“…brothers and sisters in holiness who share the highest of all callings…” (Hebrews 3:1 , Peterson).
I have been reading in the Epistle to the Hebrews. Today I arrived at Chapter Three.
In Chapter Three, our writer compares the ministries and authority of Jesus and Moses. Both are appointed for ministry. Both are “faithful in all God’s house” (vv. 2, 6). Both, certainly, are models of missionary obedience. Yet Jesus, the writer to the Hebrews advises, is worthy of more glory…by far (v. 3).
The reason springs from the fundamental identity of Moses the prophet and Jesus the Son of God. Moses “was faithful in all God’s house as a servant,” we read (v. 5). But Jesus “was faithful over God’s house as a son” (v. 6). Moses is a hired hand; he is an employee. Jesus is an Owner in the house of God; he is, in fact, the Founder and Proprietor. Moses, presumably, is paid for his services; he earns his reward. Jesus operates out of God’s own love; he is not fretting or scheming to earn a wage. In the end, Moses has something that he must prove: his own value in the ministry of God. But Jesus may give himself simply, freely, graciously. He has nothing to prove. He has no ulterior motivation.
Servants of God may still fit, it seems to me, into one or the other of these two alternative models. I have met both kinds. Some will be Moses-Servants, scheming and sweating to prove their own worth, to earn their own way, working in the end for themselves. Others will be Jesus-Servants, awash in the love of God themselves and mirrors of his love to the world. And the distinction makes all the difference. What you get with Moses is merely a job. But what you get with Jesus is a position. You are a child of God. You are a partner in the Firm. You are become “holy partners in a heavenly calling” (v. 1).
What a difference! Frankly, “picking up one’s cross” to follow Christ in mission makes pretty poor employment. If his calling were simply a job, you would never undertake it. You could never be compensated adequately. And other earthly benefits – questions concerning vacation time, seniority scales, or even basic scheduling and hours-expected-per-week – are somewhat sketchy. Moses is a difficult task-master.
But the “holy calling” described in the Letter to the Hebrews is something altogether different. Now we are members of the family. As one translation of these verses explains, we are “brothers and sisters in holiness who share the highest of all callings.” Jesus himself says elsewhere, “No longer do I call you servants…I have called you friends” (John 15:15).
Jesus, you see, is not interested in our tricked-out résumés. He is not “hiring” in that way. Jesus invites us into the family. He wants partners. He wants to fill us up with grace – and then overflow his grace in us, for the sake of the world.
This, my friends, is “the highest calling of all.” Have you discovered your share in it?