Jesus Is the Real Thing; Accept No Substitutes!

4th Sunday after Epiphany, 1/31/21 Hebrews 3:1-6 Jesus Is the Real Thing; Accept No Substitutes! I. He is the apostle and high priest. II. He is the Son over God’s house. When shopping for a particular item, do you only consider purchasing the name brand, or do you look at the generic item or store brand as well? I suppose that depends on your experience. If you’ve come to trust and enjoy the name brand, and you’re willing to pay a little more for it, you hardly give the other options a thought. You know what you like, and you like what you know. But if the name brand isn’t all that important to you and if you’ve had some good experiences with the off-brands, you probably choose the less expensive option and feel good over the money you saved. Today’s worship focus reminds us that Jesus is the prophet of truth. There are countless spiritual messages in our world today, all claiming to be the truth. Some of those spiritual messages were in the world before Jesus was born. But if they aren’t the message of Jesus as the Son of God and the only Savior of the world, they’re not alternative truths; they’re spiritual lies. Finding the truth about anything in our modern world can be a difficult task. Those in power tend to choose a narrative that fits their objectives. Individuals create their own narrative to live by if they don’t like the one offered to them. It’s so confusing! There are times when we don’t know what to think. In the early days of Christianity, the Jews who believed in Jesus began suffering persecution for their faith. Because of it, they were tempted to go back to their former Jewish beliefs, beliefs which centered on the law which they had received from Moses. The writer to the Hebrews tells his fellow Jewish Christians in no uncertain terms not to do that. It would be foolish to do so. Instead, stick to Jesus. And that’s always the best spiritual advice any Christian can receive, including you and me. Through the writer to the Hebrews, our God tells us this morning that Jesus is the real thing; so accept no substitutes. But just how appealing are any of the substitutes to you? As you focus your heart and mind on this portion of God’s word, I’ll let you answer that question for yourself. Part I. Credentials have become a daily concern in our modern lives. If you do any online business—buying or selling—you need a username and password. If you’re speaking with a representative about a bank account, filing your tax returns, or discussing your account with a health care provider, you’re going to need some credentials. Those credentials authorize you to make transactions or to receive and give personal information. And with so many scammers out there working night and day to steal information and money from you, credentials are absolutely critical. The people to whom these words of our text were originally written were beginning to question the credentials of the most important person in the world’s history—Jesus Christ. So, the writer displayed those credentials for them. Did you catch them? Maybe not. Permit me to share them with you again. “Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess. He was faithful to the one who appointed him.” First, the writer refers to Jesus as the apostle. Not just any apostle; the apostle. We know that Jesus had apostles that served him. But why refer to Jesus as the apostle? It’s one of his credentials. In this sense, the name “apostle” refers to the fact that Jesus was commissioned. And he wasn’t merely commission by some committee comprised of human beings. He was commissioned by God himself. God the Father sent him to this earth to do his saving work. The Father gave Jesus his approval at his baptism when a voice called down from heaven, “This is my Son, whom I love.” And then he was anointed with the Holy Spirit to be the world’s Savior from sin. Those are divinely certified credentials. Second, the writer refers to Jesus as the high priest. In the Old Testament, priests presented sacrifices to God for the people. Jesus was the high priest because he came to sacrifice himself for the sins of the world. We know he made that sacrifice on Calvary’s cross. In doing so, he reconciled the sinful world with the holy God. He served as the mediator between us and God. By taking on himself the punishment for the sins of the world, Jesus has removed the barrier that separated us from God. We certainly couldn’t have accomplished that work for ourselves and no one other than Jesus could have done it for us. So, Jesus is the real thing; accept no substitutes! Recall that the original readers of these words were tempted to abandon Jesus and go back to their former Jewish beliefs. I’m going to guess that isn’t an issue for you. After all, you’re a committed Christian. But just how critical do you consider him to be for you? Having a sinfully judgmental attitude about someone else, silently makes the claim that you’re better than they are. So, while Jesus might be critical for them, he’s a little less so for you. And I rejoice with you over your commitment to Jesus, but how easy it is for you to set aside his word or time spent with Jesus in a close way, just so that you can pay attention to something else? Just how critical is Jesus to you? Christian martyrs down through the centuries were willing to part with everything else, but not with Jesus. Sometimes I wonder if I would be willing to do the same. How about you? He's really worth it, you know. There’s no one else like him. Here are his credentials. He’s God’s Son and your Savior from sin. He was sent into this world by his Father to be your Savior, and he did that work by sacrificing himself for you. Jesus is the real thing; accept no substitutes! Part II. Last week I heard that 1 in 5 renters of an apartment or a home is behind on their rent. I’m thankful that I’ve never been in that situation. I can’t imagine living in the fear that I could soon be homeless. Imagine the uncertainty! In the second half of our text, the writer makes mention of housing. Not the kind we usually think about. He’s speaking about spiritual housing. Listen again to what he says, “Moses was faithful in all God’s house. Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house, testifying to what would be said in the future. But Christ is faithful as a son over God’s house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast.” I’m sure you caught the fact that the writer contrasts Moses and Jesus. He states that Moses served in God’s house. What house is he talking about? He’s speaking about God’s people. Here he’s speaking about God’s Old Testament believers, his Church. Moses spent the last 40 years of his life faithfully serving God’s people. He led them out of slavery in Egypt all the way to the border of the Promised Land. Along the way he repeatedly faced rebellion by the people he was leading, but he remained faithful in that house, God’s Church. But Jesus was and is far greater than Moses. Jesus built that Church himself. And now the writer is talking about all believers of all time, both Old and New Testament. He’s talking about the Holy Christian Church. Jesus established that Church by living a holy life and then suffering and dying on the cross. Then he rose again from the dead to assure us that he had, indeed, founded the Church. And now you and I live in that house, that Church, forever. We’ll never get an eviction notice. There’s no fear of foreclosure. It will never burn to the ground. It will never become so neglected that it’s unsafe for human habitation. God’s house will always and forever be our glorious home, our fortress against those who would harm us, our shelter in the midst of life’s storms. And one day, we will live in that house in the full presence of our glorious God. That’s what your Christian faith is all about. That’s what your Christian faith promises you. And it’s all because of Jesus. Jesus is the Son over God’s house. Jesus is the real thing; accept no substitutes! Do you have any uncertainties in your life right now? I suppose that’s a foolish question to ask. Of course you do, probably more so than ever. It’s been brutal. And we think we might be able to see the end in sight, but we’re not sure. More uncertainties. And those uncertainties fill us with fear. In fact, I’ve heard it stated that we’re living in a culture of fear in our world. But not in God’s house. Not in the Church which Jesus founded by his life, death, and resurrection. You live in that house by faith in Jesus and nothing can change that. In that Church is your eternal security. You have none other than the almighty Son of God ruling over all things for the good of his house, his Church. I don’t know what our world will bring us in the coming weeks and months. But I do know what Jesus will bring us—peace, security, forgiveness, and eternal life in the Church. Living in that house is exactly what you need. Only Jesus can make that happen for you. Jesus is the real thing; accept no substitutes! Put your today, your tomorrow, your forever, in his loving, almighty hands! Amen.