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Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, set your focus on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess.
Hebrews 3:1 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Therefore, holy brothers, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Jesus;
  • KJV Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;
  • NKJV Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus,
  • NASB Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession: Jesus;
  • NLT And so, dear brothers and sisters who belong to God and are partners with those called to heaven, think carefully about this Jesus whom we declare to be God’s messenger and High Priest.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Believers, sharing a heavenly calling, are urged to fix their attention on Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of their confession. Christ is the one sent from God and the one who represents us to God.

Overview

Addressing his readers as 'holy brothers' with a 'heavenly calling,' the author calls them to consider Jesus. Uniquely titled 'Apostle' (one sent by God, like Moses) and 'High Priest' (one who represents people to God, like Aaron), Jesus combines both offices. This sets up the comparison with Moses that follows and centers the readers' faith on Christ.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 40

  • 2 Tim 1:9He has saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works, but by His own purpose and by the grace He granted us in Christ Jesus before time began.
  • Phil 3:14I press on toward the goal to win the prize of God’s heavenly calling in Christ Jesus.
  • Heb 4:14–15Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we profess.
  • 1 Pet 2:9But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
  • Eph 4:1As a prisoner in the Lord, then, I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling you have received:
  • Heb 7:26Such a high priest truly befits us—One who is holy, innocent, undefiled, set apart from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.
  • Eph 4:4There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called;
  • Heb 2:17For this reason He had to be made like His brothers in every way, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, in order to make atonement for the sins of the people.
  • Rom 8:28–30And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.
  • Heb 10:21and since we have a great priest over the house of God,
  • 1 Th 2:12encouraging you, comforting you, and urging you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.
  • 1 Cor 9:23I do all this for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings.
  • Rom 15:8For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of God’s truth, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs,
  • 2 Tim 2:7Consider what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all things.
  • 1 Tim 6:12Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made the good confession before many witnesses.
  • Heb 2:11For both the One who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers.
  • Hag 1:5Now this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Consider carefully your ways.
  • Ps 110:4The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind: “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”
  • John 20:21Again Jesus said to them, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, so also I am sending you.”
  • Jude 1:1Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James, To those who are called, loved by God the Father, and kept in Jesus Christ:
  • 1 Cor 1:2To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:
  • Rom 9:24including us, whom He has called not only from the Jews, but also from the Gentiles?
  • 2 Th 1:11To this end, we always pray for you, that our God will count you worthy of His calling, and that He will powerfully fulfill your every good desire and work of faith,
  • Rom 1:6–7And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.
  • Heb 3:14We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly to the end the assurance we had at first.
  • 2 Th 2:14To this He called you through our gospel, so that you may share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
  • Isa 1:3The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s manger, but Israel does not know; My people do not understand.”
  • Rom 15:27They were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual blessings, they are obligated to minister to them with material blessings.
  • Ezek 18:28Because he considered and turned from all the transgressions he had committed, he will surely live; he will not die.
  • 1 Th 5:27I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.
  • John 20:27Then Jesus said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and look at My hands. Reach out your hand and put it into My side. Stop doubting and believe.”
  • Col 1:22But now He has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy, unblemished, and blameless in His presence—
  • 1 Tim 6:2Those who have believing masters should not show disrespect because they are brothers, but should serve them all the more, since those receiving their good service are beloved believers. Teach and encourage these principles.
  • Isa 5:12At their feasts are the lyre and harp, tambourines and flutes and wine. They disregard the actions of the LORD and fail to see the work of His hands.
  • 1 Pet 5:10And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore you, secure you, strengthen you, and establish you.
  • Ezek 12:3Therefore, son of man, pack your bags for exile. In broad daylight, set out from your place and go to another as they watch. Perhaps they will understand, though they are a rebellious house.
  • Hag 2:15Now consider carefully from this day forward: Before one stone was placed on another in the temple of the LORD,
  • Col 1:12giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light.
  • Isa 41:20so that all may see and know, may consider and understand, that the hand of the LORD has done this and the Holy One of Israel has created it.”
  • Rom 11:17Now if some branches have been broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others to share in the nourishment of the olive root,

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Hebrews videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Hebrews 3:1YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on HebrewsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Hebrews is sustained worship of Christ: better than angels, Moses, and the priests; the great High Priest after Melchizedek who by one sacrifice perfects forever those he saves.

How Hebrews 3:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.