Hebrews 05
5:1 For every high priest is taken from among the people and appointed to represent them before God, to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins.
The author pointed out that there were four requirements for the office of High Priest. First, the High Priest must be human. This disqualifies all angels, all animals, all plants, and even God Himself. Therefore, Jesus must become human to become a High Priest.
Second, the High Priest must offer blood sacrifices and meal sacrifices to God for the remission of sins.
5:2 He is able to deal compassionately with those who are ignorant and erring, since he also is subject to weakness,
Third, the High Priest must be compassionate. Some people sin ignorantly. Some people sin intentionally. Since the High Priest is human, he has also suffered through these temptations. Therefore, he has learned compassion, since he has dealt with similar temptations.
5:3 and for this reason he is obligated to make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people.
Fourth, since the High Priest was human, he had to make a sin offering for himself before he made sin offerings for the people.
5:4 And no one assumes this honor on his own initiative, but only when called to it by God, as in fact Aaron was.
Fifth, the High Priest had to be appointed by God, because he had to represent man before God.
Jesus fulfilled all five of these requirements. First, He became human at His incarnation. Second, He offered His own flesh and blood as an eternal sacrifice. Third, He understands compassion, because of His suffering as a human. Fourth, He did not have to make a sin offering for Himself, because He was sinless. Fifth, Jesus was appointed by God.
5:5 So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming high priest, but the one who glorified him was God, who said to him, “You are my Son! Today I have fathered you,”
The author quoted Psalm 2:7. Christ did not glorify Himself by appointing Himself to the office of High Priest. God the Father gave Him this office.
5:6 as also in another place God says, “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”
The author quoted Psalm 110:7. The Mosaic Law states that the High Priest could only become a priest if he was born from the Tribe of Levi. Since Jesus was born from the line of David and from the tribe of Judah, and since He was not from the Tribe of Levi, then He was disqualified for this office. However, the priesthood of Melchizedek was a higher priesthood than that of the Levitical priesthood. Jesus came from the order of Melchizedek. The author will give more details of the Melchizedek priesthood in chapter six.
5:7 During his earthly life Christ offered both requests and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death and he was heard because of his devotion.
Christ was human from His incarnation to His resurrection. During His human life experience, Jesus offered prayers to God the Father. God the Father saved Jesus from spiritual death. God the Father listened to Jesus, because Jesus gave perfect devotion to the Father.
5:8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience through the things he suffered.
All children must learn discipline from their fathers. Jesus learned discipline from His Father in heaven by partaking in the sufferings in which God the Father sent upon Him while He was in human form.
5:9 And by being perfected in this way, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him,
Jesus was tested and found to be perfect by His obedience to the Father. Since Jesus was sinless, He became the source of eternal salvation to all who believed in Him.
5:10 and he was designated by God as high priest in the order of Melchizedek.
Jesus was designated as a priest by God in the order of Melchizedek.
5:11 On this topic we have much to say and it is difficult to explain, since you have become sluggish in hearing.
The author has a lot to say about the Order of Melchizedek. However, the Messianic believers are spiritually immature and not ready for this type of teaching.
5:12 For though you should in fact be teachers by this time, you need someone to teach you the beginning elements of God’s utterances. You have gone back to needing milk, not solid food.
The author was not a seeker-friendly teacher. He rebuked the Messianic believers, telling them that they were behind in their doctrine. They should not be students during this time of their spiritual development. They should be mature teachers who could teach others. The author cannot give them meat to eat, because they still need spiritual milk. The Messianic believers were still baby Christians, wanting to return to Judaism.
Teaching is a spiritual gift. Not all believers are called to be teachers inside of the church, but they are called to teach basic Bible doctrine one-on-one to those who ask.
The Need to Move on to Maturity
5:13 For everyone who lives on milk is inexperienced in the message of righteousness, because he is an infant.
Milk is the ABC’s of Scripture. Meat is advanced Bible doctrine. Every believer should strive to master advanced Bible doctrine so that he can answer any question that might be asked of him. While a believer fails to apply Bible doctrine, he will remain a baby Christian. The principle is “use it or lose it.” The Messianic Jews were still baby Christians, because they were not applying Bible doctrine. This lack of spiritual maturity prompted them into desiring the return to Judaism.
5:14 But solid food is for the mature, whose perceptions are trained by practice to discern both good and evil.
The author gave a definition of the mature believer. A mature believer partakes of solid Bible doctrine. A mature believer possesses enough Bible doctrine to make divine viewpoint decisions.