READ: Heb. 5:1-10: “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek” … author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him …
We are now reading more about the priesthood of Christ. To be the true Mediator, Christ must fulfill the priestly office. Christ is compared to the Old Testament priests, who acted in the relationship with God on behalf of the people (v.1). They had to bring gifts and offerings because of sin. Their human weakness allowed them to judge mildly about the people who sinned out of ignorance or unintentionally leniently (Lev. 4, Num. 16). At the same time, their human nature meant that, because of their own sinfulness, they also had to offer for themselves. Every priest, including Aaron, was appointed by God for this purpose.
What about Christ’s Priesthood? He, too, was appointed by God but in a completely different capacity, namely as God’s own Son (Ps. 2)! He does not come from a human priestly lineage; He is from God! His Priesthood knows no end: He is a Priest according to the order of Melchizedek. He is greater than Aaron. The author draws his evidence from Ps. 2 and Ps. 110.
As a Priest, Christ sympathizes with His people. He knows their need: He Himself offered prayers and supplications (v.7). In the days of His earthly flesh, that is, as a weak human, burdened with the sins of His own, He prayed to God with tears. He knew that God could save Him from death, but He had to learn obedience (v.8).
This refers to Christ’s intense prayer in Gethsemane and His loud cry on the cross (Matt. 28:46). The prospect of being forsaken by God, His Father, in eternal death filled Him with the greatest sorrow and anguish (Matt. 26:38, Luke 22:44).
Christ knew what He had to do, yet this terrible judgment made Him weep bitterly and cry out to God loudly. But He accepted the will of the Father (Matt. 26:42) and thus learned obedience. God gave His answer to His Son’s prayer in His resurrection from the dead.
So, He has now become the author of our eternal salvation!
Can you estimate how heavy it was for Jesus? Singing: Hymn 33: 1-3