“Consider Jesus” (Heb 3:1) could serve as a title for the entire book of
Hebrews. The more clearly one understands His nature, His majesty, and His
ministry, the more diligent and faithful one will be in following and imitating
Him. So far we have seen His deity as
God the Son, far above angels. We have noted His humanity, as He became briefly lower than the angels, in order to
save us and serve as our high priest. What follows is the predictable
comparison between Jesus and the greatest prophet of all, Moses himself. Those
who knew Moses failed through unbelief and disobedience. Those who know Jesus
could do the same and be lost – but we must not!
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These are lesson
notes, not written in a polished or finished manuscript form.
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3:1-6 The Superior Savior
Jesus is greater
than Moses.
Therefore … (based on 2:14-18)
Consider (Acts 7:31; 27:39; Luke 12:24, 27) (Heb 12:1-3)
Apostle (from God to man); High Priest (man to God)
Why would the Jews (and why do we) appreciate Moses?
Did Moses fail? Was Moses a
failure?
How does the NT compare / contrast Moses and Jesus?
Transfiguration – Matt 17
Here: architect greater than architecture
Moses: a faithful servant in God’s house (Num 12:6-8)
Christ: a faithful Son over God’s house
We are His house … IF … (2:3; 3:14; 4:1; 6:8; 10:26, 38)
When / why is it tough to hold fast our confidence?
What is the source of our “boast?” – HOPE!
Hope produces …
True joy
Sacrificial love
Bold courage
No-matter-what endurance
3:7-11 The
Wilderness Warning
Israel disobeyed and
perished.
Who spoke the words recorded in Ps 95? (Acts 1:16; 4:25)
Spoke … or (still) speaks?
To whom? At what time? Who is “you?”
When is “today?”
What happened at Massah (test, tempt), also called Meribah
(quarrel)? See Ex 17:1-7.
Why forty years? And what were
those years like?
And just where was this place, anyway?
Why is it so important for us to appreciate both the wrath of God and the
mercy of God?
Was God patient with Israel?
Does God’s patience have a limit?
How is God’s anger different from man’s anger?
How does the NT describe the wrath of God? John 3:36; Rom 1:18ff; 2:5; 2 Thess 1:5-9;
Rev 6:16-17
How does Ps 95 use that event to exhort a later OT generation, perhaps in
David’s day (1000 BC)?
How does Heb 3 use that event to exhort Jewish Christians in the first
century AD?
How do we use that event to exhort each other “today?”
How might we provoke God, try God, or test God?
3:12-19 The
Possible Peril
The same thing could
happen to you.
Great qualities of Bible study and teaching seen here:
Observation: what does the text say?
Interpretation: what did / does the text mean?
Illustration: what light can we shed on the text?
Application: what would this text have us (not) do?
Exhortation: “Let us (we must) (not) do it!”
Can a saved brother in Christ develop an evil, unbelieving heart … and
fall away from God?
If they missed the Promised Land … could we?
Teaching technique:
Ask a question, then answer it with, “Was it not …?”
[1] Who provoked? Was it not those
who left Egypt?
[2] With whom was He angry? Was it
not those who sinned and died?
[3] To whom did He swear? Was it
not those who disobeyed?
The Slippery Slope:
·
Lack of caution
·
Openness to sin
·
Weakening of faith
·
Lack of encouragement
·
Deceit of sin
·
Hardening of the heart
·
Loss of grip
·
Declining confidence
·
Loss of “hearing”
·
Trying and provoking God
·
Disobedience
·
Falling away
The recounting of Israel’s failure in Hebrews 3 leads to this
exhortation:
Heb 4:1 Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us
fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. 2 For good
news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit
them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened.
