An Expanded Paraphrase of the Book of Hebrews

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Hebrews Chapter 3

Verse  1    2    3    4   5   6   7   8   9   10   11   12   13   14   15   16   17   18   19

Author's Intention: The author now argues that if Jesus is God, and if our lives are so changed by spending time with Him and by beholding Him, then, surely, it should be the highest priority of our lives to keep our eyes riveted upon Him.

Fix Your Eyes on Jesus And Seriously Consider Him

Therefore, dear consecrated family of God, you who have heard the gospel message, you who have responded to God's special invitation, in view of what Jesus is and considering what He has done, and in the light of what He means to us, let us thoughtfully and attentively consider Him. With determined purpose let us fix our thoughts on . . .

¤  the Saviour and Healer in whom our faith and our hope are centered,

¤  the Messenger who was sent by God to win our salvation,

¤  the loving Friend who serves as our faithful High Priest.

Has He not earned our affections? Shall we not make Him our constant companion? Should we not allow Him to be the overriding influence in our lives? Should our search for a deeper knowledge of Him not occupy the most fruitful hours of our every day?

While we certainly are justified in having a high opinion of the faithfulness of Moses in leading Israel out of Egypt, should we not marvel at the impeccable faithfulness of Jesus in leading God's children out of sin? And should His faithfulness not inspire us to have absolute confidence in Him, to love Him, and to allow Him to live out His life in us?

Jesus is Infinitely Greater Than Any Man

Author's Intention: To the Jewish people, Moses was a great hero; he had led their ancestors from Egyptian bondage to the border of the promised land. He also had written the first five books of the Old Testament, and he was the prophet through whom God had given the law. Therefore, Moses was the greatest prophet in the Scriptures. As the central figure of faith, however, Jesus is worthy of far greater honor than Moses, for Moses was merely a human servant, whereas Jesus is far more than human; he is God himself. "Why settle for Moses," the author of Hebrews asks, "when you can have Jesus Christ, the One who appointed Moses?"(28)

Now, having considered the deity of Jesus, and having seen that He is infinitely superior to angels, I would like us to consider His superiority to man and, by way of comparison, I would like us to compare Him to the "great" man Moses.

¤  Moses was the man whom God Himself declared to be faithful,

¤  he was the man with whom God met face to face - the man who had the rare privilege of seeing the `form of the Lord.'
(Numbers 12:6-8)

It is beyond doubt, therefore, that God had a high regard for Moses, but this fact certainly does not mean that Moses is on an equality with Jesus for, in reality, Jesus is greater than Moses by infinite degrees, and I would just like to mention two notable factors that confirm this.:

¤  Firstly we need to recognize that Jesus is the creator of all things and that, as such, He has preeminence over all created things. We can appreciate, therefore, that just as the architect and builder of a structure receives greater honour than the structure itself, so Jesus is worthy of more honour than Moses - for Moses, was but the product of Jesus' creation.

¤  Then we need to understand that while Moses was certainly a fine example of faithfulness to all who were to follow, he was little more than a menial attendant compared to Jesus who is Heir, Master, and Sovereign Ruler of God's house. While Moses was faithful as a servant to the household of God, Jesus was and is faithful as a devoted Son who has been entrusted with the care of his Father's household.

So, beloved friends, let us be encouraged, for if we steadfastly maintain our trust and our confidence in God's promises, and if we joyfully cling to and cherish the comfort, the hope and the faith that Jesus has secured for us, then we become, not just a house that Jesus has built, not just a house that He treasures and faithfully cares for, but a dwelling in which He Himself delights to live.

Guard Your Hearts And Listen To The Spirit's Voice

Author's Intention: It was not the author's intention to depreciate Moses, but to lift up Jesus by comparing Him to Moses. Having made his point, however, he now warns the reader to avoid the spiritual snares that men are so sorely inclined to walk into and, by way of example, he reminds them of some of the serious mistakes that were made by their forefathers.

Therefore, as the chosen vessels that God is pleased to live in, let us hear and respond to the Spirit of God speaking to us in the person of His Son, Jesus.

And friends, let us consider today and every day as though it were the last day of our lives and, in the solemnity of the moment, I urge you not to follow the wayward example of our forefathers, for they had the privilege of hearing God's voice, and they enjoyed His visible presence for all of forty years during the wilderness wanderings, and yet, despite these considerable spiritual advantages, they obstinately resisted and rebelled against the truth.

In their blind pride, they were more than willing to accept any plan of salvation that would bring glory to themselves, but they doggedly resisted the fact that, because of the inborn wickedness of the human heart, they could only be saved by grace - that is, by God's unmerited kindness. But, because this arrangement lays the glory of man in the dust and gives all the glory to God, it did not appeal to their pride in the least.

Eventually there came a time where the Lord could do none other than declare the utter futility of any further attempts to win the confidence, love and cooperation of the ancient Israelites and, with a deep sense of sadness, He abandoned them to the corrupt desires of their willful hearts - declaring on oath that their waywardness and their unwarranted pride would surely keep them from entering into the two-fold rest that He so much wanted them to enjoy, . . .

¤  (1) the physical rest that was to be theirs once they had allowed the Lord to settle them in the land of Canaan, and . . .

¤  (2) the spiritual rest that comes to all . . .

-  who acknowledge that they are sinful,

-  who acknowledge that their own righteousness has no saving merit whatsoever, and who dispense with the idea that they can work or contribute in any way towards their own salvation,

-  who accept Jesus as the Peace Offering of God - as the only answer to their sinfulness,

-  who accept the forgiveness that God offers to all who acknowledge that they are sinful and who accept Jesus as the only answer to their sinfulness,

-  who accept, by faith, the gift of Jesus' perfect righteousness - that righteousness which alone can save us, that righteousness which God declares to be ours, and which He recognizes as ours, - even though it is Jesus' righteousness and His alone.

With the example of ancient Israel in mind, therefore, and as we reflect on what could have resulted had they remained faithful, let us carefully consider the things that we cherish in our hearts - for it is an easy thing for the carnal heart to develop a strange enchantment with evil. Always remember that if the carnal mind is left to follow its natural inclinations it will assuredly become indifferent to God and, with time, it will most certainly develop a malignant abhorrence of sacred truth.

Support Each Other With Urgency and Earnestness

Therefore, knowing the frailties of our spiritual makeup, and realizing just how susceptible we are to the wiles of sin, let us fortify each other's faith and build up mutual strength and spiritual fortitude by inspiring, encouraging, counseling and consoling each other. Knowing that this is such an effective countermeasure against hardened hearts and sin, let us do this today and every day, and let us continue in this practice for as long as each new day is called "today"

This is of vital importance for, remember, we can only find spiritual rest, and we can only share in the victory that Jesus secured on our behalf, and we can only partake of His righteousness, His holiness, His life, and His inheritance, while we continue to place our full trust and confidence in Him - just as we did when the gospel truth first came to us.

With these thoughts in mind, therefore, and as we once again consider the folly and the rebellion of our forefathers, I urgently beseech you to seriously contemplate the gravity of every moment of your life. This is why I entreat you to hear the Holy Spirit's voice "today," and to have confidence in Jesus "today," and this is why I counsel you to comfort and encourage each other "today." I want you to detect a tremendous sense of urgency behind my appeals - a sense of urgency that should attend your every day - spanning from this very day until that glorious day when Jesus comes to turn time into eternity.

Need I remind you, therefore, that this was one of the critical areas in which our forefathers failed so dismally - they simply did not attach any great sense of urgency to the present moment and to spiritual aspects of their lives. And the record of their experience makes this more than obvious, for . . .

¤  even though they heard God's voice, and even though they saw His mighty acts, they rebelled against Him,

¤  even though it was God's will for Moses to lead them directly out of Egypt and into the land of Canaan - there to establish them as a holy, happy, and healthy people, - they kept looking back to Egypt, and to the things of Egypt, instead of looking forward to Canaan, and to the things of God,

¤  even though they had been delivered from the most cruel bondage, they exasperated God for all of forty years by their waywardness and unbelief and, as a result, all but two of them died in the wilderness,

¤  and even though God loved them with a love that was willing to die for them, and even though He gave them an abundance of evidence as to the extent of His love, and even though He only had plans to prosper them and to do good to them, they refused to follow His wise counsel.

Eventually there came a time where the Lord had no option but to swear on oath that because of their disobedience it would be impossible for them to ever receive either the temporal or the spiritual rest that He so much longed to give them.*

(* See on Hebrews 3:10-11)

So let us keep in mind that if unbelief kept our forefathers from realizing God's dream for their lives, we can be sure that our own unbelief and hardness of heart, as revealed through spiritual apathy and sin, will most certainly keep us from entering the rest that God has pledged to all who accept His great Peace Offering, to all who respond to His loving and all-glorious initiative.