Hebrewschapter 5
14 verses · unknown · AD 60 to 69 · The general letters
Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from what He suffered.
Introduction
unknown, The general letters, Hebrews Overview.
The writer of this sermon now reaches the subject he most wants to teach, the priesthood of Jesus. His hearers had grown up with a priesthood they could see, served by one family under the law of Moses. He first reminds them what any high priest must be, and only then sets Jesus in that office. Then he stops and scolds them for failing to grow. Listen for the word called and for who does the calling. Listen also for the sharp change of tone near the end. The chapter asks each hearer whether he is still ready to be taught.
Context
- Who
- People who had been believers long enough to teach and were still asking beginners' questions
- What
- A description of what every high priest must be, followed by the proof that God called Jesus to be a high priest, and a rebuke to hearers who had stopped growing.
- Where
- Written to a community of Jewish believers, most likely in or near Rome, for whom the priests of Aaron's line had been the only lawful priests.
- When
- Most likely in the 60s AD, while priests of Aaron's line still offered gifts and sacrifices at the temple in Jerusalem.
- Why
- To show that Jesus holds the priesthood by God's call and by His own suffering, and to rouse believers who had grown dull before the harder teaching about Melchizedek.
Historical context
The high priest's job description in this chapter is accurate to the office. He was taken from among the people, appointed rather than self-chosen, offered gifts and sacrifices, and, because the Law required it, offered for his own sins first, on the Day of Atonement, before he could offer for the nation's.
Show the rest of the historical context, 3 more paragraphs
By the first century the office had been badly compromised. Rome and the Herods appointed and removed high priests at will, and Josephus records the trade in the position. Hearers knew the difference between the office as God set it up and the men currently holding it.
Melchizedek enters here and will dominate chapter 7. He appears in only two places in the Hebrew Scriptures, a few verses in Genesis and one line in Psalm 110, and Jewish writings of the period speculated about him considerably, including a text found at Qumran.
Milk and solid food was a standard picture in ancient teaching for beginners and the advanced. The word for those trained by practice comes from the gymnasium: skill built by repetition, not by hearing more lectures.
Significance
The hearers were told, bluntly, that they ought to be teachers by now and were not. That stings, and it is meant to; the sermon is trying to shake people out of a comfortable plateau before the pressure breaks them.
Show the rest of the significance, 1 more paragraph
Between the two priesthood paragraphs sits the picture of Jesus praying with loud cries and tears and learning obedience through suffering. For people suffering, that is not decoration; it is the reason he is trusted with the office.
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
Called of God as Aaron Was: and After Melchizedek
Hebrews 5:1-3
appointed from among men: Every high priest is appointed from among men, sharing the nature of those he serves. His weakness lets him deal gently with those ignorant and obliges him to offer sacrifices for his own sins, a limit that bound Aaron's line.
Hebrews 5:1
“And is appointed - That is, is wont to be appointed. In things pertaining to God - To bring God near to men, and men to God. That he may offer both gifts - Out of things inanimate, and animal sacrifices.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
2 more voices on this verseWhat preachers and commentators have said about this verse, in their own words.
Hebrews 5:1
“Being "from men," He can be "for (that is, in behalf of, for the good of) men." ordained--Greek, "constituted," "appointed." both gifts--to be joined with "for sins," as "sacrifices" is (the "both . . . and" requires this); therefore not the Hebrew, "mincha," "unbloody offerings," but animal whole burnt offerings, spontaneously given.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Hebrews 5:1
“For every high priest - That is, among the Jews, for the remarks relate to the Jewish system. The Jews had one high priest who was regarded as the successor of Aaron. The word “high priest” means “chief priest;” that is, a priest of higher rank and office than others. By the original regulation the Jewish high priest was to be of the family of Aaron Exo 29:9, though in later times the office was frequently conferred on others. In the time of the Romans it had become venal, and the Mosaic regulation was disregarded; 2 Macc.”
able to deal gently: John Wesley reads the Greek as compassion measured to the offense. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown add that the law provided no sacrifice for sin done with a high hand, which was punished by death. Sins of ignorance and error were confessed and covered by the high priest's sacrifices.
Hebrews 5:2
“Who can--Greek, "being able"; not pleasing himself (Ro 15:3). have compassion--Greek, "estimate mildly," "feel leniently," or "moderately towards"; "to make allowance for"; not showing stern rigor save to the obstinate (Heb 10:28). ignorant--sins not committed in resistance of light and knowledge, but as Paul's past sin (1Ti 1:13).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
2 more voices on this verse
Hebrews 5:2
“Who can have compassion - In proportion to the offense: so the Greek word signifies. On the ignorant - Them that are in error. And the wandering - Them that are in sin.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Hebrews 5:2
“Who can have compassion on the ignorant - The word μετριοπαθειν, signifies, not merely to have compassion, but to act with moderation, and to bear with each in proportion to his ignorance, weakness, and untoward circumstances, all taken into consideration with the offenses he has committed: in a word, to pity, feel for, and excuse, as far as possible; and, when the provocation is at the highest, to moderate one’s passion towards the culprit, and be ready to pardon; and when punishment must be administered, to do it in the gentlest manner.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
to offer sacrifices for his own sins: The priest's weakness of verse 2 obliges him to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people. Christ shared a weakness that could suffer and die, and 4:15 says he was without sin.
Hebrews 5:3
“And by reason hereof - Because he is a sinner; an imperfect man. “As for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins.” To make an expiation for sins. He needs the same atonement; he offers the sacrifice for himself which he does for others; Lev 9:7. The same thing is true of the ministers of religion now.”
No one takes this honor: upon himself; he must be called by God, just as Aaron was. If Aaron needed God's call to a lesser priesthood, the greater priesthood of verse 5 needs one as well.
Hebrews 5:4
“This honor - Την τιμην undoubtedly signifies here the office, which is one meaning of the word in the best Greek writers. It is here an honorable office, because the man is the high priest of God, and is appointed by God himself to that office. But he that is called of God, as was Aaron - God himself appointed the tribe and family out of which the high priest was to be taken, and Aaron and his sons were expressly chosen by God to fill the office of the high priesthood.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
3 more voices on this verse
Hebrews 5:4
“Neither do we permit the laity to perform any of the offices belonging to the priesthood; as, for instance, neither the sacrifice, nor baptism, nor the laying on of hands, nor the blessing, whether the smaller or the greater: for "no one taketh this honour to himself, but he that is called of God." For such sacred offices are conferred by the laying on of the hands of the bishop. But a person to whom such an office is not committed, but he seizes upon it for himself, he shall undergo the punishment of Uzziah.”
Apostolic Constitutions · written before 380 · Constitutions of the Holy Apostles Book 3patristic
Hebrews 5:4
“The apostle begins here to treat of the priesthood of Christ. The sum of what he observes concerning it is, Whatever is excellent in the Levitical priesthood is in Christ, and in a more eminent manner; and whatever is wanting in those priests is in him.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Hebrews 5:4
“The sin of Korah was, not content with the ministry as a Levite, he took the sacerdotal priesthood also. No Christian minister, as such, is ever called Hiereus, that is, sacrificing priest. All Christians, without distinction, whether ministers or people, have a metaphorical, not a literal, priesthood.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Hebrews 5:5-6
Christ did not take upon Himself: So also Christ did not take upon Himself the glory of becoming a high priest. The writer joins Psalm 2:7, cited at 1:5, to Psalm 110:4, a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek, the order chapter 7 explains.
Hebrews 5:5
“So also Christ glorified not himself to be an high priest - That is, did not take this honour to himself, but received it from him who said, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee - Not, indeed, at the same time; for his generation was from eternity.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
3 more voices on this verse
Hebrews 5:5
“This appointment was involved in, and was the result of, the Sonship of Christ, which qualified Him for it. None but the divine Son could have fulfilled such an office (Heb 10:5-9). The connection of Sonship and priesthood is typified in the Hebrew title for priests being given to David's sons (2Sa 8:18).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Hebrews 5:5
“He whom presently you scorn was once transcendent over even you. He who is presently human was incomposite. He remained what he was; what he was not he assumed. No "because" is required for his existence in the beginning, for what could account for the existence of God? But later he came into being because of something, namely, your salvation, yours who insult him and despise his Godhead for that very reason, because he took on your thick corporeality. Through the medium of the mind he had dealings with the flesh, being made that God on earth which is human.”
Gregory of Nazianzus · written before 390 · On the Son, Theological Oration 3(29).19patristic
Hebrews 5:5
“Observe here, Though Christ reckoned it his glory to be made a high priest, yet he would not assume that glory to himself. He could truly say, I seek not my own glory, John viii. Considered as God, he was not capable of any additional glory, but as man and Mediator he did not run without being sent; and, if he did not, surely others should be afraid to do it.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Cross references
Hebrews 5:5
- QuotingPsalms 2:7“I will proclaim the decree spoken to Me by the LORD: “You are My Son; today I have become Your Father.”
'Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee' (Christ's high-priestly appointment)
Bengel, cited by Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, notes that Christ is called simply a priest here, because he stands alone in that office. Melchizedek was man, priest and king at once. He stood outside the line of Abraham, which points to a Messiah for all nations.
Hebrews 5:6
“He saith also in another place - That is, in Psa 110:4, a psalm of extraordinary importance, containing a very striking prediction of the birth, preaching, suffering, death, and conquests of the Messiah. See the notes on Psa 110:4. For the mode of quotation here, See the note on Heb 2:6. Thou art a priest for ever - As long as the sun and moon endure, Jesus will continue to be high priest to all the successive generations of men, as he was the lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Hebrews 5:6
"The order of Melchisedec" is explained in Heb 7:15, "the similitude of Melchisedec." The priesthood is similarly combined with His kingly office in Zec 6:13. Melchisedec was at once man, priest, and king. Paul's selecting as the type of Christ one not of the stock of Abraham, on which the Jews prided themselves, is an intimation of Messianic universalism.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Cross references
Hebrews 5:6
- QuotingPsalms 110:4The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind: “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”
'Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec'
ConnectionsPsalms 110:4
the days of Jesus’ earthly life: The prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears offered to the One who could save Him from death point to Gethsemane. Of that prayer the text says He was heard because of His reverence. The high priest's compassion rests on this real and costly experience.
Hebrews 5:7
“Indeed, his human nature needed the support of Omnipotence; and for this he sent up strong crying and tears: but, throughout his whole life, he showed that it was not the sufferings he was to undergo, but the dishonour that sin had done to so holy a God, that grieved his spotless soul.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
3 more voices on this verse
Hebrews 5:7
“It was not while bare and not participating in the limits of his emptying that God the Word became our model, but "in the days of his flesh." Then, quite legitimately, he could employ human limits and pray insistently and shed tears and even appear somehow to need a savior and learn obedience, though a Son. The inspired author is, so to speak, stupefied by the mystery that the Son, existing by nature truly and endowed with the glories of divinity, should so abase himself that he endured the low estate of our impoverished humanity.”
Cyril of Alexandria · written before 444 · On the Unity of Christ 755patristic
Hebrews 5:7
“Who - That is, the Lord Jesus - for so the connection demands. The object of this verse and the two following is, to show that the Lord Jesus had that qualification for the office of priest to which he had referred in Heb 5:2. It was one important qualification for that office that he who sustained it should be able to show compassion, to aid those that were out of the way, and to sympathize with sufferers; in other words, they were themselves encompassed with infirmity, and thus were able to succour those who were subjected to trials.”
Hebrews 5:7
“This all shows that "Christ glorified not Himself to be made an High Priest" (Heb 5:5), but was appointed thereto by the Father. prayers and supplications--Greek, "both prayers and supplications." In Gethsemane, where He prayed thrice, and on the cross, where He cried, My God, my God . . . probably repeating inwardly all the twenty-second Psalm.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Hebrews 5:8-9
learned obedience from what He suffered: Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from what He suffered, knowledge gained by the experience of trial. The Greek behind having been made perfect is teleiotheis, and so perfected he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey Him. His obedience is answered by theirs.
Hebrews 5:8
“Though he were a Son - Though the Son of God. Though he sustained this exalted rank, and was conscious of it, yet he was willing to learn experimentally what is meant by obedience in the midst of sufferings. Yet learned he obedience - That is, he learned experimentally and practically.”
3 more voices on this verse
Hebrews 5:8
“Here observe, [1.] The privilege of Christ: He was a Son; the only-begotten of the Father. One would have thought this might have exempted him from suffering, but it did not. Let none then who are the children of God by adoption expect an absolute freedom from suffering.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Hebrews 5:8
“He was obedient already before His passion, but He stooped to a still more humiliating and trying form of obedience then. The Greek adage is, "Pathemata mathemata," "sufferings, disciplinings." Praying and obeying, as in Christ's case, ought to go hand in hand.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Hebrews 5:8
“Though he were a Son - This is interposed. lest any should be offended at all these instances of human weakness. In the garden, how frequently did he call God his Father! And hence it most evidently appears that his being the Son of God did not arise merely from his resurrection.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
the source of eternal salvation: Alford, cited by Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, reads made perfect as Christ brought to his goal through death, at his resurrection and ascension. A salvation won in the short days of his flesh lasts forever, as Isaiah 45:17 foretells. John Wesley calls him its procuring and efficient cause.
Hebrews 5:9
“And being perfected - By sufferings, chap. ii, 10; brought through all to glory. He became the author - The procuring and efficient cause. Of eternal salvation to all that obey him - By doing and suffering his whole will.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Hebrews 5:9
“And being made perfect - That is, being made a “complete” Saviour - a Saviour suited in all respects to redeem people. Sufferings were necessary to the “completeness” or the “finish” of his character as a Saviour, not to his moral perfection, for he was always without sin; see this explained in the notes on Heb 2:10. He became the author - That is, he was the procuring cause (αἴτιος aitios) of salvation.”
Hebrews 5:9
“Our origin, corrupted right after its start, needed to be reborn with new beginnings. A victim had to be offered for reconciliation, a victim that was at one and the same time both related to our race and foreign to our defilement. In this way alone could the plan of God—wherein it pleased him that the sin of the world should be wiped away through the birth and passion of Jesus Christ—in this way alone could the plan of God be of any avail for the times of every generation.”
Leo the Great · written before 461 · SERMON 23.3-4patristic
designated by God as high priest: The title designated by God as high priest in the order of Melchizedek repeats Psalm 110:4, the oracle cited at verse 6. The writer is about to pause and prepare the readers before he explains this order.
Hebrews 5:10
“For whence was Noah "found righteous," if in his case the righteousness of a natural law had not preceded? Whence was Abraham accounted "a friend of God," if not on the ground of equity and righteousness, (in the observance) of a natural law? Whence was Melchizedek named "priest of the most high God," if, before the priesthood of the Levitical law, there were not levites who were wont to offer sacrifices to God?”
Tertullian · written before 220 · An Answer to the Jewspatristic
3 more voices on this verse
Hebrews 5:10
“Called of God a high priest - Προσαγορευθεις· Being constituted, hailed, and acknowledged to be a high priest. In Hesychius we find προσαγορευει, which he translates ασπαζεται· hence we learn that one meaning of this word is to salute; as when a man was constituted or anointed king, those who accosted him would say, Hail king!”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Hebrews 5:10
“Called - The Greek word here properly signifies surnamed. His name is, "the Son of God." The Holy Ghost seems to have concealed who Melchisedec was, on purpose that he might be the more eminent type of Christ.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Hebrews 5:10
“Greek, rather, "Addressed by God (by the appellation) High Priest." Being formally recognized by God as High Priest at the time of His being "made perfect" (Heb 5:9). He was High Priest already in the purpose of God before His passion; but after it, when perfected, He was formally addressed so.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Still on Milk: Dull of Hearing
Hebrews 5:11-12
much to say about this: The subject is hard to explain because you are dull of hearing, nothros, a sluggishness of spirit. Measured by time, by this time you ought to be teachers, and still you need someone to reteach you the basic principles of God’s word.
Hebrews 5:11
“Of whom we have many things to say - There are many things which seem strange in regard to him; many things which are hard to be understood. Paul knew that what be had to say of this man as a type of the Redeemer would excite wonder, and that many might be disposed to call it in question. He knew that in order to be understood, what he was about to say required a familiar acquaintance with the Scriptures, and a strong and elevated faith.”
1 more voice on this verse
Hebrews 5:11
“Hence, instead of saying many things, he writes in comparatively few words (Heb 13:22). In the "we," Paul, as usual, includes Timothy with himself in addressing them. ye are--Greek, "ye have become dull" (the Greek, by derivation, means hard to move): this implies that once, when first "enlightened," they were earnest and zealous, but had become dull.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
the basic principles: John Wesley and Bengel both find these basic principles listed at 6:1-2. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown take God's word here as the Old Testament, where the readers failed to see Christ as its goal. Milk keeps a believer alive, and solid food makes him strong.
Hebrews 5:12
“What was the subject-matter which led the apostle to write such (words)? The inexperience of a new and just rising Church, which he was rearing, to wit, "with milk," not yet with the "solid food" of stronger doctrine; inexperience so great, that that infancy of faith prevented them from yet knowing what they were to do in regard of carnal and sexual necessity.”
Tertullian · written before 220 · On Monogamypatristic
2 more voices on this verse
Hebrews 5:12
“For when for the time - They had heard the Gospel for many years, and had professed to be Christians for a long time; on these accounts they might reasonably have been expected to be well instructed in Divine things, so as to be able to instruct others. Which be the first principles - Τινα τα στοιχεια· Certain first principles or elements.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Hebrews 5:12
“For we do everything in our power to see that our gathering consists of intelligent people, and we dare to bring forward in common discourse at the time of our gathering our most noble and divine beliefs when we have an intelligent audience. But we conceal and pass over the more profound truths whenever we see that the meeting consists of simple-minded folk who are in need of that teaching which is figuratively called milk.”
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · Against Celsus 3.52patristic
Hebrews 5:13-14
everyone who lives on milk: The rule is plain, everyone who lives on milk is still an infant, inexperienced in the message of righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained their senses to distinguish good from evil, the language of the gymnasium.
Hebrews 5:13
“Everyone that useth milk - That neither desires, nor can digest, anything else: otherwise strong men use milk; but not milk chiefly, and much less that only. Is unexperienced in the word of righteousness - The sublimer truths of the gospel. Such are all who desire and can digest nothing but the doctrine of justification and imputed righteousness.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Hebrews 5:13
“For every one that useth milk - Referring to the food of children. The apostle has in view here those Christians who resemble children in this respect, that they are not capable of receiving the stronger food adapted to those of mature age. Is unskilful - Inexperienced; who has not skill to perform anything. The word is properly applied to one who has not experience or skill, or who is ignorant.”
Hebrews 5:13
Philosophers, then, are children, unless they have been made men by Christ. "For if the son of the bond woman shall not be heir with the son of the free," at least he is the seed of Abraham, though not of promise, receiving what belongs to him by free gift. "But strong meat belongeth to those that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil."
Clement of Alexandria · written before 215 · The Stromata Book 1patristic
trained their senses to distinguish good from evil: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown compare the mature believer with a child who has grown past infancy, as at Isaiah 7:16. An infant puts harmful and wholesome things alike into its mouth. The trained believer tells sound doctrine from unsound, and 13:9 warns against strange teachings.
Hebrews 5:14
“In the words of Song of Songs may be found that food of which the apostle says, "But solid food is for the mature" and requires such people as listeners who "have their faculties trained by practice to distinguish good from evil." Thus, if those we have called "little ones" come to these places in Scripture, it can happen that they receive no profit at all from this book or even that they are badly injured either by reading what has been written or by examining what has been said to interpret it.”
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · Commentary on the Song of Songs, Prologuepatristic
2 more voices on this verse
Hebrews 5:14
“But strong meat - The high and sublime doctrines of Christianity; the atonement, justification by faith, the gift of the Holy Ghost, the fullness of Christ dwelling in the souls of men, triumph in and over death, the resurrection of the body, the glorification of both body and soul in the realms of blessedness, and an endless union with Christ in the throne of his glory. This is the strong food which the genuine Christian understands, receives, digests, and by which he grows.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Hebrews 5:14
“But strong meat - These sublimer truths relating to "perfection," chap. vi, 1. Belong to them of full age, who by habit - Habit here signifies strength of spiritual understanding, arising from maturity of spiritual age.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
How this psalm is built
The form: A continued discourse on the priesthood of Christ in five parts: the nature of the priestly office, the call to it, the qualifications for the work, the order of Melchizedek, and a reproof of the hearers for their slow growth in knowledge, as Henry classes it.
The patterns in this chapter
| Device | What it does | Where to see it |
|---|---|---|
| The marks of a priest, then the priest who bears them | Verses 1 to 4 list what belongs to every high priest. He is taken from among men and acts for them, he offers gifts and sacrifices, he deals gently with the ignorant, and he is called by God as Aaron was. Verses 5 to 10 show these marks in Christ. One mark does not carry over, since verse 3 has the priest offer for his own sins. John Calvin reads the passage as the likeness and the difference between Christ and the Levitical priests.John Calvin, Commentaries, on Hebrews 5:1. | Hebrews 5:1, Hebrews 5:3, Hebrews 5:4, Hebrews 5:5 |
| Two psalms joined as one call | Verse 5 quotes Psalm 2:7, where God calls the Son His own, and verse 6 quotes Psalm 110:4, where God names Him a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek. Put side by side, the two lines make sonship and priesthood one call from God. Matthew Henry names both psalms and observes that God never spoke so to Aaron.Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary, on Hebrews 5:5 to 6. | Hebrews 5:5, Hebrews 5:6 |
| The order of Melchizedek at both ends | The name Melchizedek appears twice in the Berean text of the chapter, at verse 6 and at verse 10. Between them stand the prayers, tears and obedience of verses 7 to 9, so the priesthood is named, shown in His suffering and then named again. Matthew Henry notes that the writer returns at verse 10 to what he had cited at verse 6.Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary, on Hebrews 5:10 to 14. | Hebrews 5:6, Hebrews 5:7, Hebrews 5:10 |
| Milk and solid food | Verse 12 sets milk against solid food, and verses 13 and 14 explain the picture. The one who lives on milk is an infant, and solid food belongs to the mature, who have trained their senses by constant use. Thomas Aquinas reads verse 12 as a simile that the writer then explains, first the milk and then the solid food.Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Hebrews, on Hebrews 5:12 to 14, sections 265 and 268. | Hebrews 5:12, Hebrews 5:13, Hebrews 5:14 |
Where the chapter stands in the letter
7 more paragraphs on the patterns
Chapter 4 closed on a great high priest who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses. Chapter 5 now explains what a high priest is and how Jesus became one. Matthew Henry divides it into the nature of the office at verses 1 to 3, the call to it at verses 4 to 6, the qualifications at verses 7 to 9, the order of Melchizedek at verses 6 and 10, and a reproof at verses 11 to 14 (Complete Commentary, on Hebrews 5). Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read verses 7 to 10 as a short statement of the subject handled more fully in chapters 7 and 8 (Commentary Critical and Explanatory, on Hebrews 5:7).
Who speaks
The writer speaks throughout. God speaks in the two psalm lines at verses 5 and 6, addressing the Son first as Son and then as priest. From verse 11 the writer turns on the hearers with the word you, and he rebukes them for needing to be taught again.
The debated reading: heard because of His reverence
Verse 7 says that Jesus was heard, yet He was not spared death. Photios I of Constantinople asked how He could be heard, and answered that He made a twofold petition, one asking to avoid death and the other consenting to it (Fragments on the Epistle to the Hebrews 5.7 to 9). John Wesley held that He was heard in what He most feared, the weight of God's justice, so that He drank the cup without fear (Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament, on Hebrews 5:7). Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read the Greek as heard in consequence of His reverent fear, and held that what He shrank from was the hiding of the Father's face (Commentary Critical and Explanatory, on Hebrews 5:7). Cyril of Alexandria taught that He was heard because He did not disobey, being by nature truly Son (Letter to Pulcheria and Eudoxia).
What the chapter hands forward
Verse 11 opens a digression that runs to the end of chapter 6, and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note that the comparison with Melchizedek resumes at 6:20 (Commentary Critical and Explanatory, on Hebrews 5:11). The basic principles of verse 12 are listed at 6:1 and 2. Chapter 7 then takes up the order of Melchizedek at length.
Keep studying
Studies17
People and groups2
Words12
Subjects1
Sources for this chapter
The summary
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
The context
Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Psalms and Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David on Psalm 110.
The form and classifications
John Calvin, Commentaries, on Hebrews 5:1; Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary, on Hebrews 5, the chapter summary and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Hebrews, on Hebrews 5:1.
The exposition
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown; John Calvin, Commentary on Hebrews; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Owen, An Exposition of the Epistle to the Hebrews; John Wesley and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.