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The honour of
being a high priest.
Hebrews 5:1-10
Good News Translation (GNT)
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1 Every high priest is chosen from his
fellow-men and appointed to serve God on
their behalf, to offer sacrifices and offerings
for sins.
2 Since he himself is weak in many ways, he is
able to be gentle with those who are ignorant
and make mistakes.
3 And because he is himself weak, he must
offer sacrifices not only for the sins of the
people but also for his own sins.
4 No one chooses for himself the honor of
being a high priest. It is only by God's call that
a man is made a high priest - just as Aaron
was.
5 In the same way, Christ did not take upon
himself the honour of being a high priest.
Instead, God said to him, "You are my Son;
today I have become your Father."
6 He also said in another place, "You will be a
priest forever, in the priestly order of
Melchizedek." (a)
7 In his life on earth Jesus made his prayers
and requests with loud cries and tears to God,
who could save him from death.
Because he was humble and devoted, God
heard him.
8 But even though he was God's Son, he
learned through his sufferings to be obedient.
9 When he was made perfect, he became the
source of eternal salvation for all those who
obey him,
10 and God declared him to be high priest,
in the priestly order of Melchizedek. (b)
Footnotes
Hebrews 5:6 in the priestly order of
Melchizedek;
or
like Melchizedek;
or
in the line of succession to Melchizedek.
Hebrews 5:10 in the priestly order of
Melchizedek;
or like Melchizedek;
or
in the line of succession to Melchizedek.
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Commentary taken from
'The Applied New Testament Commentary'
(Kingsway)
Our High Priest
Hebrews 5:1-10
Our High Priest (5:1-10)
For someone to become a Jewish high priest, two things were necessary.
First, the high priest was selected from among men; that is, he himself had to be a man.
Second, the high priest was appointed by God. The function of the high priest was to offer to God gifts and sacrifices for sins.
By offering these gifts and sacrifices, the high priest made atonement for the sins of the people.
Because the Jewish high priests were men, they themselves fell into sin from time to time.
Therefore, because of their own weakness, they were able to deal gently with those who [were] ignorant and going astray.
However, they did not deal gently with those who sinned deliberately and refused to repent.
According to the Jewish law, there was no forgiveness for those who sinned knowingly
(see Numbers 15:27-31; Hebrews 9:7).
Because the Jewish high priests themselves sinned from time to time, they were required to offer a sacrifice for their own sins before they could offer sacrifices for the sins or the people
(Leviticus 16:6).
Only a high priest who was himself cleansed from sin could offer sacrifices for the sins of others.
The high priests didn't appoint themselves to the office of high priest;
they were always appointed by God.
Moses' brother Aaron was the first Jewish high priest (Exodus 28:1-2).
In the same way, Christ did not appoint Himself to be a high priest; He was appointed by God.
God not only made Christ a high priest; He also made Him His Son.
The writer here quotes from Psalm 2:7.
God appointed Christ to be a priest forever.
But here a problem appears. All Jewish high priests had to be descended from Aaron, the first high priest.
But Jesus was descended, not from Aaron, but from David, the famous king of the Jews.
Therefore, how could Christ be a true high priest?
Here the writer, quoting from Psalm 110:4, gives the answer:
Jesus was a high priest, not in the order of Aaron, but in the order of Melchizedek.
Who was Melchizedek?
He was a priest of God long before Aaron's time.
He was also the king of Salem - that is, Jerusalem.
Thus, he was both a priest and a king.
Since King David later became "king of Jerusalem," it can be said that he was in the order of Melchizedek.
And because Jesus was descended from David, He too was in the order of Melchizedek.
Therefore, Jesus is both a king and a high priest in the order of Melchizedek
(verse 10).
The writer says that Jesus
was heard because of his
reverent submission.
God certainly did hear
Jesus' prayer to be saved,
because three days after
Jesus' death,
God raised Him from the dead.
Jesus learned obedience
from what he suffered.
We ordinary men and women usually
learn obedience through the
suffering that comes upon us
when we disobey.
Jesus experienced the suffering
that comes upon those
who obey God.
Jesus did not sin.
Therefore, having become
a perfect high priest,
He is able to give eternal salvation
to all who obey him.
In the same way,
it is through our obedience to him
that we obtain that salvation.
Faith comes first;
without faith, we cannot obey.
At the same time,
without obedience,
there cannot be true faith.
Both faith and obedience
together are necessary
for our salvation.
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