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Hebrews 5 – Text and Notes
There has been a progression of thought proving Jesus is “better” than His predecessors. He has been proven better than the angels, better than Moses, and now better than Aaron will be next proved.
Vv.1-4 – All High Priests Appointed by God
Vv.5-10 – Jesus Appointed High Priest by God
Vv.11-14 – Tangent: Grow Up
The High Priest
- Who is the High Priest?
- Taken from among the People (vv.1,7)
- Why is the High Priest from the People?
- So he can deal gently with the Sinners (vv.2,7-9)
- What is the Work of the High Priest:
- Offer Sacrifices (v.3,7 but – 7:26-27; 9:14; 10:10; )
- How Did a Man Become High Priest
- Appointed by God (vv.4,5,10)
1 For every high priest taken from among men is appointed on behalf of men [Why Jesus had to become human] in things pertaining to God, in order to offer [present] both gifts and sacrifices for sins;
2 he can [lit., being able to deal gently] deal [present] gently [metriopatheia (3356) – “to hold one’s emotions in restraint” (NAS Exhaustive Concordance) “It means the ability to bear with people without getting irritated; it means the ability not to lose one’s temper with people when they are foolish and will not learn and do the same thing over and over again. It describes the attitude to tohers which does not issue in anger at their fault and which does not condone it, but which to the end of the day spends itself in a gentle yet powerful sympathy which by it s very patience directs a man back to the right way. (Barclay, Hebrews, p.47)”] with the ignorant and misguided [Lev.4:2, 13; Num.15: 22-31], since he himself also is beset with [or, subject to] weakness; [Jesus was too, at least physically.]
3 and because of it he is obligated to offer [present] sacrifices for sins, as for the people, so also for himself.
4 And no one takes the honor to himself, but receives it when he is called by God [High Priests during Christ’s lifetime were political appointments. In the gospels the term “chief priests” is the plural form of High Priest.], even as Aaron was. [Ex.28:1ff; Lev.8:1ff; Num.16:5; 17:5; 18:1; Ps.105:26] [Extended Notes]
What Christ Did Not Do:
- Did Not Glorify Himself By Appointing Self High Priest
What Christ Did Do:
- Offered Up Prayers and Supplications
- Cried Out to God and Cried
- Learned Obedience
- Suffered
- Fulfilled His Purpose (Perfect)
- Became Source of Salvation
5 So also Christ did not glorify Himself so as to become a high priest, but He who said to Him,
[Ps.2:7] “You are My Son,
Today I have begotten [perfect] You”; [Extended Notes]
6 just as He says also in another passage,
[Ps.110:4] “You are a priest forever [aion (165)]
According to [kata] the order [taxis] of Melchizedek [Hebrew for “my king is righteousness”; Gen.14:18].” [Melchizedek is the first person called a priest.] [Extended Notes for chapter 7] [Extended Notes]
7 In the days of His flesh [implies days not in flesh], He offered up [lit., Who having offered up; prospherō (4374) – From G4314 and G5342 (including its alternate); to bear towards, that is, lead to, tender (especially to God), treat (Thayer). This word is used 18 times in Hebrews (Heb.5:1; Heb.5:3; Heb.5:7; Heb.8:3; Heb.8:4; Heb.9:7; Heb.9:9; Heb.9:14; Heb.9:25; Heb.9:28; Heb.10:1; Heb.10:2; Heb.10:8; Heb.10:11; Heb.10:12; Heb.11:4; Heb.11:17; Heb.12:7). Only here and Hebrews 12:7 is the meaning not overtly a sacrifice made to God. Hebrews13:15 uses a related word for “offering up” and relates it to praise of thanksgiving as a type of sacrifice] both prayers and supplications with loud crying [krauge (2906) – “…a cry which a man does not choose to utter but is wrung from him in the stress of some tremendous tension or searing pain.” (Barclay, p.47)] and tears to the One able to save [present] Him from [or, out of] death, and He was heard [lit., having been heard] [but not rescued from, unless this refers to the resurrection] because of His piety [(12:28); “The word marks that careful and watchful reverence which pays regard to every circumstance in that which it has to deal” (Westcott, quoted in Linguistic Key to the Greek New Testament).].
8 Although He was a Son, He learned [Extended Notes] obedience from the things which He suffered. [Jesus “had to suffer” (Acts 17:3).
Why Did Jesus Have to Suffer?
1) To Fulfill Prophecy (Isa.53; Ps.22);
2) To Make Propitiation – He became a sacrifice (2:17; 13:12);
3) To Be Like His People – People suffer (2:17-18);
4) To Gain Experiential Knowledge – Some things can only be learned through suffering, and this knowledge made Jesus Sympathetic (4:15);
5) To Become High Priest (5:1ff)
6) To Be Made Perfect – which means to fulfill a purpose (5:8-9);
7) To Provide Salvation (v.9); ]
9 And having been made perfect [teleioo (5048) – the idea is completeness not sinlessness; “carried out the purpose for which it was designed” (Barclay, p.48); related to the word translated “maturity” in 6:1], He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation, [It is impossible, biblically speaking, to be faithful without obeying. When it comes to faith, grace, law, and obedience, the naysayer misses a key reason as to why faith and grace, do not remove the necessity of law and obedience. That necessity is found in that Jesus needed to obey to be complete – to fulfill His purpose. If Jesus, the Son, needed to obey in order to fulfill His purpose on earth, then how can faith and grace do away with obedience and law? It is by obedience that Jesus was made perfect! My faith causes me to obey the law of God – this is my purpose; this is what makes me complete. And when I fail to fulfill my purpose, God’s grace allows me to pursue my purpose once more – to imitate Jesus Christ. To imitate Christ is not contrary to obeying law. And maybe those of us who emphasize obedience and law can also learn a lesson. Our purpose in life is to glorify God by faithful obedience. Obedience is not the end; it is the means to an end – imitating Christ. In so doing, we are fulfilling our purpose.]
10 being designated by God as a high priest according to [kata] the order of Melchizedek. [Extended Notes for chapter 7]
- Heb.13:22 – Exhortations:
- 2:1-4; 3:7-4:16; 5:11-6:12; 10:19-39; and 12:1-13:22
11 Concerning him [or, Him, or this; i.e., Jesus, Melchizedek or the priesthood] we have much to say, and it is hard to explain [to explains means to interpret; present], since [Difficulty of understanding can be found in the topic or in the student.] you have become [perfect] dull [nothros (3576) – lit., lazy, fig., stupid; used of a numbed limb; 6:12] of hearing. [Indication that the author knew the audience very well. Therefore at least here, the difficulty was found in the student regardless of the difficulty of the subject.]
12 For though by this time [lit., because of the time] you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary [“In grammar it means the letters of the alphabet, the A B C; in physics it means the four basic elements of which the world is composed; in geometry it means the elements of proof like the point and the straight line; in philosophy it means the first elementary principles with which the students begin.” (Barclay, p.50)] principles [lit., elements of the beginning] of the oracles of God, and you have come [perfect] to need milk and not solid food.
13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. [Spiritually speaking, where are we intellectually?]
14 But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good [kalos – “good in appearance; beautiful; aesthetically satisfying and pleasing; that which evokes admiration and a sense of the lovely and beautiful; praiseworthy; ‘good’ as having the perceived value and outward impression of charm and attractiveness; useful (‘The basic idea of kalos is the idea of winsome beauty’ (Barclay); ‘excellent in its characteristics …therefore well adapted to its ends’ (Thayer)” (The Discovery Bible, p.533)] and evil [kakos (2556) – “‘evil in nature and purpose’ (Cremer, p.326); that which is inherently evil but not always outwardly expressed; the ‘antithesis to agathos in the Septuagint’ (Trench)” (The Discovery Bible, pp.524-525)]. [There are questions of good and evil that can be answered with milk. There are questions of good and evil that can only be answered with meat.]
He Who Ceases to Get Better Ceases To Be Good
Great notes Perry! Very helpful. I look forward to getting to this chapter in our study. It looks like we may have some lively discussion regarding verse 9.