Hebrews 3:1–6
Who’s the Greatest of All Time?
In football, fans argue over quarterbacks. In basketball, it’s Jordan or LeBron. In soccer, Messi or Ronaldo. Every generation debates its heroes. Today we’re asking that same question—but for the Bible.
If you had asked a first-century Jewish believer, the answer would have been simple: Moses. He wasn’t just a leader. He was the prophet, the lawgiver, the deliverer, the mediator. If you had Moses, you had everything.
But Hebrews chapter 3 makes a bold claim: Jesus is greater.
The book of Hebrews was written to Jewish Christians under intense pressure. They were facing persecution and social rejection. Following Jesus wasn’t easy. Going back to Judaism—to Moses—looked safer.
Can you relate? Sometimes faith costs something. Maybe it’s awkward conversations at work. Maybe it’s tension in your family. In those moments, the “old life” can look comfortable.
That’s why the author writes:
Hebrews 3:1–6 (NLT)
“And so, dear brothers and sisters who belong to God… think carefully about this Jesus whom we declare to be God’s messenger and High Priest… Moses was certainly faithful in God’s house as a servant… But Christ, as the Son, is in charge of God’s entire house. And we are God’s house, if we keep our courage and remain confident in our hope in Christ.”
Moses was faithful. But Jesus is greater.
Why Moses? Because to understand how great Jesus is, you have to understand how great Moses was.
Moses was the great prophet of Israel—Moshe Rabbenu, “Moses our Teacher.” When God spoke, Moses delivered the mail.
At the burning bush, God said:
Exodus 3:10 (NLT)
“Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.”
Moses went up the mountain and came down with God’s words. He was the mediator. The messenger.
But Hebrews tells us something bigger.
Hebrews 1:1–2 (NLT)
“Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son.”
Moses delivered a message. Jesus is the message.
Moses told us what God said. Jesus showed us who God is. The difference isn’t subtle—it’s seismic.
Moses didn’t just speak for God. He shaped a nation.
At Sinai, he brought down the Ten Commandments. In a world ruled by tyrants, this was revolutionary. Authority answered to a higher authority. Justice wasn’t based on mood; it was rooted in God’s character.
Even the Sabbath command was radical:
“Six days you shall labor… but the seventh day is a sabbath.”
In a world of slavery and subsistence farming, rest was unheard of. God declared that human worth wasn’t measured by productivity.
But even this was just a snapshot.
Fifteen hundred years later, Jesus revealed the whole picture:
Matthew 22:37–40 (NLT)
“‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’… ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
Moses gave structure. Jesus gave fulfillment.
The law was never the final word—it was the frame around a greater portrait. Jesus didn’t abolish the law; He completed it.
Hebrews 3:5 says:
“Moses was certainly faithful in God’s house as a servant. His work was an illustration of the truths God would reveal later.”
An illustration. A preview. A shadow.
For centuries, God worked primarily through Israel. Kings like David. Prophets like Elijah and...
