Hebrews 5:1-10

In the Last 3 of Chapter 4, the Section of Jesus Being Our High Priest Began

Jesus’ High Priesthood will Continue Through Chapters 5-10

Hebrews 4:14–16 (NASB95)

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

We Learned From This Passage That:

Jesus is Our High Priest

He Passed Through the Heavens into the Most Holy Place of God’s Presence

He Understands the Trials and Temptations We Go Through as Humans

Because He Too is Human and Suffered the Same Things We Suffer

We Should Hold On to Our Allegiance to Him

We Can Approach God’s Throne of Grace with Confidence in Order to Receive Mercy and Grace When We are in Need of it

This is All Wonderful News!

The Good News is Only Going to Continue

We are Going to Read Our Entire Text in the NIV and Then Study it in the Usual NASB

I May Start Using a More Readable Translation When We Read the Larger Text…

Because When Using a More Technical Translation When Reading a Larger Body of Text…

It Becomes Almost Impossible to Digest in a Simple Read-Through

We’ll Start Off By Reading the First 4 Verses

Then After We Study Them, We’ll Read Verses 5-10 and Study Them

Hebrews 5:1–4 (NIV)

Every high priest is selected from among the people and is appointed to represent the people in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness. This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people. And no one takes this honor on himself, but he receives it when called by God, just as Aaron was.

Before We Study These Verses, What Does it Seem These Verses are About From a Quick Reading?

The Purpose of a High Priest

To Represent the People

The Work of a High Priest

To Offer Gifts and Sacrifices for Sins

The Nature of a High Priest

Subject to Weakness and Sinful

How One Becomes a High Priest

God Calls Him

This Text is Going to Begin Teaching Us About High Priesthood…

For the Purpose of Better Understanding Jesus as Our High Priest

Hebrews 5:1 (NASB95)

For every high priest taken from among men is appointed on behalf of men in things pertaining to God, in order to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins;

Every High Priest Must Be Human

He Had to Be a Proper Representative on Behalf of Humans to God

He was a Mediator, a Go-Between, a Middle-Man, an Advocate

Humans, Being Separated From God, Need a Mediator

One Commentary Said it this Way:

“the very existence of a priesthood and a system of sacrifices gave evidence that man is estranged from God.”

Under the Old Covenant, the People of God Did Not Have Direct Access to Him

That is Why the Priesthood was Necessary

They Could Offer Gifts and Sacrifices for the Sins of the People

But We Have a Superior High Priest

Jesus Doesn’t Just Play the Part of a Mediator for Us

He Didn’t Just Offer Himself as the Perfect Sacrifice

He Has Provided Access to God for Us

That’s What We Read at the End of the Last Chapter

We are Able to Draw Near/Approach God with Confidence/Openness Whenever We are in Need of His Grace and Mercy

We Have Been Given Constant Access to God Through Our High Priest

Hebrews 5:2 (NASB95)

he can deal gently with the ignorant and misguided, since he himself also is beset with weakness;

The Word for “Deal Gently” is Only Found Here in the NT

It’s a Difficult Word to Translate Adequately

It Seems to Carry the Idea of Someone Showing Self-Control and Generosity Toward Another…

When He Could Show Unrestrained Anger and Severe Frustration

For Instance, a Priest’s Job was to Help Sinful People Receive the Grace of God

What if that Priest Felt Only Wrath and Indignation Against the People He was Supposed to Help?

We See a Wonderful Example of Dealing Gently with the Ignorant and Misguided in Moses and Aaron

They Both Lost Their Cool From Time to Time

But We Remember Them for Their Willingness to Fall On Their Faces On Behalf of the People’s Sins

Jesus, as the Perfect High Priest, Deals Gently with the Sins of His People

He Remains Gentle and Patient with Us

Hebrews 5:2 (NASB95)

he can deal gently with the ignorant and misguided, since he himself also is beset with weakness;

As Verse One Reminded Us, High Priests had to Be Human

This was for the Purpose of Mediating for Us

The Proper Mediator and Representative Must Understand Our Suffering

He Must Be “Beset with Weakness” Like Us

“Beset” = “To Be Surrounded By”; “To Wear”, “To Be Burdened With”

The High Priest Could Deal Gently with Ignorant and Misguided People…

Because He Too was Surrounded By, Wore, and was Burdened with Weakness

Jesus, Being Our High Priest Deals Gently With Us Because He Took On a Nature of Weakness Like We Have

Hebrews 5:3 (NASB95)

and because of it he is obligated to offer sacrifices for sins, as for the people, so also for himself.

Under the Old Covenant, the High Priest Had to Not Only Offer Sacrifices for the Sins of the People…

He Had to Offer Sacrifices for His Own Sins as Well

In This Lies Another Reason that Jesus is Superior to the Old High Priesthood

He Didn’t Require a Sacrifice for His Own Sins

Hebrews 5:4 (NASB95)

And no one takes the honor to himself, but receives it when he is called by God, even as Aaron was.

No One Could Rightly Assume the Position of High Priest for Himself

It Wasn’t a Human-Appointed Position But a God-Appointed Position

It Wasn’t Up for Grabs to Whoever Wanted it Most

It Wasn’t an Elected Office Voted Upon By the People

It Wasn’t Up to the Rulers to Decide Who Held the Position

But that is Exactly What the Jewish People of the 1st Century Had Grown Accustomed to

From the 2nd Century B.C., the Greeks, the Herods, and the Romans…

Installed Non-Levites as Puppet Priests

Josephus Records that the Last High Priest Before Jerusalem’s Destruction was Elected by the People

A True High Priest was to Be Chosen By God

And He Would Be Chosen From the Descendants of Aaron

Just as Aaron Himself was Called

Hebrews 5:5–10 (NIV)

In the same way, Christ did not take on himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father.” And he says in another place, “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”

During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.

Hebrews 5:5 (NASB95)

So also Christ did not glorify Himself so as to become a high priest, but He who said to Him, “You are My Son, Today I have begotten You”;

“Christ” the Messiah Didn’t Assume the Role of High Priest of His Own Will

Though Jesus Wasn’t a Levite, He was Appointed By God to Be High Priest…

The Author Quotes Again From Psalm 2:7

This Verse Points to the Messiah Being God’s Son and Appointed King of God’s People

But Now This Verse is Being Linked with Another Verse

Hebrews 5:6 (NASB95)

just as He says also in another passage, “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.”

Here the Author Quotes From Psalm 110:4

Psalm 110 is Similar to Psalm 2 in that They Both Speak of God’s Anointed King

Not Only Does God Declare the Messiah as His Son/King…

But He Also Declares Him as High Priest

Here Lies One of the Major Themes of the Book

Jesus is Both King and Priest

But He Isn’t a Priest After the Order of Aaron

Because He was Not a Descendant of Aaron

But He is a Priest After the Order of Melchizedek

The Author is Going to Explain that On a Deeper Level Later

This Takes Care of a Major Qualification that a Person Must Have to Be High Priest

He Must Be Chosen By God

And the Scriptures Reveal that He is

Hebrews 5:7 (NASB95)

In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety.

What is the Author Referring to?

During His Life on Earth

Hebrews 5:7 (NASB95)

In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety.

In Short, During His Life on Earth, He Suffered Like Humans Suffer

He Knows What it’s Like to Cry Out Desperately to God While Sobbing

Have You Ever Been There?

I’ve Been There

This Doesn’t Necessarily Refer to the Garden of Gethsemane

This Isn’t Necessarily a Specific Moment in His Life…

But Something He Likely Had Done Multiple Times in His Life…

Just Like Us

The Point of This Passage is to Show Us that Jesus is Qualified to Be the High Priest

The High Priest Had to Be a Human Who was Clothed in Weakness

Jesus was Definitely Clothed with Weakness

He Suffered Just Like We Suffer

Hebrews 5:7 (NASB95)

In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety.

Jesus Cried Out “to the One Able to Save Him From Death”

A Better Translation Might Be “to the One Able to Save Him Out of Death”

Jesus’ Prayer was Heard Because of His Piety/Reverential Awe of God

“Heard” is Related to the Word “Obey”

“Heard” = To Obey on the Basis of Having Listened Carefully; to Listen, with Implication of Heeding and Responding

Jesus’ Prayer to Be Saved “From Death” Wasn’t Heard

But His Prayer to Be Saved “Out of Death” Was Heard

He Wasn’t Saved From Suffering

He Was Saved Through Suffering

Through the Resurrection, Jesus was Rescued Out of Death

This Goes Hand in Hand with the Idea of “Salvation” in the Book of Hebrews

It Isn’t Just Looked at as Eternal Life or Deliverance From a Bad Situation

Hebrews Views Salvation as:

Fellowship with the Father…

Receiving Glory…

And Receiving Rest Through Obedience to God

Jesus Wasn’t Saved From Suffering But Through Obedient Suffering

Not Only Did This Qualify Him to Be Our High Priest

But it Encourages the Listeners to Suffer Obediently as Jesus Did

Only Then Can We Experience the Salvation that God Gives

Hebrews 5:8 (NASB95)

Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered.

Though Jesus is the Son of God, He Still Had to Learn Obedience

He Experienced Everything We Humans Must Experience

That Includes Growing, Learning, and Maturing

The Word for “Learned” Can Refer to Learning From Instruction or Learning From Experience

He Learned Obedience Through His Experience with Suffering

When We Suffer, the Temptation is to Take the Path of Least Resistance

That Path is Often the Path of Disobedience

Obedience During Suffering is True/Genuine Obedience

And it’s Something that Must Be Experienced in Order to Learn and Mature in

Jesus Went Through the Sufferings and Experienced Obedience in Midst of Suffering

But Unlike Us, He Never Failed

Hebrews 5:9 (NASB95)

And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation,

“Having Been Made Perfect” Doesn’t Mean He Wasn’t Previously Perfect

It Means He Completed the Task that He was Given

The Task was to Suffer as We Suffer…

To Experience Every Form of Human Weakness…

And to Obey Perfectly Through All of that Suffering

Jesus Being Made Perfect Means He Perfectly Qualifies to Be Our High Priest

He was Called By God to Be High Priest

He is Human and Clothed with Weakness and Sufferings Like Us

And He is Righteous Before God Because of His Perfect Obedience in His Sufferings

Because of that, He Has Become the Source of Eternal Salvation to All Who Obey Him

Source = He is the Cause of Our Salvation

We Would Have No Salvation Outside of His Perfected High Priesthood

Eternal = Our Salvation is Everlasting

It Stretches Infinitely into the Future and Can Never Be Taken From Us

Obey = Eternal Salvation is Only Available to Those Who Obey Jesus

There is No Salvation Outside of Obedience to the Source of Salvation

But to Those Who Obey the Source, Salvation Never Ends

Hebrews 5:10 (NASB95)

being designated by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

Our Eternal Salvation is Made Possible Because of Our High Priest

Our Divinely-Ordained, Suffering, Perfectly Obedient High Priest

Invitation

Last Week, We Focused on the First 4 Verses

We are to Be Joyful When We Experience Trials and Temptations

God Allows Us to Face Them so that We Can Grow in Endurance and Strength

As We Continue to Grow By Faithful Endurance…

We Become More and More Like Jesus

James 1:5–8 (NASB95)

But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

This Passage Needs to Be Connected to the Context of What We Looked at Last Week

Lacking Wisdom is Referring to:

Lacking Wisdom in Times of Trials and Temptations

When We are Suffering, Sometimes it’s Difficult to Know What to Do

Wisdom Deals with Understanding What is Happening…

And Knowing the Best Way to Respond to What is Happening

James Tells Us that We Have Help in Our Trials

If We Will Ask God for the Wisdom to Make the Right Choices…

He Will Generously Provide Us with Wisdom

And He is Not Angry at Us or Scold Us When We Ask for Help

It’s Great to Know that When I’m Suffering, God is Willing to Help Me

If I Will Only Ask, He Will Generously Provide Me with the Wisdom to Endure the Trials I’m Facing

But We Must to Ask in Faith

If We Doubt that God Will Actually Provide Us with Wisdom, We are Right

God Does Not Help Those Who Don’t Believe in/Trust Him

We are All Going to Face Trials and Temptations this Week

Let’s Remember to Ask for God to Provide Us with Wisdom and Guidance in Our Trials

He Promises to Do that Very Thing…

If Only We Truly Believe that He Will

Don’t Doubt, Only Trust, and He Will Help Us Through Anything We Face