THEREFORE, HOLY BROTHERS, WHO SHARE IN THE HEAVENLY
CALLING, FIX YOUR THOUGHTS ON JESUS, THE APOSTLE AND HIGH PRIEST WHOM WE
CONFESS: There are many apostles, but Jesus is the supreme Apostle, sent by
God. Only here in the NT is Jesus so called. He is indeed both the apostle and
high priest. That is, the truth that we profess as Christians has been delivered
by Jesus as apostle (the "one sent") and accomplished by Jesus as high priest.
Jesus as the one sent by God represents God to humanity; Jesus as high priest
represents humanity to God. Jesus is therefore God's revelation and makes
possible human response. He is, as the author will describe him later (Heb 8:6;
9:15; 12:24), well qualified to be the "mediator between God and man" (cp 1Ti
2:5).
The word "share" ("metochoi", lit, "sharers") is important for
our author (five occurrences of the noun in Hebrews; only one elsewhere in the
NT: Luke 5:7, "partners"). Christ "shared" (verb form of same root) our
humanity, Heb 2:14 (cp Heb 1:9); Christians are said to share in Christ (Heb
3:14), in the Holy Spirit (Heb 6:4), and in discipline (Heb 12:8).
"Partakers" / "sharers": of root and fatness of olive tree
(Rom 11:17), of spiritual things (Rom 15:27), of one bread (1Co 10:17), of
sufferings and consolation (2Co 1:7), of God's promise in Christ (Eph 3:6), of
inheritance of sts (Col 1:12), of heavenly calling (Heb 3:1), of Christ (Heb
3:14), of the benefit (1Ti 6:2), of the glory (1Pe 5:1), and of the divine
nature (2Pe 1:4).
HEAVENLY CALLING: "Heavenly" ("epouranios") occurs six
times in Heb, applying not only to "calling," as here, but to the "gift" (Heb
6:4), the "sanctuary" and items related to it (Heb 8:5; 9:23), and to the Last
Days "country" and city, Jerusalem (Heb 11:16; 12:22). It refers therefore to a
perfection and reality associated with the fulfillment of God's purposes.
Our heavenly calling (Heb 3:1), by a heavenly Father (Mat
18:35), thru a heavenly word (Joh 3:12), presents to us a heavenly status (Eph
2:6), as we await a heavenly image (1Co 15:48,49), to be a heavenly Jerusalem
(Heb 12:22), in a heavenly country (Heb 11:16), within a heavenly kingdom (2Ti
4:18). All this constitutes Christ's bre as a heavenly people of God!
APOSTLE: Lit, "one sent": antitype of Moses, sent by
God to rescue God's people out of Egypt.
"As apostle, Jesus pleads the cause of God wi us; as high
priest he pleads our cause wi God" (Tes 52:322).
Heb 3:2
HE WAS FAITHFUL TO THE ONE WHO APPOINTED HIM: Cp Heb
2:17. "Faithful" sig being obedient to the will of God, esp in regard to his
sinlessness (Heb 4:15).
Other examples of faithfulness in service: Samuel (1Sa 3:20);
David (1Sa 22:14); the temple overseers (2Ki 12:15); the workers (2Ch 34:12);
Hananiah (Neh 7:2); Abraham (Neh 9:8); the treasurers (Neh 13:13); Daniel (Dan
6:4); Timothy (1Co 4:17); Epaphras (Col 1:7); Tychicus (Col 4:7); Onesimus (Col
4:9); Paul (1Ti 1:12); Moses (Heb 3:2,5); Gaius (3Jo 1:5); Jesus Christ (Rev
1:5); Antipas (Rev 2:13).
Cp Luk 16:10; 2Ch 31:12.
JUST AS MOSES WAS FAITHFUL IN ALL GOD'S HOUSE: This is
drawn from Num 12:7, LXX, in a passage where Moses is exalted as the only one
with whom God speaks "mouth to mouth" and not indirectly. God's house, as in v
6, where the same passage is quoted, is not to be understood in any literal
sense -- not even in the sense of the temple itself. It refers instead to the
purpose or work of God as it finds expression first in Israel and then in the
church or ecclesia.
Heb 3:3
JESUS HAS BEEN FOUND WORTHY OF GREATER HONOR THAN MOSES,
JUST AS THE BUILDER OF A HOUSE HAS GREATER HONOR THAN THE HOUSE ITSELF: For
a similar contrast, see 2Co 3:7-11. In addition to the similarity between Moses
and Jesus, however, there is also an important difference between them, now
brought to our attention by the analogy of a builder and the house he builds.
Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor (lit, "glory") than Moses in the
same way that a builder necessarily has greater honor than the house itself. The
author in effect associates Jesus with the builder whereas Moses remains
associated with the house (or, in other words, he was himself one who benefited
by the redeeming work of Jesus). All the ecclesia (the "house" of God) depends
upon the work of Jesus the apostle and high priest for its very
existence.
JESUS: "This man" in AV: "Receives sinners" (Luk 15:2).
"Never man spoke like..." (Joh 7:46). "No fault in..." (Luk 23:4,14,41). "Has
somewhat to offer" (Heb 8:3). "Thru this man... forgiveness" (Act 13:38). "Is
worthy of more honor than Moses" (Heb 3:3). "Sat down" (Heb 10:12). "Continues
forever" (Heb 7:24). "Was Son of God" (Mar 15:39).
GREATER HONOR THAN MOSES: Parallels betw Christ and
Moses: (1) escape from death as an infant; (2) rejection by his own people; (3)
mediation (with Pharaoh); (4) self-denial; love of brethren; (5) lawgiver and
prophet.
Heb 3:4
FOR EVERY HOUSE IS BUILT BY SOMEONE, BUT GOD IS THE BUILDER
OF EVERYTHING: And yet God of course is to be regarded finally as the
builder of everything (cp Heb 1:2; 2:10). Jesus in being faithful to his mission
in being faithful to God and to God's purpose (v 2). Cp Psa 127:1: "Unless the
LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain."
Heb 3:5
MOSES WAS FAITHFUL AS A SERVANT IN ALL GOD'S HOUSE,
TESTIFYING TO WHAT WOULD BE SAID IN THE FUTURE: The true difference between
Moses and Jesus emerges in this and the following verse. Moses' role was that of
servant in all God's (lit, "his") house. In this opening clause we again have a
strong verbal allusion to the LXX version of Num 12:7. Moses was the servant of
something greater than himself -- of God's purposes which were to have their
realization only in time to come -- "the future". Those are the very things
indeed of which our author writes "in these last days" (Heb 1:2). Moses, as
important as he was, served in a role of preparation, not one of fulfillment (cp
Heb 11:39,40). Moses was responsible for building the literal tabernacle (cp Num
9:15), but Jesus is building up the "spiritual" tabernacle, of which the literal
was a mere shadow!
SERVANT: The Gr "therapon" is not the common word
"doulos". It is used only once here, and it specifies a very honorable
attendant. Thus, Christ was greater than the most honorable of servants; he was
a SON!
"It must also be borne in mind that Jesus does not present his
death as an isolated act; it was the fulfilment of his life. He came to serve,
and service was consummated in the death of the cross. His atoning work did not
begin with Gethsemane or Golgotha, but with his baptism, and it was the
completed life of obedience which was offered to the Father. Moses, whom the
Jews called 'the first redeemer,' as Messiah would be 'the last,' had been
willing to offer his life for the people: 'Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their
sin -- ; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast
written'... But Moses, forbidden at last to enter Canaan, could not offer the
perfect life; he was a great servant of the Lord and of Israel, 'faithful in all
God's house,' but he could only provide 'a testimony of those things which were
afterward to be spoken' (Heb 3:5, RV). He could only bear witness as a type to
the greater Redeemer, whose whole life was an offering which his death
perfected" (SMk 148).
Heb 3:6
CHRIST IS FAITHFUL AS A SON OVER GOD'S HOUSE: To the
Jews, Moses was the greatest person who had ever lived: it was through Moses
that God delivered Israel from Egypt, constituted Israel as a nation, and
brought Israel the law. In all of this the magnificent Moses was faithful, but
"as a servant." In the era of fulfillment of which the author writes, Jesus is
as far superior to Moses as a son (cp Heb 1:2,5) is to a servant. In Moses we
have promise; in the Son we have fulfillment, for in him God has accomplished
his saving purposes.
AND WE ARE HIS HOUSE: The author has in mind the
ecclesia, that is, the people of God, the community of faith, the recipient of
the salvation brought by Christ: cp Heb 8:2; 1Pe 2:4-10; 1Ti 3:15; Eph
2:20.
IF WE HOLD ON TO OUR COURAGE AND THE HOPE OF WHICH WE
BOAST: We have already seen allusions to the danger in which the readers
stand (Heb 2:1,18) and more are to follow as this theme becomes one of
increasing importance in the epistle. Faithfulness is required not only of God's
special servants and His Son, but of his people as well (cp Col 1:23). It is
with this primary concern that our author turns to an extended
illustration-exhortation that occupies our attention until the end of Heb
4.
Hold fast: Heb 3:6; 4:14; 10:23; 1Th 5:21; Rev 2:25; 3:11; 1Co
15:2.
AV has "firm unto the end": Cp wi... "I am with you unto the
end": Mat 28:20. ''He loved them unto the end": John 13:1. "Who shall confirm
you unto the end": 1Co 1:8. "The rejoicing of hope firm unto the end": Heb 3:6.
"Beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end": Heb 3:14. "Full assurance
of hope unto the end": Heb 6:11. "Keepeth my works unto the end": Rev
2:26.
Heb 3:7
Heb 3:7 -- 4:13: Warning about missing out on Sabbath
rest.
Vv 7-19: An exhortation inspired by the Exodus.
Vv 7-11: The quotation, Psa 95:7-11, is taken from the LXX.
Psa 95 is divided into two parts: the first consists of praise and worship, the
second of the warning that our author quotes in full. The psalmist's warning is
based upon the narrative recorded in Exo 17:1-7 (cp Num 20:1-13) and the
judgment passage in Num 14:20-35. The psalmist appeals to his own generation not
to fall into the unfortunate plight of the generation that perished in the
wilderness, and were unable to enter the promised land. (Paul uses the same
basis for his teaching/exhortation in 1Co 10.)
AS THE HOLY SPIRIT SAYS: Scripture (the OT) is the word
spoken by God (cp Heb 1:6,7,13). The Holy Spirit is similarly said to be the
speaker in Scripture in Heb 10:15 (cp Heb 9:8). The human authors are not
denied, but they are not important to the author since in the last analysis it
is God who is responsible for what they say. Cp Mat 22:43; Acts 1:16; 28:25; 2Pe
1:20,21.
Heb 3:9
FORTY YEARS: This time period could have had special
significance to the readers if it had been about forty years since the "exodus"
accomplished by Jesus (presuming the epistle was written just prior to AD 70).
Heb 3:12
SEE TO IT, BROTHERS, THAT NONE OF YOU HAS A SINFUL,
UNBELIEVING HEART THAT TURNS AWAY FROM THE LIVING GOD: The author now begins
his commentary, employing key words drawn from the preceding quotation. What is
to be avoided at all costs is a heart that is sinful and unbelieving -- or
"hardened" and "going astray" (vv 8,10). This is the kind of heart that leads to
apostasy, causing one to turn away (Gr "apostasize", or deliberately rebel) from
God.
Heb 3:13
BUT ENCOURAGE ONE ANOTHER DAILY, AS LONG AS IT IS CALLED
TODAY, SO THAT NONE OF YOU MAY BE HARDENED BY SIN'S DECEITFULNESS: The
importance of fellowship and mutual support is explicitly mentioned in Heb
10:24-25. Encouragement is needed daily because the call to faithful
discipleship is a constant challenge. The Christian life can only be lived on a
daily basis, and therefore every day -- until the very end (v 14) -- is a new
"today" when God calls and we must respond in obedience (cp 2Co 6:2: "I tell
you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation").
ENCOURAGE: Encouragement is sorely needed by the
readers and is thus emphasized in the epistle. For the verb ("parakaleoo"), as
here, see Heb10:25; 13:19,22. For the noun ("paraklesis"), see Heb 6:18; 12:5;
13:22 ("my word of exhortation").
Heb 3:14
WE HAVE COME TO SHARE IN CHRIST IF WE HOLD FIRMLY TILL THE
END THE CONFIDENCE WE HAD AT FIRST: Even as Christ became a sharer in our
humanity, Christians have come to share in Christ and the fulfillment he brings
by participating in the kingdom he has inaugurated and by becoming heirs who
come "to glory" (Heb 2:10). But this new status is not to be taken for granted
because of a good beginning. Their initial confidence, that is, that subjective
assurance that produces faithful obedience, must be held firmly till the end,
until Jesus returns or until through death the believer's time of probation has
ended.
"Partakers" / "sharers": of root and fatness of olive tree
(Rom 11:17), of spiritual things (Rom 15:27), of one bread (1Co 10:17), of
sufferings and consolation (2Co 1:7), of God's promise in Christ (Eph 3:6), of
inheritance of sts (Col 1:12), of heavenly calling (Heb 3:1), of Christ (Heb
3:14), of the benefit (1Ti 6:2), of the glory (1Pe 5:1), and of the divine
nature (2Pe 1:4).
TILL THE END: "I am with you unto the end": Mat 28:20.
"He loved them unto the end": John 13:1.
"Who shall confirm you unto the end": 1Co 1:8.
"The rejoicing of hope firm unto the end": Heb 3:6.
"Beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end": Heb
3:14.
"Full assurance of hope unto the end": Heb 6:11.
"Keepeth my works unto the end": Rev 2:26.
Heb 3:15
IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE: There is no question about God
having spoken (Heb 1:1-3)!
Heb 3:17
THOSE WHO SINNED, WHOSE BODIES FELL IN THE DESERT:
These words are quoted from Num 14:29 (LXX), with the last three words also
echoing the original quotation (v 8). Our author's point is that those who
sinned had been privileged to experience God's remarkable deliverance from
Egypt. This wonderful beginning, however, did them no good in their later
rebellion.
Heb 3:19
SO WE SEE THAT THEY WERE NOT ABLE TO ENTER: Entry into
the land is the "rest" here. Those who died in the wilderness failed to arrive
at the immediate goal of the possession of Canaan. Those who did enter did not
enjoy the promised rest since the land was secure from enemies for only the
briefest periods. Possession of the land in the present age, of sin and death,
was never the true "rest" that God had in mind for his people (see Heb
4).
BECAUSE OF THEIR UNBELIEF: Unbelief here implies not
intellectual doubting as much as deliberate unfaithfulness. From the author's
perspective, unbelief and disobedience are inseparable. The unbelief and
unfaithfulness of Israel were inexcusable because the Israelites had received
abundant evidence of God's reality and love (cp Heb 4:2).