Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Hebrews 3

The address “holy brothers” combines affection and consecration. These people are members of the Christian family and are dear to the writer. They are also people who have been set apart for the service of God. The reference to “the heavenly calling” shows that the initiative of this service comes from God. “Therefore” links this section to the preceding. Because Christ has taken our nature and can help us, therefore we are invited to consider him in his capacities as apostle and high priest. “Apostle” (GK 693) is applied to Jesus only here in the NT, but the idea that God “sent” him with a mission is more frequent, especially in John. “High priest” emphasizes the sacrificial nature of that mission. Though “Jesus” is the most glorious of beings, his name draws attention to his humanity. It is as a human being that his work as apostle and high priest is accomplished.

The point could have been made that there were times when Moses was not as faithful as he might have been. But the writer makes no criticism of the man held in such honor by the Jews. He prefers to accept Moses as “faithful.” Yet he sees Jesus’ faithfulness as much more comprehensive. Moses was no more than part of the “house,” but Jesus made the house. Again, Jesus as Son was over the house, whereas Moses was a servant in it. The “house,” of course, is the household of God, the people of God. Moses was a member of that house and proved faithful there . The adjective “all” may point to a concern both Moses and Jesus had for the whole house. Others, such as prophets, kings, or priests, dealt with restricted areas.

The first point of comparison pronounces Jesus as “worthy of greater honor than Moses” because he was builder of the house rather than part of it. “Honor” (lit., “glory”; GK 1518) belonged to Moses, but his glory did not measure up to that of Christ. The one who makes a house is worthy of more honor than the house itself, glorious though it may be. Moses was at all times a member of the people of God, that and no more. He had great honor among the people, but there was no way for him to be any other than one of them. Not so Jesus! He was more. The author of Hebrews has just made the point that Jesus became true human and could truly call people “brothers.” But that does not alter his conviction that Christ is also more than a man. He is the founder of the church, and the church was continuous with the OT people of God. The author will come back to this thought in v.6.

Parenthetically, this verse makes the point that God is over all—a fact that the author does not want us to lose sight of. So he uses the analogy that the very existence of a house is an argument for a builder. Thus everything that exists argues for God. At the same time, God cannot be put on a level with any builder of a house.

Having made his point that God transcends everyone, the writer returns to Moses. He repeats his statement that Moses was faithful in God’s house (cf. v.2). Now he makes a further point: Whereas Moses was no more than a servant, Jesus was greater, for he was Son over the house. The thought is still that of Moses’ faithfulness. There is no criticism of him, but his faithfulness consisted in his discharge of his role as servant. The word for “servant” (GK 2544) is found only here in the NT. It denotes an honored servant, one who is far above a slave but is still a servant. The emphasis is on the subordinate, if honorable, capacity. The writer goes on to say that Moses’ faithfulness did not relate to his own day only. He was “testifying to what would be said in the future”—implying that there would be revelations to others. This letter began with a reference to such revelations and to the importance of what God said (cf. 1:1; 2:3).