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Monday September 9 - A mind focused on Christ
...fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we
confess. Hebrews 3:1
We should be delighted that we are God’s family. We should delight even more in the One who has brought us there: Jesus Christ. Later the writer of Hebrews will urge us to fix our eyes on Jesus, ‘on whom our faith depends from start to finish’ (Hebrews 12:2). Here he calls us to fix our thoughts on Jesus, describing him as ‘apostle and high priest’.
An apostle is someone sent on a mission. Jesus was appointed (v 2) and sent to us by God, as he affirms at the beginning (Luke 4:18) and end (John 20:21) of his ministry on earth. As high priest he represents us before God, having reconciled us to the Father by offering himself for our sins. And verse 3 adds the role of ‘builder’, one who has built a household of people like you and me to honour and glorify the Father.
As apostle, high priest and builder, Jesus was faithful; he performed the demanding ‘multi-tasks’ that God gave him, which involved struggle and affliction. And he finished it all in his greatest work, the Cross (John 17:4; 19:30). But his pre-eminent title is in his nature: he is God’s Son, the Father’s supreme message (Hebrews 1:2), revealing God in his glory. And that’s why our eyes and thoughts should above all be on him.
Are you thinking of giving up? Think rather of Jesus. He hasn’t given up on you.
Holy Spirit, help me think upon my Lord Jesus above all. Amen.
Tuesday September 10 - A greater one than Moses Jesus has been found worthy of greater honour than Moses... Hebrews 3:3
A manager once told a good footballer, “You’ll play for me until I find somebody better”! Moses knew that God would one day raise up a greater prophet to whom Israel must listen (Deuteronomy 18:15). That day came with Jesus.
Our passage pays respect to Moses as a faithful servant of God (vv 2 & 5) in all God’s household, a fine leader intimate with God (Numbers 12:6-8). But Jesus is greater, as the Son of God is greater than a servant of God. This was crucial for those Jewish Christians; they’d followed Moses’ teachings before encountering Jesus and tasting the blessings of the great salvation he won for us. But now under pressure they thought of returning to Moses. Our writer is dismayed: why turn from the greater to the lesser? Why abandon Son for servant, loyal though the servant was? Why return to a promiser when the One who is the “Yes”, the deliverer of the promises, is here (2 Corinthians 1:20)?
And talking of deliverers... Moses led Israel’s deliverance from slavery in Egypt, but Jesus’ mission is greater than Moses’ for he delivers us from the slavery of sin. And while Moses endured much hurt, Jesus paid the ultimate price to free us from sin’s debt and bring us into God’s household.
One final thought: beware of elevating human leaders, even Christians. No one is greater than Jesus. He is supreme – worthy of the greatest honour.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
PRAYER FOR TODAY
Father, help us to listen to your Son, and honour him. Amen.