Hebrews 5:7-14

Hebrews 5:1–6 (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.

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.”

This is the Text We Studied Last Week

The Author is Focused On the High Priesthood of Jesus

In the First 4 Verses, He Explains the Qualifications of a High Priest

He Must Be Human

He Must Be Clothed in Weakness

He Must Offer Gifts and Sacrifices for Sins

He Must Be Called By God

Then the Rest of the Text Explains How Jesus Meets These Qualifications

Jesus Being Human and Experiencing Temptation Has Already Been Mentioned Several Times

And the Author Quotes Psalms 2:7 and 110:4 to Prove How Jesus was Called By God to the Position of High Priest

That Leads Us Up to Verse 7, Where We Left Off Last Week

Here, the Author is Going to Address Jesus Being Clothed in Weakness Again…

Further Confirming Him as Qualified to Be Our High Priest

Hebrews 5:7–10 (NIV)

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 5:7 (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.

I Like How the NIV Interprets it: 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.

He Suffered Like Humans Suffer

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

This Could Be Referring to His Praying in the Garden

But it Doesn’t Necessarily Have to Refer to That Moment…

Or Any Specific Moment in His Life

During His Life On Earth, He Felt the Weakness We Feel

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”

He Wasn’t Saved “From” Death in the Sense that He Didn’t Experience it

But He was Saved “Out of” Death Through Resurrection

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 Out of Death Was Heard/Obeyed

Jesus was Saved Because of His Piety/Reverential Awe of God

As We See in the Garden…

Jesus Didn’t Just Pray for His Own Desires

He Prayed for God to Fulfill His Ultimate Will

Jesus, in His Suffering, Cried Out to God in Weakness

But He Also Continued to Revere God and Seek His Will

This is Why His Prayer to Be Saved Out of Death was Heard/Obeyed

Verse 8 Continues Along This Same Line of Thought

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 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 Can Often Lead to More Suffering

True/Genuine Obedience Takes Learning From Experience to Master

It’s Extremely Difficult to Obey While Suffering for Obedience

That’s Why it Must Be Learned Through Experience

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

But Unlike Us, He Never Failed

He Did this to Be Able to Empathize With Us and to Save Us

And That’s What Verse 9 Tells Us

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/Reason for” 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

It Can Never Be Taken From Us

That is a Comforting Thought

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

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

How Do We Sum Up Obedience to Jesus?

Love God, Love Others

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

He is Designated/Named High Priest By God, Not After the Order of Aaron…

But After the Order of Melchizedek

The Author Has a Lot to Say About Melchizedek…

And How Jesus Relates to This King and Priest of the OT

He Even Tells Us that He Has a Lot to Say About Him in the Next Verse (11)

But First, There is Another Issue that Needs to Be Dealt With

Hebrews 5:11–14 (NIV)

We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

The Author is Now Beginning His 3rd Out of 5 Warning Passages in the Book

This Warning Will Span From Hebrews 5:11-6:12

He is Going to Warn Against Spiritual Immaturity…

And the Eternal Danger the Spiritually Immature are in

Hebrews 5:11 (NASB95)

Concerning him we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.

The Author Wants to Say More About Jesus’ High Priesthood Through the Shadow of Melchizedek

But He Knows Some of His Audience Won’t Be Able to Handle it

All Throughout the Book So Far, the Author Has Been Urging His Audience with Commands Like:

“Pay Much Closer Attention”

“Consider Jesus”

“Do Not Harden Your Hearts”

“Take Care/Pay Close Attention”

“Let Us Fear”

“Be Diligent”

“Let Us Hold Fast Our Confession”

They Were in Need of Constant Urging to Stay Faithful to Jesus

But, Until Now, We Haven’t Been Given a Very Clear Indication…

As to What was Specifically Going On with These Hebrew Christians

They Had Become “Dull of Hearing”

With All the Other Warnings in the Book…

They are Warned About Possible Future Outcomes of Unfaithfulness

But Here They are Directly Accused of Wrongdoing

“Dull” = Lazy, Sluggish

They Had Become Lazy and Sluggish in Their Hearing and Understanding of the Word

They Weren’t Paying Attention to the Reading and Teaching of God’s Word

They Lacked Any Desire to Put Forth the Effort to Learn More

Have You Ever Been in a Conversation with Someone…

Who Likes to Talk a Lot About Things You Don’t Find Interesting or Important?

If You Have, You Know What it’s Like to Be Dull of Hearing

You Become Lazy in Your Listening and Seeking to Understand

The Author Wants to Share with Them the Importance of Jesus’ High Priesthood

But They Have Become Lazy and Uninterested Listeners

So Trying to Explain These Things to Them is Difficult

Not Because it’s Too Difficult of a Topic…

But Because They Haven’t Cared Enough to Learn and Grow

It Makes Sense Why So Many of Them Were Thinking About Abandoning Christianity

They Had Stopped Learning and Weren’t Putting Any Effort Toward Changing

Hebrews 5:12 (NASB95)

For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.

The Purpose of a Christian is to Learn and Grow so that We Can and Will Teach Others

Remember the Words of the Great Commission?

“Make Disciples”

How?

By Going, Baptizing, and Teaching

We All Have Been Given that Mission

How are We Doing in the Disciple-Making Department?

These Christians Were Not Growing Because of Their Laziness and Lack of Interest

But They Weren’t Just Dull, Lazy, Sluggish, Stagnant

What Happens When You Become Lazy/Sluggish/Stagnant with Exercising?

Your Body Doesn’t Just Stay in the Shape it was in When You Were Exercising

It Begins to Revert to a State of Being Unhealthy

When You Stop Listening, Learning, and Growing…

You Start Reverting/Regressing

These Christians Should Have Been Teachers, But They Needed to Be Taught Again

They Didn’t Need the Deep, Difficult Teachings Again

They Needed the Elementary Principles of the Word of God

“Elementary Principles” = The Basic Components

The ABCs of God’s Word

Some of Those Will Be Listed in 6:1-2

They Should Have Been Grown Adult Christians…

But They Were Still Needing Milk as Their Nourishment Instead of Solid Food

A Child Who Never Moves From Milk to Solid Food is Going to Be in Bad Shape

Milk Offers an Infant Initial Immunity and Provides the Nutrients for Growth

But After a While, It’s No Longer Enough to Provide What They Need to Continue Growing

Solid Food is Eventually Needed to Grow and Survive

We Push Children to Transition From Milk to Solid Food

We Encourage Them and Help Them Transition

And We Expect Them to One Day Make the Transition

But Do We Push Immature Christians to Continue Growing and Maturing?

Do We Encourage Them and Help Them Grow and Mature?

Do We Expect Our Brothers and Siblings to Grow and Mature?

Or are We Just Fine with Allowing Them to Remain Babies Who Only Have a Knowledge of the Basics?

We Often Leave the Responsibility of Growing and Maturing to the Individual Christian

We Encourage Them, Study with Them, and Help Them Be Born Again

But Once They are Born, We Often Leave Them to Fend for Themselves

A Crucial Aspect of Making Disciples is What Happens After a Person Becomes a Christian

They Need Continued Support, Study, and Encouragement

In This Context, the Blame is On Those Who are in Need of More Milk

It’s Not that No One Has Tried to Help Them Grow

It’s that They Have Had No Interest in Growing, Learning, Maturing

And Because of That, They Need to Be Taught the Basics of Christianity All Over Again

We Need to Individually Analyze Ourselves and Ask, “Have I Become Dull of Hearing?”

If So, We Need to Repent and Refocus Our Minds On Jesus and Who We are in Him

Hebrews 5:13 (NASB95)

For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant.

The Spiritually Immature are “Not Accustomed” to the Word of Righteousness

“Not Accustomed” = “the Lack of Knowledge or Capacity to Do Something Because of Inexperience”

What Does the Word of Righteousness Refer to?

Some Believe it Refers to the Gospel in General

Some Believe it Refers to the Righteous Standing We Have with God Through Jesus

Some Believe it Refers to the Ability to Discern Right From Wrong

Some Believe it’s a Combination of All 3

Word of Righteousness = The Message of Jesus that Puts Us in Right Standing with God and Helps Us Discern How to Live Righteous Lives

I Think When I Take the Next Verse into Account…

I Lean More Toward Interpreting the Passage Like This:

“For Everyone Who Partakes of Milk is Inexperienced in Discerning Right From Wrong.”

But I Also Think We Need to Keep This Connected to the Larger Context

The Larger Context is Focused On the High Priesthood of Jesus

One Commentator Broke it Down This Way:

“The ‘milk’ of the Word refers to what Jesus Christ did on earth. His birth, life, teaching, death, burial, and resurrection. The ‘meat’ of the Word refers to what Jesus Christ is now doing in heaven. We begin the Christian life on the basis of His finished work on earth. We grow in the Christian life on the basis of His unfinished work in heaven.”

I Don’t Know if that is Exactly What the Hebrews Author Meant, But it’s Worth Thinking About

These Hebrews Christians Were Unable to Discern Good From Evil, Right From Wrong, Truth From Lie

Because of Their Laziness/Sluggishness Toward Learning and Growing…

They had Reverted to Being Spiritual Babies

Hebrews 5:14 (NASB95)

But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.

Those Who are Able to Handle Solid Food are Mature

They are Mature Because They Have Trained Their Capacity to Discern Good From Evil Through Repetitive Practice

Becoming Mature is Not for the Dull of Hearing/Lazy

It Takes Effort and a Desire to Learn and Grow

The More We Strive to Learn From the Scriptures, Jesus, and His Gospel…

The Better We Become at Discerning Between Good and Bad Moral Behaviors

The Better We Become at Discerning Between True and False Teachings

Conclusion:

The Author Would Love to Tell Them More About Jesus’ High Priesthood…

Through the Foreshadowing of Melchizedek…

But They Have Become Lazy and Uninterested in Learning and Growing as Christians

They Should Be the Ones Teaching Others the Meat of God’s Word…

But They Need Someone to Reteach Them the Basics

Because of Their Laziness and Disinterest in All Things Jesus…

They’re Unable to Discern Right From Wrong, Truth From Falsehoods

And They are Beginning to Fall Away From the Faith