over it.
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