Hebrews 5

Jesus the Perfect High Priest

Hebrews 4 ended by declaring that we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God. Chapter 5 now explains what a high priest is, and why Jesus fulfils that office in a way no Levitical priest ever could.

“For every high priest taken from among men is appointed on behalf of men in things pertaining to God, in order to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins.”

The high priest is taken from among men. He represents men before God. His role is mediation. He offers sacrifices for sins.

Verse 2 adds that he can deal gently with the ignorant and misguided, because he himself is beset with weakness. That weakness is moral weakness. Verse 3 makes this explicit. Because of his weakness, he is obligated to offer sacrifices for his own sins as well as for the people.

That is the first limitation of the Levitical priesthood. The high priest was a sinner. He stood between God and the people, but he needed atonement himself. On the Day of Atonement he offered sacrifice first for his own sin, and then for the people.

At this point, Hebrews does not state explicitly that Jesus did not need to offer sacrifice for Himself, but it is already implied. Chapter 4 has just told us that He was tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. The Levitical high priest offered sacrifice for himself because he was a sinner.

In contrast, Jesus was tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. He does not stand in need of atonement. That alone marks His priesthood as superior.

Verse 4 adds another principle: “And no one takes this honor to himself, but receives it when he is called by God, even as Aaron was.”

Priesthood is not self-appointed. Aaron did not declare himself high priest. He was called by God. The office rests on divine appointment.

Verse 5 applies this directly to Christ.

“In this way also Christ did not glorify Himself to become a high priest…”

Christ did not glorify Himself. He did not seize the office. The Father appointed Him. Psalm 2 declares Him Son: “You are My Son, today I have begotten You.” Psalm 110 declares Him priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

His priesthood does not arise from Levi. It rests on divine declaration and eternal appointment. This will be developed further in chapter 7, but the foundation is laid here.

Verse 7 turns to the earthly life of Christ.

“He, in the days of His flesh, 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 reverence.”

“In the days of His flesh” points to His earthly life. Nowhere is this clearer than in the garden of Gethsemane. He offered up prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death. He was heard because of His reverence. However, He was not spared the cross. Instead, He was delivered through death in glorious resurrection.

Verse 8 is crucial: “Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered.”

This does not mean He moved from disobedience to obedience. It means that in His incarnation He entered into lived obedience under real pressure. He obeyed through suffering. As true man, He walked the path of obedience all the way to death.

Verse 9 says, “And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation.”

“Made perfect” does not mean morally improved. It means brought to completion in His role as mediator. Through suffering and obedience unto death, He was fully qualified as High Priest. He became the source of eternal salvation. Not temporary covering. Eternal salvation.

And that salvation belongs “to all those who obey Him.” In Hebrews, obedience is the obedience of faith. The wilderness generation disobeyed because they did not believe. Those who truly believe obey. Faith and obedience belong together.

Verse 10 repeats the designation: “being designated by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.” His priesthood rests on divine appointment and eternal order.

From this point in the chapter, the tone shifts.

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

The difficulty is not that the doctrine is unclear. The difficulty lies in the audience. They have become dull of hearing. They are slow to grasp what they should understand.

“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.”

This is a rebuke. They have had time and they have received instruction. They should be mature enough to teach others. Instead, they need to return to the basics of what it means to be a Christian.

“You have come to need milk and not solid food.”

Milk is food for infants. Solid food is for those who have grown. Hebrews chapter 5 is describing spiritual immaturity. They are still at the level of first principles when they should be able to handle deeper teaching about Christ’s priesthood and the fulfilment of the Old Testament. They are not ready for it because they have not matured.

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

The “word of righteousness” refers to teaching about Christ’s righteous priestly work and its implications. Infancy here is immaturity.

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

Maturity comes through practice, through steady exposure to the word, through obedience, through perseverance. Discernment grows as faith is exercised.

Hebrews 5 therefore does two things at once. It establishes the superiority of Christ’s priesthood. He does not offer sacrifice for Himself. He was appointed by God. His priesthood is eternal and belongs to the order of Melchizedek. He obeyed through suffering and became the source of eternal salvation.

At the same time, Hebrews 5 exposes the spiritual immaturity of the readers of this letter. They have had time and teaching, but they’re slow to grasp what Scripture says about Christ’s priesthood.

The problem is not that the truth is unclear. The problem is that they have become dull of hearing. The writer calls them to move beyond elementary principles and to grasp more fully who their High Priest is.