Spirit of God, at Pentecost you created new understanding among the followers of Jesus. Move among us this day and fill us with new understanding of your living Word. Energize us to bear witness to the world you love, in the name of Jesus Christ, our Risen Lord. Amen.
Gospel Reading: John 5:39-47
Today, we’re going to look at our New Testament reading from the Book of Hebrews, which is a passage that calls us to consider Jesus, to hold fast to our confidence in him, and to listen carefully to the voice of God. At the heart of this reading lies an ancient song: Psalm 95. The writer of Hebrews reaches back to this familiar psalm, echoing its urgent appeal, “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.”
Psalm 95 was originally a call to worship, an invitation to bow before our Maker, but it quickly shifts into a solemn warning, recalling the rebellion of God’s people, the Israelites, in the wilderness. The generation that had seen God’s mighty works firsthand nevertheless chose distrust over faith, grumbling instead of believing. And because of that, they failed to enter God’s rest in the Promised Land.
The writer of Hebrews brings this psalm into clear focus, placing it before us as a message that still speaks today. It’s not just a word for people long ago—it’s a living invitation for us now. The Holy Spirit continues to speak, reminding us that the risk of a hardened heart remains, but so does the beautiful promise of entering into God’s kingdom.
This morning, as we go through this passage. I want us to hear the voice of God — not just as a distant echo from the past, but as a living Word that speaks into our lives right now. Let us consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession. Let us encourage one another daily. And above all, let us make sure that none of us is found with a heart that turns away from the living God.
The book of Hebrews was written to a Jewish community that had heard the gospel through the apostles and prophets. Scholars are not sure who the author was, but they do know that the audience was made up of some who had believed and were saved, others who were convinced but hesitant, held back by fear of persecution and love of sin. There was also a third group that remained unconvinced, simply listening to the word of God, but were unchanged.
The one thing they had in common was their conviction that Moses was the greatest man who had ever lived, there was never any better leader. And when you consider the life of Moses you can understand why they thought that way. God had miraculously preserved Moses’ life as a little baby. God revealed himself to Moses at the burning bush and sent him to deliver His people from 400 years of bondage in Egypt. God used Moses to bring the plagues on Egypt and to part the Red Sea for the deliverance of the Jews. Moses struck the rock in the wilderness to provide water. He went up on the mountain to commune face to face with God and receive the Ten Commandments. And to top it all off, Moses had written the first five books of the Old Testament, showing Israel how to honour God.
But now someone had arrived who was even greater than Moses, and that was Jesus, the Son of God. The author of Hebrews introduces him this way, “consider that Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses also ‘was faithful in all God’s house.’” Here the writer is encouraging the readers to think carefully about Jesus. Jesus is called both an apostle, that is one sent with a mission, and also a high priest, one who represents the people before God.
What he is saying here is that Jesus was faithful, for he fulfilled the mission which God had given him, to offer himself as a sacrifice for all mankind. Moses was also faithful as he led God’s people, being the Israelites, out of bondage in Egypt and into the promised land. The term “God’s house” means the people of Israel. Jesus was sent by God and served him faithfully, Moses was also faithful in the work God gave him.
The author then continues on to say, “Yet Jesus is worthy of more glory than Moses, just as the builder of a house has more honour than the house itself. (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.) Now Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant, to testify to the things that would be spoken later. Christ, however, was faithful over God’s house as a son.” Stating that Jesus was worthy of more glory than Moses would have been a shocking statement for those Jewish readers. Jesus was the son of carpenter, and a man just like themselves, how could he be higher than Moses?
The answer to that lies in these words, “Yet Jesus is worthy of more glory than Moses, just as the builder of a house has more honour than the house itself. (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.)” While Moses was a major person in God’s house, and a faithful leader of the Israelites, Jesus was actually the builder of that house. Moses served in the house, leading the people of God, but Jesus was one of the builders of that house and therefore deserves more glory. Moses was faithful, but he pointed forward to something greater. Jesus was the fulfillment of that promise.
The author of Hebrews then issues this warning to his readers, “Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, ‘Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, as on the day of testing in the wilderness, where your ancestors put me to the test, as though they had seen my works for forty years.” This is a quote from Psalm 95, which was written by King David. He wrote it at a time when he saw the people of Israel drifting away from God and failing to worship them as they should. The writer of Hebrews, quoting Psalm 95, pleads with his readers — and with us — not to repeat the mistakes of the past. Israel heard God’s voice in the wilderness, but their hearts grew hard. They missed the rest he had prepared for them.
David reminds the Israelites of the time when their ancestors were in the wilderness complaining about God, forgetting that it was he who had led them out of bondage in Egypt. They had seen God act on their behalf over and over again, yet they continued to test God. They didn’t fall down before him in worship; they continued to test him, over and over again.
And those words of David, “‘Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts’” are every bit as important to us in our world, for we must always be ready to listen to God when he speaks to us. God’s Word is his gift to you and me. It is not man that is calling us to act on God’s voice, but God himself who is calling us to act today. Both the words from Hebrews and from Psalm 95 are calling us to respond to God’s voice now.
And we cannot wait. “Not today, but maybe tomorrow”, these are the saddest words spoken by any individual today. God continues to call us into his glorious grace and mercy, and he offers us salvation for our sin, he longs to bless us, lead us, and use us to bring glory and honour to his holy name. Yet so many people are turning a deaf ear to God and putting off until tomorrow what God is wanting for us today. How often do we pause and truly listen to God’s voice?
The author of Hebrews warns us, saying, “Take care, brothers and sisters, that none of you may have an evil, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today’, so that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.”
God is not silent. He speaks through the Bible. He speaks through the Holy Spirit. He speaks through the circumstances of our lives. The issue isn’t whether God is speaking, the issue is whether we are listening. And what’s important in that line is the word “today”. That’s a warning that echoes through all of Scripture, today. Not yesterday, not tomorrow, but today. Today, God is speaking. Today, he is calling. Today, he is offering rest. The question is: Are we listening?
Each day presents us with an important invitation: will we open our hearts to God’s voice today? Will we choose to trust him, to follow where he leads, and to rest in his love? We don’t know what tomorrow holds, so let’s not wait to respond. Today is a gift—an opportunity to say yes to Jesus, to honour his voice above all others, and to anchor our hope in him. The world offers many distractions, but only Jesus offers true and lasting life. Will you turn your heart and mind toward him today?
Let us pray:
Lord, soften our hearts. Help us to hear your voice today. Give us faith to trust you and obedience to follow you. Help us encourage one another and help us hold fast to the confidence we have in you. Strengthen our faith, that we may stand firm until the end. In Jesus’ name, Amen.