Moses, after he had come of age (Acts 7:23), chose not to be identified as an Egyptian, even the son of Pharaoh’s daughter and heir to the honor that such a position held (Hebrews 11:24). The word translated ‘Christ’ (G5547) always refers to Jesus in the New Covenant Scriptures. However, it is always translated anointed in the Septuagint and refers to the anointed (G5547) priest (Leviticus 4:5, 16), the anointed (G5547) oil (Leviticus 21:10, 12), the anointed (G5547) one, meaning Samuel the prophet of the Lord (1Samuel 12:3, 5), and the Lord’s anointed (G5547), meaning the king (1Samuel 26:9, 11). Since the text tells us that Moses was fully aware of his destiny (Acts 7:25), he knew full well that he had been anointed by God for the purpose of delivering his people Israel out of the bondage of Egypt (Acts 7:23-29; Exodus 2:11-15). Therefore, Paul’ s use of the phrase: the approach of Christ (Hebrews 11:26) has to do with Moses choosing to be identified with his oppressed brethren, who were slaves in Egypt, rather than as the son of Pharaoh and a member of the royal court of Egypt.
Moses’ position growing up as the son of Pharaoh had nothing to do with sin, any more than Paul or other believing Jews were sinning by being called Jews in the flesh (Romans 9:3; Philippians 3:4-5). Rather, the word sin in Hebrews 11:25 points to its literal meaning, missing the mark. For Moses to embrace the temporary pleasure of being called Pharaoh’s son would be to miss the mark, because the Lord had called him, or anointed him, to be Israel’s deliverer, and the enemy of Egypt. Had he embraced his then present role as a member of the royal family, he couldn’t have fulfilled his heavenly role as Israel’s deliverer, similar to Jesus claim during his ministry that one cannot “serve two masters” (Matthew 6:24; Luke 16:13). It would be impossible for Moses to participate in the royal court of Egypt as Pharaoh’s son and be Egypt’s enemy at the same time. He had to choose between wearing the royal robes Egypt or the robes of the leader of the slaves of Egypt. The one embraced the temporary pleasures of that world or that age in which he lived, while the other looked for an eternal reward later or in a future age.
As we read Hebrews 11, especially the present context of that chapter (Hebrews 11:24-26), we need to keep in mind that Paul wasn’t simply recording a list of ancient men who were faithful to God in an effort to get his readers to admire them. That would be similar to preaching to the choir. Paul’s readers already exalted the folks he mentions in this chapter. Rather, what Paul was doing was bringing out events in the lives of the ancients, whom Paul’s readers already admired, in an effort to help them see how similar those events in the past were to the events that troubled his readers in their present walk with the Lord.
Finally, Moses, who defined how all Jews were to lead their lives, renounced the virtues of the citizenship he held as an Egyptian. Why? Because, he couldn’t embrace his then present citizenship and still be obedient to God and deliver his people, Israel. Rather, he embraced his heavenly calling, as the leader of slaves and bore that reproach in order to please God. Similarly, the Jews who believed Jesus was their Messiah, were being persecuted as enemies of Judaism, enemies of the ‘state’ if you will, in an effort to force them to recant and abdicate their calling as the firstfruits of the Messiah, i.e. a disciple of Jesus. Would they do so and given in to their persecutors? This is what Paul is asking them and showing them how shortsighted such a decision would have been. After all, Jesus said he would soon come to judge those very people who were persecuting those same Jewish believers, just as the Lord had come to judge the Egyptians for their role as persecutors of his people in Moses’ day.
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