3 Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess. 2 He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house. (NIV)
There is a moment in Genesis 31 where Jacob is leaving Laban with his wives and children and all of the herds and flocks he had obtained. As they were leaving, Jacob’s wife Rachel stole her father’s household gods, the teraphim. Even though she could conceal them by hiding them under her camel’s saddle (31:34), their powerlessness and inadequacy didn’t occur to her. She wanted to hang onto them.
If we can be patient with Rachel (should we?), then we can understand why the author to the Hebrews makes his case the way he does. But we can also see why the message is so critical; why the references are beginning to build up, one on top of another. Now we are moving from the old point into a new one: Christ is superior to the angels, and Christ is superior to both Moses and priesthood, too.
Notice that Christ is called “the apostle” here as well as high priest. The word apostle is Greek, from a verb meaning “to send out with authority.” The difference between a disciple and an apostle is that a disciple follows and learns, but an apostle is sent out on a mission with the authority of the one who sent him. Now it becomes clear why Jesus can be called an apostle. He himself said that he was sent out from the Father into the world. This occurs in every Gospel:
Matthew 10:40, “The one who receives me receives the one who sent (Greek aposteilanta) me.”
Mark 9:37, “Whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent (Greek aposteilanta) me.”
Luke 9:48, “..the one who sent (Greek aposteilanta) me.”
John 5:36, “For the very work that the Father has given me to finish, and which I am doing, testifies that the Father has sent (Greek apestalken) me.”
Just as Moses led the people out of bondage in Egypt, gave the people God’s word on the mountain, and brought them into the promised land, Jesus also freed mankind from the bondage of sin, gave us God’s word in mountains, in valleys, in houses and on the roads, and finally brings us into the perfect promised rest of eternal life in heaven.
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. His wife, Kathryn, attended Chapel from 1987-1990 while studying Secondary Education (Theater and Math) at UW-Madison. Kathryn’s father, John Meyer, was also the first man to serve as a Vicar at Chapel.
To receive God’s Word for You via e-mail, please .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
