Jesus Is Superior To Moses, Pt. 2

October 15th, 2025
by Lance Waldie

Hebrews 3:5-6 Now Moses was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken later; 6 but Christ was faithful as a Son over His house—whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end.

A quick summary of Jesus’ superiority over Moses is given in vv. 5-6. Whereas Moses was faithful as a servant over God’s people, Jesus was faithful as a Son over God’s people. Of course servants are of far lower rank than sons. As God’s Son, Jesus carried all the rights and privileges of deity, authority, and inheritance. Moses had none of that, for he was a simple servant of God.

Beginning with God’s miraculous preservation of Moses as a baby (Exod. 2:1-10), and ending with God’s mysterious provision for his burial (Deut. 34), God worked miraculously through Moses during his lifetime. To Moses, God spoke face-to-face, transforming the face of Moses to the point of his having to wear a veil in front of the Israelites (Exod. 34:29). Moses brought Israel out of Egypt, he gave them God’s Law, laid out the plans for the tabernacle, and he presented the blueprint for the Ark of the Covenant. He was clearly God’s faithful servant.

A study of Moses as God’s Lawgiver, along with his faithfulness to God, is a far deeper study than simple leadership. He was actually a shadow of things to come—a precursor to the Messiah. To truly revere and understand Moses is to recognize Jesus for who He truly is—the Messiah. A study of Moses without Jesus is an incomplete study, one that is akin to studying the OT without the NT, like watching three quarters of a football game and ignoring the events of the fourth quarter. The writer of Hebrews will later say as much: “For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near” (10:1). The Law was the shadow; Jesus is the substance. So if one accepts the shadow (Moses and the Law), that person must also accept the Substance (Jesus). Even Jesus said as much: “For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote of Me” (John 5:46; cf. Deut. 18:15).

While Moses was faithful as a servant over the house of Israel, Jesus has been faithful as God’s Son over God’s house. Verse 6 says that the house is “we”—those who call upon Jesus for salvation. That was the audience the author spoke to—professed Christians. But this audience was drifting away from Jesus, turning back to the Law of Moses to avoid persecution. So the writer sternly warned them that Christians are part of the house of God only “if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end.” So, those who had confessed Christ as Lord could not expect that their salvation was genuine or that God would consider them “holy brethren” (3:1) if they indeed fell back into practicing the rituals of the Mosaic system.

The writer seems to grant assurance to the true believers in Christ with a test of genuine salvation: “hold[ing] fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end.” To “hold fast” is another nautical term, meaning “to hold one’s course toward” (cf. Acts 27:40). It is another way of warning others not to “drift” (2:1), as the author previously warned. If these so-called believers would hold their course in life faithfully (their love for Christ), they would reveal their spiritual fruit. Failing to stay on course, however, would expose them as frauds.

Food For Thought
True salvation entails perseverance in faithfulness to Christ. But those who profess faith in Christ then later renounce Him show that their salvation was never genuine. True believers hold fast with confidence. This carries the idea of the boldness and buoyancy, two traits that manifest themselves in our speech completely void of fear and reserve. Those who truly believe in Christ have the faith, the speech, and the life to endure any and all trials. These stand firm to the end.