Jesus Is Greater Than Moses

Yet, as true as these observations are, we must not allow them to detract from the specific argument made by the author of Hebrews in the following verses. The argument does not contrast the faults and failures of Moses with the successes and achievements of the Lord. Instead, it highlights the faithfulness of Moses (3:2) and his achievement of faithfully discharging his office as a servant in the house of God. If Moses is worthy of glory as a servant, how much more worthy is Christ—the One who built the house?

At a glance, the logic of verse 4 can be difficult to understand. Fundamentally, however, the author makes a simple point. The “house,” later identified as the people of God, had to be built by someone. Every house needs an architect. Christ functioned as the architect of God’s house—that is, God’s people. Thus, Christ is greater than Moses simply because he created Moses.

Hebrews 3:5-6

The author continues to demonstrate Christ’s superiority over Moses in verses 5 and 6. Whereas Moses was faithful over God’s house as a servant, Jesus Christ is faithful over God’s house as a Son. Sonship is greater than servanthood.

The typical word translated “servant” in the New Testament comes from the Greek word doulos. While “servant” is certainly an acceptable translation, it may not capture everything that the word doulos conveys. Some scholars, for example, translate the word as “slave.” Many modern translations avoid this rendering due to the negative connotations it produces for American readers. The language of slavery often conjures up images of the brutal, ethnically based slavery of the antebellum American South. Nevertheless, “slave” does capture the lowly stature of a doulos.

However, the word translated “servant” in this passage does not come from doulos. It comes from the Greek word therapo¯n. A therapo¯n held a position of nobility under the authority of the one who appointed him. Thus, verse 5 highlights Moses’s place of rank and honor. In fact, Hebrews 3:5 echoes God’s own words concerning Moses in Numbers 12:7. He was a faithful servant and an able man in God’s household.

But what did it mean for Moses to be a faithful servant? The author clarifies that by faithfully discharging his ministry, Moses testified “to what would be said in the future.” In other words, Moses’s life and ministry displayed the superiority of Christ. They meant to point away from Moses and toward the Messiah. Moses’s ministry existed to testify about things to come. Passages such as Deuteronomy 18:15 demonstrate this. As the author of Hebrews will later show, the priesthood, sacrifices, and entire old covenant system serve the same purpose.

Paul makes a similar claim in Romans 3:21. The Law and the Prophets bore witness to the righteousness of God available to sinners in and through Jesus Christ. The entire Old Testament is one large arrow pointing to the coming Messiah. Whether through typological patterns, promises, or prophecies, Moses faithfully discharged his service in the household of God by pointing to one greater than himself, Jesus Christ. Christ fulfilled all that Moses said in ways beyond Moses’s own understanding. Christ then is superior to Moses, just as Moses himself would affirm.

Hebrews 3:6 draws an explicit contrast between Jesus and Moses. Moses was a servant. He was a faithful servant, but still just a servant. Jesus, however, is the Son. Jesus is not just a servant in the household; he is the One who inherits the house and functions as its Lord. As the writer of Hebrews explains, the household is nothing less than the people of God, those who “hold on to” their confidence and “boast” in their hope. This means that the household over which Jesus is faithful is the household he built by shedding his blood for sinners.

Other passages in the New Testament also use house language (the Greek word oikos means “house” or “household”) to describe the church and to show that Christ serves as its foundation (Acts 4:11; Eph 2:19-20; 1 Pet 2:5). To say, then, that Moses was a faithful servant in God’s household is to say that he was a servant among God’s people. Christ, however, is the Savior of God’s people. When the author says, “we are that household,” he also subtly affirms the deity of Christ. Verse 5 calls it “God’s household.” “His” in verse 6, however, refers to Christ. Thus, the writer of Hebrews affirms the divine sonship of Christ. He is both the eternal Creator (3:4) and Redeemer (3:5-6) of God’s people.

The final phrase of 3:6 troubles Christians because it seems to suggest that our salvation is conditional. Obviously the people of God are those who “hold on to” their confidence and “boast” in their hope, but why would the author include the conditional “if”? Is the author casting doubt on the certainty of eternal salvation available in Christ?

Hebrews, perhaps more than any other New Testament book, affirms the sufficiency of Christ and his work for our salvation. Nevertheless, warnings against failing to persevere in the faith appear throughout the book. This verse introduces that major theme in Hebrews. The author of Hebrews and the rest of Scripture teach that only those who persevere in faith will be saved, and that all who have genuine faith will persevere. Believers constitute the household of God, which is to say that the church is made up of persevering believers who have authentic faith.

Our works neither save us nor keep us saved. Only Christ can save us. We must hold on to our “confidence” and retain our “boast” in the gospel and in the Lord. We do not boast in ourselves and our own spiritual achievements. We boast in the cross and in the hope of resurrection. The doctrine of the perseverance of the saints does not mean we enter God’s kingdom by faith and stay in God’s kingdom by works. Instead, it means we enter God’s kingdom by a faith that will persevere and never fail. By faith, we confidently trust that Christ’s righteousness belongs to us. He is our only boast. He is our unfailing hope.