The first readers of this letter were probably Jews, steeped in the religion of Moses. To them, Moses was the greatest of men. Was Jesus then on a par with Moses? After all, Jesus was ‘fully human in every way’ (2:17). 

It must have taken a major mind shift to cease following Moses and follow Christ. There were similarities. Both were human, sent by God (‘apostle’, v 1), the go-between for people and God (‘priest’, v 1; see Psalm 99:6), and faithful to God’s calling (v 2). But this is like comparing the thing made with the one who made it (v 4). Christ was sent from heaven (see 1:3; John 20:21). He was both high priest and the ‘once for all’ sacrifice (see 7:27). Moses was a member and servant of the house of God (vs 3,5), but Jesus built the house. More than this, Jesus is the eternal Son of God, sovereign over all God’s people (vs 5,6). Moses’ role was to point forward to God’s final word in the Son (v 5; see 1:1,2). Moses was good; but Jesus is glorious! So, to the first readers and to us, the instruction is to fix our thoughts on Jesus (v 1), to put our confidence and our hope firmly in him (v 6).

‘Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is.’¹ Rejoice in the new life you have in Jesus.

Life is full of distractions. To achieve our goal, we concentrate on it and its benefits. Having outlined the supremacy of Jesus, our writer reminds us that the best way to avoid the drift we read about yesterday is to fix our thoughts on Jesus (v 1). He will pick up a similar idea in 12:1–3, where he uses the metaphor of a race – Jesus is at the finishing line, so keep looking to him. 

In verse 2, the writer turns to one of the great heroes of Jewish faith – Moses. Great as he was, faithful as he was, he had the lesser role: as the servant of the house, as opposed to the Son and Heir. Moses looked forward to what God would ultimately do (v 5), foreseeing the coming of another prophet.² Again, the underlying message is: why would you settle for the promise when you can have the fulfilment? The first hearers, familiar with the Greek version of the Old Testament where ‘Messiah’ (the anointed) was translated by its Greek equivalent ‘Christ’, would have made an immediate connection, linking promise and fulfilment. Every reference to Christ in the New Testament is an implicit reference to the Messiah.

As we draw to the end of this opening section of the letter-sermon, we note that Jesus is better than all that might compete with him, whether Moses, or the angels of first-century Judaism, or the ideologies, personalities and attractions of our own age. Beside him, all else pales into insignificance. It is he who will offer a secure hope; other things, despite their real but temporary appeal, never can. He is worthy of our worship, of our devotion and our service. We can confidently follow him (v 6).

In the pressures of modern life, it is hard to focus on Jesus. Why not follow ancient monastic rhythms: set an alarm for times of day to think about him?

¹ Col 3:1  ² Deut 18:15