Therefore, holy brothers and sisters,
who share in the heavenly calling,
fix your thoughts on Jesus,
whom we acknowledge
as our apostle and high priest.
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.
Hebrews 3:1-3
What are mission team goes to West Virginia, we generally repair houses. We patch roofs. Repair ceilings with new drywall. Fix rotting floorboards. And stabilize crumbling porches. It is good work. Important work. It restores hope to crumbling lives.
And yet… any repairs we make will not last forever. That's why we are told to focus on the people as much as the house. Houses are temporary. People - through the grace of God – are eternal.
And our verses for today, the Apostle admonishes us not to give undo honor to temporal, physical things like a house. It is the builder of the house who deserves honor. And the ultimate builder (the creator of heaven and earth) is God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
"Therefore ... fix your thoughts on Jesus," chants the Apostle.
In fact, he reinforces this point. In a letter to the Hebrews – good Jewish Christians – the Apostle talks about one of Israel's greatest earthly heroes. Moses is worthy of great honor, he contends. But Moses is physical. He is temporal and temporary. Jesus, on the other hand, is worthy of infinitely more honor (just as the builder of the house is more worthy than the house itself). He is God! He transcends this earth. Indeed, He created it. Therefore fix your eyes on Him!
He, indeed, is our "apostle" and "high priest." "Apostle" means "sent." This reflects Jesus' role within the Trinity. The Son is "sent" by the Father - sent to represent the Father on earth, to testify to God's Truth, and to win our salvation.
Jesus is also "the great high priest." Historically, the high priest stood between God and the people, interceding for them and making sacrifices for their sins. That is precisely what Jesus has done for us… yet in an eternal way.
Therefore, fix your eyes on him!
In Christ's Love,
a guy who needs
a new pair of glasses -
Son Glasses!
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