Hebrews 3:3-6a
9 March 2025
For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses
—as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honour than the house itself.
(For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.)
Now Moses was faithful in all God's house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later,
but Christ is faithful over God's house as a Son.
So in this portion of the Book of Hebrews, we are dealing with the latest argument, where an establishing point of Jesus being greater than “-” is being made. In this instance, it is in relation to Moses, as we've already been considering, particularly last week, when we saw that the author to the Book of Hebrews did not downplay the significance of Moses. Again and again we need to remember that the teaching on the angels, the teaching on Moses, has been to establish how significant and how important these characters, these individuals, these beings are.
But the point, the focus of the Book of Hebrews, as we see throughout the Word of God, is that Jesus Christ is a standard, is set apart in and of Himself, for He is God. And already what's been established in the first two chapters has given us something so comprehensive and so significant. And it's why, when we come to, for example, Hebrews 2:1, the exhortation, that we are to pay much closer attention to what we've heard when we come to Hebrews 3:1, and we're being told to consider Jesus, we already have the grounds to begin to understand what this means and why we should be doing this.
Because even as we see in Hebrews 3:1, we are to consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, namely, He is the Word from God, and He is the way to God. Another thing that we need to establish as we come specifically to chapter three is just how noteworthy what is now being established is in the context of the entirety of the Word of God. Because from chapter three all the way to chapter ten, we have arguably the most comprehensive argument in all of the New Testament regarding why Jesus is greater than and the fulfilment of the Mosaic Law. That's what we're just beginning to deal with here in chapter three, and we're going to have years working through the richness and the weight of the arguments being established.
Now, one other thing to note, therefore, when we consider that this is in the New Testament, a book which is enriched based on what is in the Old Testament, what we have to establish is that the Old Testament is of great significance in understanding the New Testament. The sheer biblical illiteracy of people who dismiss the Old Testament as being maybe of less relevance or of no application to us today not only demonstrates an ignorance of the Old Testament, but it also immediately highlights a shallow understanding of the New Testament. And so what we are doing, and we need to remind ourselves of this again and again as we work through the Book of Hebrews, is not swimming like infants in spiritual milk. This is dealing with the solid food of God's Word. And seeing and understanding with greater depth and clarity that from the very beginning of the Bible in Genesis to the very end in Revelation, it is all centred upon / pointing to gloriously about Jesus Christ.
And as we consider these arguments, in considering Jesus, we should be all the more equipped to understand and articulate this. Not simply ‘we can see Jesus in the Old Testament’. Well, how can we see Jesus in the Old Testament? That's one of the key things that we are taking such time and attention to the detail of this book to equip each of us to understand and answer. And again and again, the closing exhortation, the focus is that Jesus is superior. So that much we can be clear on, that is our working premise each time.
And in this argument here in Hebrews chapter three, there are two proofs that are being given as to why Jesus is superior to Moses. That's the specific argument being established in this text. Jesus is superior to Moses. Two proofs given. The proof number one is that Moses is a member of the house, Jesus is the builder, which will be the first thing we'll focus on. The second one, Moses is a faithful servant of God's house, Jesus is the Son.
So the structure there is very clear to follow, but the complexity and the depth of the argument, well, that's what we need to take time to work through. So as we come to the text specifically, let's also remember that last week we began by simply dealing with an argument about where both Jesus and Moses are faithful. That's where we began in verse two to launch into now the superiority of Jesus. We saw in verse two last week. Jesus is faithful to Him who appointed Him. And Moses was also faithful in all of God's house.
What is God's house? Well, this is the household of Israel in the context of the Old Testament. And as we're going to see especially next week in the New Testament, it is fulfilled in Jesus Christ through the church of Jesus Christ. So as we come down to the first argument, the first proof of why Jesus is superior in verse three, it says, “For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses…” Now, reading that through just at first glance, you might be quite clear: ‘Okay, well, Jesus is superior to Moses because He's counted worthy of more glory.’
And the point of Jesus being counted worthy of glory is something we've already established in the book of Hebrews. He is the radiance of the glory of God, the exact imprint of His nature. He is God for whom all worship and praise and magnify in the heavenly realm, and by which every knee one day will bow before the majesty and beauty and wonder of Jesus Christ. So He is worthy of glory. But note the language here. In verse three, it says He is “…counted worthy of more glory than Moses…” So the first question we should have in our minds is, well, hang on a second, what glory was Moses counted worthy of?
In order to answer that, let's go to a text that we've already worked through, so we can actually be a little bit quicker on this, which is 2 Corinthians 3. Because Hebrews 3:3 is not saying Jesus is counted worthy of glory and Moses is not, it is saying He's counted worthy of more glory in verse 3. So let's go to 2nd Corinthians 3. We'll read verses 10 to 13.
2 Corinthians 3:10-13.
“Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory. Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end.”
So first of all, just to remind everybody, in case people have forgotten, this is a passage dealing with the superior nature, the greater glory of the new covenant, in contrast to the old covenant. So that's the argument in Second Corinthians 3, which we worked through when we were working in that part of 2 Corinthians in our morning series. And in this section, we're dealing particularly with Moses and this glory, the glory of the old covenant. Now, this is referencing a particular time in the book of Exodus. If we think back to Exodus, chapter 33:18, when Moses was receiving the law, and he made the audacious request to Yahweh, “…show me your glory.” So he made the request, show me your glory. Now, Moses did not behold the face of God for which he would be struck down and die, but the glory of God passed by. And what happened to Moses was his face radiated with the glory of God.
So when we're dealing with Hebrews 3:3 dealing with counted worthy of more glory. What glory was this that Moses had? Well, this was the glory, the glory that was shining from his face. So when he came down from the mountain, this is what the people, the elders of Israel, saw, the glory of God radiating an afterglow on the face of Moses.
But also, then we need to remind ourselves of not only the argument in Hebrews 3:3, but also the argument in 2 Corinthians 3, which is that there is a greater glory. So, yes, the glory of the Lord shone on the face of Moses. But note some of the issues here. In verse 11, it says, "For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory." So that contrast between old and new. And in the beginning, it says, "For if what was being brought to an end," namely the old covenant. So the glory that was on Moses face was not something that was going to last.
And why is that? Well, it is because the glory of the old covenant was also revealing the sinful plight and state of condemnation of man. Because with this old covenant came God's holy law. And what does God's holy law mean for sinful man? Well, it means that we are condemned. We stand before the law of God and we are condemned in our sin. We face the judgment of God and we are deserving of hell. That is the condition that we are in. That was the glory of this time in Old Testament history.
And this is why, brothers and sisters, when the Israelites saw the face of Moses, they had to turn their face away. They could not look directly at it. Why? Because of their sin. Because this marked judgment against even God's chosen people. Now this picture is important to build because for the Hebrews reading Hebrews chapter three and their very high esteem and almost reverence of Moses, they need to understand that as faithful as Moses is, as significant as Moses is in this time in the Old Testament, what he was bringing in, coming with the Ten Commandments and God's moral law, was ultimately condemnation for the people.
And therefore they cannot behold the face of Moses, this glory, which is after all just a fading glory. And it's why in verse 13 of 2 Corinthians 3, he had to put a veil on over his face. He was veiled. This glory was covered so that the people wouldn't see and behold it. Now, as we go back to Hebrews 3:3 and consider this argument and begin to flesh this out more, it's saying Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses.
Now, not only do we have the glory of God shining as an afterglow on the face of Moses in the Old Testament, but we also have many theophanies, namely God appearing in these different manifestations, like for example in Exodus, a burning bush, a pillar of fire at the top of a mountain. And we also certainly understand, as we identified last week, Moses was a great prophet. He beholds the glory of God, he fulfilled his priestly duties, the one who led the people out of slavery, crossed the Red Sea, defeated enemies, he did much, but with all of that said, with all of the glory that radiated from his face. What we see as a first proof as to why Jesus is superior is because as the verse goes on to say, as much more glory, verse three, as, as the builder of a house has more honour than the house itself. That's the key point. That's the key point for even someone as great and as significant as Moses, the one who would bring the law, the one who would deliver the people out of slavery by the practical obedience to what God was calling him to do. Despite all of these things, he is but a member of this house, just like any of us.
Though significant as it is, we are but members. There is only one builder. And this takes us to the Lord Jesus Christ. And what's so staggering about the argument being established in Hebrews chapter three is that the house being described here can only exist if there is a builder. Now, note this. Moses and his role, his authority. All the other characters in the Old Testament, there would be no house unless someone builds it. So Moses is faithful to nothing if there is no house. And there needs to be a builder if there is to be a house. That's how much greater the Lord Jesus is, in contrast to somebody like Moses.
And this is why in John 1:14, there is a “glory” in this new covenant. And in 1 Corinthians 3:9, it declares that “we are…God's building”. And so we have the glory of this new covenant, Jesus Christ, who comes to build this building. That's the picture that we have. Everything that we have of Moses, everything we have of the Old Testament is pointing forward to / it is leading towards all in the types and shadows, of the coming of Christ and this greater glory of the new covenant.
That's the argument that's being established. And what's even more profound and significant is just how He does it. Now, next week, we're going to take time to work through the last part of verse six and spend the entire time dealing with what it means for us to be the house today. So we're certainly going to unpack that in much more depth next week. But consider just briefly, at this point, when we have Christ being described as the builder, what is He building? Well, it's God's house.
Who is God's house? Well, that's us. And what type of a house are we? Well, we're pretty worthy people, right? We're chosen and significant, like Israel was? Brothers and sisters, just as the law condemned the people of Israel and why they could not behold the face of Moses. Do you think that for even a single moment we could behold the glory of the new covenant in anything other than by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and His sacrifice at Calvary? That's our hope.
And that's where this building happens. The building of this house happens through what Christ has done. And He's done it by Himself, becoming this sacrifice. He is the high priest who is coming to make intercession for His people by becoming the sacrifice Himself on the cross. And this is the Gospel and the means by which we become the household of God, because we are the unworthy and undeserving people for whom Christ would suffer and bleed and die for at Calvary. And this is the means by which He would claim a people for His own.
This is God's elect whom He came to die for. And His elect is now the people described as the household of God. And so we look tonight and we marvel at the builder of this house, Jesus Christ. And we can then absolutely see this first proof. Yes, Jesus is vastly superior to Moses because He's built this entire thing and it's all down to Him. It is absolutely because of His precious free, saving grace and nothing else. And no one else can have any means or way by which this can be secured but for Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour.
And this is the Gospel. And this is the joy that we have tonight in gathering as the household of God, because we worship the builder, the one who has built you, the one who has established you. And it cost Him His very life in order to do this, His life being laid down, because that is what it would cost for a sinner like you and a sinner like me, to be rescued from the ultimate and absolute condemnation that we are deserving of. And in order that we could be brought in to the safety and warmth of His embrace, called sons of glory, adopted into His family, children of the living God, the household of God. And Jesus Christ is the builder.
That is the first proof and what we now have in our scope of understanding the landscape of the argument. In no way are we thinking, oh, well, Moses isn't that big a deal. But the scale, the scope, the realm of this argument has just taken an entirely different dimension. If you think, for example, if I were to say, well, I'm a pretty healthy, fit guy for someone who's nearly 40. Now, in some contexts, that would be an applicable argument. But then let's compare it to maybe the most healthy and athletic of persons. Or maybe let's compare it to the most strong animal or creature. The argument just goes on another sphere entirely.
Now consider this multiplied by a magnitude we cannot comprehend. The significance of Moses just is no longer on the radar when we now have Christ as the builder in view. The greatness, the beauty, the majesty of Christ. And this is why this point in brackets in verse four is actually significant, to just punch that weight all the more in view, because it says, "(For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.)" That's the point. Everything is built by Almighty God. Everything. He is the One who made you. He made the elements. He made the earth. This is our God. Nothing happens by chance or by accident. It is all by design. And every single aspect of everything that we see is by God. He's built it all. And it's why in Psalm 127:1, it says, "Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labour in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain."
So what we have now in view with this master builder is the majesty, the wonder, the beauty of our God, which is something that we cannot even begin to fully grasp or comprehend this evening. That's where you sit now and know He is your God. He has built you at the cost of the life of the second person of the triune God, Jesus Christ. And this Jesus Christ is superior to the angels. And here now we're seeing He is superior to Moses. So that's the first proof.
We come then to the second proof, which is being established from verse five. Now, Moses was faithful in all God's house as a servant. Now, let's just stop there. We've already seen this argument, or at least most of it, back in verse two, if we remember, in verse two, it says, "As Moses also was faithful in all God's house." And here in verse 5, "Now, Moses was faithful in all God's house." But there's an addition being given as the argument develops in Hebrews chapter three: “Moses was faithful in all God's house as a servant.”
So here again we have, just like Moses in the first proof is a member of the house, in this second proof, he is a servant. Now, let's not be too downplaying of this term, because the term servant actually here is quite a dignified word in Scripture. It's a word that's actually used to describe the prophets, even the angels in Scripture. And it refers to being faithful, as we see in these verses, and also in being obedient. So faithfulness and obedience. We have these two things in view, which is a description of who Moses was. And it's interesting that this is something that is evidenced and stated again and again throughout Exodus.
Regarding Moses, that he was a servant, he was faithful, he was obedient. If you were to take a chance to look through the book of Exodus, chapter 40, you'll see on eight occasions in Exodus 40 alone, it describes Moses as being obedient. Now, all of these terms wrap up in the argument that's being established in Hebrews 3:5, that Moses was faithful in all God's house as a servant, as one being faithful, as one being obedient. So that's a significant thing.
That is who Moses was and how he went about what we unpacked last week in living as a man who was obedient to what God commanded him to do. But then we have the contrast. Moses being faithful, being a servant, being obedient to testify to the things that were to be spoken later. And here we have it. This is, if you like, that mic drop moment for the people reading this letter who maybe already still have a misconception about the significance of Moses. Now they need to read all that Moses was doing in his being faithful in being a servant to testify to the things that were to be spoken later.
So what has to be in view? Something greater, something of greater significance needs to be understood. And this even is what Moses was pointing forward to. And in verse 6 it is “Christ [who] is faithful over God's house as a Son.” Turn with me to the Gospel of John, chapter 5.
As the Lord Jesus, on several occasions in the first half of the Gospel of John, engages in some very meaty and heartfelt dialogue with people who were passionately pushing back on what He was teaching on. One of the big issues was their viewpoint, their understanding about Moses, and certainly their rejection of Jesus as the Messiah.
Let's deal with John 5:22-24.
"The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honour the Son, just as they honour the Father. Whoever does not honour the Son does not honour the Father who sent Him. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life."
Now these sorts of words are going to certainly rock the religious establishment in Jesus' day because He is declaring that He has the authority given by the Father because He is the Son. This is Hebrews 3:6, where Christ is described as faithful over God's house as a Son. And as a Son, we see the authority He has, the judgment is given to the Son. All honour is to be given to the Son. Anyone who hears the words and believes the One who sent the Son will have eternal life. This is the authority, the power, the majesty, the superiority of the Son, Jesus Christ.
And then the argument is built as we go down to verse 44.
"How can you believe when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you, Moses, on whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote of Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?"
So this is literally the exegetical and application of what we're establishing in Hebrews chapter 3. The Lord Jesus Christ is giving a commentary of this very argument. This is the proof Jesus is declaring what Moses was saying. What Moses was doing was about Me, the Son, Jesus Christ. He has stated it in very clear and emphatic terms.
And this is because everything that we see throughout the Old Testament, all the arguments, all of the weight of the coming of the Mosaic law and the giving of the law, the radiating of Moses' face with the afterglow of His glory, all of these things. Yes, it meant condemnation for Israel in their sin, but these were the types and shadows of what was to come. Which is the greater glory of the Son, who would fulfil the new covenant by His blood.
Brothers and sisters, the Word of God from the very beginning to the very end is centred upon and points forward to the Lord Jesus Christ. He is literally the centre of the Old Testament. This is why Moses pleaded desperately for a sign and then to see God's glory. In Exodus chapter 33, we see and behold the glory of our God in Jesus Christ in the Scriptures. Think how blessed and privileged we are at this time in history, in the time of the new covenant, that we can see and behold the One who came to build the house. For He is God, the builder of all things, and He is the One who has authority as a Son.
That is who we behold this evening, the One who is greatly, vastly superior to Moses as the builder of the house, as the One who has authority as the Son of the house. And in John 1:14-17, just unpacking that further, it says,
"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. And we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John bore witness about Him and cried out, ‘This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks before me, because He was before me.'’ For from His fullness we have all received grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”
So we have the law coming from Moses. This is God's moral law. It is right, and it is perfect. But as we see in 2 Corinthians 3, it was the ministry of condemnation. It was death for man in his sin. In Christ there is life, grace and truth through Jesus Christ. Here is that contrast. Where there is death in the old covenant because of man's sin, there is hope. There is life because there is grace and truth through Jesus Christ. The grace is His sacrifice, Him dying in the place of sinners like us. The truth is what is revealed about who He is. And this is what we behold this evening.
And this is yet another glorious and comprehensive argument to flesh out even further who it is we worship: Jesus Christ, our Lord and our Saviour. When we think, who is Jesus, this Jesus that I worship?
Now, even in this argument alone in this portion of Scripture, we can see all the more clearly, well, He's the builder of the house. I'm built by Jesus Christ, and He is the One who has the authority in this house as a Son.
And next week, when we come to verse 6 in its entirety, we're going to unpack and flesh out what it now means for us to be the house of God.