| 1.
Compassion: A Requirement of Priesthood (Heb 5:1-3) The discussion of the high priesthood of
Jesus begins in 5:1 and continues through 10: 18. This is the core doctrinal
plank of Hebrews: Christians have a
great High Priest who ministers on their behalf in heaven. The author refers to the Levitical
priesthood and notes the importance of the high priest’s compassion. It was the role of the high priest to
represent sinful men before a holy God.
He served on behalf of those “who are ignorant and going astray” (Heb
5:2). The word “compassion”
(metriopatheo) is defined thusly: “To
treat with mildness, or moderation, to bear gently with … The idea is that of
not being unduly disturbed by the faults and ignorance of others …” (Vine, p.
53). To maintain this outlook the high
priest needed to remember that “he himself is also beset by weakness”
(5:2b). 1. Where must high priests
come from? Who do they
represent? 2. On whose behalf did the
high priest offer sacrifice? 2. The
Appointment to Priesthood (Heb 5:4-6)
Another element of priesthood is that one legitimately served in such
capacity by divine appointment (Heb 5:4).
Beginning in 5:5, the author begins to make his applications to Jesus.
First, he asserts that the same God who declared Jesus to be His begotten Son
(as established in Heb 1:5) “also says in another place: ‘You are a priest forever according to the
order of Melchizedek.’” Note that the
author bases his arguments on the OT itself. Time and time again the author
reasons with his Jewish brethren from the ancient writings as he seeks to
bolster their confidence in the messiah ship of Jesus. 3. Who was appointed by God as first high
priest over Israel? 4. What OT
passages are quoted? Where are these
psalms previously cited in Hebrews?
3. The Suffering Priest (Heb 5:7-8)The author here makes the point
that Jesus qualifies as compassionate high priest by vir-tue ofHis own
sufferings. This suffering came “in
the days of His flesh,” and in that form Jesus “learned obedience by the
things which He suffered.” It is the
ultimate act of suffer-ing upon which the author focuses – the struggle Jesus
experienced at His death. Note the
intensity of Jesus’ appeal to His Father: He “offered up prayers and
supplications, with vehement cries and tears …” (Heb 5:7). He also prayed with “godly fear”
(5:7b). Jesus desperately wished for a
change in circumstances; He petitioned God to alter His will so that He would
not have to endure the physical and emotional agonies of the cross. But He also submitted Himself to the will
of God: “nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will”(Mt 26:39). We are given the assurance that, although
God did not spare Jesus the death to which He had been assigned, Jesus “was
heard because of His godly fear.” God
acknowledged ? (see complete attached pdf file) |
