3
The Apostle and High Priest of our confession
1 So then, holy brothers, you who share in the celestial calling, do contemplate the Apostle and High Priest of our confession,* Jesus Christ!† 2 who was faithful to the One who appointed Him, as also was Moses in all His[F] house. 3 For this One has been counted worthy of more glory than was Moses, just as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself 4 —every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God— 5 also, Moses was indeed faithful as a servant in all His house, providing evidence of those things that would later be spoken,‡ 6 but Christ is faithful as a Son over His house, whose house are we, if, that is, we hold fast the confidence, even the boast,§ of the Hope* firm to the end.†
The Holy Spirit's warning
7 Therefore—just as the Holy Spirit says:‡
“Today, if you would hear His voice,
8 do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,
during the time of the testing§ in the desert,
9 where your fathers tested me,
proved me and saw my works for forty years.
10 In consequence I became very angry with that generation
and said, ‘Their heart always leads them astray;
they have not known my ways.’
11 So I took an oath in my wrath,
‘As if they will ever enter my rest!’ ”*
12 —take care, brothers, that there not be a malignant heart of unbelief in any of you, so as to go away from† the living God; 13 rather, exhort yourselves‡ every day, while it is called ‘today’, so that none of you be hardened through sin's deceitfulness. 14 For we have become associates of the Christ, if, that is, we hold fast the beginning of the Endeavor§ firm to the end, 15 while it is still being said, “Today,* if you would hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” 16 So who were they who, upon hearing, rebelled? Really now, was it not all those who came out of Egypt by Moses?† 17 And with whom was He[F] angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the desert? 18 Or to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, if not to those who disobeyed? 19 So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief.‡
* 3:1 To ‘confess’ is much more than to ‘profess’, it involves commitment. † 3:1 Here we have the first indication as to the addressees; the missive is addressed to Christians. Perhaps 3% of the Greek manuscripts omit “Christ” (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.). ‡ 3:5 A curious statement—he provided evidence before it was called for, as it were. Of course Moses is referred to many times in the Scriptures written after his day. § 3:6 I suppose that a sincere boasting is an exaggerated form of confidence. * 3:6 I take it that the Hope has to do with eternal life. To still be part of the “house” at the end, one must never give up “the confidence”. † 3:6 Less than 1% of the Greek manuscripts, of objectively inferior quality, omit “firm to the end” (as in NIV, LB, TEV, etc.). ‡ 3:7 The author is affirming that Psalm 95 was inspired by the Holy Spirit. § 3:8 In the context the people were testing God, not vice versa. * 3:11 See Psalm 95:7-11. † 3:12 Notice the direction. The term ‘malignant’ implies Satanic influence. ‡ 3:13 The pronoun here is reflexive, not reciprocal, but being plural probably includes both ideas—each one should exhort himself, but we should also exhort each other. § 3:14 I take it that the Christian life or walk with God is called “the Endeavor” (much like ‘the Way’); people usually start with confidence and enthusiasm, but frequently slow down as the going gets rough. * 3:15 There comes a time when the window of opportunity is closed, and there are no more ‘todays’. † 3:16 Strictly speaking, since the Original Text did not use question marks, this verse could be translated as a statement: ‘For some, having heard, did rebel, but not all who came out of Egypt by Moses.’ However, since those who did not rebel were very few, a minuscule fraction of the people, most versions treat the verse as a question, as I have done. ‡ 3:19 The implication is clear; if we disobey it is because we do not really believe—see 4:6 below.