Our Better High Priest

For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people. And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was. Hebrews 5:1-4

In the Jewish religious system, under the law of Moses, there had to be mediators between God and His people. Priests were appointed for this duty. The high priest performed the sacrifice of atonement and his rituals and decisions superseded all other priests in the hierarchy. Even he was limited, however, because he was only a man. He could empathize with the ordinary human, born with an old sin nature, since he had one of his own. Being only human, he could understand that they were ignorant of God’s character and that they were often out of fellowship with Him. Also, because of his human weakness, he had to offer sacrifices for his own sins first, and then for the people he represented. These men were appointed by God Himself, as Aaron had been, to represent God’s authority. They did not appoint themselves.

Jesus, also, was not self-appointed. Hebrews 5:5-6:

So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”; as he says also in another place, “You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.”

On the day of Jesus’ entrance into the human race, the Father appointed Him our high priest forever. His high priesthood does not depend on any approval from any man or group of men. He is of the order of Melchizedek. Genealogy is not a factor in the priesthood of Melchizedek, or Jesus. Both of their priesthoods are outside the realm of the Mosaic Law. Melchizedek predated the law, and Jesus both fulfilled the law and transcends the law forever. 

Christ was fully qualified to be a high priest because He was: (1) divinely chosen by God the Father, 5; (2) divinely appointed to be an eternal High Priest of the order of Melchizedek, 6; (3) a true man with a genuinely human nature while He was on earth, therefore able to represent men, 7a; (4) the actual sacrifice or offering for sin, facing death for sinners, 7b; (5) the final victor over sin and death in His resurrection, 7c; (6) the perfect substitute for man and his sin in that Christ’s sufferings taught Him the full obedience necessary for His redemptive work, 8. As a result of His perfect qualifications, He became the source of eternal salvation, not a mere covering for sin (as did the Aaronic high priest’s sacrifice). His salvation is eternal because His status as a priest is eternal – after the order of Melchizedek (see Heb 7), 9-10. [ Unger, Merrill F.; Unger, Merrill F. F. (2005-04-01). The New Unger's Bible Handbook (Kindle Locations 18003-18009). Moody Publishers. Kindle Edition.] 

In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek. Hebrews 5:7-10

God the Son, having the same essence (character) as God the Father and the Holy Spirit, willingly laid aside His eternal glory and became a man. He suffered the humiliation of the flesh and learned obedience thereby. He became perfect, complete, mature in His true humanity. He didn’t need to make atonement for Himself, since he had no Old Sin Nature and had committed no personal sins. He knew the torment and spiritual death that awaited Him on the cross, so in anticipation of that He cried out to the Father in His garden prayer; then He cried out in agony of separation from the Father and Holy Spirit on the cross, while He bore in His body our sins. In His sufferings, He became matured and was qualified to serve as our Savior and High Priest. His priesthood and our salvation are forever. Much better than an earthly high priest, who both sins and dies.

"...there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time." I Timothy 2:5-6


About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. Hebrews 5:11-14

The writer of Hebrews wanted to explain in more detail about Jesus’ eternal high priesthood, but he realized that the believers to whom he was writing had become lazy and disinterested in such advanced doctrines. By this stage in their Christian walk, they should have been teaching others, but before they could advance they themselves would have to have a refresher course in Basic Bible Doctrine. They were subsisting on milk (Jesus died for me; that’s all I need to know) when they should be feasting on meat and potatoes. The advanced doctrines are for mature believers, who have learned and categorized the Essence of God (Who and What He is), Eternal Security of the Believer (God’s work is complete-there is nothing to add), and Faith Rest (His perfect provision for us in all circumstances), as well as other basic doctrines of the faith upon which we build our spiritual life and grow up in grace. Doctrine is built on doctrine. As long as we live, we must learn.

The mature, he says, are trained through constant practice (daily Bible class) to discern good and evil. There exists good that is not divine good, but actually evil in disguise. Human good is no good. It takes some spiritual maturity to recognize the counterfeit. There is evil which presents itself as good, to entice the foolishly ignorant into waywardness and out of fellowship with God. There are believers who are spiritual babies after 50 years of faith, because they do not wish to be bothered with learning the intricacies of God’s perfect plan. They not only cannot teach others, they aren’t equipped to move on any further into maturity until they relearn the basic principles of the oracles of God.

Those who are growing in grace do not need to be evangelized anew every time the Church meets. They need to be learning solid doctrine to teach others and help them on their spiritual journey to maturity in the faith. We are the evangelists of the Church Age. One cannot teach what one does not know.