We have one more reference in Acts chapter 7 verse 35. We’re still going to have a reference to Moses, but now Stephen is the speaker and he is addressing the religious leaders of Israel. Stephen, just like Peter before him, is trying to convince these Hebrews that Jesus was the Christ. Yes, He’d been crucified, but God had raised Him from the dead and He is now alive and could still fulfill all those Old Testament promises. There’s not a word of God’s Grace in here yet. There’s not a word of the Gospel of Grace. There’s not a word in here about what we call Paul’s Gospel, of believing for redemption and salvation or the faith+nothing, that Jesus died for our sins, was buried and rose again. Or that in God's eyes when we by trusting faith receive Jesus' body as our own that He sees us in Christ as one with Him, again, regenerated sanctified and made the righteousness of God by living faith. This is still dealing with the Hebrews.
Acts 7:35-38a "This Moses whom they refused, saying, Who made you a ruler and a judge? The same did God send to be a ruler and a deliverer (40 years later, remember) by the hand of the angel (the Lord) which appeared to him in the bush. 36 He brought them out, after that he had showed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red sea, and in the wilderness forty years. 37 This (speaking of Jesus of Nazareth, the one whom they had crucified) is that Moses, which said to the children of Jacob (Israel), A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up to you of your brethren (in other words, out of the Nation of Israel), like unto me (and as Moses was the deliverer, so Jesus of Nazareth was to be the deliverer of the Hebrews into the Kingdom promises); him shall you hear. 38 This is he, (this is Yehovah Who was in the midst of that assembly or) that was in the church in the wilderness…" In other words, Who was the pillar of cloud by day and the column of fire by night? It was Christ. Who was the pillar of fire by night? It was Christ. Who was the One that rained down manna for Israel? It was the Christ! Yehovah and Christ are but one and the same person!
Hebrews 3:1 "Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;" Now we’re going to go into the word ‘profession.’ We are to consider, as we've pointed out, with all the intensity of our ability to concentrate, on this One. After all, we should! He’s the Creator! This is what so many people fail to realize, that the One whom we serve is the Creator of the universe!! He’s not just the carpenter’s son. He is the Creator of everything! He’s the Sustainer of everything. And so indeed, consider!!
My, how many people in this world never give a second thought to Christ Jesus? Not even a second thought. How many even think in terms of eternity? Not many. We’ve said it before, as we travel up and down the highways and the freeways and the mass of people coming in out of stadiums and ballparks and so forth, do they ever stop to ask yourselves, how many of them ever think about eternity? We don’t know, but we're guessing, it’s a precious, precious, small percentage. People today have no time for anything but the things of this world, the here and now of it. But for those of us who know better, who know this Creator as Lord and Savior, as the One Who suffered and died in our place, yes we can focus on Who He is. The Great Apostle, as well as the Great High Priest of our confession.
Now we've said the word "profession" can be enlarged upon and made more understandable with the word "confession." Because, after all, when we confess Him, what does it really amount to? We’re letting the world know that He is the One Who is the object of our faith. He is the object of our reason for living. Without Him, what are we? We’re nothing. Even though the world out there can be successful and they can make their millions, and they can make the headlines - but, when cancer strikes, they die like anybody else.
We always have to think of the founder of Walmart, Mr. Sam Walton, with all of his billions, yet when he was stricken with cancer, We're sure the family got him the best medical help that this world had to offer. But what happened? He slipped out into eternity. His billions could not cure the cancer. And so we have to constantly come back and be a realists. This world is not our home; we’re only here for just a little blink of time, and eternity is forever. And this is the whole purpose of God giving us the Word, so that we can be prepared for eternity. We don’t have to shrink from death any longer as we now just fall to sleep.
Even as the individual that we called in his hospital room. With tears in our heart and eyes, we could bid her goodbye. We knew she wasn’t on this world very much longer. But, we could also say, "We’ll see you again," because this is the blessed hope that we have as believers. Death isn’t the end. It’s just a little stopgap, and then one day we’re going to be with our loved ones for all eternity. If they're believers in the resurrected Christ Jesus and have accepted His ministry as the Spiritual LORD of spirits.
Now for a moment, come back to Ephesians chapter 2. Here Paul has just listed the appetites and things of this world that plagued us while we were still in unbelief. And while we were steeped in the old Adamic lusts of the flesh, and as he says in the closing words of verse 3:
Ephesians 2:3b "...and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others." What’s the first word of verse 4? Here comes the biggy!
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