THE EPISTLE OF PAUL THE APOSTLE
TO THE
HEBREWS
Written by Dr. Johnny Hudson
Chapter 5
5:1
For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins:
In this chapter we see four qualifications of the high priest. First, in this verse, we see that the high priest must be a man. In order for a priest to represent men, he himself must be a man. Jesus Christ was ordained by the Father, to become man, so that He could reconcile man to God. The priest had to be from among man so that he could relate to man. The high priest could never be taken from among the angels, because an angel could never relate to mankind. Jesus Christ was the ultimate sacrifice given for all mankind!
5:2, 3
Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity.
3 And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins.The second qualification of the high priest is that he must be compassionate. The high priest must deal gently with sinners. God the Father did not ordain and send His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved (John 3:17).
The sins of the "ignorant" are sins not committed in resistance of truth, but as Paul's past sin (1Timothy 1:13). Sins that are "out of the way" are sins not deliberately or willfully erring, but deluded through the fraud of Satan, and their own carnal frailty and thoughtlessness.
The fact that Christ, while on the earth, was tempted as we are today reveals to us that He knows exactly what you and I face as humans. He has been where we are. Christ, as were the other high priest, was a human that could relate to his peers. There is not one person that can stand before God, and accuse Him of not knowing what we have faced in our lives.
5:4-6
And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.
5 So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee. 6 As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.The third qualification of the high priest is that the high priest did not elect himself, nor was he appointed by the people. Every high priest was chosen by God. Aaron did not volunteer to be God's priest for the people; he was chosen by God.
In the same manner, Christ did not elect Himself as our High Priest. Christ was not only sent by the Father, but He was selected by the Father. Jesus did not bring any honour or glory to Himself: the Father sent and selected Him, therefore, the Father glorified Him (John 8:54).
We know that the Father appointed Christ to the Priesthood. This appointment was involved in, and was the result of, the Sonship of Christ, which qualified Him for it. None, but the divine Son, could have fulfilled such an office (Hebrews 10:5-9). The connection of Sonship and priesthood is typified in the Hebrew title for priests, being given to David's sons (2 Samuel 8:18). Christ did not constitute Himself to be the Son of God, but, was from everlasting the only begotten of the Father.
Verse 6 is a quotation of Psalm 110:4. We see that Christ is "
a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec." At this time, I am not going to expound on this topic. The topic of Christ’s Priesthood, and that of Melchisedec will be further discussed in chapter 7. I will discuss the different views of who Melchisedec was.5:7
Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared.
This verse is speaking of the garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36-42; Mark 14:32-36; Luke 22:39-42). There are a lot of good men that believe Christ, in the garden of Gethsemane, was praying to the Father and asking Him to allow the death of the cross to pass from Him. However, that is not really a correct statement. We already saw in chapter 1 that He went gladly to the cross.
There are many places in the Bible that shows Christ knew He would be crucified. Some examples are: Isaiah 50:7; Luke 2:49; Mark 14:37-43; John 18:11; and Hebrews 10:7, 9.
Christ feared the hiding of the Father's face from Him. We have the promise that He will never leave or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). Jesus Christ was the ONLY HUMAN TO EVER BE FORSAKEN BY GOD! The Father had forsaken His only begotten Son because of the sins that Christ bore on Himself on the cross. The sins were not his own, but that of the rest of the human race. God is holy, and can not look upon sin.
Christ said: "Let this cup pass from me." He knew that God had different plans for Him, or "another cup" to drink from. The cup He prayed to be freed from was, not physical, but spiritual death. He knew that He would temporally be separated from the light of God's countenance. For just a brief moment in time, the fellowship between God the Father and God the Son was broken.
5:8-10
Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;
9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him.10 Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.The last qualification of the high priest is that he must learn through suffering. Christ did not learn His obedience through His Sonship, but through the sufferings He faced while here on the earth. As the Son, He was always obedient to the Father's will; but the special obedience needed to qualify Him as our High Priest, He learned in His suffering as a man (Isaiah 50: 5, 6; Luke 2:52; Philippians 2:6-8).
After completing His goal, obedience through His life, suffering through His death, and in His glorious resurrection and ascension, He became the source of mankind’s eternal salvation. As Christ obeyed the Father unto death, all those who obey Him, shall receive God’s gift of eternal salvation.
In verse 10 Christ is being formally recognized by the Father as High Priest; at the time of His being "made perfect." He was already High Priest in the site of God before His suffering; but after it, when perfected, He was formally addressed as so.
5:11-14
Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing.
12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. 13 For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. 14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.Here we see the "parenthetical warning" of drifting from Christ. The human author had many things to say about the Priesthood of Christ, but had to shorten his letter (Hebrews 13:22) because they were "dull of hearing." This implies that once, when first enlightened, they were earnest and zealous about the things of God, but had become lax in their knowledge and understanding. The Hebrew believers at Jerusalem were dull in spiritual things, and legal in spirit (I Corinthians 3:1-3). We see this in Acts 21:20-24, where James and the elders report of the "thousands of Jews which believe," that they "are all zealous of the law." This was at Paul's last visit to Jerusalem, after which he writes this letter.
Taking in consideration of the length of time that they had been saved, they were to the point were they should have been teachers; but they needed to be taught the basics all over again. The word "milk" refers to the fundamental first principles as he writes in chapter 6. The meat, or solid food, is not absolutely necessary for sustaining life, but is for developing greater strength. Even in there "old age" of being a Christian, they were unskillful in reasoning "their senses exercised to discern both good and evil."