The Beautiful Nepotism
Intro:
(From the Floor and explain why)
5 Now Moses was faithful in all [b]God’s house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken later; 6 but Christ was faithful as a Son over His house—whose house we are, if we hold firmly to our confidence and the boast of our hope.
Good Nepotism?
Moses as a faithful servant
Christ as a faithful son
Have any of you dealt with nepotism in the workplace?
(Dan at Stalloy)
What’s the difference in losing a great employee vs. losing a great employe who you are related to?
What if that employee is YOUR son/daughter?
(Now the difference here is that THIS father and son are perfect/holy/just, etc. So Nepotism is a beautiful thing in this regard.
What was Moses faithful in?
Next, the author of Hebrews clearly states that Moses was watching over (being a steward) of God’s house and Moses did this to point forward to “things which were to be spoken later”
Think on this:
Luke 4:17-21 (More credit to Mark Leslie’s authorship theory)
17 And the scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to Him. And He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He anointed Me to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent Me to proclaim release to captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free those who are oppressed,
19 To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”
20 And He rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all the people in the synagogue were intently directed at Him. 21 Now He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
This is why I brought up that observations from Packer last week when he states
Moses and Christ are compared as to faithfulness and contrasted as to honor.
What was Jesus faithful in?
On the other hand, Jesus was faithful with His house…
Who’s house? God’s or Jesus’s? There is not consensus. Consider:
Let me share what I think here:
- The Greek is not explicitly clear.
- I think that may be on purpose.
Let’s return to the nepotism example:
Ben starts a company and hires Austin Clark. I clearly tell Austin that my son will be coming of age in about 10 years and when he finishes business school I’ll be bringing him on and training him up to take over the company. (I didn’t hire Nevaeh because she didn’t want to work for me-she’s the prodigal daughter)
It is clear to everyone that my plan is to train up my Silas to inherit the business so that I can retire and spend more time with my video games.
Austin’s stake (Moses) is different than Silas’s, (Jesus) right?
Now, I retire, and here’s what changes: Everyone Silas hires is considered a son and daughter, to both him and me. The receive that same investment, reward, and inheritance in the company.
So here’s the $25,000 question: who’s company (house) is it? Mine or Silas’s?
Both/And
Closing:
WE are the house, on one condition: if we hold firmly to our confidence and the boast of our hope.
If we believe. And what does someone believe in? What they say they believe in? Maybe.
But I think it has more to do with this: What can you NOT deny?