“Hebrews 5”

Wednesday, September 06, 2017

The compassion of the Levitical high priest toward others came from the priest’s own weaknesses. He had to offer sacrifices first for his own forgiveness and then for the sins of others. These high priests were not self-appointed, but rather were chosen by God, beginning with Aaron, the first high priest of the Mosaical Dispensation.

In the same way, “Christ did not glorify Himself to become High Priest” (verse 5). Jesus was glorified by God in two distinct ways.

First, He is God’s Son. Verse 5 quotes Psalm 2:7, a well-known Messianic psalm. Jesus was born in the flesh as God’s Son, lived as the chosen Savior of the world (Messiah means “anointed one”) and was raised from death by the power of God.

As the Son of God on earth (God with us – Matthew 1:23), Jesus learned obedience to God through the trials and sufferings He endured. Being perfect (never sinning) through those trials, Christ became “the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him” (verse 9). This brings the impact of salvation down even to us today.

Second, Jesus is “a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek” (verse 6; see also Psalm 110:4). The next few chapters will be devoted to the superiority of “the order of Melchizedek” over “the order of Aaron” (or the sons of Levi – 7:5).

The author pauses, beginning in 5:12, to remind the weak Hebrew disciples that part of their problem was that they had not grown spiritually. They should have grown to the place where they could teach others, but they still did not even understand “the elementary principles of Christ” (6:1).

--Roger Hillis

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