"The author steadily develops his argument that Jesus is supremely great. He is greater than the angels, the author of a great salvation, and great enough to become man to accomplish it. Now the author turns his attention to Moses, regarded by the Jews as the greatest of men. . . . The writer does nothing to belittle Moses. Nor does he criticize him. He accepts Moses' greatness but shows that as great as he was, Jesus was greater by far."103
It was important to convince the Jewish readers that Jesus Christ is greater than Moses because the entire Jewish religion came through Moses. Christianity came through Christ.
"Observing the grammatical markers supplied by the writer, we submit that the development of the author's thought reflects the following scheme:
vv 1-2, introduction of the comparison between Jesus and Moses;
v 3, assertion of Jesus' superiority to Moses;
vv 4-6a, explanation for this assertion;
v 6b, relevance for the congregation."104
3:1 We should give careful attention to Jesus because of our unity as brothers and our holy calling as participants in His future reign and joy (2:10-12). Our calling as Christians is not just earthly but heavenly.
Jesus Christ is the "Apostle"(lit. delegate, messenger, one sent forth with orders) in that He is the One God sent to reveal the Father to humankind (cf. 1:1-2; John 1:14; 3:17, 34; 5:36, 38; et al.). Furthermore He is the "High Priest"in that He is the One God anointed to represent human beings to Himself (2:17-18). Our confession is that for which we take a public stand in water baptism, namely, Christianity (cf. 4:14; 10:23).
3:2 We should probably translate this verse to tie it in directly to verse 1 rather than making it a separate statement. The idea is that Jesus Christ is now faithful, not that He was in the past. He is faithful now as Moses was in the past. We can see Moses' faithfulness in how he served regarding God's "house,"the tabernacle, and regarding God's "household,"Israel. He served exactly as God instructed him (cf. Num. 12:7; 1 Sam. 2:35; 1 Chron. 7:14).
3:3-4 We can see the difference between Jesus Christ's superiority and Moses' by comparing the builder of a building with the building itself. No matter how grand a building may be its creator always gets more glory than the building itself. Whereas Moses served faithfully in the system of worship the tabernacle represented, Jesus Christ designed that system of worship. These verses are a powerful testimony to the deity of Jesus Christ. If God built everything, and Jesus Christ built God's house, Jesus Christ is God.
3:5-6a Moses functioned as a servant preparing something that would serve as a model for a later time. The tabernacle was a model of the world over which Jesus Christ will reign eventually (cf. 1:8-13; 2:8), first in the Millennium and then in the new heavens and earth. Messiah's rule over the earth was a revelation about which the prophets who followed Moses spoke more fully. Jesus Christ will not serve. He will reign. He is not God's servant but God's Son. As such, He sits. He does not stand like a servant. He is the possessor of all things, not one who makes preparation for things as Moses did.
"By defining Moses' service in this way, the writer indicates that Moses' status as servant corresponds to that of the angels, who are servants to the heirs of salvation (see . . . 1:14)."105
The church is God's house over which Jesus Christ sits in authority (e.g., 1 Cor. 3:16). He sits in the heavens, the holy of holies of this house. The tabernacle illustrated this house of God. The tabernacle was a microcosm of God's greater house. Moses served in the model faithfully. Jesus rules over the larger house faithfully, not as a servant, but as God's Son with full authority.
"In some sections of Jewish Christianity Christ's role was envisaged as primarily that of a second Moses; here He is presented as being much more than that."106
3:6b God's big house consists of people, not boards, bars, and curtains. The writer was thinking of priestly functions, as is clear from the context. His concern was that his readers might not remain faithful to God (cf. Mark 4:5-6, 16-17). This would result in their losing their privilege as priests that included intimate fellowship with God and the opportunity to represent God before people and people before God. This is really what the Israelites as a whole lost when they turned away from the Lord and built the golden calf at Mt. Sinai (Exod. 32). Instead of all the Israelites being priests (Exod. 19:6) God limited this privilege to the Levites who remained faithful when the other Israelites apostatized (Exod. 32:26-29; cf. Num. 3:12-13). Just so today it is possible for us to forfeit the privilege of functioning as a priest in the future (cf. 1 Pet. 2:5). The writer shifted from using "house"to refer to the place where priestly functions take place, to using "house"to refer to the people engaged in those activities, namely, a household. We could translate the same Greek word (oikos) either "house"or "household."
The writer's point in this pericope was that his readers should follow the example of faithfulness to God that Moses and Jesus set or they could lose their privilege as priests. Essentially priests represent people to God. They exercise leadership of people Godward. The writer had previously warned his readers that unfaithfulness could result in their drifting away from God's truth (2:1-4). Moreover by contrasting Jesus and Moses he helped his Jewish readers appreciate the superiority of Jesus over Moses and so discouraged them from departing from Christianity and returning to Judaism.107
"When we withdraw from the exercise of our priestly New Testament worship, we are no longer fellowshipping with the other believers. But this does not mean we are not saved or that we had salvation and lost it."108
