What a sight the high priest must have been in the bright sunlight of Palestine as he approached the tabernacle – white linen, blue robe – the gold on his turban and the chains and in the fabrics he wore, gleaming yellow in the sun – the gems on his shoulders and over his heart lit to their full colors – golden bells ringing musically with each step!

The image of the high priest is a sanctifying picture when seriously contemplated – and it surely has served as such for pious Jews over the ages. But it is also sadly true that one could don the high priestly vestments and appear outwardly qualified, but fall tragically short of the inner qualifications so necessary to effective ministry. It is these inner qualifications with which our text deals in verses 1-4 before it goes on to demonstrate in verses 5-10 how Christ, our great High Priest, meets and supersedes every qualification – proving he is the priest who will get the stressed-out little church through its stormy seas. As we consider this matter of priestly qualifications, we will do well to keep the image of the Aaronic high priest before us – because Jesus is the fulfillment of everything he symbolized. The writer opens this section by asserting in verses 1-4 the three essential qualifications for one who would aspire to be high priest – namely, solidarity, sympathy, and selection.

Solidarity, oneness with humanity, was fundamental to priestly ministry and is explicitly stated in verse 1. No angel, no celestial being, no deceased soul could function as high priest. He had to be a living human being – a mortal like everyone else. The reason of course, is that his primary function was representative – “to act on behalf of men in relation to God.” The solidarity factor was essential to effective priestly ministry, as it is today in pastoral ministry, and the universal requirement is, as it has always been, a real man with a real link to God and a real bond to man.

Sympathy; this anticipates the next quality for the human priesthood, which is sympathy or compassion (vv. 2-3). The ideal high priest had an inner disposition that enabled him to “deal gently with the ignorant and wayward.” As to why he could be so gently disposed, our text suggests that it is because of two inner awarenesses. First he was aware that he, though high priest, was a sinner for he had “to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people” (v. 3). The other awareness was that he was himself “beset with weakness” (v. 2b). He shared in the universal “community of weakness” of all mankind. This of course, has primary reference to moral weakness, but it also means human weakness generally (body, intellect, emotion).

Selection; the third and final qualification is straightforward – the high priestly position must spring from divine selection (v. 4). All Israel’s priests were to come only through divine appointment. Attempts to do otherwise met with catastrophic judgment. No genuine priest ever arrogated himself to the high priestly office. All were sovereignly chosen. Therefore, a proper priest was filled with deep humility. His work was never a career. It was a divine calling. How appealing this was to the Hebrew mind, and quite frankly to us! The ideal high priest was a man of incomparable attractiveness.

Could anything or anyone ever exceed this ideal in attractiveness of efficacy?  The answer is a resounding “Yes!” – Jesus Christ! He too was a product of divine selection (vv. 5-6). Not only was Christ divinely chosen, but He was chosen for two offices – the ultimate royal office and the ultimate priestly office, as shown by two Old Testament Scriptures (Ps. 2:7; Ps. 110:4). So our author gives us a stupendous truth: Jesus is both eternal King and eternal Priest. And it all came to Him by the ordaining word of God the Father. Jesus did not seek it! Neither did Jesus clutch the office of king and high priest. His only goal was to glorify God the Father. Jesus’ priesthood is therefore; far superior to that of Aaron. Aaron’s was temporal, but Jesus is a priest of the same kind as Melchizedek. There was no succession of priests and hence no “order” from Melchizedek. Jesus’ priesthood is without ending or beginning!

Not only is Jesus superior as to His divine selection to be king and priest – He is also superior in His solidarity with His people (vv. 7-9). Here we see that the prime example of Jesus’ solidarity (His participating fully in the human condition) was His agony in the garden of Gethsemane where “Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to Him who was able to save Him from death” (v. 7). Jesus placed the exercise of His omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence under the direction of God the Father when He came to earth in the Incarnation. This explains His flashes of supernatural knowledge and power while on earth.

So authentic was Jesus’ solidarity with human kind that He “learned obedience through what He suffered. And being made perfect… (vv. 8-9). This “does not mean Jesus passed from disobedience to obedience.” Nor does it mean that He developed from imperfection to perfection. The idea is that He became complete in His human experience. Now, in His completeness, His perfection, He is “the source of eternal salvation to all who obey Him (v. 9). His solidarity with us means He can save us to the uttermost. Christ is our triumphant, eternal Savior. His superior selection as both King and Priest, coupled with His superior solidarity with us, makes Him far superior in sympathy to the high priest of old. Can anyone miss the message to the little church on the high seas? This was their High Priest and our High Priest in life’s uncertain seas today as well. Jesus persevered in submissive prayer in Gethsemane and was heard, and our prayers will be heard also if we persevere. May we avail ourselves of Him day by day!

Hebrews 5:1-10 Reflection Questions:

What was Jesus’ response to the high priest during His time here on earth?

Why is it important for us to know about this today in the twenty first century (see 1Pet. 2:9)?

What message have you received from this study?

Moses did not lead the people of Israel into the promised rest; in fact he himself was forbidden to enter the land. Joshua led them into their physical rest, but not into the promised spiritual rest. But what about Aaron, the first high priest? Is it possible that the Aaronic priesthood, with all of its sacrifices and ceremonies, could bring a troubled soul into rest? The Hebrew Christians who received this letter were sorely tempted to return to the religion of their fathers. After all any Jew could travel to Jerusalem and see the temple and the priests ministering at the altar. Here was something real, visible, and concrete. When a person is going through persecution, as these Hebrew Christians were, it is much easier to walk by sight than by faith. Some of us have doubted the Lord under much less provocation than these people were enduring. The central theme of Hebrews is the priesthood of Jesus Christ, what He is now doing in heaven on behalf of His people. Is the high priestly ministry of Christ superior to that of Aaron and his successors? Yes it is, and the writer proves it.

Jesus Christ is the GREAT High Priest (v. 14). No Old Testament priest could assume that title. But in what does our Lord’s greatness consist? To begin with, Jesus Christ is both God and Man. He is “Jesus, the Son of God.” The name “Jesus” means “Savior” and identifies His humanity and His ministry on earth. “Son of God” affirms His deity and the fact that He is God. In His unique person, Jesus Christ unites Deity and humanity, so that He can bring people to God and bring to people all that God has for them.

Not only in His person, but also in His position Jesus Christ is great. Aaron and his successors ministered in the tabernacle and temple precincts, once a year entering the holy of holies. But Jesus Christ has “passed through the heavens.” When He ascended to the Father, Jesus Christ passed through the atmospheric heavens and the planetary heavens into the third heaven where God dwells (2 Cor. 12:2). How much better is it to have a High Priest who ministers in a heavenly tabernacle than in an earthly one!

But there is another aspect to Christ’s position: not only is He in heaven, but He is enthroned. His throne is “the throne of grace” (v. 16). The mercy seat on the Ark of the Covenant was God’s throne in Israel (Ex. 25:17-22), but it could never be called “a throne of grace.” Grace does not veil itself from people. Grace does not hide itself in a tent. Furthermore the common people were not permitted to enter the holy precincts of the tabernacle and the temple, and the priests got only as far as the veil, and only on the Day of Atonement (Lev. 16). But every believer in Christ is invited, and is even encouraged to “come boldly unto the throne of grace”! What a great throne it is because our Great High Priest is ministering there. Something else makes Him great: He is ministering mercy and grace to those who come for help. Mercy means that God does not give us what we do deserve; grace means that He gives us what we do not deserve. No Old Testament high priest could minister mercy and grace in quite the same way.

Now because of the superiority of Jesus Christ, the Great High Priest, over Aaron, two important conclusions can be drawn. First, there is no need in giving up our profession just because we are going through testing and trial (v. 14). The word translated “profession” means “confession.” These Hebrew Christians were tempted to give up their confession of faith in Christ and their confidence in Him. It was not a matter of giving up their salvation, since salvation through Christ is eternal (Heb. 5:9). It was a matter of their public confession of faith. By returning to the Old Testament system they would be telling everyone that they had no faith in Christ (Gal. 2:11-21).

The second conclusion is this: there is no need to go back because we can come boldly into the presence of God and get the help we need (v. 16). No trial is too great, no temptation is too strong, but that Jesus Christ can give us the mercy and grace that we need, when we need it. “But He is so far away!” we may argue. “And He is the perfect Son of God! What can He know about the problems of weak sinners like us?”

But that is a part of His greatness! When He was ministering on earth in a human body, He experienced all that we experience, and even more. After all, a sinless person would feel temptations and trials in a much greater way than you and I could ever feel them. Christ was tempted, yet He did not sin; and He is able to help us when we are tempted. If we fail to hold fast our confession, we are not proving that Jesus Christ has failed. We are only telling the world that we failed to draw on His grace and mercy when it was freely available to us.

Hebrews 4:14-16 Reflection Questions:

When you have been tempted and gone through trials have you held onto your confession of faith?

How often do you need the mercy and grace from Jesus Christ? Journal them so you can always remember!

Have you ever gone boldly into the presence of God to get the help you need? How has that helped your confession of faith?

In comparing the Word of God to a sword, the writer is not suggesting that God uses His Word to slaughter the saints! It is true that the Word cuts the heart of sinners with conviction (Acts 5:33; 7:54), and that the Word defeats Satan (Eph. 6:17). The Greek word translated “sword” means “a short sword or dagger.” The emphasis is on the power of the Word to penetrate and expose the inner heart of man. The mention of a double-edged sword in our text is a sober warning not to disregard God’s Word as Israel did in the wilderness. The writer therefore gives us four reasons we must not disregard God’s Word. The Word of God is: living, penetrating, discerning and reckoning. Taken positively, these are four immense reasons to celebrate God’s Word.

As the writer begins, he directly warns that God’s Word is alive (v. 12a). It lives because it endures forever (Ps. 119:89). Even more, it lives because it has life in itself. God is “living” (3:12), and the Word, as God’s breath (2 Tim. 3:16), partakes of God’s living character. It is alive! The character of the Word’s aliveness is that it is “active,” or as that word is sometimes rendered, “effective.” God’s Word vibrates with active, effectual power as it rushes to fulfill the purpose for which it was spoken. As Isaiah 55:11 so beautifully says: “so shall My Word be that goes out from My mouth; it shall not return to Me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” Indeed, the Word of God is alive and effectual! God’s Word does what it promises to do. It regards neither age nor education. It can change you if you are 12 or 112.

God’s Word is not only living but penetrating, as verse 12b clearly states. God’s Word cleaves through our hard-shelled souls like a hot knife through warm butter. Certainly we Christians find this to be true in our lives. There are sections of God’s Word that cut through all the pretensions and religious façade, leaving us convicted. When God wills it, His Word will pierce anyone. Tragically, many of these are regular church attendees. The true hearer wittingly or unwittingly invites the divine Surgeon to do His gracious cutting.

Having established that God’s Word is living and penetrating, the writer adds: “discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (v. 12c). The root word for “discerning” is the word kritikos, which we derive critic. So the emphasis here is on the discerning judgment of “the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” The heart is the seat of human personality. It is hidden from all. Yet God’s Word sifts through its thoughts and attitudes with unerring discrimination. “The sword of the Spirit” (Eph. 6:17) will tell us what is in our hearts. Fellow-believers, if we really want to understand ourselves, we must fill our souls with God’s Word. God’s Word – read, meditated upon, and prayerfully applied – will give us brilliant discernment and profound self-knowledge. This gift of self-knowledge is no small grace because when we grasp something of the serpentine ways of our hearts, we are disposed to cast ourselves even more on God’s grace; and that is no small grace! We will also be judged by God’s Word. And herein lays the warning to those who in disobedience are falling away. His judgment will be perfectly discerning. The wise Christian invites the penetrating, discerning work of God’s Word in his life.

Now in verse 13 the discussion continues, but the focus switches from God’s Word to God as a knowing and reckoning God. Verse 13 gives us one of Scriptures great descriptions of Gods knowing. God sees everything. This can be discomforting if we have something to hide. The divine gaze is in light and darkness; He sees all (see Prov. 15:3; Ps. 90:8)! “All” – everything – everyone – is stark naked before Him. There is nothing to hide in or behind. The language here forces us to imagine ourselves naked, held helpless, exposed, in God’s grip, close to His omniscient eyes, and so we must give account. He cannot be fooled. Duplicity and hypocrisy will not work. Happily this means He will miss no good thing. But to the sinning, self-righteous heart, apart from the grace of God this brings nothing but unmitigated terror.

Of course, the author means all of this to be sanctifying instruction for the tiny house-church in the welling seas of persecution. He is calling for them not to rebel against God’s Word in disobedience, but to submit to it and find rest in the storms.

How does this double-edged sword work? First, it is the sword of judgment. Because it is “living,” it is effectually active. It accomplishes what God purposes for it to do. It is so sharp that it penetrates – “piercing” through everything. And then it discerns everything in the core of our being – leaving us “naked” and bare before our God with whom we must reckon. All of this is a gracious cutting. We see ourselves, and we see God, and we long to fly to Him and be healed. Second, for the believer it is the sword of sanctification. God’s two-edged sword, His Word, is alive and effectual in our lives. Again it penetrates and discerns our hearts, exposing them to us – leaving us uncovered and laid bare, so that “naked” we flee to God for dress. Blessed be the double-edged sword of judgment and sanctification. God cuts us deeply that we might die. God cuts us again with His Word so that we might live!

Hebrews 4:12-13 Reflection Questions:

Are you reading, meditating upon, and prayerfully applying God’s Word?

Do you invite the penetrating, discerning work of God’s Word in your life?

How does it make you feel that God’s Word leaves you “naked” and bare with whom you must reckon?