As studied in the previous mini-series of articles from Hebrews 2, the author of Hebrews reminded us that Jesus took a lower role for a while (becoming a human being, and not only yielding some of His divine power, but also becoming lower than the angels); however, after His faithfulness to God the Father in giving His life for the sins of humankind, Jesus was raised from the dead and exalted to a place of great honor, at the right Hand of God the Father.
However, there were also some verses near the end of that chapter, where the author of Hebrews pointed out how it was important for Jesus to become like us, so that He could become our High Priest. In being someone who can understand and communicate with both human beings and God the Father, Jesus can serve as the perfect “go-between” for us and God.
That’s especially important since we ruined our own chance to connect with God when we sinned and became unworthy of approaching God on our own merits. Jesus’ becoming like one of us also gives us confidence that He really does understand what we are going through. It also helps us appreciate who God is.
As an introduction to today’s text, I encourage you to read (or re-read, if you’ve been following along in this study) Hebrews 2:17-18 from the end of chapter 2, to serve as an introduction to chapter 3. After all, chapter 3 begins with a “Therefore”, suggesting a relationship with the previous chapter.
Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest.
Hebrews 3:1 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/heb.3.1.NIV
Because Jesus had to be made like us so that He could be a high priest, and so that He could pay for our sins; because Jesus was tempted and suffered to help those of us who are tempted; for that reason: we should focus on Him.
- We must “fix [our] thoughts on Jesus” [NIV]
- We must “think about Jesus” [CEB, CEV, similar in NLT]
- We must “consider Jesus” [ESV, RSV, similar in NASB, KJV]
And, who is Jesus? For one thing. He’s an apostle. We might think of Jesus as the one who had His own apostles, and that’s true. In the more general sense, though, an apostle is “one who is sent out” [What is an apostle? | GotQuestions.org]. So, while Jesus’ apostles were sent out by Jesus to spread the good news and help multiply Jesus’ ministry, Jesus – God the Son – was also sent out by God the Father for a purpose. And, that purpose was for our benefit. In fact, in just these few verses (going back a bit into chapter 2), we find that Jesus became our savior, our high priest, and our helper in times of temptation.
From this first verse of Hebrews 3, we see (again) that Jesus is also our high priest. Remember, the book of Hebrews is written for Jewish people (hence, its name), so they would have had a clear understanding of what a high priest did. The Jewish high priest, descended from Aaron, had a special role in taking blood from the sacrificial lamb directly into the Holy of Holies each year on the Day of Atonement. The High Priest made atonement for the sins of the people with the blood of the sacrifice directly in the presence of God.
Now, there’s more about Jesus as our high priest later in Hebrews, but hopefully the initial similarities here are pretty clear: Jesus made atonement for our sins, like a Jewish priest. However, He didn’t just carry some blood from a lamb, He offered His own perfect blood, which was sufficient to be shed once for all time. And, when God the Father placed Jesus in the place of honor, right next to Himself, Jesus could advocate for us in the very presence of God.
That’s a pretty big deal. While Jesus was – and is – a complex person, these attributes about Him are a good start for us to ponder as we begin this chapter. He’s a lot more than a baby in a manger, that’s for sure!
From Sunday School lesson prepared for January 18, 2026
References:
- Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
- Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Copyright by The Lockman Foundation.
- The College Press NIV Commentary – Hebrews, by Jim Girdwood and Peter Verkruyse. © 1997 College Press Publishing Co.
Those Who Sin Differently 