Read the New Testament in 24 Weeks
Jesus Is Greater Than Moses
3 So all of you, holy brothers, should think about Jesus. You were all called by God. God sent Jesus to us, and he is the high priest of our faith. 2 And Jesus was faithful to God as Moses was. Moses did everything God wanted him to do in God’s family. 3 A man who is the head of a family receives more honor than others in the family. It is the same with Jesus. Jesus should have more honor than Moses. 4 Every family has its head, but God is the head of everything. 5 Moses was faithful in God’s family as a servant. He told what God would say in the future. 6 But Christ is faithful as a Son who is the head of God’s family. And we are God’s family if we hold on to our faith and are proud of the great hope we have.
We Must Continue to Follow God
7 So it is as the Holy Spirit says:
“Today listen to what he says.
8 Do not be stubborn as in the past
when you turned against God.
There you tested God in the desert.
9 For 40 years in the desert your ancestors saw the things I did.
But they tested me and my patience.
10 I was angry with them.
I said, ‘They are not loyal to me.
They have not understood my ways.’
11 So I was angry and made a promise.
‘They will never enter my land of rest.’”[a] Psalm 95:7-11
12 So brothers, be careful that none of you has an evil, unbelieving heart. This will stop you from following the living God. 13 But encourage each other every day. Do this while it is “today.”[b] Help each other so that none of you will become hardened because of sin and its tricks. 14 We all share in Christ. This is true if we keep till the end the sure faith we had in the beginning. 15 This is what the Scripture says:
“Today listen to what he says.
Do not be stubborn as in the past
when you turned against God.” Psalm 95:7-8
16 Who heard God’s voice and was against him? It was all those people Moses led out of Egypt. 17 And whom was God angry with for 40 years? He was angry with those who sinned, who died in the desert. 18 And whom was God talking to when he promised that they would never enter and have his rest? He was talking to those who did not obey him. 19 So we see that they were not allowed to enter and have God’s rest because they did not believe.
4 Now God has left us that promise that we may enter and have his rest. Let us be very careful, then, so that none of you will fail to get that rest. 2 The Good News was preached to us just as it was to them. But the teaching they heard did not help them. They heard it but did not accept it with faith.[c] 3 We who have believed are able to enter and have God’s rest. As God has said,
“So I was angry and made a promise.
‘They will never enter my land of rest.’” Psalm 95:11
But God’s work was finished from the time he made the world. 4 Somewhere in the Scriptures he talked about the seventh day of the week: “And on the seventh day God rested from all his work.”[d] 5 And again in the Scripture God said, “They will never enter my land of rest.”
6 It is still true that some people will enter and have God’s rest. But those who first heard the way to be saved did not enter. They did not enter because they did not obey. 7 So God planned another day, called “today.” He spoke about that day through David a long time later. It is the same Scripture used before:
“Today listen to what he says.
Do not be stubborn.” Psalm 95:7-8
8 We know that Joshua[e] did not lead the people into that rest. We know this because God spoke later about another day. 9 This shows that the seventh-day rest[f] for God’s people is still coming. 10 For anyone who enters and has God’s rest will rest from his work as God did. 11 So let us try as hard as we can to enter God’s rest. We must try hard so that no one will be lost by following the example of those who refused to obey.
12 God’s word is alive and working. It is sharper than a sword sharpened on both sides. It cuts all the way into us, where the soul and the spirit are joined. It cuts to the center of our joints and our bones. And God’s word judges the thoughts and feelings in our hearts. 13 Nothing in all the world can be hidden from God. Everything is clear and lies open before him. And to him we must explain the way we have lived.
Jesus Is Our High Priest
14 We have a great high priest who has gone into heaven. He is Jesus the Son of God. So let us hold on to the faith we have. 15 For our high priest is able to understand our weaknesses. He was tempted in every way that we are, but he did not sin. 16 Let us, then, feel free to come before God’s throne. Here there is grace. And we can receive mercy and grace to help us when we need it.
5 Every high priest is chosen from among men. He is given the work of going before God for them. He must offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 He himself is weak. So he is able to be gentle with those who do not understand and who are doing wrong things. 3 Because he is weak the high priest must offer sacrifices for his own sins. And then he offers sacrifices for the sins of the people.
4 To be a high priest is an honor. But no one chooses himself for this work. He must be called by God as Aaron[g] was. 5 So also Christ did not choose himself to have the honor of being a high priest. But God chose him. God said to him,
“You are my Son;
today I have become your Father.” Psalm 2:7
6 And in another Scripture God says,
“You are a priest forever,
a priest like Melchizedek.”[h] Psalm 110:4
7 While Jesus lived on earth, he prayed to God and asked God for help. He prayed with loud cries and tears to the One who could save him from death. And his prayer was heard because he left it all up to God. 8 Even though Jesus was the Son of God, he learned to obey by what he suffered. 9 And he became our perfect high priest. He gives eternal salvation to all who obey him. 10 And God made Jesus high priest, a priest like Melchizedek.
Warning Against Falling Away
11 We have much to say about this. But it is hard to explain because you are so slow to understand. 12 You have had enough time so that by now you should be teachers. But you need someone to teach you again the first lessons of God’s message. You still need the teaching that is like milk. You are not ready for solid food. 13 Anyone who lives on milk is still a baby. He knows nothing about right teaching. 14 But solid food is for those who are grown up. They are mature enough to know the difference between good and evil.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.