In this chapter we see how the writer showed that Jesus was appointed by God to become the High Priest who offered the perfect sacrifice for sins. He met all the qualifications to become the high priest and was a better and more superior high priest than Aaron because He belonged to the priestly order of Melchizedek.
1]. The Qualifications Required To Become A High Priest To Offer Sacrifices
• He has to be appointed by God. Heb 5:1 “For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.”
• He can identify with the weaknesses of people because he himself is weak. Heb 5:2 “He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness.”
• He has to offer sacrifices for his own sins as well as for the sins of the people. Heb 5:3 “Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people.”
• He has to be called by God like Aaron was. Heb 5:4 “And no one takes this honour for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was.”
2]. How Jesus Was Qualified To Become The High Priest
• He was appointed by God. “So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”; 6 as he says also in another place, “You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.” 5:5-6. It was God’s plan for Jesus as His Son to become a high priest.
• He offered up sacrifices to God. Heb 5:7 “In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence.” Jesus lived His life as a human in total dependence on His Heavenly Father.
• He became the perfect high priest who offered the single perfect sacrifice for sins. Heb 5:8 “Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. 9 And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him.” This doesn’t mean that Jesus was once disobedient but learned to obey. Rather He learned what being obedient as a human involved as He suffered in His physical body. Again “being made perfect” does not mean that Jesus was imperfect in any way. Rather the word for “perfect’ is [teleioo; τελειόω] which can mean to execute fully, to discharge one’s responsibilities. He fulfilled His responsibilities as the High Priest in offering the perfect sacrifice for sins as the writer mentioned in chapter 1 verse 3, “After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.”
• God declared that His High Priesthood was superior to that of Aaron and all the other high priests. Heb 5:10 “being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.”
3]. The Third Warning. A Warning Against Apostasy
The writer shared what he felt about his readers, warning them they needed to mature as believers. Heb 5:11 “About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.” He recognised that they had become unresponsive to the message they had received and they needed to change.
i]. They Were Falling Short Of Their Destiny. 5:12.
Heb 5:12 “For though by this time you ought to be teachers.” They should have received the teaching so deeply that they could have been teachers rather than perpetual disinterested learners. They were accountable for their neglect.
ii]. They Needed To Be Re-Taught The Basics Of Christian Belief. 5:12.
“You need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food.”
“Basic principles” is from “Basic” [archē; ἀρχή] a beginning, the first in a series, the leader. “Principles” is from [stoicheion; στοιχεῖον] an element; the elements from which all things have come.
In our modern world we could express this as “You need to be taught again the ABC of Christian teaching.”
The “oracles” [logion; λόγιον] divine communication or revelation. It means the revelation given to the readers as they heard the gospel message about Christ.
The readers had become spiritual infants through their lack of commitment to Christ, needing milk rather than solid food.
iii]. The Change They Needed To Make In Living For God. 5:13-14.
Heb 5:13 “for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child.” They were no longer to live as spiritual infants reliant on milk. Rather they were to partake of solid food, becoming skilled in the word of righteousness. “Unskilled” is from [apeiros; ἄπειρος] meaning inexperienced, unskillful, ignorant, the only time this word is used in the New Testament.
They had to become mature, for only in that way could they have the powers of discernment to be able to distinguish good from evil, “But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” 5:14.
SUMMING UP
The writer began this chapter by describing the qualifications needed to become a High Priest. Then he went on to describe how Jesus had met those qualifications. Jesus had learned what human obedience entailed by becoming human and having fulfilled His role as high priest had become the source of eternal salvation for those who trusted in Him.
However, through their lack of commitment to Jesus, they had not matured as believers and the writer warned them they needed to mature. We will see in the following chapter that the writer warns them to move beyond the elementary teaching about Christ and to be taken forward to maturity.
Blog No.518. Posted on Sunday 21 January 2024.
About Jim Holbeck
Once an Industrial Chemist working for the Queensland Government but later an Anglican minister in Brisbane, Armidale and Sydney. Last position for eighteen years before retirement in 2006 was as the Leader of the Healing Ministry at St Andrew's Cathedral Sydney.
holbeck 
No.518. Hebrews 5. Christ Is The Better High Priest Than All Other High Priests
In this chapter we see how the writer showed that Jesus was appointed by God to become the High Priest who offered the perfect sacrifice for sins. He met all the qualifications to become the high priest and was a better and more superior high priest than Aaron because He belonged to the priestly order of Melchizedek.
1]. The Qualifications Required To Become A High Priest To Offer Sacrifices
• He has to be appointed by God. Heb 5:1 “For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.”
• He can identify with the weaknesses of people because he himself is weak. Heb 5:2 “He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness.”
• He has to offer sacrifices for his own sins as well as for the sins of the people. Heb 5:3 “Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people.”
• He has to be called by God like Aaron was. Heb 5:4 “And no one takes this honour for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was.”
2]. How Jesus Was Qualified To Become The High Priest
• He was appointed by God. “So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”; 6 as he says also in another place, “You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.” 5:5-6. It was God’s plan for Jesus as His Son to become a high priest.
• He offered up sacrifices to God. Heb 5:7 “In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence.” Jesus lived His life as a human in total dependence on His Heavenly Father.
• He became the perfect high priest who offered the single perfect sacrifice for sins. Heb 5:8 “Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. 9 And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him.” This doesn’t mean that Jesus was once disobedient but learned to obey. Rather He learned what being obedient as a human involved as He suffered in His physical body. Again “being made perfect” does not mean that Jesus was imperfect in any way. Rather the word for “perfect’ is [teleioo; τελειόω] which can mean to execute fully, to discharge one’s responsibilities. He fulfilled His responsibilities as the High Priest in offering the perfect sacrifice for sins as the writer mentioned in chapter 1 verse 3, “After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.”
• God declared that His High Priesthood was superior to that of Aaron and all the other high priests. Heb 5:10 “being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.”
3]. The Third Warning. A Warning Against Apostasy
The writer shared what he felt about his readers, warning them they needed to mature as believers. Heb 5:11 “About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.” He recognised that they had become unresponsive to the message they had received and they needed to change.
i]. They Were Falling Short Of Their Destiny. 5:12.
Heb 5:12 “For though by this time you ought to be teachers.” They should have received the teaching so deeply that they could have been teachers rather than perpetual disinterested learners. They were accountable for their neglect.
ii]. They Needed To Be Re-Taught The Basics Of Christian Belief. 5:12.
“You need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food.”
“Basic principles” is from “Basic” [archē; ἀρχή] a beginning, the first in a series, the leader. “Principles” is from [stoicheion; στοιχεῖον] an element; the elements from which all things have come.
In our modern world we could express this as “You need to be taught again the ABC of Christian teaching.”
The “oracles” [logion; λόγιον] divine communication or revelation. It means the revelation given to the readers as they heard the gospel message about Christ.
The readers had become spiritual infants through their lack of commitment to Christ, needing milk rather than solid food.
iii]. The Change They Needed To Make In Living For God. 5:13-14.
Heb 5:13 “for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child.” They were no longer to live as spiritual infants reliant on milk. Rather they were to partake of solid food, becoming skilled in the word of righteousness. “Unskilled” is from [apeiros; ἄπειρος] meaning inexperienced, unskillful, ignorant, the only time this word is used in the New Testament.
They had to become mature, for only in that way could they have the powers of discernment to be able to distinguish good from evil, “But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” 5:14.
SUMMING UP
The writer began this chapter by describing the qualifications needed to become a High Priest. Then he went on to describe how Jesus had met those qualifications. Jesus had learned what human obedience entailed by becoming human and having fulfilled His role as high priest had become the source of eternal salvation for those who trusted in Him.
However, through their lack of commitment to Jesus, they had not matured as believers and the writer warned them they needed to mature. We will see in the following chapter that the writer warns them to move beyond the elementary teaching about Christ and to be taken forward to maturity.
Blog No.518. Posted on Sunday 21 January 2024.
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About Jim Holbeck
Once an Industrial Chemist working for the Queensland Government but later an Anglican minister in Brisbane, Armidale and Sydney. Last position for eighteen years before retirement in 2006 was as the Leader of the Healing Ministry at St Andrew's Cathedral Sydney.