Hebrews 3:1
The Son who brings us near is worthy of our attention.
The mountain was burning when the people heard the voice.
They stood beneath the darkness and the cloud at Sinai. God had spoken to them from the fire, and they had heard His words. Afterwards, the leaders of the tribes came to Moses with a request: let him go near and listen to everything the Lord said; then let him tell them, and they would listen and obey.¹
They had heard the voice of the living God and were afraid of what might happen if they continued to hear it. Moses drew near to receive what God would say. The people remained where they were.
Years later, the letter to the Hebrews begins by saying that God spoke through the prophets and has now spoken through His Son.² After two chapters introducing that Son, the writer turns to his readers with an invitation: consider Jesus.³
The Word Therefore
The invitation begins with “therefore.” The small word asks the readers to carry what they have already heard into what comes next.
Hebrews has described the Son through whom God made the universe, the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being. He sustains all things by His powerful word. Having provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.² The Son is greater than the angels, who serve God and are sent to serve those who will inherit salvation.
The letter also tells of the Son entering the condition of the people He came to help. He shared flesh and blood, suffered death, and broke the power of the one who held the power of death. He became a merciful and faithful high priest, able to help those who are being tempted.⁴
These are not two different saviours. The Son of such glory is the same Jesus who shared human life and suffered. When Hebrews asks its readers to consider Him, it directs their attention to both His greatness and His nearness.
Earlier, the letter warned them to pay careful attention to what they had heard, so that they would not drift away.⁵ Now it names the One to whom their thoughts must return.
A Shared Calling
The invitation is addressed to “holy brothers and sisters” who share in a heavenly calling.³ Their holiness does not mean their struggles have ended; Hebrews speaks frankly about weakness and the need for endurance.
They are not approached as isolated strangers. Hebrews has already said that Jesus is not ashamed to call those He makes holy His brothers and sisters.⁶ They belong together in relation to Him, and they share a calling that comes from God.
Israel’s journey had shown both God’s provision and the difficulty of the wilderness. Moses reminded the people that God had fed them with manna, even as He led and tested them.⁷ Their story will soon return in Hebrews as a serious warning about refusing to hear God’s voice.
Here, before that warning unfolds, the readers are reminded of their shared calling. They are invited to look together toward Jesus, the One they confess. Their attention rests on someone more steadfast than the circumstances through which they are travelling.
The One Sent
Hebrews calls Jesus the apostle of their confession. An apostle is one who is sent. Jesus spoke of the Father who sent Him and of giving His disciples the words the Father had given Him.⁸
At Sinai, Moses carried God’s words to the people. God had entrusted him with a remarkable task, and Scripture remembers him as faithful in God’s house.⁹ Hebrews honours that faithfulness: Moses served in the house of God, while Christ is the Son over it.³
That attention means more than holding a religious title in the mind. It means returning to what has been made known of Him: His words, His faithfulness, His life given for His people. When other voices grow insistent, His people can listen again to the One they confess.
Our High Priest
The same verse calls Jesus their high priest. The title recalls what Hebrews has just said: He became like His brothers and sisters so that He might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because He Himself suffered when tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted.⁴
His people are not told to consider a distant figure who has never known their condition. Nor does His compassion suggest that the Father needed to be persuaded to care. The Son’s coming and His faithful service belong to God’s purpose of bringing many children to glory.
Later, Hebrews invites those who have this high priest to approach the throne of grace, where mercy and help may be found in time of need.¹⁰ The invitation does not promise that every fear will vanish at once. It gives struggling people a reason to draw near.
At Sinai, the leaders asked Moses to go near, hear what God said and bring His words back to them.¹
Now Hebrews directs its brothers and sisters to Jesus: the Son through whom God has spoken, the high priest who helps His people. It asks them to give Him their attention—and to keep listening.
Scripture References
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