Hebrews 5:1-14   Click here for Bible Verses

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Hebrews 5:1-14.  Jesus our Perfect High Priest (Plus, 4 clues that you are still a spiritual infant) Let’s go!

Hebrews 5:1-4 (NIV) 
1  Every high priest is selected from among men and is appointed to represent them in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.
2  He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness.
3  This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people.
4  No one takes this honor upon himself; he must be called by God, just as Aaron was.

On verses 1-10:  In verses 1-4 the writer of Hebrews describes how the high priest under Jewish law was appointed and what that high priest did.  He says that the high priest:

  • is selected from among his own people (v1a)
  • is appointed to represent the people in God-related matters and to offer gifts and sacrifices to God for people’s sins, including his own (v1b)
  • deals gently with sinners because he himself can sympathize with their weaknesses (v2)
  • does not take up the honor of being a high priest on his own initiative, but must be called by God (v4).

Then in verses 5-10 the writer of Hebrews shows how Jesus’ appointment as our high priest was perfect and that what Jesus did as our high priest was perfect:

  • Just as a high priest would not appoint himself but was called by God, Jesus did not assume the position of high priest on his own, but was called by God to do so (v5-6).  Here the writer of Hebrews emphasizes that Jesus’ appointment as our high priest is especially appropriate because Jesus is the Son of God (v5) and belongs to the order of Melchizedek (v6).  We’ll go into more detail about what “in the order of Melchizedek” means when we look at chapter 7.
  • Like an effective high priest, Jesus offered up passionate prayers and petitions to the Father and was heard because of his reverent attitude (v7)
  • By becoming a man who was subject to the same temptations we face, Jesus the Son of God “learned obedience”.  In other words, Jesus became intimately aware of what it is like to try to obey God in the midst of our temptations and struggles, yet He never sinned.  By suffering this way, and by being called “in the order of Melchizedek” (something we’ll look at in chapter 7) (v10), Jesus was “made perfect” in his ability to empathize with us and became our perfect high priest (v8; see also Hebrews 2:10 and 4:15).
  • As our high priest, Jesus gave the ultimate sacrifice for people’s sins: Himself.  Thus Jesus “became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him” (v9), that is, who trust in Him and submit to Him.

Praise God! Jesus is our perfectly appointed and perfectly capable high priest who perfectly represents us in all matters related to God.

Hebrews 5:11-14 (NIV) 
11  We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn.
12  In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!
13  Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness.
14  But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

On verses 11-14:  Before going on to teach more on Jesus our high priest, the writer of Hebrews takes time to rebuke his readers.  He tells them that they are slow to learn (v11), that they ought to be teachers by now but still need to be spoon fed spiritually and learn the same basic truths of God’s Word over and over again (v12).  He suggests that they are like immature spiritual infants (v13) who don’t know good from evil (v14).

What can we learn from this?   God made you to grow spiritually.  You were never meant to stay in spiritual diapers. How do you know if you are still in spiritual diapers?  Here are 4 clues from verses 11-14:

  • You don’t feed yourself spiritually.  Like a child, the only time you eat spiritual food is when someone practically has to force you to sit down and spoon feed you.  You don’t read, study or listen to God’s Word on your own.
  • You’re a slave to a short attention span.  Like a child, you can’t take any teaching that isn’t full of jokes and crazy stories because for you such teaching is “too boring”.
  • You don’t retain what you hear.  You don’t take notes when you listen to sermons or study God’s Word.  You don’t memorize Scripture.  You don’t take time to prayerfully process the teaching you receive.  You just sit there passively.  As a result, so much of what you hear goes in one ear and out the other.  You haven’t really learned those truths even though you think, “I’ve heard this before”.
  • You don’t apply what you learn.  While you might generally know what you need to do, you don’t do it.  As a result, your judgment is dull and you often make foolish, sinful decisions that show that you don’t really know how to distinguish good from evil.

It is a sad and gross thing when a Christian, by his or her own laziness and self-centeredness, refuses to grow.  It’s sad for them, for their leaders who try to lead them, and for the people whom God originally intended to bless through them.  May you and I not just be born again in Christ but who grow up into the strong, mature Christ-like disciples that God made us to be.

Lord Jesus, thank You for being my perfectly appointed and perfectly faithful high priest.  Thank You that You made me to grow and that growing spiritually is possible, if only I would consistently use what You have given me and not take it for granted.  May I grow into the strong, Christ-like disciple You made me to be.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN!