For God's glory
Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession. He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was in all God’s household. Hebrews 3:1-2 CSB
I always keep in mind that whenever I see the word, “Therefore,” a flag goes off in my brain to take the following words into context of what was stated previously. So, in light of Jesus being superior to the angels due to His calling and obedience on earth to the Father’s will, “holy brothers and sisters,” meaning believers should be obedient to Jesus and His teaching, “consider Jesus.” The use of the word, “holy,” means that believers should be set apart from the world, resisting the temptation to sin. “Who share in a heavenly calling” means that, like Jesus who came to the earth for a specific purpose of fulfilling God’s plan of salvation, believers are also called to a specific task to complete for God while they await going to their true home, heaven. In the following section, the author calls Jesus, “the Apostle and High Priest of our confession.” Apostle is used to signify Jesus as God’s representative to humanity, while High Priest is Jesus representing us on our behalf to God. Jesus was completely “faithful to the One who appointed Him,” going to earth as a human, dying on the cross, and resurrecting to be the way of salvation for creation, all according to the will of the Father. The author of Hebrews then gives an example that the audience would relate to, “as Moses was in all God’s household.” Moses was obedient to God’s leading with His chosen people, Israel. We can see this acknowledgment in Numbers 12:7, “Not so with my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my household.” Just like Moses, Jesus completed the task at hand, as seen in John 17:4, “I have glorified You [the Father] on the earth by completing the work You gave Me to do.” Because of this, believers should emulate Jesus, by being faithful completely to the tasks given to them by God, given to them through the leading of the Holy Spirit. They should also consider the earth as their temporary home, looking forward to the day when they go to their true home, heaven. With this mindset, believers should be motivated to be obedient to God’s Word and do their best to not sin, with the short amount of time they have here, making the most of it by sharing the gospel so that others can join in the heavenly calling. May this new year provide us opportunities to live out the life God gave us by following His example. “Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus” (Hebrews 3:1 NIV).
Blessings,
Isaac De Guzman
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