Hebrews 5

Aaron and the Levitical priesthood

Exodus 25–27 records the building of the tabernacle, where God dwelt among the Israelites. In chapter 28 God appoints Aaron, of the tribe of Levi, and his sons as priests. Leviticus 8 is their ordination: the ceremony that set them apart, consecrated them and authorised them to serve. From then on Aaron and his descendants served as priests and high priests for Israel, the Levitical priesthood.

Gifts and sacrifices

Gifts were offered as thanksgiving; sacrifices were offered in repentance, to seek forgiveness. The NLT puts it plainly: “He presents their gifts to God and offers sacrifices for their sins.”

What the high priest offered: the burnt offering, gift and sacrifice (Lev 1; 3:8–13); the grain offering, a gift (Lev 2; 6:14–18); the peace offering, a gift (Lev 3; 7:11–34); the sin offering, a sacrifice (Lev 4:1–5:13); the guilt offering, a sacrifice (Lev 5:14–6:7); his personal daily grain offering (Lev 6:19–23); the daily incense offering (Exod 30:7–8); and once a year, the Day of Atonement (Lev 16).

The ignorant and the wayward

The ignorant are those who stumble or wander off course through spiritual weakness, blindness or lack of understanding. They do not rebel against God on purpose; they keep making mistakes because they lack discernment. The wayward are those who deliberately turn aside: they know better, or resist guidance, and leave the right path out of defiance or stubbornness.

A high priest chosen from among men could deal gently with both, because he himself was beset with weakness. That same weakness meant he had to offer sacrifice for his own sins before he offered for the people.

Called by God

Honor here is the worth ascribed to a person. No one could take it for himself. The high priest was appointed by God, not by his own ambition or desire, just as Aaron was.

Two psalms, one God

Psalm 2: the kings of the earth rebel against God, but God rebukes them and warns them in his fury. He declares that he has set his Son over all, and that everything will submit to him. Whoever defies the Son will bear the consequence; whoever takes refuge in him will have joy.

Psalm 110 is a royal coronation hymn, possibly addressed to King David or one of his line. It describes God’s promise of victory to the king and the submission of all his enemies. And God declares that this king is a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

In verses 5–6 the author sets these two verses side by side to show that the very same God who appointed Jesus as Son also appointed him high priest after the order of Melchizedek.

King and priest

In ancient Israel no king could also be a priest. God had declared the two offices separate. Melchizedek was the only official figure who was both: king of Salem and priest of God Most High. So Psalm 110:4 prophesies Jesus as both king and priest, as Melchizedek was. Melchizedek will be discussed in chapter 7.

Appointed, not self-exalted

Jesus is far higher than Moses and Aaron, for he is the builder of the house of God. He holds the authority of a priesthood whose order existed long before Aaron was appointed. And his appointment is valid because it came from God’s divine calling, not from human lineage.

In the days of his flesh

Jesus lived around thirty-three years on earth. Verses 7–10 explain why he is perfectly qualified to be our high priest. Verse 2 said a high priest chosen from among men can deal gently with the weak because he himself is weak, and that he is appointed by God, not by ambition. So it is with Jesus Christ: in the flesh he experienced the weaknesses humankind feels (2:5–10, 14–18).

He learned obedience

The ultimate difference is that he learned obedience through suffering and became the source of eternal salvation, unlike the human high priests, who had to offer sacrifices for themselves before offering for the whole community.

“Learned” here does not mean learning from failing at a task. It is closer to experiencing. Jesus experienced the weaknesses of humankind, and through that suffering he learned to obey God’s words in reverence. He did not escape from it; he obeyed.

Made perfect

That is how he was made perfect, as 2:10 says: it was fitting that God should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. With verse 10, Jesus is not only qualified as high priest; he is the best high priest. He went through the very peak of suffering, pain, temptation and difficulty, and he was divinely appointed by God, so he is able to help us.

A sudden turn

Verses 11–14 are a sudden shift. They show that the readers were drifting away from the truth and growing sluggish to hear God’s words. The heavy persecution and suffering they were undergoing was turning them this way: giving up hope, going back to the old ways, drifting from the truth, as the author has warned several times (2:1–4; 3:12; 4:1–2).

By this time

“For though by this time” implies the readers had been exposed to the teaching for a long time, yet still had not come to understand the words of God. That is why the author says they need someone to teach them again the basic principles, the ABCs of Christian doctrine.

Milk and solid food

Milk stands for the beginning truths of the faith, as infants drink milk to grow. Solid food is stable and steadfast, firm like a foundation: food for the soul, which is instruction. The mature are those whose discernment has been trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.