Read the New Testament in 24 Weeks
Jesus Is Greater than Moses
3 So all of you holy brothers and sisters, who were called by God, think about Jesus, who was sent to us and is the high priest of our faith. 2 Jesus was faithful to God as Moses was in God’s family. 3 Jesus has more honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. 4 Every house is built by someone, but the builder of everything is God himself. 5 Moses was faithful in God’s family as a servant, and he told what God would say in the future. 6 But Christ is faithful as a Son over God’s house. And we are God’s house if we confidently maintain our hope.
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,
when you tested God in the desert.
9 There your ancestors tried me and tested me
and saw the things I did for forty years.
10 I was angry with them.
I said, ‘They are not loyal to me
and have not understood my ways.’
11 I was angry and made a promise,
‘They will never enter my rest.’”[a] Psalm 95:7–11
12 So brothers and sisters, be careful that none of you has an evil, unbelieving heart that will turn you away from the living God. 13 But encourage each other every day while it is “today.”[b] Help each other so none of you will become hardened because sin has tricked you. 14 We all share in Christ 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 with whom was God angry for forty years? He was angry with those who sinned, who died in the desert. 18 And to whom was God talking when he promised that they would never enter his rest? He was talking to those who did not obey him. 19 So we see they were not allowed to enter and have God’s rest, because they did not believe.
4 Now, since God has left us the promise that we may enter his rest, let us be very careful so none of you will fail to enter. 2 The Good News was preached to us just as it was to them. But the teaching they heard did not help them, because 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,
“I was angry and made a promise,
‘They will never enter my rest.’” Psalm 95:11
But God’s work was finished from the time he made the world. 4 In the Scriptures he talked about the seventh day of the week: “And on the seventh day God rested from all his works.”[d] 5 And again in the Scripture God said, “They will never enter my rest.”
6 It is still true that some people will enter God’s rest, but those who first heard the way to be saved 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 in 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, because God spoke later about another day. 9 This shows that the rest[f] for God’s people is still coming. 10 Anyone who enters God’s rest will rest from his work as God did. 11 Let us try as hard as we can to enter God’s rest so that no one will fail by following the example of those who refused to obey.
12 God’s word is alive and working and is sharper than a double-edged sword. It cuts all the way into us, where the soul and the spirit are joined, to the center of our joints and bones. And it 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 Since we have a great high priest, Jesus the Son of God, who has gone into heaven, 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 very sure that we can come before God’s throne where there is grace. There we can receive mercy and grace to help us when we need it.
5 Every high priest is chosen from among other people. He is given the work of going before God for them to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 Since he himself is weak, 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 also 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 trusted God. 8 Even though Jesus was the Son of God, he learned obedience by what he suffered. 9 And because his obedience was perfect, he was able to give eternal salvation to all who obey him. 10 In this way God made Jesus a 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 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 and 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, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.