Hebrews 3:1-6
Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany - 28 January 2018
Rev. John Derme
That was amazing! These people came to the synagogue service every week, but they had never heard any rabbi teach like that. He spoke with authority. And then he amazed them again. They had seen demon-possessed people before, but they had never seen anybody speak to a demon like that. He cast out the evil spirit with authority. The people in the synagogue must have wondered, "Who is the amazing teacher?"
The Gospel of the Day records that people were asking how it was that he had such authority. In today's Second Lesson, the author of the letter to the Hebrews leaves absolutely no doubt about the answer to that question.
In Hebrews chapter 3, he writes, "Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess." In that synagogue in Capernaum, every eye was fixed on Jesus, because his authority commanded their attention. We don't see Jesus standing among us and driving out demons right now. But we do hear his voice in his Word today. Fix your thoughts on him.
Jesus is our Apostle and High Priest. It may sound unusual that he is called an apostle here in Hebrews. We are familiar with the twelve men who are called apostles throughout the rest of the New Testament. They are apostles, because Jesus personally sent them out to speak his Word for him. In that same sense, Jesus is also an apostle, because God the Father sent him out to teach. He stood among the people in the synagogue as a representative of God the Father. Through his Word, he speaks for the Father to you and me.
On the other hand, he is also the high priest. The Old Testament high priest represented the people before God, offering sacrifices and prayers. So Jesus represented us before the Father in his holy life and his innocent death on the cross. And now he still brings your prayers to God the Father. He can be God's representative to us and our representative before God because he is both true God and true man. Our high priest has sacrificed himself to pay the penalty for our sins. Our apostle brings us eternal life in heaven. Because of what Jesus has done for us, we are holy and share in the heavenly calling.
Hebrews continues, "He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house. 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 every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything." Moses is the only person other than Jesus who even came close to being both a representative of God to the people and a representative of the people to God. Moses lived 1400 years before Jesus was born. He was a man, but he had the honor of meeting with and speaking directly to God. On several occasions, he interceded before God on behalf of the people, asking him to be merciful to them. He delivered the Lord's Word to his people. Moses was by no means perfect, but he carried out his service to the Lord faithfully.
Yet as great as Moses was, he is completely inferior to Jesus, and he would be the first to admit that. Jesus was perfect. He carried out his work without failing even a little even once. God the Father is the creator of all things, and Jesus Christ is the Son of God, one with God the Father, and equal to him in power, glory, and honor. A servant speaks with the authority that the owner of the house gives to him. Moses spoke with that authority from God. But Jesus speaks with his own authority as the owner of the house, God himself.
"Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house, testifying to what would be said in the future. But Christ is faithful as a son over God’s house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast." The household of God where Moses served was the nation of Israel. But the household of God to which Jesus speaks is his entire holy Christian church, including you and me. The author of Hebrews encourages us to hold on to the faith that makes us members of his church no matter what happens to us.
The first readers of the book of Hebrews needed to hear this encouragement. They were tempted to regard Moses as greater and abandon their faith in Jesus. I don't suppose that you are tempted to go back to living under the law of Moses, like they were. Yet you and I often sin by not giving Jesus the honor that he deserves.
Since Jesus is the God who is over all things in this world and the ultimate authority in our lives, we ought always to fix our thoughts on him. But instead we often have no room in our thoughts for the Word of Jesus, because our thoughts are fixed instead on how much money we have or how much entertainment we are enjoying or how much pleasure we are experiencing. We make other things higher authorities in our lives, and we put ourselves in danger of forgetting about Jesus. If we stop thinking about who Jesus is and ignore what he has done for us, we will lose the holiness and the heavenly calling he has given to us.
But even though we haven't always honored Jesus like we should, today Jesus honors us. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, speaks to you today in his Word. He has all authority in heaven and on earth, and so what he says goes. He says that the perfectly faithful life he lived is credited to you. He says that the death he died has paid for all of your sins. He says that you are forgiven. He declares that you are holy. He proclaims that you are a member of his chosen people. He calls you to spend eternal life in heaven with him.
The amazing teacher from the synagogue in Capernaum is here. Listen to Jesus' voice in his Word. Don't ever forget the words he speaks to you. Remember who he is and all that he has done to save you. Hold on to the blessings that he has won for you. Trust that he is protecting you. Believe that he is your Savior. Honor him in your life. Cast out all of the other ideas that occupy your thoughts. Fix your thoughts on that amazing teacher, Jesus.