Hebrews 5:1-11

1 Every chief priest is chosen from humans to represent them in front of God, that is, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sin.

2 The chief priest can be gentle with people who are ignorant and easily deceived, because he also has weaknesses.

3 Because he has weaknesses, he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins in the same way that he does for the sins of his people.

4 No one takes this honor for himself. Instead, God calls him as he called Aaron.

5 So Christ did not take the glory of being a chief priest for himself. Instead, the glory was given to him by God, who said, "You are my Son. Today I have become your Father."

6 In another place in Scripture, God said, "You are a priest forever, in the way Melchizedek was a priest."

7 During his life on earth, Jesus prayed to God, who could save him from death. He prayed and pleaded with loud crying and tears, and he was heard because of his devotion to God.

8 Although Jesus was the Son [of God], he learned to be obedient through his sufferings.

9 After he had finished his work, he became the source of eternal salvation for everyone who obeys him.

10 God appointed him chief priest in the way Melchizedek was a priest.

11 We have a lot to explain about this. But since you have become too lazy to pay attention, explaining it to you is hard.

Hebrews 5:1-11 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO HEBREWS 5

The apostle having made mention of Christ as an high priest, in the preceding chapter, proceeds in this to give an account of an high priest, and applies the character of him to Christ; and shows that he is of another order of priesthood than that of Aaron, even of the order of Melchisedec; of whom he could say many things, but the Hebrews were dull of hearing them; which leads him to blame them for their rudeness, and non-proficience. The description of the high priest is taken from his relation to men, separation from them, and ordination for them; from his oblation of their gifts and sacrifices; from his sympathy with them, and from his call of God, Heb 5:1-4 all which are accommodated to Christ; as his vocation of God, Heb 5:5,6 confirmed by two testimonies out of Ps 2:7, 110:4 his being a man, and having infirmities, though sinless ones, and his sympathy with men, and compassion on them, Heb 5:7 his obedience and sufferings, and the oblation of himself, whereby he became the author of salvation to his people, which is the main thing in his priesthood, Heb 5:8,9 and which was not of the order of Aaron, though in some things there was an agreement with it, but of the order of Melchizedek, Heb 5:10 of whom the apostle could say many surprising things; but these Hebrews were dull of apprehension, and incapable of receiving them, Heb 5:11. And then he proceeds to blame them for their dulness, which he aggravates by the time they had been in the school of Christ, when it might have been expected they would have been teachers of others; by their being yet scholars, and of the lowest class, who had need to be taught the first rudiments of the Christian religion; yea, by their being as babes that stood in need of milk, and could not bear meat, Heb 5:12. And then follows a description both of babes, and of adult persons; such as are unskilful in the word of righteousness are babes, and use milk; but those who exercise their spiritual senses, to discern between good and bad doctrine, are adult, and can digest strong meat, Heb 5:13,14.