Consider Jesus

 

Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God’s house. For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses—as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor 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 was a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, but Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son. And we are his house, if indeed we ahold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope. (Hebrews 3:1-6 ESV).

 

The verb κατανοέω (katanoeó), and translated here as “consider”, is used in the New Testament to denote a deep, attentive observation or consideration. It implies more than a casual glance, suggesting a thorough and careful examination or contemplation. This term is often used to encourage believers to pay close attention to spiritual truths or to the example set by others. In the Greco-Roman world, the act of careful observation and contemplation was highly valued, especially in philosophical and educational contexts. The use of κατανοέω in the New Testament reflects this cultural emphasis on thoughtful consideration, urging believers to engage their minds fully in understanding spiritual matters. This aligns with the Jewish tradition of meditation on the Scriptures, where deep reflection on God's word was seen as a path to wisdom and understanding.

 

This whole book of Hebrews is written to help us do just that. There is more to consider about Jesus than you could ever exhaust in this life. In chapter 1 the point was that Jesus is superior to angels. Jesus made and sustains the world (1:1–2, 10), but the angels run errands in it (1:14). In chapter 2 Jesus takes on human flesh and fulfills the hope of Psalm 8 for all his people (2:7–8): "You [O God] have made him for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honor, and have appointed him over the works of your hands; you have put all things in subjection under his feet."

 

And the point at every stage of this book is: Consider this Jesus! Ponder him. Fix your eyes on him. If your mind is like a compass moving through a world of magnets, making it spin this way and that, make Jesus the North Pole of your mental life that your mind comes back to again and again through the day.