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Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Hebrews 5:5

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So also Christ glorified not himself to be made a high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, today have I begotten thee.

5. So also Christ ] Rather, “ So even the Christ.” Jesus, the Messiah, the true Anointed Priest, possessed both these qualifications.

glorified not himself ] He has already called the High Priesthood “an honour,” but of Christ’s Priesthood he uses a still stronger word “glory” (Heb 2:9; Joh 12:28; Joh 13:31).

but he that said unto him ] God glorified Him, and the writer again offers the admitted Messianic Prophecies of Psa 2:7; Psa 110:4, as a sufficient illustration of this. The fact of His Sonship demonstrates that His call to the Priesthood was a call of God. “Jesus said If I honour myself, my honour is nothing; it is my Father that honoureth me, of whom ye say that He is your God,” Joh 8:54.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

So also Christ glorified not himself; – see the notes at Joh 8:54. The meaning is, that Jesus was not ambitious; that he did not obtrude himself into the great office of high priest; he did not enter upon its duties without being regularly called to it. Paul claimed that Christ held that office; but, as he was not descended front Aaron, and as no one might perform its duties without being regularly called to it, it was incumbent on him to show that Jesus was not an intruder, but had a regular vocation to that work. This he shows by a reference to two passages of the Old Testament.

But he that said unto him – That is, he who said to him Thou art my Son, exalted him to that office. He received his appointment from him. This was decisive in the case, and this was sufficient, if it could be made out, for the only claim which Aaron and his successors could have to the office, was the fact that they had received their appointment front God.

Thou art my Son – Psa 2:7. See this passage explained in the notes on Act 13:38. It is used here with reference to the designation to the priestly office, though in the Psalm more particularly to the anointing to the office of king. The propriety of this application is founded on the fact that the language in the Psalm is of so general a character, that it may be applied to any exaltation of the Redeemer, or to any honor conferred on him. It is used here with strict propriety, for Paul is saying that Jesus did not exalt himself, and in proof of that he refers to the fact that God had exalted him by calling him his Son.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Verse 5. Christ glorified not himself] The man Jesus Christ, was also appointed by God to this most awful yet glorious office, of being the High Priest of the whole human race. The Jewish high priest represented this by the sacrifices of beasts which he offered; the Christian High Priest must offer his own life: Jesus Christ did so; and, rising from the dead, he ascended to heaven, and there ever appeareth in the presence of God for us. Thus he has reassumed the sacerdotal office; and because he never dies, he can never have a successor. He can have no vicars, either in heaven or upon earth; those who pretend to be such are impostors, and are worthy neither of respect nor credit.

Thou art my Son] See on Heb 1:5, and the observations at the end of that chapter. And thus it appears that God can have no high priest but his Son; and to that office none can now pretend without blasphemy, for the Son of God is still the High Priest in his temple.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

The Spirit now draws the parallel, and shows, that whatsoever is requisite in Gods high priest, is transcendently fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ, the infirmities of his types, which were accidental to the office, excepted.

So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an High Priest: he begins the parallel in his call to it: God-man, the, great gospel High Priest, anointed to this office in the flesh with the Holy Ghost, was not tainted with ambition, neither did usurp this honour and dignity, Joh 8:54, though there never was person qualified for it, or deserved it, like him. He never did intrude himself upon the office, or take the sacerdotal power to him, whatever others have done, and usurped it.

But he that said unto him; but God the Father bespeaketh him, and calleth him to this high office, as he did Aaron: he chose him, separated, sent, and anointed him for it. No less person than the eternal Jehovah could constitute and invest him in what was so high for dignity, so glorious for power; he did by speaking commission him for it, and did publish and testify the constitution, glorifying him in it, as is testified, Psa 2:7.

Thou art my Son: Thou, is not David, but Christ, as is interpreted, Heb 1:5; Act 13:33. Art my only begotten Son, my natural Son, Joh 1:14,18; the first-born of God, Psa 89:27; compare Rom 8:29; Col 1:18. As his Son, the Father could appoint him to what calling he pleased. By his primogeniture he had right to the priesthood and kingship; and to these doth the Father call him, as who would not be denied by him.

To-day have I begotten thee; from eternity he had a right and title to this office, but his solemn investiture in it was on the resurrection day, then was he begotten to it; not only dedicated, as Hannah did Samuel to the priesthood, but solemnly, after his consecration by his own blood to it, Heb 9:10-12,23,24, compare Rom 1:4, was he by the Father proclaimed to be the Son-mediator, King, Priest, and Prophet, and made to enter the holy of holiest in heaven, and to sit down there on his Fathers right hand, invested with glory and power for the execution of his offices, and this of his priesthood in special, which tie is daily fulfilling with him by his intercession: see Heb 7:25,28; 9:24; compare Psa 2:8.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

5. glorified not himselfdidnot assume the glory of the priestly office of Himself without thecall of God (Joh 8:54).

but he that saidthatis, the Father glorified Him or appointed Him to the priesthood. Thisappointment was involved in, and was the result of, the Sonshipof Christ, which qualified Him for it. None but the divine Son couldhave fulfilled such an office (Heb10:5-9). The connection of Sonship and priesthoodis typified in the Hebrew title for priests being givento David’s sons (2Sa 8:18).Christ did not constitute Himself the Son of God, but was fromeverlasting the only-begotten of the Father. On His Sonshipdepended His glorification, and His being called of God (Heb5:10), as Priest.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest,…. It was a glorifying of Christ, to make him an high priest; not as God, for as such no addition can be made to his glory; yea, it was a condescension in him to become a priest: but as man; it was an honour to the human nature to be united to the Son of God; and to be separated from others to this office; and to be called unto it, qualified for it, and invested with it; and to be of the order he was, and to do the work; and the very assistance he had in it, for the accomplishment of it, was a glorifying of him, for which he prayed; and the work being done, he had glory given him by his Father; and an ascription of glory is made to him by angels and saints: but Christ did not take this high and honourable office to himself, nor the glory of it; indeed, he did not receive it from man, nor was he made a priest according to the ceremonial law; yet he did not intrude himself into this office:

but he that said unto him, thou art my Son, today have I begotten thee; he appointed him to this office; he sent him to execute it; he anointed him with the oil of gladness above his fellows; he consecrated and established him in it with an oath; and prescribed to him what he should do, suffer, and offer; and declared to him what he might expect as the reward thereof. These words are taken out of Ps 2:7,

[See comments on Heb 1:5], and they are not to be considered as constitutive of Christ’s priesthood, as if that was intended by the begetting of him as a Son; but as descriptive of the person, who called him to it, who stood in the relation of a Father to Christ, and Christ in the relation of a Son to him; therefore the one was very proper to call, and the other a very fit person to be called to this office, being every way capable of executing it, to the glory of God, and to the good of men.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

So Christ also ( ). Just as with Aaron. Jesus had divine appointment as high priest also.

To be made (). First aorist passive infinitive of .

High priest (). Predicate accusative agreeing with (himself) object of .

But he that spake unto him (‘ ). Ellipsis of to be supplied from preceding clause. God did glorify Jesus in appointing him priest as we see in Ps 2:7 quoted already as Messianic (Heb 1:5). Jesus himself repeatedly claimed that the Father sent him on his mission to the world (John 5:30; John 5:43; John 8:54; John 17:5, etc.). Bruce holds that Christ’s priesthood is co-eval with his Sonship. Davidson thinks it is merely suitable because he is Son. Clearly the Father nominated (Dods) the Son to the Messianic priesthood (Joh 3:16).

Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament

Did not glorify himself to be made high priest. jEdoxasen glorified is general, and is more specifically defined by genhqhnai ajrcierea to be made high priest.

But he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, etc. Supply glorified him. He did not glorify himself, but God who styled him “son” glorified him. Thou art my Son is introduced thus in close connection with the call to the priesthood, in recognition of the fact that the priesthood of Christ had its basis in his sonship. “Christ ‘s priestly vocation ceases to be an accident in his history, and becomes an essential characteristic of his position as Son : sonship, christhood, priestliness, inseparably interwoven” (Bruce).

Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament

Christ an High Priest After the Order of Melchisedec

1) “So also Christ glorified not himself,” (houtos kai Christos ouch heauton edoksasen) “So even Christ glorified not himself,” Joh 8:54. He received the honor of the priesthood from the Father to offer as a priest the sacrifice of himself for our sins at Calvary. He was a priest while on earth, but became an high priest to offer his own blood when he entered heaven, Heb 2:9; Heb 7:23-28.

2) “To be made an high priest,” (ginethenai archierea) “To become an high priest,” Then he was raised by the Spirit of God to intercede for his children, for others as an High Priest, in heaven, Rom 8:11; Heb 9:24-28.

3) “But he that said unto him,” (all’ ho lalesas pros auton) “But the one speaking (who spoke) to him,” God the Father, who spoke to him as follows, and the one whom he came to glorify, and did glorify: Joh 17:1; Joh 17:4-8; Joh 17:22; Joh 17:24.

4) “Thou art my Son,” (huios mou ei su) “The Son of me (my) Son thou art,” Psa 2:7; Act 13:30-37. As The Son (only begotten Son of God) he became first a priest on earth to offer the sacrifice of himself for our sins, then as an High Priest to offer his own blood for our sins in heaven, Heb 7:25; Heb 1:3.

5) “Today have I begotten thee,” (ego semeron gegenneka se) “I (just) today have begotten thee,” He is the first begotten from the dead, now in glory interceding for us as High Priest, because he lived and died offering himself as the sinless, only begotten Son and sacrifice of God, as a lowly priest at Calvary, Joh 10:18; 1Co 15:23-28.

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

5. Thou art my Son, etc. This passage may seem to be farfetched; for though Christ was begotten of God the Father, he was not on this account made also a priest. But if we consider the end for which Christ was manifested to the world, it will plainly appear that this character necessarily belongs to him. We must however bear especially in mind what we said on the first chapter; that the begetting of Christ, of which the Psalmist speaks, was a testimony which the Father rendered to him before men. Therefore the mutual relation between the Father and the Son is not what is here intended; but regard is rather had to men to whom he was manifested. Now, what sort of Son did God manifest to us? One indued with no honor, with no power? Nay, one who was to be a Mediator between himself and man; his begetting then included his priesthood. (86)

(86) This passage, “Thou art my Son,” etc., in this place, is only adduced to show that Christ was the Son of God: Christ did not honor or magnify or exalt himself, (for so δοξάζω means here,) but he who said to him, “Thou art my son,” etc., did honor or exalt him. This is the meaning of the sentence. The verse may thus be rendered, —

5. So also Christ, himself he did not exalt to be a high priest, but he who had said to him, “My son art thou, I have this day begotten thee.”

It is the same as though he had said, “Christ did not make himself a high priest but God.” And the reason why he speaks of God as having said “My Son,” etc., seems to be this, — to show that he who made him king (for the reference in Psa 2:7 is to his appointment as a king) made him also a high priest. And this is confirmed by the next quotation from Psa 110:1; for in the first verse he is spoken of as a king, and then in verse 4 his priesthood is mentioned. — Ed.

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

Christs qualifications for the priesthood. Heb. 5:5-10.

Text

Heb. 5:5-10

Heb. 5:5 So Christ also glorified not Himself to be made a high priest, but He that spake unto Him,

Thou art My Son,
This day have I begotten Thee:

Heb. 5:6 as He saith also in another place,

Thou art a Priest for ever
After the order of Melchizedek.

Heb. 5:7 Who in the days of His flesh, having offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto Him that was able to save Him from death, and having been heard for His godly fear, Heb. 5:8 though He was a Son, yet learned obedience by the things which He suffered; Heb. 5:9 and having been made perfect, He became unto all them that obey Him the Author of eternal salvation; Heb. 5:10 named of God a High Priest after the order of Melchizedek.

Paraphrase

Heb. 5:5 So also the Christ did not glorify Himself by making Himself an High-priest, but He glorified Him with that office, Who, after His ascension into heaven, said to Him, My son Thou art; to-day I have demonstrated Thee to be My Son by raising Thee from the dead.

Heb. 5:6 As also He glorified the Christ to be an High Priest, Who in another psalm saith to Him, Thou art a Priest for ever, according to the order of Melchizedek: Thou art a human Priest, not like Aaron, but Melchizedek.

Heb. 5:7 Secondly, as an High Priest, He can commiserate the ignorant and erring. For though He be the Son of God, He was subject to the infirmity of the human nature, and particularly to the fear of death, as is plain from this, that He in the days of His flesh, having offered up both deprecations and supplications, with strong crying (Psa. 22:1) and tears, to Him Who was able to save Him from death, by raising Him from the dead; and being delivered from fear.

Heb. 5:8 Although He was the Son of God, He learned how difficult obedience is to men, by the things which He suffered in the flesh while He obeyed God; and also what need men have of help to enable them to bear their trials and sufferings.

Heb. 5:9 And being thus qualified to have a right measure of compassion on the ignorant and erring, He was made perfect as an High Priest; and He became, to all who obey Him, the Author of eternal salvation, by offering Himself a sacrifice for their sins:

Heb. 5:10 As is evident from His being saluted by God, on His return from the earth, an High Priest, according to the order of Melchizedek.

Comment

So Christ also glorified not Himself to he made a High Priest

The devil offered Him glory, but He rejected it:

He asked God to glorify Him. Joh. 17:5 : And now, Father, glorify Thou me with Thine own self, with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was.

He sought to glorify God:

Joh. 17:4; I have glorified Thee on earth: I have accomplished the work that Thou hast given me to do.

Joh. 8:50 : I sought not My own glory.

He exhibited the glory of God:

Joh. 1:14. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

2Co. 4:6 : Seeing it is God, that said, Light shall shine out of darkness, who shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Heb. 1:3 : Who, being the effulgence of His glory. Christ was one who was willing to humble Himself, not to exalt Himself,

but he that spake unto Him

God planned for Christ to be High Priest. He said this in Psa. 2:7.

Thou art my Son. This day have I begotten Thee:

God prophetically called Jesus His Son. The word, begotten, does not refer to His origin but to His resurrection.

as he saith also in another place

This is found in Psalms 110 :

This is one of the clearest of prophecies in the Psalms concerning Christ.

The Jew applies this to David:

This Psalm is applied to Christ by the apostles in Act. 2:34.

This cannot apply to David. It was not lawful for kings to exercise the priesthood.

Uzziah was meddling with an office that did not belong to him, so provoked God and was smitten with leprosy. 2Ch. 26:18.

Thou art a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek

This is rare: He was both king and priest. The comparison here is the important thing:

Aaron was temporaryChrist was eternal.

Aarons office was successivepassed on to his children. Melchizedeks and Christs office was personal, non heriditary.

Melchizedeks priesthood, then, is above Aarons priesthood. Without father and mother is discussed in Hebrews 7.

Matthew Henry says that this scripture is not to be taken literally. His genealogy is not given in order that he might be a type of Christ.

Archeologists have found this expression inscribed on tablets of that era.

Forever means while time endures. When 1Co. 15:24 is fulfilled, His office will no doubt end.

Who in the days of His flesh

While Christ was on the earth is meant:

This word, who, does not refer to Melchizedek, but to Christ.

It is obvious by Heb. 5:8 that Jesus is meant.

Having offered up prayers

A request, petition is meant by the word, prayers:

John 17 : great prayers of oneness.

He prayed before performing miracles.

He prayed before going to the cross. Luk. 22:40-44.

If Christ prayed, then surely we need to pray, yet few have callouses on their knees.

and supplications

Supplications are prayers prompted by a deep sense of need, and our own helplessness.

When used separately, the words, prayer and supplications are used interchangeably.

When used together, it means a prayer prompted by a deep sense of helplessness.

with strong crying and tears

This is to show the intensity of His grief. These are the outward symptoms of grief. Examples of it:

Mat. 26:42 : let this cup pass from Me.

Mat. 27:46 : My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?

unto Him that was able to save Him from death

He was not immediately delivered from death:

He obtained what He prayed for when He came forth a conqueror.

If the death referred to is physical death, God could have saved him. Angels could have saved Him. Mat. 26:53-54.

God could not save Him and still carry out His purpose, See Mat. 26:53-54.

God was able to do things not asked of Him by Christ. Death should be studied in the light of some prepositions:

The preposition:

from.

out of.

Newell says He did not ask God to save Him from dying, but to save Him out of death.

and having been heard

Did not God forsake Him?

Yes, in order that the flesh could die.

If we live in God, He must forsake us in order for us to die.

God heard his prayers, however, for Christ did not see corruption in the grave as do all others.

Newell says His prayer was for the fulfillment of the prophecies concerning Himself.

for his godly fear

Some interpret:

Having been heard for his piety.
He was heard by reason of His reverent submission.
Fear of responsibilities.

What was the object of His fear?

Milligan: He had a heart to fear and tremble, like other men in view of great undertakings:

The fact that Jesus told them to watch and pray lest they enter into temptation was proof of this.

It was not fear of death, but fear of being unequal to the occasion.

Matthew Henry says He was ready to sink under the heavy load of the world of sin and coming suffering. God heard His prayer and supported him in the agonies.

Though he was a son

If Gods Son had to be obedient, may we expect special favors, namely the right to disobedience?

May we impose upon God?

May we alter His teachingclimb up some other way? Obedience is the natural thing for true family relationship.

yet He learned obedience

He was not driven to this by force:

He was not trained to it like an oxen, but He willingly submitted.

He learned it fully, for in a very special way He was called to deny himself.

Obedience made Him a consecrated one:

Jesus was consecrated, sanctified to the office of priest by obedience.

It was not a legal obedience, but an objective obedience.

by the things which he suffered

Obedience to the call of the cross was becoming obedient. Php. 2:6-8 : Suffered must refer to all the experiences of Christ while in the flesh.

and having been made perfect

The Greek word means sanctified as well as made perfect:

His obedience further consecrated Him to His task.

Nothing could make Christ move from His purpose. What is meant by the word, perfection?

Newell: . . . not moral perfection.

The perfection refers to His humiliation and suffering, culminating at the cross. Luk. 13:32 : And He said unto them, Go and say to that fox, (Herod) behold I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I am perfected.

Tested by every temptation.

He became unto all that obey Him

There is no room here for the false doctrine of only believe:

We must obey, which is an imitation of Christ in obedience.

The obedience of Christ to the cross made Him the Author of our salvation.

As Christ became Saviour by obedience, so we must be saved by obedience.

the Author of eternal salvation

Author is from the Greek word, cause:

Cause is used to denote that which constitutes an occasion of action, A rock may crush a house, but there was something that moved the rock.

Without Christs cross there would be no blood for the remission of our sins, So Christ is our cause of salvation, In none other is there salvation. Act. 4:12.

Eternal salvation is the joy of all who will obey.

Named of God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek

Named of Godthe one Father appointed Him to the task. Named also means called of God, saluted, acknowledged.
When did His priesthood begin?

Perhaps when He made purification for sins, which was the offering. Heb. 7:28.

After the offering, He went into the heavens to intercede at the throne of grace. Heb. 7:25.

The order of Aaron was only for the duration of the Mosaic system, but the order of Melchizedek is forever.

Melchizedek was singular in his office.

He had no predecessors or successors to his office.

Study Questions

732.

According to verse five, did Christ seek the job of priest?

733.

Did the devil tempt Him to glorify himself?

734.

What does Heb. 1:3 say concerning Christs glory?

735.

When did God speak concerning Christ? Heb. 5:5 b.

736.

Does Psa. 2:7 refer to the day that Christ was begotten physically of God?

737.

How do we know from other sources that this declaration refers to Christ, and not David? Cf. Act. 2:34.

738.

Were kings allowed to serve as priests under the Mosaic law?

739.

After what order was Christ?

740.

In what way?

741.

Was Melchizedek just a priest?

742.

In what ways could Christs and Melchizedeks priesthood be forever?

743.

Was Aarons priesthood a successive one?

744.

What is meant, who in the days of His flesh?

745.

Who is referred to, Christ or Melchizedek?

746.

Is the doctrine that Christ lived in the flesh of great importance?

747.

Did Christ offer up prayers?

748.

On what occasion?

749.

On whose behalf?

750.

Could they be considered priestly prayers?

751.

What are supplications?

752.

Are the words prayers and supplications synonymous?

753.

What is meant by, strong crying?

754.

On what occasion did Christ pray with tears?

755.

Was His grief prophesied?

756.

To Whom did Christ pray?

757.

Then are God and Christ two different persons?

758.

Could God save Christ from death?

759.

Why didnt He? Why did not Christ come down from the cross?

760.

Did God answer Christs prayer?

761.

Did Christs prayer concern death?

762.

Did Christ pray to be saved from death, or out of death?

763.

If it was death for which He prayed, why did He not ask for angels as He said He could do? Mat. 26:53-54.

764.

Why did flesh have to die?

765.

If God heard Him, as the text says, did not God answer His prayer?

766.

Did God forsake Him on the cross? Harmonize.

767.

What in the character of Christ caused God to hear Christs prayer?

768.

Was Christ fearful? Discuss.

769.

What could have been an object of fear?

770.

Did He have a heart to fear and tremble as others have?

771.

If Gods son had to be obedient, can we expect special favors?

772.

Can we expect to impose our will on God and make Him obedient to us?

773.

If God will save a man on mans terms, who is being obedient to whom?

774.

What is meant by, He learned obedience?

775.

Was He driven to it by force, or was it a sanctification to His office?

776.

Was it a legal obedience, or an objective that caused obedience?

777.

To what great act of obedience did Christ submit? See Php. 2:5-11.

778.

What taught Him obedience?

779.

Would things He suffered refer to hardships only or all of the experiences in the flesh?

780.

What did He suffer?

781.

Define the meaning of the word translated perfect.

782.

Does having been made perfect refer to immediate or continuous action?

783.

Does made perfect refer to moral excellence?

784.

Would Luk. 13:32 help to throw light on the question?

785.

Could it be proven perfect that the author has in mind?

786.

Did the testing of every temptation prove Him to be perfect?

787.

Could we say that He was proven to be sanctified?

788.

To whom does He prove to be the Author of salvation?

789.

If it is for men that obey Him, can the moral man expect salvation?

790.

Can the person who desires substitutes above obedience expect salvation?

791.

Is there room for only believe here?

792.

If we follow Christ, should we not follow the great virtue, the spirit of obedience?

793.

If Christ became our Saviour by obedience, must we not be obedient, for salvation to be ours?

794.

What is meant, the author?

795.

In what way is He the cause? Isnt God the great primary cause?

796.

How long is our salvation to last?

797.

What is meant by, named of God?

798.

What other word could be used than named?

799.

When did Christs priestly work begin? Cf. Heb. 7:28; Heb. 7:25.

800.

Is it fair to name a beginning of the priesthood when it is after the order of one without beginning and end?

801.

Of what duration was the Mosaic priesthood?

802.

Why was Christ not named after the Aaronic priesthood?

803.

Was He of the proper tribe for the Aaronic one?

Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series

(5) Christ.Better, the Christ (See Heb. 3:14.) It is important to note that in passages of the Pentateuch where the high priest receives a special designation (usually the priest is sufficiently distinctive) his title is almost always the anointed priest. Hence in the one designation, the Christ, are united the two testimonies of Scripture which follow. He is the Anointed King (Psa. 2:7), addressed by Jehovah as His Son (see Notes on Heb. 1:2; Heb. 1:4-5); by the same Jehovah He is addressed as Priest for ever after the order of one who was both priest and king (Psa. 110:4).

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

5. So also In Heb 5:5-10 it is now shown that Christ fulfilled the outline of the high priest sketched in Heb 5:1-4. First the writer shows that he fulfills Heb 5:4, and thence moves backward to Heb 5:1. First, Christ was no usurper.

Glorified not himself The glory of this divine office was shed upon him by his divine Father.

But he The nominative to glorified him understood. It was the divine Being who, in Psa 2:7, declared him Son and King, and who in Psa 110:4, pronounced him Priest, who conferred the honour of this high priesthood.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

‘So Christ also glorified not himself to be made a high priest, but he who spoke to him, “You are my Son, This day have I begotten you.” ’

He emphasises that Christ also did not choose Himself. He did not glorify Himself. In His High Priesthood He was not self-appointed. He was declared to be so by God. The same words that indicated His true Sonship (taken from Psa 2:7, see on Heb 1:5) also indicated His true Priesthood. As the appointed heir of David, chosen and begotten by God, He was automatically both a king and a priest after the order of Melchizedek, but His official appointment by God as such is now described.

‘Christ.’ The writer is careful with his use of names. This is the first mention of Christ. The One appointed and glorified is ‘the Christ’, the anointed of God, the Messiah. He received the kingship and the priesthood at the same time. We may well be intended to see this as indicating His anointing with the Holy Spirit (Act 10:38) at His baptism. He is the One sent from God as His anointed King.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

The Superiority of Christ’s Priesthood ( Heb 5:5-10 ).

Christ is therefore now revealed also to be God-appointed, experiencing humanness and weakness, and learning obedience (although never once getting less than 100%). But nothing is said here about sacrifices offered for sin. For that had already been fulfilled in His death on the cross and there would be no more meaningful sacrifices for sin.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

The perfect salvation earned by Christ:

v. 5. So also Christ glorified not Himself to be made an high priest, but he that said unto Him, Thou art My Son, today have I begotten Thee.

v. 6. As he saith also in another place, Thou art a Priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

v. 7. Who in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto Him that was able to save Him from death, and was heard in that he feared;

v. 8. though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;

v. 9. and being made perfect, he became the Author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him,

v. 10. called of God an High Priest after the order of Melchizedek.

That the first qualification of a high priest was found in Christ, the writer had shown at the end of chapter 4, namely, that He was touched with the feeling of our infirmities. Here it is shown that also the second attribute of a high priest is not wanting in Christ, namely, that He was called to fulfill the office: So also Christ did not glorify Himself to be made a high priest, but He (took care of that) who said, Thou art My Son, I this day have begotten Thee; as also in another place He says, Thou art a Priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. Christ did not attribute or arrogate to Himself the glory and honor of the high-priestly office which He administered. There was no personal ambition nor any sordid motive in Christ. He did not come in His own name, nor did He seek to glorify Himself. See Joh 8:54; Joh 5:31-43; Joh 17:5. It was another who sought His honor and judged accordingly, namely, His heavenly Father, of whom the Messiah Himself says in Psa 2:7, that the Lord had distinctly called Him His eternal Son. This quotation shows what an immeasurably great and high person our High Priest is: God’s own eternal Son. The Messianic dignity included that of the priesthood. Certainly in one who held such an exalted position the fact that He became the great High Priest cannot be surprising. The second passage, Psa 110:4, exactly defines the priestly position and office of Jesus, already referred to in a general way. Christ has been called by God to be our Priest, our great High Priest. And the truest type of Christ in this capacity is not Aaron, the priest, but Melchizedek, as the writer later shows at length. His position, quality, kind, placed Jesus in a class with that singular Old Testament priest who lived at the time of Abraham.

The inspired author now proceeds to show how Jesus became obedient to the call of His Father: Who in the days of His flesh offered up prayers as well as supplications, with strong crying and tears, to Him who was able to deliver Him from death, and was heard on account of His godly reverence. When Christ was appointed to be our High Priest, He knew that this position involved an obedience which was altogether distasteful to flesh and blood, since it included also the necessity of becoming the sacrificial Lamb for the sins of the whole world. Yet in the days of His flesh, when He was in His state of humiliation, when He was like His brethren according to the flesh in capacity for suffering and temptation, He showed His obedience, even in the midst of His great Passion. In Gethsemane, on Calvary, He offered up to His heavenly Father not only quiet prayers, but also earnest, urgent entreaties. So deeply did the suffering affect Him that He added strong and bitter crying and tears. He cried to God, His heavenly Father, by whom He had been forsaken in the depth of the condemnation lying upon Him, to be delivered from the terrible experience of death, both temporal and eternal. The earnestness of Christ’s pleading for deliverance was intensified by the fact that He knew His heavenly Father to be able to deliver Him by the sending of twelve legions of angels or otherwise. It was in the very face of the fact that the Father possessed almighty power and infinite resources that He continued in His Passion. His obedience, therefore, was rewarded, His godly reverence, according to which He always kept before His eyes the necessity of carrying out the Counsel of God’s love to the end, was acknowledged in this way, that His Father heard Him. He passed through the terrible ordeal of gaining salvation for all men and was crowned with honor and glory, exalted to the right hand of God, Php_2:9-11 . Thus God gave His Son the best answer to His prayer of reverent submission by giving Him the cup to drink to the very dregs, thus to accomplish the great work for which He was appointed.

The greatness of the sacrificial obedience is further pointed out: Thus, although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered and, having been perfected, became to all who obey Him the Source of eternal salvation. Christ was the Son of God, in the bosom of the Father from eternity, the Possessor of perfect happiness and bliss, the object of the Father’s tender and solicitous love. He was, therefore, heard by His Father, the result being that He suffered, that He carried out the will of His heavenly Father. In this way He learned obedience, He acquired that perfect submission which was necessary and, at the same time, adequate for the-need of all men. “It is when the child is told to do something which pains him, and which he shrinks from, that he learns obedience, learns to submit to another will. And the things which Christ suffered in obeying God’s will taught Him perfect submission and at the same time perfect devotedness to man. ” in this way Christ was perfected, was perfectly equipped with all the qualifications needed for the great work of atonement. In this way eternal salvation was earned, Christ Himself becoming the Author and Source of this salvation. This redemption is now actually realized in those that obey Christ, that yield to Him the obedience of faith, 2Co 10:5-6; Rom 1:5, that accept Him as their great High Priest and Sacrifice. Thus also He is now saluted by God as a high priest after the order of Melchizedek. As one commentator has it: “When the Son ascended and appeared in the sanctuary on high, God saluted Him or addressed Him as a High Priest after the order of Melchizedek. This is a guarantee that the work of redemption is complete, that it lies ready before all men, that God Himself has acknowledged and accepted it. ” We have here a wonderful source of comfort for our faith under all circumstances.

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

Heb 5:5. So also Christ glorified not himself So likewise Christ did not take the honour to himself of being an high-priest. “He did not of himself assume that dignity, but was expressly appointed to it by Him, who declared concerning him, that he was his Son.”

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

Heb 5:5 . In like manner also Christ appointed not Himself to be High Priest, but God the Father has appointed Him. The main emphasis in the verse falls upon . With Hofmann for the rest ( Schriftbew . II. 1, p. 398, 2 Aufl.), to take the opening words of the verse: , separately as an independent clause, is not warranted on any ground. ] He did not glorify (comp. Joh 8:54 ) Himself (arbitrarily encircle Himself with honour and glory) in order to be made a high priest .

] is to be taken quite generally, so that it first acquires its nearer definition and completion, under the form of the intention, by means of . See Winer, Gramm. , 7 Aufl. p. 298. The referring of the verb, with de Wette, specially to the glorification , mentioned Heb 2:9 , is forbidden by the parallel relation to Heb 5:4 , in that manifestly corresponds exactly to the foregoing statement, . On account of this parallel relationship in itself, clearly indicated as it is above by the , is the view of Hofmann too ( Schriftbew . II. 1, p. 398 f. 2 Aufl.) entirely erroneous, namely, that acquires its nearer defining of signification from Heb 5:7-8 , in that this relative clause denotes the same thing as that negative clause, and consequently is to be brought into relief; not a path of self-glorification was it, but a path of anguish and suffering, by which Christ attained to glory. The violence done in this explanation is already shown, in the fact that the relative clause, Heb 5:7 ff., is logically subordinate to the , as a farther demonstration of the truth thereof; and, moreover, in this relative clause the mention of the suffering of Christ forms not the main element, but only a subsidiary member.

. . .] sc . . The participle aorist is anterior in point of time to the . Thus : He who had said, sc . before the creation of the world; comp. Heb 1:1-3 . Inasmuch as the connection with that which precedes, and the opposition , place it beyond doubt that the author can here only design to mention the person or authority by virtue of which Christ possesses His high-priesthood, it results that in the words . . . a proof for the fact that Christ is High Priest is not to be sought. Against Schlichting, Grotius, Hammond, Limborch, Whitby, Peirce, Stengel, Ebrard, Maier, and others. If it were here already a question with the author of adducing a proof, he would have written without an article (“but God, in saying to Him,” etc.), instead of writing with the article . But why does not the author simply say ? Why does he employ the periphrasis of the idea of God by means of the words (already cited, Heb 1:5 ) from Psa 2:7 ? In order to render already apparent, by this designation of God, how little ground can exist for surprise that He who occupies the rank of the Son of God should, moreover, also of God be appointed High Priest.

Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary

Heb 5:5-10 . Demonstration of the presence of the qualification, mentioned Heb 5:4 , in the case of Christ also.

Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary

5 So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee.

Ver. 5. Glorified not himself ] As the pope doth, who will needs be styled Pontifex maximus, the greatest high priest (whereas Christ is called only the great, and not greatest high priest, Heb 4:14 ). Pope Hildebrand especially, whom when no man would advance to Peter’s chair, he went up himself. Quis enim melius de me iudicare potest quam ego? said he, Who can better judge of me than myself? (Heidfeld.)

But he that said unto him ] He glorified him, or made him high priest.

Today have I begotten thee ] Add the words following, “Ask of me,” &c., and the sense is full. For to ask of God those things that pertain to the people’s safety and salvation, is the proper office of a high priest. Christ as he expiated his people’s sins by his own blood, so he made intercession for them, 1. A little before his attachment, Joh 17:1-2 , &c., 2. In the very time when the sacrifice was hanged, Luk 23:34 . Luk 23:3 . In the heavenly sanctuary, Heb 9:24 .

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

5 .] Thus Christ also (as well as those others) did not glorify HIMSELF to be made High Priest (i. e. did not raise Himself to the office of High Priest. is here used in its most general sense, of all those steps of elevation by which the dignity might be attained: see especially ref. John, which is exceedingly useful to the right understanding here. De Wette (so also Hofmann, Schrb. ii. 1. 182. See Delitzsch’s note) is certainly very far wrong, in taking of the ultimate well-known glorification of Christ, properly so called (ch. Heb 2:9 ), for thus confusion is introduced into the members of the parallel, seeing that this sentence, . ., ought to correspond to above. In the construction, the inf. contains rather the result than the definite purpose: ‘did not exalt himself so as to be made,’ i. e. ‘did not use that self-exaltation which might make him’), but He (i. e. the Father) who spake to Him, Thou art my son, I have this day begotten thee (see ch. Heb 1:5 , where this same saying is similarly adduced as spoken by the Heavenly Father to the Son.

It must be carefully observed, that the Writer does not adduce this text as containing a direct proof of Christ’s divine appointment to the High Priesthood: that follows in the next verse: nor again, does it merely assert, without any close connexion (cf. ), that the same Divine Person appointed Him High Priest, who said to Him “Thou art my Son:” but it asserts, that such divine appointment was wrapped up and already involved in that eternal generation to the Sonship which was declared in these words. So Thl.: , . . And similarly Chrys. Then again, we must beware of imagining that . is a mere periphrasis of , as some have done. The true account seems to be this: the word contains in it the whole process of exaltation (through suffering) by which the Lord Jesus has attained the heavenly High Priesthood. This whole process was not his own work , but the Father’s, Joh 8:54 . And in saying this, we involve every step of it, from the very beginning. Of these, unquestionably the first was His eternal generation by the Father. He did not constitute himself the Son of God, in virtue ultimately of which sonship He . And therefore in proving this, the sacred Writer adduces first the declaration of the Father which sets forth this His generation as Son of God, on which all His depended, and then, when He was completed by sufferings, Heb 5:7-10 , the direct declaration of his High Priesthood, also by the Father. This class of interpretations has been much impugned, principally by the Socinian interpreters, and those who lean that way. Schlichting, Grot., Hammond, Limborch, Peirce, Storr, De Wette, and even Tholuck, refer the saying to the time of Christ’s exaltation through death: and therein the more directly Socinian of them (e. g. Schlichtg.) see a disproof of the eternal generation of the Son. To take one of the arguments by which even such Commentators as Tholuck support this view; he alleges that it best agrees with the spoken of Heb 5:7 ff., in which Christ by obedience became perfect as our High Priest. How fallacious this is, may readily be seen from the words , which according to this view He was not, in the present sense, till those sufferings were ended. Delitzsch also would understand the words entirely of His triumphant glorified state, beginning with the Resurrection: on the ground that there is no connexion in the proposition that He who designated Him as His Eternal Son, also appointed Him to the High Priesthood. But surely this is not so: see above. On the whole question of the interpretation of the words themselves, as cited from the Psalm, see on ch. Heb 1:5 , where I have fully discussed it),

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

Heb 5:5 . . “So even the Christ glorified not himself to be made a high priest.” [“So hat auch der Christus nicht sich selbst die Herrlichkeit des Hohenpriestertums zugeeignet,” Weizscker.] The designation, “the Christ,” is introduced, because it might not have seemed so significant a statement if made of “Jesus”. It was not personal ambition that moved Christ. He did not come in His own name, nor did He seek to glorify Himself. See Joh 8:54 ; Joh 5:31 ; Joh 5:43 ; Joh 17:5 , and passim . . “but He [glorified Him to be made a priest] who said, Thou art My Son, I this day have begotten Thee; as also in another place He says, Thou art a priest for ever after the order Melchizedek”. The question here is: Why does the writer introduce the quotation from the 2nd Psalm at all? Why does he not directly prove his point by the quotation from the Messianic 110th Psalm? Does he mean that He who said, Thou art my Son, glorified Christ as priest in saying this? Apparently he does, otherwise the in would be unwarranted. By introducing the former of the two quotations and designating God as He that called Christ Son, or nominated him to the Messianic dignity, which involved the priesthood, he shows that the greater and more comprehensive office of Messiahship was not assumed by Christ at His own instance and therefore that the priesthood included in this was not of His own seeking, but of God’s ordaining; cf. Weiss. Bleek says the reference to Psa 2 is made to lessen the marvel that God should glorify Christ as priest. Similarly Riehm “dass Christus in einem so unvergleichlich innigen Verhltnisse zu Gott steht, dass seine Berufung zum Hohepriesteramt nicht befreundlich sein kann;” and Davidson, “It is by no means meant that the priesthood of Christ was involved in His Sonship (Alford), an a priori method of conception wholly foreign to the Epistle, but merely that it was suitable in one who was Son, being indeed possible to none other (see on Heb 1:3 ).” Bruce thinks the writer wishes to teach that Christ’s priesthood is coeval with His Sonship and inherent in it. “after the order;” among its other meanings denotes a class or rank, “ordo qu dicitur quispiam senatorii ordinis, vel equestris ordinis”. Thus in Demosthenes, , in Diod. Sic., iii. 6, , . In the subsequent exposition of the Melch. priesthood it is chiefly on that emphasis is laid.

Heb 5:7 . . In these verses the writer shows how much there was in the call to the priesthood repugnant to flesh and blood; how it was through painful obedience, not by arrogant ambition he became Priest. The main statement is, He learned obedience and became perfect as Saviour. . “who in the days of His flesh,” and when therefore He was like His brethren in capacity for temptation and suffering; cf. Heb 2:14 . “having offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death”. has sometimes been supposed to refer to the of Heb 5:3 , and to have a sacrificial sense. It was such an offering as became His innocent . As the ordinary high priest prepared himself for offering for the people by offering for himself, so, it is thought, Christ was prepared for the strictly sacrificial or priestly work by the feeling of His own weakness. There is truth in this. Weiss’ reason for excluding this reference is “dass ein Opfern mit starkem Geschrei und Thranen eine unvollziehbare Vorstellung ist”. Cf. Davidson, p. 113, note. . is used with in later Greek writers: instances in Bleek. , these words are elsewhere combined as in Isocrates, De Pace , 46; Polybius, iii. 112, 8; cf. Job 40:22 . The relation of the two words is well brought out in a passage from Philo quoted by Carpzov: . Cf. Eurip., Iph. Aul. , 1216. [from I come, one who comes as a suppliant] is originally an adjective = fit for suppliants, then an olive branch [sc. , or ] bound with wool which the suppliant carried as a symbol of his prayer. The conjunction of words in this verse is for emphasis. These supplications were accompanied “with strong crying and tears,” expressing the intensity of the prayers and so the keenness of the suffering. The “strong crying” is striking. Schttgen quotes: “There are three kinds of prayers, each loftier than the preceding: prayer, crying, and tears. Prayer is silent, crying with raised voice, tears overcome all things.” It is to the scene in Gethsemane reference is made, and although “tears” are not mentioned by the evangelists in relating that scene, they are implied, and this writer might naturally thus represent the emotion of our Lord. The prayer was addressed “to Him that was able to save Him from death,” which implies that the prayer was that Christ might be saved from death [“Father if it be possible, let this cup pass from me”] but also suggests that the prayer was not formally answered else why emphasise that God had power to answer it? . The prayer recorded in Mar 14:36 , and the anticipation of Gethsemane alluded to in Joh 12:27 [ ] are sufficient to show that it is deliverance from dying that is meant. Milligan, however, says: “Christ is thus represented as praying not that death may be averted, but that He may be saved ‘out of it,’ when it comes.” Westcott thinks the word covers both ideas and that in the first sense the prayer was not granted, that it might be granted in the second. It is preferable to abide by the simple statement that the passion of Christ’s prayer to escape death was intensified by the fact that He knew God could deliver Him by twelve legions of angels or otherwise. His absolute faith in the Father’s almighty power and infinite resource was the very soul of his trial. “and having been heard on account of His godly reverence”. [from to take good hold, or careful hold] denotes the cautious regard which a wise man pays to all the circumstances of an action. Thus Fabius Cunctator was termed . And in regard to God means that reverent submission to His will which caution or prudence dictates. [See Pro 28:14 and the definitions by Philo. Quis. Rer. Div. Haer. , 6.] That following means in Biblical Greek “on account of” we have proof in Job 35:12 and Luk 19:3 , as well as from the frequent use of in N.T. to denote cause, Joh 21:6 ; Act 12:14 , etc. In classical Greek also is used for propter , see Aristoph., Knights , 1. 767 . See also the Birds , 1. 150. The cautious reverence, or reverent caution the fear lest He should oppose God or seem to overpersuade Him which was heard and answered was expressed in the second petition of the prayer in Gethsemane, “Not my will but thine be done”. And is used in preference to , apparently because the source of the particular petition is meant to be indicated, that we may understand that the truest answer to this reverent submission was to give Him the cup to drink and thus to accomplish through Him the faultless will of God. To have removed the cup and saved Him from death would not have answered the of the prayer. The meaning of the clause is further determined by what follows.

Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Heb 5:5-10

5So also Christ did not glorify Himself so as to become a high priest, but He who said to Him,

“You are My Son,

Today I have begotten You”;

6 just as He says also in another passage,

“You are a priest forever

According to the order of Melchizedek.”

7In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety. 8Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. 9And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation, 10being designated by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

Heb 5:5 “Christ did not glorify Himself” See Joh 8:50; Joh 8:54.

“become a high priest” It would be very difficult to convince a group of Jews that Jesus was high priest when He did not come from the line of Levi. That is the purpose of this extensive argumentation (cf. Heb 4:14 to Heb 5:10; Heb 6:13 to Heb 7:28) based on OT quotes.

“but He who said” The author asserts that the Father affirms Jesus’ exalted position by quoting a key royal Psalm, Psa 2:7. The Father quoted this same Psalm combined with Isa 42:1 at Jesus’ baptism (cf. Heb 3:17) and His transfiguration (cf. Mat 17:5).

Arius (i.e., in the fourth century A.D.) in his theological conflict with Athanasius over the full deity of Jesus) used the second part of this quote to assert that Jesus was the first and highest creation of God (cf. Pro 8:22-31), but the thrust of the quote is Jesus’ sonship (cf. Heb 1:2; Heb 3:6; Heb 5:8; Heb 7:28). The original psalm was an annual renewal ceremony for the King of Israel or Judah.

Heb 5:6 “you are a priest forever

according to the order of Melchizedek” This is a quote from Psa 110:4. This Psalm is unique in the fact that it specifically gives the Messiah both a priestly and a kingly office (i.e., the two olive trees, cf. Zec 4:3; Zec 4:11-14; and i.e., Joshua as a branch, cf. Heb 6:13). We learn from the Dead Sea Scrolls that the Essenes were expecting two Messiahs, one royal and one priestly. Jesus fulfilled both offices. As a matter of fact, He fulfills all three OT anointed offices: prophet, priest and king (cf. Heb 1:1-3).

“Melchizedek” The full development of this theme is in chapter 7. The imagery is taken from Gen 14:17-20, where he is a Canaanite priest/king of Salem (Jebus, Jerusalem).

Heb 5:7 “In the days of His flesh” This refers to Jesus, not Melchizedek. It does not mean to imply that Jesus is not still human. Jesus became Incarnate and remains Incarnate forever.

“prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears” This may relate to Jesus’ Gethsemane experience in Mat 26:37 and Luk 22:44. This is possibly related to the rabbis’ three levels of prayer, showing the intensity of Jesus’ emotion in the Garden of Gethsemane or His high priestly prayer in John 17 the night of the disciples’ Passover meal before Gethsemane.

“to the One able to save Him from death” Was Jesus afraid of death? Death is a natural human fear and Jesus was fully human. Supremely I think He was afraid of the loss of fellowship with the Father (cf. Mar 15:34, quoting Psalms 22). He knew who He was and why He came (cf. Mar 10:45; Mat 16:21).

All three persons of the Trinity were involved in Jesus’ resurrection, not just the Father (cf. the Spirit, Rom 8:11; and Jesus, Joh 2:19-22; Joh 10:17-18). Usually the NT asserts that it was the Father who raised Jesus (cf. Act 2:24; Act 3:15; Act 4:10; Act 5:30; Act 10:40; Act 13:30; Act 13:33-34; Act 13:37; Act 17:31; Rom 6:4; Rom 6:9; Rom 10:9; 1Co 6:14; 2Co 4:14; Gal 1:1; Eph 1:20; Col 2:12; 1Th 1:10.

This phrase may reflect several OT texts that assert that YHWH will save the Messiah from physical death (cf. Psa 33:19; Psa 56:13 or Hos 13:14) or resurrect Him from death (cf. Psa 16:10; Psa 49:15; Psa 86:13). If this context reflects Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane, then option #1 is best.

NASB”He was heard because of His piety”

NKJV”and was heard because of His godly fear”

NRSV”he was heard because of his reverent submission”

TEV”Because he was humble and devoted, God heard him”

NJB”winning a hearing by his reverence”

This phrase, like Rom 1:4, was used to support the theological heretical concept of “adoptionism,” which asserts that God rewarded the man Jesus because of His godly, obedient life. The NT as a whole presents the paradox that Jesus was incarnate deity and was rewarded for His good service! Somehow, both are true.

The differences in the English translations come from the ambiguity of the Hebrew term “fear,” especially as it is used of mankind’s relationship to God. It seems that it means “reverent awe” or piety, not “terror of.” Its basic meaning is “to hold on to securely” in the sense of doing the known will of God.

Heb 5:8 “Although He was a Son” The word “son” should not be capitalized. It is another in a series of the comparisons between a family member versus a family servant (cf. Heb 1:2; Heb 3:6; Heb 5:8; Heb 7:28).

“He learned obedience from the things which He suffered” This whole section has emphasized both Jesus as a “son” of God (cf. Heb 4:14) and yet human (cf. “in the days of His flesh” Heb 5:7; Heb 5:7). He was tempted; He prayed; He cried; He suffered; He learned obedience! It is difficult theologically to hold Jesus’ true deity and true humanity as one truth (one nature). Throughout Church history, heresies have developed when either side is depreciated (cf. 1Jn 4:1-3).

It is hard for believers to realize that they must follow Jesus’ example. This was the problem the believing recipients faced. Would they, like Jesus, follow through to the end, even it if involved suffering? Suffering is part of the package (cf. Heb 2:10; Mat 5:10-12; Joh 15:18-21; Joh 16:1-2; Joh 17:14; Rom 8:17; 2Co 4:16-18; 1Pe 4:12-19).

How could Jesus be perfected if He was deity? This must refer to His human development (cf. Luk 2:40; Luk 2:52). Suffering served a purpose of developing trust as nothing else could do. If it is true that God’s goal for every believer is Christlikeness (i.e., Rom 8:29; Eph 4:13), then why do modern western Christians flee the very mechanism that produces maturity?

Heb 5:9 “and having been made perfect” This is an aorist passive (deponent) participle. The word “perfect” means “mature” or “fully equipped for the assigned task.” The perfection or maturity of both Jesus and His followers is a central concept in Hebrews (cf. Heb 2:10; Heb 5:9; Heb 5:14; Heb 6:1; Heb 7:11; Heb 7:19; Heb 7:28; Heb 9:9; Heb 9:11; Heb 10:1; Heb 10:14; Heb 11:40; Heb 12:2; Heb 12:23). See Special Topic at Heb 7:11.

“to all those who obey Him” Obedience is an evidence of true discipleship (cf. Luk 6:46). Jesus is our example in all areas. Obedience gives evidence of a true salvation!

Heb 5:10 “being designated by God as a high priest according to the order” So far in Hebrews there have been three titles for Jesus mentioned: (1) son, (2) apostle, and (3) high priest. See SPECIAL TOPIC: JESUS AS HIGH PRIEST at Heb 2:17.

“the order of Melchizedek” Melchizedek is alluded to because he is the only person in the OT who is called both priest and king, and who adequately fulfills the theological requirements of this rabbinical argument. Melchizedek is a rather shadowy figure of Gen 14:17-20 and Psa 110:4 who is used to describe the superiority of Jesus’ priesthood over the Aaronic priesthood. See full discussion in chapter 7.

Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley

also, &c. = Christ (App-98. IX) also.

glorified. See p. 1511.

an. Omit.

High Priest. See Heb 2:17.

said. Greek. laleo. App-121.

Thou, &c. See Heb 1:5.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

5.] Thus Christ also (as well as those others) did not glorify HIMSELF to be made High Priest (i. e. did not raise Himself to the office of High Priest. is here used in its most general sense, of all those steps of elevation by which the dignity might be attained: see especially ref. John, which is exceedingly useful to the right understanding here. De Wette (so also Hofmann, Schrb. ii. 1. 182. See Delitzschs note) is certainly very far wrong, in taking of the ultimate well-known glorification of Christ, properly so called (ch. Heb 2:9), for thus confusion is introduced into the members of the parallel, seeing that this sentence, . ., ought to correspond to above. In the construction, the inf. contains rather the result than the definite purpose: did not exalt himself so as to be made, i. e. did not use that self-exaltation which might make him), but He (i. e. the Father) who spake to Him, Thou art my son, I have this day begotten thee (see ch. Heb 1:5, where this same saying is similarly adduced as spoken by the Heavenly Father to the Son.

It must be carefully observed, that the Writer does not adduce this text as containing a direct proof of Christs divine appointment to the High Priesthood: that follows in the next verse: nor again, does it merely assert, without any close connexion (cf. ), that the same Divine Person appointed Him High Priest, who said to Him Thou art my Son: but it asserts, that such divine appointment was wrapped up and already involved in that eternal generation to the Sonship which was declared in these words. So Thl.: , . . And similarly Chrys. Then again, we must beware of imagining that . is a mere periphrasis of , as some have done. The true account seems to be this: the word contains in it the whole process of exaltation (through suffering) by which the Lord Jesus has attained the heavenly High Priesthood. This whole process was not his own work, but the Fathers, Joh 8:54. And in saying this, we involve every step of it, from the very beginning. Of these, unquestionably the first was His eternal generation by the Father. He did not constitute himself the Son of God, in virtue ultimately of which sonship He . And therefore in proving this, the sacred Writer adduces first the declaration of the Father which sets forth this His generation as Son of God, on which all His depended,-and then, when He was completed by sufferings, Heb 5:7-10, the direct declaration of his High Priesthood, also by the Father. This class of interpretations has been much impugned, principally by the Socinian interpreters, and those who lean that way. Schlichting, Grot., Hammond, Limborch, Peirce, Storr, De Wette, and even Tholuck, refer the saying to the time of Christs exaltation through death: and therein the more directly Socinian of them (e. g. Schlichtg.) see a disproof of the eternal generation of the Son. To take one of the arguments by which even such Commentators as Tholuck support this view; he alleges that it best agrees with the spoken of Heb 5:7 ff., in which Christ by obedience became perfect as our High Priest. How fallacious this is, may readily be seen from the words , which according to this view He was not, in the present sense, till those sufferings were ended. Delitzsch also would understand the words entirely of His triumphant glorified state, beginning with the Resurrection: on the ground that there is no connexion in the proposition that He who designated Him as His Eternal Son, also appointed Him to the High Priesthood. But surely this is not so: see above. On the whole question of the interpretation of the words themselves, as cited from the Psalm, see on ch. Heb 1:5, where I have fully discussed it),

Fuente: The Greek Testament

Heb 5:5. , High Priest) So Christ is often called; and yet at the same time often, and presently at Heb 5:6, He is termed a priest (simply). He is a priest absolutely, because He stands alone in that character without an equal. He is High Priest in respect of the Aaronic type, and in respect of us, whom He has made priests by His access to God and guidance of us.- , He who spoke to Him) , Psa 2:7.- , my Son) The apostle does not mean that the Father conferred the honour of the priesthood on the Son at the time, when the Father said, Thou art my Son; for the generation of the Son is certainly prior to His priesthood: but declares, that the Son, who can do nothing of Himself, and who is always under the authority of the Father and does only what the Father wills, and receives only what the Father gives, has also received from the Father the honour of the priesthood, of which none but the Son Himself was capable. Hence the connection, , as, in the following verse. In this manner David had (treated) his sons (as) priests [Engl. Vers., chief rulers], i.e. admitted to terms of closest intimacy. 2Sa 8:18, with the Scholia of Michaelis: and the name of Son and Priest, quoted from the Psalms in Heb 5:5-6, is presently afterwards repeated Heb 5:8, and ch. Heb 7:3; Heb 7:28.

Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament

Heb 5:5-10

PRE-EMINENT QUALIFICATIONS OF CHRIST TO OFFICIATE

AS OUR HIGH PRIEST, WITH FURTHER ENCOURAGEMENTS

TO BELIEVE AND OBEY HIM.

Heb 5:5-10

Heb 5:5 —So also Christ glorified not himself, etc.-He took not on himself the honor and glory of becoming a High Priest. This honor was bestowed by God the Father, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in heavenly places, thus demonstrating to the world that he was the Son of God, and of course also the promised Prophet, Priest, and King, who was to bring in everlasting righteousness and reign over the house of David forever. See Deu 18:18; Psa 110:4; Zec 6:13; Isa 33:6-7; Dan 9:24-27. That the citation from Psa 2:7 has reference to the resurrection of Christ, as the first-born from the dead, is manifest from the application which Paul makes of it in Act 13:33. See note on Heb 1:5. And it seems to follow, therefore, from our premises, that the beginning of Christs priesthood, as well as the beginning of his mediatorial reign, was subsequent to his resurrection. Before he could be thus honored, he must by the grace of God taste death for every man. He must go down into the lowest depths of human suffering, before he could be raised to the royal and sacerdotal honors of the kingdom of grace which he came to inaugurate through the medium and efficacy of his own blood. These honors were in fact bestowed on him as the rewards of his sufferings; and must therefore of necessity come after them. But as already intimated in our notes on 2: 17, it will not do to infer hence that he had never, in any case, previous to his resurrection, acted as a King or a Priest. We often embarrass ourselves by prescribing for the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit the same narrow and technical formulae which govern us in our imperfect operations. It must not be forgotten that Christ was God, one with the Father, and that his whole earthly ministry was, in fact, but a preparation for his mediatorial reign and everlasting priesthood. During this period of preparation he performed some acts involving of necessity the exercise of both his royal and sacerdotal prerogatives. But these acts were all preparatory and extraordinary, so that we may still without doing violence to the Scriptures, assume the resurrection of Christ as the beginning of those honors which resulted in his being made both the High Priest, and the King of the new Institution. See notes on Heb 7:17 Heb 7:27.

Heb 5:6 —As he saith also in another place, etc.-In quoting as above from Psa 2:7, the Apostle makes no special reference to the honors of the priesthood. His object is more general. He aims simply to prove that God had honored Christ, as his own Son, by raising him from the dead and placing him at his own right hand as the anointed Sovereign of the universe. And from this it might, of course, be fairly inferred that the office of the priesthood, as well as all the other honors of the Son, was bestowed on him by the Father. But the special proof of this, the Apostle now brings forward in a quotation from Psalms 110, where David says, Jehovah said to my Lord, Sit on my right hand till I make thy enemies thy footstool. Then addressing the Messiah whom he here calls his Lord, he says, Jehovah shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion; rule thou in the midst of thy enemies. Thy people shall be free-will offerings in the day of thy power; in ornaments of holiness ; from the womb of the morning shall be to thee the dew of thy youth. And then he adds, Jehovah has sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchisedec. That this is a Messianic Psalm, and that the Holy Spirit speaks here of the priesthood of Christ, is manifest from the scope of the Psalm itself, as well as from the several references which are made to it in the New Testament. See note on 1: 13. And hence the evidence is conclusive, that Christ glorified not himself by assuming the honors of the priesthood, but that he has been made both a King and a Priest by the decree of Jehovah.

The word forever means here, as in many other passages of Scripture, while time endures. As the duration of the Aaronic priesthood was coextensive with the Jewish age (Exo 40:15; Num 25:13), so also is the duration of Christs priesthood to be coextensive with the Christian age. But at the close of the Christian dispensation, when he shall have delivered up the Kingdom to the Father (1Co 15:24), then also he will doubtless cease to act as a Priest; for then the object of his priesthood, as well as of his mediatorial reign, will have been accomplished. In the New Jerusalem there will be no sin, and of course no more need of a sin- offering.

Heb 5:6 —after the order of Melchisedec.-The proper import of this expression is more fully and clearly set forth in the seventh chapter. Suffice it to say in this connection, that as Melchisedec was a king upon his throne, as well as a priest so also is Christ. (Zec 6:13.) In this respect, as well as in several others, the rank (taxis) of Melchisedec was superior to that of Aaron. See notes on Heb 7:1-10.

Heb 5:7 —Who in the days of his flesh,-That the pronoun who in this connection refers to Christ, as the proper subject of the discourse, and not to Melchisedec, is quite obvious. But what is its proper predicate? What did Jesus do, when, in the days of his flesh, he offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears to him who was able to save him from death? The proper answer to this question is given in the eighth verse, as will be seen by simply omitting the pleonastic he of the English Version. Thus, Who . . . though he was a Son, yet learned obedience by the things which he suffered. The object of the Apostle in these verses, is manifestly to show that Jesus was not only called of God from among men to officiate as a High Priest for men in things pertaining to God; but that having passed also through the deepest scenes of human suffering, and having thereby learned lessons of practical obedience and submission to the will of his Father, he is now most eminently qualified to sympathize with us, and also to aid and comfort us in all our trials, temptations, and afflictions. But let us now look more narrowly into the meaning of the several words and phrases of this profoundly interesting passage. In the days of his flesh means simply the period of his humiliation, while he appeared here on Earth as a man. Flesh and blood, we are told (1Co 15:50), can not inherit the Kingdom of God. Christs body is now glorified and freed from all the weaknesses and infirmities of the flesh. (Php 3:21.) But it was not so while he tabernacled here on Earth. Then, he had a body in all respects such as we now have, save that it was in no sense defiled and corrupted by sin.

Heb 5:7 —when he had offered up prayers and supplications, etc.- This expression restricts the meaning of the preceding remark to a particular period of Christs earthly mission. True, indeed, during his whole life, and particularly during the period of his public ministry, he learned obedience from what he suffered. But it is evident that the Apostle has special reference here to his final sufferings, beginning with his agony in Gethsemane and ending with his greater agony on the cross. From these especially, he learned obedience. And while suffering in the garden, he poured out his prayers and supplications, no doubt, with strong crying and tears to Him who was able to save him from death. Such at least is the natural inference from the following testimony of Luke. He says, when he [Jesus] was at the place [Gethsemane], he said unto them [his disciples], Pray that ye enter not into temptation. And he was withdrawn from them about a stones cast, and kneeled down and prayed, saying, Father, if thou be willing remove this cup from me; nevertheless not my will but thine be done. And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven strengthening him. And being in an agony, he prayed more earnestly ; and his sweat was, as it were, great drops of blood falling down to the ground. (Luk 22:40-44.) From this it seems that his mental agony was so intensely great as to cause both his sweat and blood to issue from the pores of his oppressed body. Instances of a like nature, under excessive passion, are mentioned by Aristotle, Diodorus, Siculus, Galen, Sir John Chardin, Voltaire, and others. And hence it is reasonable to suppose, that under the extreme agony of the hour, the prayers and supplications of Christ would be mingled, as our author says, with loud exclamations and tears of the deepest anguish.

The Greek words rendered prayers and supplications (deeseis te kai hiketerias) are often used interchangeably for prayers in general. But when used together, as in this instance, the former denotes such petitions as flow from a sense of our wants; and the latter, such as are prompted by a deep sense of our own helplessness. The word hiketeria is properly an adjective; and with the noun elaia expressed or understood, it was used by the Greeks to denote the olive branch, borne by supplicants in token of their very humble and earnest entreaties. And hence it came, by metonymy, to signify the prayer of anyone, who, in an humble and servile manner, asks help of another. The following brief extract from Livy will serve to illustrate this passage: Ten delegates from the Socrians, squalid and covered with rags, came into the hall where the consuls were sitting, holding out in their hands olive branches covered with wool, according to the custom of the Greeks; and prostrated themselves on the ground before the tribunal with a lamentable cry. (L. xxix. 16.) Their supplications were availing. By a decree of the Roman Senate, the consul, Q Pleminius, the oppressor of the Socrians, was arrested, loaded with chains, and confined in a dungeon, where he finally expired.

Heb 5:7===to him who was able to save him from death,-These words are well explained by a remark which Jesus made to Peter, when he drew his sword to defend Jesus from the violence of the multitude. (Mat 26:53-54.) Thinkest thou, said he. that I can not now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then shall the Scriptures be fulfilled that thus it must be? Ah, yes, that was the difficulty. How then shall the Scriptures be fulfilled? Jesus well knew that either he himself must die for mankind, or otherwise that the whole race must perish forever. There seems to have been no other possible alternative. And therefore, bitter as the cup was, he did not hesitate to drink it to its very dregs.

Heb 5:7 —and was heard in that he feared;-This has long been a perplexing passage to most expositors. Delitzsch renders the Greek text as follows: and having been heard because of his piety; Alford, thus: and he was heard by reason of his reverent submission. With these learned authors, agree substantially many other able commentators. But to my mind this rendering is not satisfactory. For (1) it gives a very unusual meaning to the Greek preposition apo, which generally corresponds with the Latin ab or abs, and means from. Winer says, It is used to denote simply the point from which motion or action proceeds; and hence it implies distance or separation. (2) While it is, of course, conceded that the word eulabia may mean piety or reverent submission, I cannot think but that the rendering godly fear, or reverential fear, is more suitable to the occasion, and that it better harmonizes with the terms and conditions of the context. This, too, corresponds well with the etymology of the word and also with Greek usage. Eulabeia, says Prof. Trench, which occurs only twice in the New Testament (Heb 5:7 Heb 12:28) and on each occasion signifies piety contemplated on the side on which it is a fear of God, is of course from eu lambanesthai the image underlying the word being that of a careful taking hold of, the cautious handling of some precious yet delicate vessel, which with ruder or less anxious handling might be broken. But such a carefulness and cautiousness in the conducting of affairs, springing as no doubt it does in part from a fear of miscarriage, easily lies open to the charge of timidity. Thus Demosthenes claims for himself that he was only eitlabes [cautious], where his enemies charged him with being deilos [timid] and atolmos [cowardly]. It is not wonderful then that fear should have come to be regarded as an essential element of eulabeia; though, for the most part, no dishonorable fear; but such as a wise and good man might not be ashamed to entertain. (Syn. of the N. Test.) (3) I am at a loss to see why the piety of Christ should be assigned as a reason for his being heard on this or any other particular occasion. This sounds too much as a mere truism. Who that believes in Christ as the Son of God ever doubted this? I know, said he, addressing his Father, that thou hearest me always. (Joh 11:42.)

For these reasons chiefly I am constrained to think with Calvin, Beza, Erasmus, Bengal, Hammond, Wetstein, Storr, Ernesti, Kuinoel, DeWette, Stuart, Tholuck, Ebrard, and others, that the expression should be rendered substantially as in our Common Version, he was heard from his pious fear; that is, he was heard and so delivered from his pious and reverential fear. The word heard (eisakoustheis) is used in a pregnant sense, as in Psa 22:21; where David, speaking as a type of Christ, says in reference to his last sufferings, Thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns ; which is equivalent to saying, Thou hast heard my supplications, and delivered me from the horns of the unicorns. Such instances of brachylogy occur very frequently in the Holy Scriptures.

We conclude, then, that Christs prayers and supplications were heard, and that he was in a measure delivered from his reverential fear. But what was the object of this fear? Not death, as Calvin and others suppose; for from this he was not delivered in the sense of the context. He had to meet and suffer death in its most appalling forms, soon after his agony in the garden. But be it remembered (1) that Christ was a man; and that, as a man, he possessed all the sinless feelings and propensities of our nature. As a man, he had a heart to fear and tremble, like other men, in view of great undertakings and responsibilities. (2) That while in the garden, he was on the eve of incurring, not merely physical death, for that was only a circumstance, but a degree of mental agony, arising from his feelings of moral obligation, ^at which even the angels might have stood appalled. He was about to stand between God and man, and meet in his own person the claims of the Divine government against the sinner. He knew that in a little while his Fathers face would be hid from him; and that his frail human nature would be literally crushed under the tremendous weight of the responsibilities which he had incurred. And (3) it should also be remembered, that the hour of his adversaries had come, and that he was then delivered up to be most severely tried and tempted by the Evil One. (Luk 22:53.) Christ knew this; and he earnestly warned his disciples to be vigilant and to pray, lest indeed they should all be overcome by the Tempter. (Mat 26:41; Mar 14:38; Luk 22:40.) But it was of course against Christ himself that Satan was about to direct most of his fiery darts. The Tempter came, and doubtless presented every motive that Hell could invent that might serve to terrify him; to weaken his trust and confidence in God; to make him apprehensive that he might not be equal to the occasion; and to induce him to shrink back from the appalling scene that was before him. The temptation to do so was no doubt very great, and his agony became most alarming. His whole physical frame was so impressed by his mental emotions that sweat and blood, as we have seen, issued from the pores of his oppressed body. But his prayers were heard. An angel was sent to strengthen him. (Luk 22:43.) He was now in a measure delivered from his pious and fearful apprehensions; and he rose from the ground, returned to his disciples, and calmly met the ruthless mob that were coming to lead him to the cross.

But there a still more intense agony awaited him. Though somewhat relieved from his pious yet fearful apprehension that, as a man, he would not be equal to the occasion; and that he might per- adventure fail to so meet and satisfy the claims of the Divine government on man as to make it possible for God to justify penitent believers, he had nevertheless now to meet and endure the solemn and awful reality. He had to pass through such a spiritual ordeal as no creature had ever before experienced. The nails that pierced his hands and his feet were but as nothing. Persons of ordinary strength generally lived on the cross from one to four or five days, and sometimes even longer. But Jesus, though in the prime of manhood, survived but six hours after his crucifixion. The weight of our indebtedness to the Divine government fell like a mountain avalanche on his soul. The light of Gods countenance was withheld; and a horror of appalling darkness overwhelmed his spirit. He could bear no more. He said, It is finished. His heart broke under the weight of his mental agony; and he meekly bowed his head and expired! See Dr. Strouds treatise On the Physical Cause of the Death of Christ.

Heb 5:8 —Though he were a Son, etc.-Though he was the Son of God, he claimed no special privileges on that account; but as a loyal subject of the Divine government, he submitted willingly to all that was required of him as the Redeemer of the world. And thus he not only magnified Gods law and made it honorable; but he also, as a man, learned experimentally both the duty and the necessity of obedience, from what he suffered.

Heb 5:9 —And being made perfect,-By means of these sufferings, he was made a perfect Savior; that is, he was thereby fully qualified in every respect to become the Redeemer of mankind. See note on 2: 10. And now he offers salvation freely to all them that obey him. It is not his purpose to save men in their sins, but to save them from their sins. And hence, though he has by the grace of God tasted death for every man and so made an atonement for all, he nevertheless bestows salvation only on those who obey him. Not every one, says he, that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 7 Matthew 21.)

1. Heb 5:10 —Called of God an high priest-This is the title of honor which the Father bestowed on the Son,Three examples of punishment from the Old Testament, as evidence of the fact that the heretics of which he warned would not escape the vengeance of God.

(a) The unfaithful Israelites in the wilderness. (Jud 1:5; Jud 1:8.)

(b) The angels which sinned. (Jud 1:6; Jud 1:9.)

2. Three instances of individual wickedness. (Jud 1:11.)

When he set him at his own right hand in the heavenly realms. There he will reign as a King, and thereHow very encouraging is the thought that we have now a great High Priest in the heavens, through whose efficacious atonement and intercession, the throne of the universe has become a throne of grace to all penitent believers. (4: 14-16.) Though in and of ourselves utterly unworthy of the least of all Gods mercies, we can nevertheless now approach him in the name of Jesus, and through the rich merits of his atoning blood, find grace sufficient to supply all our wants. For this is the confidence that we have in him, that if we ask any thing according to his will he heareth us. (1Jn 5:14.) He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not also with him freely give us all things? Ask, then, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

What a marvelous thing it is, then, that all men do not, in obedience to the Divine Call, approach the Throne of grace; and in the name of our ascended High Priest seek for those blessings which we all so much need. Like the poor thoughtless wayward prodigal, millions are perishing in a strange land, for want of the bread of life; while in our Fathers house there is enough for all and to spare. Come now, says God to his erring children, come, and let us reason together; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. (Isa 1:18.) And again he says, Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters; and he that hath no money [come] ; come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. (Isa 55:1.) And yet the poor demented sinner goes on in his follies, as careless and indifferent as if no blood had been shed for him, and as if no Throne of grace had been provided for his benefit! What a marvelous illustration we have in all this of the exceeding sinfulness and deceitfulness of sin.

Religion has been provided for the benefit of mankind. (Heb 5:1-4.) Not only is every High Priest, taken from among men, ordained for men, in things pertaining to God; but the whole scheme of redemption has been provided for a like purpose. It is for our sake that Jesus became incarnate. For us, he suffered, and bled, and died. For us, he ascended to the heavens, and paid the ransom price of our redemption. For us, he sent the Holy Spirit to be in us as a well of water springing up into everlasting life. For us, he has founded the Church, and endowed it with all the ordinances of his grace. For us, he has provided the Holy Scriptures and all things else pertaining to life and godliness. And hence it follows, that if we are straitened in any respect, it is simply in ourselves, and not in God, nor in the bountiful provisions of his grace. Ye will not come unto me, says Christ, that ye may have life. (Joh 5:40.)

How infinitely great must have been the sufferings of Christ for us. (Heb 5:5-10.) These we shall never be able to comprehend fully. The claims of the Divine government on fallen man is a question that far transcends the reach and capacity of our finite reason. And hence we can never compute the ransom that was paid for our redemption. But we may form some faint conception of what Jesus suffered on our account from what is recorded in the last few pages of his memoirs. How very significant, for instance, were the loud exclamations which he uttered, and the briny tears which he shed in the garden of Gethsemane! How expressive were the drops of bloody sweat which then and there fell from his oppressed body to the Earth! And above all, what a world of mental agony is indicated by the rupture of his heart! Remember, dear sinner, that all this was endured for us. For what the Law of Moses could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God has done by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and by an offering for sin has condemned sin in the flesh; so that the righteousness required by the Law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. (Rom 8:3-4.) Who, then, can withhold his heart and his affections from such a Savior ? Who that understands this matter as he should, is not constrained to give up his soul, his life, and his all to the service of him who has done so much for our redemption ?

And this, be it observed, is just what every man is required to give, who would enjoy the great salvation that has been so freely procured for us through the atoning sacrifice of the Lord Jesus. He has become the author of eternal salvation to all them that obey him (verse 9). We are of course saved by grace through faith; and that not of ourselves, it is the gift of God. (Eph 2:8.) But nevertheless, it has pleased God to make our enjoyment of the purchased blessings depend on a willing observance of all that is required of us in the Gospel. Thus it is that God permits and enables us to show our loyalty to him and to his government; to educate and prepare ourselves for Heaven; and at the same time, to do good to all men as we may have opportunity. he will intercede for his people as a Priest upon his throne, until he shall have perfected the redeemed, and delivered up the Kingdom to the Father. After that there will be no more need of either a Mediator or an Intercessor.

There can be no doubt, therefore, that Jesus is eminently qualified to act as a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God. For (1) he has received his appointment directly from God as did Aaron. (2) Being the Son of God, he occupies a rank far above all created intelligences; and is able therefore to save to the uttermost all who come unto God by him. (3) He has borne temptations, trials, and afflictions, incomparably greater than those endured by any other man. And hence he knows well how to sympathize with the afflicted, and how to support and deliver those that are tempted. (4) He has by his own obedience unto death learned the necessity of a strict compliance with all the requirements of the Divine law. And hence he knows how to support and save those that obey him.

Commentary on Heb 5:5-10 by Donald E. Boatman

Heb 5:5 –So Christ also glorified not Himself to he made a High Priest

The devil offered Him glory, but He rejected it:

a. He asked God to glorify Him. Joh 17:5 : And now, Father, glorify Thou me with Thine own self, with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was.

b. He sought to glorify God:

1. Joh 17:4; I have glorified Thee on earth: I have accomplished the work that Thou hast given me to do.

2. Joh 8:50 : I sought not My own glory.

c. He exhibited the glory of God:

1. Joh 1:14. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

2. 2Co 4:6 : Seeing it is God, that said, Light shall shine out of darkness, who shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

3. Heb 1:3 : Who, being the effulgence of His glory. Christ was one who was willing to humble Himself, not to exalt Himself,

Heb 5:5 –but he that spake unto Him

God planned for Christ to be High Priest. He said this in Psa 2:7.

Heb 5:5 –Thou art my Son. This day have I begotten Thee:

God prophetically called Jesus His Son. The word, begotten, does not refer to His origin but to His resurrection.

Heb 5:6 –as he saith also in another place

This is found in Psalms 110 :

a. This is one of the clearest of prophecies in the Psalms concerning Christ.

b. The Jew applies this to David:

1. This Psalm is applied to Christ by the apostles in Act 2:34.

2. This cannot apply to David. It was not lawful for kings to exercise the priesthood.

3. Uzziah was meddling with an office that did not belong to him, so provoked God and was smitten with leprosy. 2Ch 26:18.

Heb 5:6 –Thou art a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek

This is rare: He was both king and priest. The comparison here is the important thing:

a. Aaron was temporary-Christ was eternal.

b. Aarons office was successive-passed on to his children. Melchizedeks and Christs office was personal, non heriditary.

c. Melchizedeks priesthood, then, is above Aarons priesthood.

Without father and mother is discussed in Hebrews 7.

a. Matthew Henry says that this scripture is not to be taken literally. His genealogy is not given in order that he might be a type of Christ.

b. Archeologists have found this expression inscribed on tablets of that era.

Forever means while time endures. When 1Co 15:24 is fulfilled, His office will no doubt end.

Heb 5:7 –Who in the days of His flesh

While Christ was on the earth is meant:

a. This word, who, does not refer to Melchizedek, but to Christ.

b. It is obvious by Heb 5:8 that Jesus is meant.

Heb 5:7 –Having offered up prayers

A request, petition is meant by the word, prayers:

a. John 17 : great prayers of oneness.

b. He prayed before performing miracles.

c. He prayed before going to the cross. Luk 22:40-44.

If Christ prayed, then surely we need to pray, yet few have callouses on their knees.

Heb 5:7 –and supplications

Supplications are prayers prompted by a deep sense of need, and our own helplessness.

a. When used separately, the words, prayer and supplications are used interchangeably.

b. When used together, it means a prayer prompted by a deep sense of helplessness.

Heb 5:7 –with strong crying and tears

This is to show the intensity of His grief. These are the outward symptoms of grief. Examples of it:

a. Mat 26:42 : -let this cup pass from Me.

b. Mat 27:46 : My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?

Heb 5:7 –unto Him that was able to save Him from death

He was not immediately delivered from death:

a. He obtained what He prayed for when He came forth a conqueror.

1. If the death referred to is physical death, God could have saved him. Angels could have saved Him. Mat 26:53-54.

2. God could not save Him and still carry out His purpose, See Mat 26:53-54.

b. God was able to do things not asked of Him by Christ.

Death should be studied in the light of some prepositions:

a. The preposition:

1. from.

2. out of.

b. Newell says He did not ask God to save Him from dying, but to save Him out of death.

Heb 5:7 –and having been heard

Did not God forsake Him?

a. Yes, in order that the flesh could die.

b. If we live in God, He must forsake us in order for us to die.

God heard his prayers, however, for Christ did not see corruption in the grave as do all others. Newell says His prayer was for the fulfillment of the prophecies concerning Himself.

Heb 5:7 –for his godly fear

Some interpret:

Having been heard for his piety.

He was heard by reason of His reverent submission.

Fear of responsibilities.

What was the object of His fear?

a. Milligan: He had a heart to fear and tremble, like other men in view of great undertakings:

1. The fact that Jesus told them to watch and pray lest they enter into temptation was proof of this.

2. It was not fear of death, but fear of being unequal to the occasion.

b. Matthew Henry says He was ready to sink under the heavy load of the world of sin and coming suffering. God heard His prayer and supported him in the agonies.

Heb 5:8 –Though he was a son

If Gods Son had to be obedient, may we expect special favors, namely the right to disobedience?

a. May we impose upon God?

b. May we alter His teaching-climb up some other way? Obedience is the natural thing for true family relationship.

Heb 5:8 –yet He learned obedience

He was not driven to this by force:

a. He was not trained to it like an oxen, but He willingly submitted.

b. He learned it fully, for in a very special way He was called to deny himself.

Obedience made Him a consecrated one:

a. Jesus was consecrated, sanctified to the office of priest by obedience.

b. It was not a legal obedience, but an objective obedience.

Heb 5:8 –by the things which he suffered

Obedience to the call of the cross was becoming obedient. Php 2:6-8 : Suffered must refer to all the experiences of Christ while in the flesh.

Heb 5:9 –and having been made perfect

The Greek word means sanctified as well as made perfect:

a. His obedience further consecrated Him to His task.

b. Nothing could make Christ move from His purpose.

What is meant by the word, perfection?

a. Newell: . . . not moral perfection.

b. The perfection refers to His humiliation and suffering, culminating at the cross. Luk 13:32 : And He said unto them, Go and say to that fox, (Herod) behold I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I am perfected.

c. Tested by every temptation.

Heb 5:9 –He became unto all that obey Him

There is no room here for the false doctrine of only believe:

a. We must obey, which is an imitation of Christ in obedience.

b. The obedience of Christ to the cross made Him the Author of our salvation.

As Christ became Saviour by obedience, so we must be saved by obedience.

Heb 5:9 –the Author of eternal salvation

Author is from the Greek word, cause:

a. Cause is used to denote that which constitutes an occasion of action, A rock may crush a house, but there was something that moved the rock.

b. Without Christs cross there would be no blood for the remission of our sins, So Christ is our cause of salvation, In none other is there salvation. Act 4:12.

Eternal salvation is the joy of all who will obey.

Heb 5:10 –Named of God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek

Named of God-the one Father appointed Him to the task. Named also means called of God, saluted, acknowledged.

When did His priesthood begin?

a. Perhaps when He made purification for sins, which was the offering. Heb 7:28.

b. After the offering, He went into the heavens to intercede at the throne of grace. Heb 7:25.

The order of Aaron was only for the duration of the Mosaic system, but the order of Melchizedek is forever.

a. Melchizedek was singular in his office.

b. He had no predecessors or successors to his office.

Study Questions

732. According to verse five, did Christ seek the job of priest?

733. Did the devil tempt Him to glorify himself?

734. What does Heb 1:3 say concerning Christs glory?

735. When did God speak concerning Christ? Heb 5:5 b.

736. Does Psa 2:7 refer to the day that Christ was begotten physically of God?

737. How do we know from other sources that this declaration refers to Christ, and not David? Cf. Act 2:34.

738. Were kings allowed to serve as priests under the Mosaic law?

739. After what order was Christ?

740. In what way?

741. Was Melchizedek just a priest?

742. In what ways could Christs and Melchizedeks priesthood be forever?

743. Was Aarons priesthood a successive one?

744. What is meant, who in the days of His flesh?

745. Who is referred to, Christ or Melchizedek?

746. Is the doctrine that Christ lived in the flesh of great importance?

747. Did Christ offer up prayers?

748. On what occasion?

749. On whose behalf?

750. Could they be considered priestly prayers?

751. What are supplications?

752. Are the words prayers and supplications synonymous?

753. What is meant by, strong crying?

754. On what occasion did Christ pray with tears?

755. Was His grief prophesied?

756. To Whom did Christ pray?

757. Then are God and Christ two different persons?

758. Could God save Christ from death?

759. Why didnt He? Why did not Christ come down from the cross?

760. Did God answer Christs prayer?

761. Did Christs prayer concern death?

762. Did Christ pray to be saved from death, or out of death?

763. If it was death for which He prayed, why did He not ask for angels as He said He could do? Mat 26:53-54.

764. Why did flesh have to die?

765. If God heard Him, as the text says, did not God answer His prayer?

766. Did God forsake Him on the cross? Harmonize.

767. What in the character of Christ caused God to hear Christs prayer?

768. Was Christ fearful? Discuss.

769. What could have been an object of fear?

770. Did He have a heart to fear and tremble as others have?

771. If Gods son had to be obedient, can we expect special favors?

772. Can we expect to impose our will on God and make Him obedient to us?

773. If God will save a man on mans terms, who is being obedient to whom?

774. What is meant by, He learned obedience?

775. Was He driven to it by force, or was it a sanctification to His office?

776. Was it a legal obedience, or an objective that caused obedience?

777. To what great act of obedience did Christ submit? See Php 2:5-11.

778. What taught Him obedience?

779. Would things He suffered refer to hardships only or all of the experiences in the flesh?

780. What did He suffer?

781. Define the meaning of the word translated perfect.

782. Does having been made perfect refer to immediate or continuous action?

783. Does made perfect refer to moral excellence?

784. Would Luk 13:32 help to throw light on the question?

785. Could it be proven perfect that the author has in mind?

786. Did the testing of every temptation prove Him to be perfect?

787. Could we say that He was proven to be sanctified?

788. To whom does He prove to be the Author of salvation?

789. If it is for men that obey Him, can the moral man expect salvation?

790. Can the person who desires substitutes above obedience expect salvation?

791. Is there room for only believe here?

792. If we follow Christ, should we not follow the great virtue, the spirit of obedience?

793. If Christ became our Saviour by obedience, must we not be obedient, for salvation to be ours?

794. What is meant, the author?

795. In what way is He the cause? Isnt God the great primary cause?

796. How long is our salvation to last?

797. What is meant by, named of God?

798. What other word could be used than named?

799. When did Christs priestly work begin? Cf. Heb 7:28; Heb 7:25.

800. Is it fair to name a beginning of the priesthood when it is after the order of one without beginning and end?

801. Of what duration was the Mosaic priesthood?

802. Why was Christ not named after the Aaronic priesthood?

803. Was He of the proper tribe for the Aaronic one?

Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary

The description of a high priest according to the law, with respect,

1. Unto his nature;

2. His employment, Heb 5:1;

3. His qualification, Heb 5:2;

4. His especial duty, with regard

(1.) to himself

(2.) to others, Heb 5:3;

5. His call, in the instance of him who was the first of the order, Heb 5:4, being completed, an application of the whole is in this verse entered upon unto our Lord Jesus Christ.

And this is done in all the particulars wherein there was or could be an agreement or correspondency between them and him with respect unto this office. And it was necessary to be thus declared by the apostle, unto the end designed by him, for two reasons:

1. Because the original institution of those priests and their office was to teach and represent the Lord Christ and his; which was his main intention to manifest and prove. Now this they could not do unless there were some analogy and likeness between them; neither could it be apprehended or understood for what end and purpose they were designed, and did so long continue in the church.

2. That the Hebrews might be satisfied that their ministry and service in the house of God was now come to an end, and the whole use whereunto they were designed accomplished. For by this respect and relation that was between them, it was evident that he was now actually exhibited, and had done the whole work which they were appointed to prefigure and represent. It was therefore impossible that there should be any further use of them in the service of God; yea, their continuance therein would contradict and utterly overthrow the end of their institution. For it would declare that they had a use and efficacy unto spiritual ends of their own, without respect unto him and his work whom they did represent; which is to overthrow the faith of both churches, that under the old testament and that under the new. Wherefore a full discovery of the proportion between them, and relation of the one unto the other, was necessary, to evince that their continuance was useless, yea, pernicious. But on the other side, it could not be but that those high priests had many imperfections and weaknesses inseparable from their persons in the administration of their office, which could represent nothing nor receive any accomplishment in our Lord Jesus Christ. For if any thing in him had answered thereunto, he could not have been such a high priest as did become us, or as we stood in need of. Such was it that they were subject to death, and therefore were necessarily many, succeeding one another in a long series, according to a certain genealogy: They truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death: but this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood, or a priesthood that passeth not from one to another, Heb 7:23-24. Herein, therefore, there was a dissimilitude between them, because of their being obnoxious unto death; whence it was inevitable that they must be many, one succeeding to another. But Jesus Christ was to be one high priest only, and that always the same.

Again, they were all of them personally sinners, and that both as men and as high priests; whence they might and did miscarry and sin, even in the administration of their office. Wherefore it was needful that they should offer sacrifice for their own sins also, as hath been declared. Now, as nothing could be represented hereby in Jesus Christ, who knew no sin, did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth, nor could he therefore offer sacrifice for himself; so these things do cast some darkness and obscurity on those instances wherein they did represent him. Wherefore our apostle steers a straight course between all these difficulties: for, First, He manifests and proves that the legal high priests were indeed types of Jesus Christ in his office, and did bear forth a resemblance of him therein; as also, that they were appointed of God for that very end and purpose. Secondly, He shows what were their qualifications and properties; which he distinguisheth into two sorts:

1. Such as belonged essentially, or were required necessarily, unto the office itself, and its regular discharge.

2. Such as were unavoidable consequents or concomitants of their personal weakness or infirmity. This latter sort, in this application of their description unto Christ and his office, as prefigured thereby, he discards and lays aside, as things which, though necessary unto them from their frail and sinful condition, yet had no respect unto Christ, nor accomplishment in him. And as for the former, he declares in the discourse immediately ensuing how they were found in Christ, as exercising this office, in a far more eminent manner than in them. This is the design of the discourse in the second part of the chapter, which we are now entering on. Only, whereas in the description of a high priest in general, he begins with his nature, qualifications, work, and duty, closing and issuing it in his call; in his application of the whole unto the Lord Christ, he taketh up that first which he had lastly mentioned, namely, the call of a high priest, and proceedeth unto the others in an order absolutely retrograde.

Heb 5:5. , , .

Heb 5:5. So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to-day have I begotten thee.

, so also, and so, or in like manner; a note , of the application of things before spoken unto the subject principally intended. A respect may be herein unto all the instances in the preceding discourse: As it was with the legal high priest in all the things necessary unto that office, so in like manner was it with Christ;which he now designeth to manifest. Or the intention of this expression may be restrained to the last expressed instance, of a call to office: As they were called of God, so, or in like manner, was Christ also;which he immediately declares. And this is first regarded, though respect may be had unto it in all the particular instances of analogy and similitude which ensue.

On this note of inference there ensueth a double proposition on the same supposition. The supposition that they both are resolved into is, that Christ is an high priest. Hereon the first proposition, with respect unto his call and entrance on that office, is negative, He glorified not himself to be made an high priest. The other is positive or affirmative, But he that said unto him, Thou art my Son; that is, he glorified him so to be, or he made him so. , Christ, the subject spoken of; that is, the promised Messiah, the anointed one. The apostle in this epistle calls him occasionally by all signal names, as the Son, Heb 1:2; Heb 1:8; the Son of God, Heb 4:14; the Word of God, Heb 4:12; Jesus, Heb 2:9; Christ, Heb 3:6; Christ Jesus, Heb 3:1. Here he useth the name of Christ as peculiarly suited unto his present occasion; for he had designed to prove that the promised Messiah, the hope and expectation of the fathers,, was to be the high priest for ever over the house of God. Therefore he calls him by that name whereby he was known from the beginning, and which signified his unction unto his office, the anointed one. He was to be , the anointed priest; that is, Christ.

The subject spoken of being stated or described by his name, the supposition of his being a high priest takes place. This the apostle had before taught and proved, Heb 2:17; Heb 3:1; Heb 4:14. But you, considering the constitution of the law, and the way of any ones entering on that office, a difficult inquiry yet remained, namely, how he came so to be. Had he been of the tribe of Levi, and of the family of Aaron, he might have been a priest., he would have been so, and have been so acknowledged by all. But how he should become so, who was a stranger to that family, who sprang of the tribe of Judah, concerning which Moses spake nothing of the priesthood, might be highly questioned. Fully and satisfactorily to resolve this doubt, and therein to take in the whole difficulty whence it arose, the apostle in the preceding verse lays down a concession in a universal maxim, that none who had not a right thereunto, by virtue of an antecedent law or constitution, which Christ had not, as not being of the tribe of Levi, could be a priest, without an immediate call from God, such as Aaron had. By and on this rule he offers the right of the Lord Christ unto this office to trial; and therein acknowledgeth that if he were not extraordinarily called of God thereunto he could be no high priest. To this purpose he declares,

First, Negatively, that he glorified not himself to be made an high priest. Outward call by men, or a constitution by virtue of any ordinance of the law he had none. Seeing therefore he is a priest, or if so he be, he must be made so by God, or by himself. But as for himself, neither did he take this honor to himself, nor was it possible that so he should do; for the whole office, and the benefit of his discharge of it, depended on a covenant or compact between him and his Father. Upon the undertaking of it, also, he was to receive many promises from the Father, and was to do his will and work; as we have elsewhere declared and fully proved. It was therefore impossible that he should make himself a high priest.

The Socinians do but vainly raise a cavil against the deity of Christ from this place. They say, If he were God, why did another glorify him in any kind, why did he not glorify himself?And the Jews on all occasions make the same exception. There were, indeed, some force in the objection against us, if we believed or professed that the Lord Christ were God only; but our doctrine concerning his person is that which is declared by our apostle, Php 2:6-7,

Being in the form of God, he thought it not robbery to be equal with God; but he made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.

Wherefore there is no more weight in this cavil than there would be in another, namely, if one, unto those testimonies, that all things were made by him, and that he in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, should ask, How could this be, seeing he was a man, born in the fullness of time?But this objection, for the substance of it, was raised by the Jews of old, and fully answered by himself. For whereas they objected unto him that he, being not fifty years old, could not have seen Abraham, as he pretended, who was dead near two thousand years before, he replied,

Before Abraham was, I am, Joh 8:58. If he had no other nature than that wherein they thought he was not fifty years old (being indeed little more than thirty), he could not have known Abraham, nor Abraham him. As, therefore, if he had been man only, he could not have been before Abraham, so had he been God only, another could not have glorified him to be a priest. But he was man also; and these words are spoken not with respect unto his divine nature, but his human.

Again; as it was impossible he should, so it is plain that he did not glorify himself to be a high priest, or take this dignity and honor to himself by his own will and authority. And this may be evidenced by a brief rehearsal of the divine acts necessary to the making of him a high priest; all which I have handled at large in the previous Exercitations. And they were of two sorts:

1. Authoritative, and wholly without him;

2. Perfective, whereunto his own concurrence was required. Of the first sort were,

(1.) His eternal designation unto this office.

(2.) His mission unto the discharge of it.

(3.) His unction with the Spirit for its due discharge.

(4.) The constitution of the law of his priesthood, which consisted of two parts; the first prescribing what he should do, what he should undergo, what he should offer, or what should be the duties of his office; the other declaring, appointing, promising what should be attained, effected, and accomplished thereby.

(5.) The committing and giving a people unto him, for whose sake and on whose account he was to bear, execute, and discharge this holy office. And all these, whereby he was authoritatively vested with his office, were sovereign acts of the will and wisdom of the Father, as I have elsewhere proved. By these was he called and glorified to be a high priest. Again, there were some acts perfective of his call, or such as gave it its complement; and these were wrought in him and by him, neither could they be otherwise: but yet by them did he not make himself a high priest, but only complied with the will and authority of the Father. Thus, when Aaron was called of God to his office, the law for its constitution being made and given, the person designed and called out by name, his pontifical garments put on, and the anointing holy oil poured on him, a sacrifice was to be offered, to complete and perfect his consecration. But because of his imperfection, whence it was necessary that he should come to his office by degrees and the actings of others about him, he could not himself offer the sacrifice for himself. He only laid his hand on the head of it, to manifest his concernment therein, but it was Moses that offered it unto God, Exo 29:10-12. Thus it could not be with respect unto Jesus Christ, nor did he need any other sacrifice than his own for his consecration, seeing it was necessary unto the legal high priests on the account of their personal sins and infirmities. But although he was perfectly and completely constituted a high priest, by those acts of God the Father before mentioned, yet his solemn consecration and dedication, not to his office, but tothe actual discharge of it, were effected by acts of his own, in his preparation for and actual offering up of himself a sacrifice, once for all. And so he was perfected and consecrated in and by his own blood. Wherefore he did not glorify himself to be made a high priest, but that was an act and effect of the will and authority of God.

It remains only, as unto this first clause, that we inquire how it is said that Christ glorified not himself, as unto the end mentioned. Was there an addition of glory or honor made unto him thereby? Especially may this be reasonably inquired, if we consider what befell him, what he did, and what he suffered, in the discharge of this office; nay, doth not the Scripture everywhere declare this as an act of the highest condescension in him, as Php 2:6-9, Heb 2:10? How, therefore, can he be said not to glorify himself herein? Let those answer this inquiry who deny his divine nature and being. They will find themselves in the same condition as the Pharisees were when our Savior posed them with a question to the same purpose; namely, how David came to call Christ his Lord, who was to be his son so long after. Unto us these things are clear and evident. For although, if we consider the divine nature and person of Christ, it was an infinite condescension in him to take our nature, and therein to execute the office of a priest for us; yet with respect unto the nature assumed, the office itself was an honor and dignity unto him, on the accounts to be afterwards insisted on.

Secondly, In the affirmative proposition the way whereby Christ came unto his office is declared, or by what authority he was appointed a high priest: , But he that said unto him. There is an ellipsis in the words, which must be supplied to complete the anti-thesis: But he glorified him, or he made him to be an high priest, who said unto him, , . It is not easily apprehended how the apostle confirmeth the priesthood of Christ, or his call to office, by these words (they are twice used elsewhere by himself to other ends, Heb 1:5, Act 13:33); for these words do originally signify the eternal relation that is between the Father and the Son, with their mutual love therein. To this purpose are they applied, Heb 1:5. And because this was manifested in and by the resurrection of Christ from the dead, when and wherein he was declared to be the Son of God with power, Rom 1:4, this testimony is applied thereunto, Act 13:33.

For the direct intention and the full meaning of the words, the reader may consult our exposition on Heb 1:5, where they are handled at large. But how they are produced by our apostle here, as a confirmation of the priesthood of Christ, is an inquiry that is not without its difficulties; and seeing expositors are variously divided about it, their apprehensions must necessarily be inquired into and examined.

First, Those of the Socinian way, as Crellius and Schlichtingius, affirm that these words are constitutive of the priesthood of Christ; and that they were spoken to him after his resurrection. Hence they suppose two things will ensue:

1. That the Lord Christ was not a priest, at least no complete priest, until after his resurrection; for not until then was it said unto him, Thou art my Son.

2. That his priestly and kingly offices are the same; for his exaltation in his kingly power is principally intended in these words. But these things are fond and impious. For if the Lord Christ were not a priest until after his resurrection, then he was not so in the offering of himself to God, in his death and blood-shedding; which to say is to offer violence to the common sense of all Christians, the whole institution of the types of old, the analogy of faith, and express testimonies of Scripture in particular, as hath been evinced in our Exercitations. It expressly contradicts the apostle in this very place, or would make him contradict himself; for after this he affirms that as a priest he offered unto God in the days of his flesh, verse 7. They say, therefore, that he had some kind of initiation into his office by death, but he was not completely a priest until after his resurrection. The meaning whereof is, that he was not a complete priest until he had completely finished and discharged the principal work which belonged unto that office! I say, therefore,

1. That this distinction, of the Lord Christ being first an incomplete priest, and then afterwards made so completely, is foreign to the Scripture, a vain imagination of bold men, and inconsistent with his holy perfection, who was at once made so by the oath of God.

2. It is destructive of all the instructive parts of the type; for Aaron neither did nor could offer any sacrifice to God until he was completely consecrated unto his office. Nor is any thing in the law more severely prohibited, than that anyone should draw nigh to God in offering sacrifice that was not completely a priest.

3. Thus to interpret the testimony urged by the apostle,is completely to disappoint his purpose and intention in it. For he designs by it to prove that Christ, in the offering which he made in the days of his flesh, did not glorify himself to be made a priest, but was made so by him who said unto him, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. And if this was not said unto him until after his resurrection, then in his offering of himself before, he glorified himself to be a priest, for he was not yet made so of God the Father.

4. The vanity of confounding the kingly and priestly offices of Christ hath been sufficiently detected in our Exercitations.

Secondly, Others say that the confirmation of the priesthood of Christ in these words, is taken from the ancient usage before the law, whereby the priesthood was annexed unto the primogeniture. Wherefore God declaring the Lord Christ to be his only-begotten Son, the first-born, lord and heir of the whole creation, did thereby also declare him to be the high priest. And this exposition is embraced by sundry learned men, whose conjecture herein I cannot comply withal. For,

1. The foundation of it is very questionable, if not unquestionably false; namely, concerning the priesthood of the firstborn before the law. This, indeed, is the opinion of the Jews, and is so reported by Jerome, Epist. ad Evagr.; but the matter is not clear in the Scripture. Abel was not the first- born, nor Abraham either; yet they both offered sacrifice to God.

2. This would include an express contradiction unto the scope of the apostle. For his design is to prove that Christ was a priest after the order of Melchisedec, called of God, and raised up extraordinarily, in a way peculiar and not common to any other. But on this supposition, he should be a priest after the order of the first-born. For what belonged unto Christ as the first-born, see our exposition on Heb 1:3.

Thirdly, Some judge that although the apostle recites expressly only these words, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee, yet he directs us thereby to the whole passage in the psalm whereof these words are a part, Heb 5:7-8,

I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.

Here seems to be an express constitution, such as the apostle refers unto. For if we would know when or how God the Father glorified Christ to be a high priest, it was in that decree of his which is declared, Psa 2:7. It was before established in heaven, and then declared in prophecy. And moreover, there is added an especial mention of the discharge of one part of his office as a priest, in these words, Ask of me; wherein authority is given him to make intercession with God. And this exposition, whereof, as far as I can find, Junius was the author, I shall not oppose; only for two reasons I cannot readily assent unto it. For, 1. It seems not probable that the apostle, in the quotation of a testimony, should omit that which was directly to his purpose, and produce those words only which alone were not so.

2. The asking here enjoined, is not his sacerdotal intercession, but only an expression denoting the dependence of Christ, as king, on God the Father for the subduing of his enemies.

Fourthly, Some conceive that the apostle intends not a testimony of the constitution of Christ in his office of priesthood, but only to give an account of the person by whom he was called thereunto: He made not himself a high priest; but was made so by him from whom he had all his honor and glory as mediator, and that because be was his Son, and in his word declared so to be.But the testimony given unto his priesthood is brought in in the next verse. Nor do I see any more than one exception which this exposition is liable unto, but which those that follow it have taken no notice of. And this is, that the manner of the introduction of the next testimony, As he also saith in another place, doth evidence that they are both produced and urged to the same purpose, for the confirmation of the same assertion. But withal I answer thereunto by concession, that indeed they are both here of the same importance, and used to the same purpose. For these words in this place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec, are considered as spoken to him by God the Father, even as the former were. This, therefore, is the design of the apostle in the introduction of this testimony; for the clearing whereof we may observe:

1. That it is not the priesthood of Christ, but his call thereunto, which in this place the apostle asserts, as was before declared.

2. As to this, he intends to show only that it was God the Father from whom he had all his mediatory power, as king, priest, and prophet to his church.

3. This is evidently proved by this testimony, in that therein God declares him to be his Son, and his acceptance thereby of him in the discharge of the work committed unto him. For this solemn declaration of his relation unto God the Father in his eternal sonship, and his approbation of him, doth prove that he undertook nothing, performed nothing, but what he had appointed, designed, and authorized him unto. And that he had so designed him unto this office is more particularly declared in the ensuing testimony.

Obs. 1. The office of the high priesthood over the church of God was an honor and glory to Jesus Christ.

It was so unto his human nature, even as it was united unto the divine; for it was capable of glory, of degrees of glory, and an augmentation in glory, Joh 17:1, 1Pe 1:21. And the Lord Christ had a twofold glory upon him in the bearing and discharging of this office:

1. The glory that was upon him, or of the work itself;

2. The glory that was proposed unto him, in the effects of it.

1. There was a glory upon him in his work, from the nature of the work itself. So it was prophesied of him, Zec 6:13, He shall build the temple of the LORD, and he shall bear the glory. All the glory of the house of God shall be on him, Isa 22:24. And it was a glory unto him, because the work itself was great and glorious It was no less than the healing of the breach made between God and the whole creation by the first apostasy. Sin had put variance between God and all his creatures, Genesis in, Rom 8:20. No way was left, but that God must be perpetually dishonored, or all creatures everlastingly cursed. And hereby there seemed to be a kind of defeatment of Gods first design, to glorify himself in the making of all things; for to this purpose he made them all exceeding good, Gen 1:31. And his glory depended not so much upon their being, as their being good; that is, their beauty, and order, and subjection to himself. But this was now lost as to all the creation, but only a part and portion of the angels, who sinned not. But yet the apostasy of those who were partakers of the same nature, privileges, and advantages with them, made it manifest what they also in their natural state and condition were obnoxious unto. How great, how glorious a work must it needs be, to put a stop unto this entrance of confusion; to lay hold on the perishing creation, running headlong into eternal ruin, and to preserve it, or some portion of it, some first-fruits of it, unto God from destruction! Must not this be a work equal unto, if not exceeding, the first forming of all things? Certainly it is a glorious and honorable thing unto him that shall undertake and accomplish this great and glorious work. What is said with respect unto one particular in it, may be applied unto the whole. When the sealed book containing the state of the church and the world was represented unto John, it is said that there was no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, that was able to open the book, neither to look thereon, Rev 5:3. Whereon the apostle wept that none was found worthy to engage in that work. But when the Lord Christ, the lion of the tribe of Judah, appeared to do it, and prevailed therein, Rev 5:5, all the host of heaven, all the saints of God, joined together in ascribing glory and honor unto him, Rev 5:6-14. The work was great and honorable, and therefore on the account of it doth that harmonious ascription of glory and honor unto him ensue. How much more must the whole work be esteemed such, whereof that book contained only a small portion! Herein, then, was the Lord Jesus Christ exceedingly glorious in his priestly office, because in the discharge of it he was the only means and way of the recovery and advancement of the glory of God; the greatness of which work no heart can conceive nor tongue express.

2. It appears from the effects and consequents of the discharge of his office, or the glory proposed unto him. And that,

(1.) On the part of them for whom he did discharge it. And these were all the elect of God. He himself looked on this as a part of the glory set before him, that he should be a captain of salvation unto them, and bring them unto the eternal enjoyment of God in immortal glory. And a double honor ariseth hence unto Jesus Christ:

[1.] Initial, the love, thankfulness, and worship of the church in all ages, in this world. See Rev 1:5-6. This is a glory wherein he is delighted, that all his saints, in all parts of the world, do severally, and in their assemblies, with all humility, love, and thankfulness, worship, adore, bless, praise, and glorify him, as the author and finisher of their recovery unto God, and eternal salvation. Every day do they come about his throne, cleave unto him, and live in the admiration of his love and power.

[2.] This glory will be full at the latter day, and so hold unto all eternity, when all his saints, from the beginning of the world unto the end thereof, shall be gathered unto him, and abide with him, adoring him as their head, and shouting for joy when they behold his glory.

(2.) On his own part. There is a peculiar honor and glory given him of God, as a consequent of his discharge of this office, and on the account thereof, 1Pe 1:21; Php 2:9-10; Eph 1:20-23 : whereof see our exposition on Heb 1:2.

(3.) That glory wherein God will be exalted unto all eternity in the praise of his grace, the end of all his holy purposes towards his church, Eph 1:6, doth ensue and depend hereon. For these and the like reasons it was that our blessed Savior, knowing how unable we are in this world to comprehend his glory, as also how great a part of our blessedness doth consist in the knowledge of it, makes that great request for us, that, after we are preserved in, delivered from, and carried through our course in this world, as a principal part of our rest and reward, we may be with him where he is, to behold his glory which is given him of his Father, Joh 17:24. And our present delight in this glory and honor of Christ, is a great evidence of our love of him and faith in him.

Obs. 2. Relation and love are the fountain and cause of Gods committing all authority in and over the church to Jesus Christ.

By this expression of relation and love, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee, doth the apostle prove that God called him to be the high priest of the church. To the same purpose himself [3] speaketh, Joh 3:35, The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand. In his constitution and declaration to be the great and only prophet of the church, God did it by an expression of his relation and love to him:

[3] Or rather, John the Baptist. Ed.

This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him, Mat 17:5.

And this also was the foundation of his kingly office. Heb 1:2, He hath spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things; he who was his Son, and because he was his Son. God would give this glory and honor unto none but unto his only Son; which to prove is the design of our apostle in the first chapter of this epistle. And this his relation unto God manifested itself in that he did in the discharge of his office; for saith the evangelist,

We beheld his glory, the glory as of the only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, Joh 1:14.

Now, first, the relation intended is that one single eternal relation of his being the Son of God, the only-begotten of the Father, through the divine ineffable communication of his nature with him, or unto him. And hence the faith hereof is the foundation of the church; for when Peter made that confession of it, in opposition unto all false conceptions of others concerning his person, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God, he answers, Upon this rock I will build my church, Mat 16:16; Mat 16:18. And why doth the Lord Christ build his church on the profession of this article of our faith concerning his person? It is because we declare our faith therein that God would not commit all power in and over the church, and the work of mediation in its behalf, unto any but him who stood in that relation to him, of his only-begotten Son. And hereby, as God declares the greatness of this work, which none could effect but his Son, he who is God with himself, and that none other should partake with him in this glory; so he directs us to the worship and honor of him as his Son: for it is the will of God that all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father, Joh 5:23. And those who put in themselves, their wills and authorities, as the pope; or bring in others into the honor of this work, as saints and angels; do rise up in direct opposition to the design of the will and wisdom of God. They must first give some one the relation of an only Son to God, before they ought to ascribe any thing of this great work or the honor of it unto him. Secondly, The love intended is twofold:

1. The natural and eternal love of the Father unto the Son, and his delight in him, as participant of the same nature with himself. This is expressed, Pro 8:30-31; which place hath been explained and vindicated before.

2. His actual love towards him on the account of his infinite condescension and grace in undertaking this work, wherein his glory was so deeply concerned. See Php 2:6-11. And this love hath a peculiar influence into the collation of that glory and honor on Christ which God bestowed on him. And in these things, which must not be here enlarged on, doth lie the blessed, sure, stable foundation of the church, and of our salvation, by the mediation of Christ.

Fuente: An Exposition of the Epistle to the Hebrews

The Superiority of Christ Over Aaron

In these verses the Holy Spirit shows Christs fitness as our great High Priest by contrasting his priesthood with Aarons. Aaron and the other high priests in Israel were types and pictures of the Lord Jesus Christ as our great High Priest. Like our Savior, those priests were men of flesh who understood and had compassion upon their fellow creatures. They were chosen and appointed of God to be high priests. They were intercessors, mediators between God and men. They offered blood sacrifices for sin.

The Contrasts

Yet, in many ways, the priesthood of Christ cannot be typified by men. Those priests of the Old Testament age were many. Christ is the one High Priest. — Their priesthood was only temporary. Our Lords priesthood is eternal (Heb 7:1-3). — Those priests offered many sacrifices. Our Savior offered only one (Heb 10:12). Those priests offered the blood of others. The Lord Jesus gave his own lifes blood as an offering to God for us (Heb 9:12). — The sacrifices offered by those priests of the Mosaic age could not put away sin. The one sacrifice of Christ has effectually put away all the sins of all Gods elect forever (Heb 10:14). — The work of the priests of that carnal, ceremonial dispensation was never finished. The Son of God, our Savior, finished the work given to him (Joh 17:4; Joh 19:30; Heb 10:11-14).

The Days of His Flesh

We are told, concerning our great High Priest, that in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and (he) was heard in that he feared. I have no doubt that there is much, much more in those words than I have yet understood; but that which is obvious is both delightful and comforting to my soul.

The days of his flesh refer to our Lords temporary earthly life. He is still in that body in which he suffered the wrath of God for us and in which he was raised from the dead. There is a Man in glory! And that Man who is our God in human flesh will never put aside our nature.

While our Savior dwelt upon this earth as our Representative, being numbered and identified with transgressors, he offered prayers, and supplications to the Father, with tears. Do you see how truly and fully human he is? He who is our Redeemer, our Savior, our great High Priest, is fully God and fully man. He lived in this world both in complete faithfulness and by perfect faith. When he knelt in the Garden, anticipating being made sin for us, the weight of our sin crushed his very heart.

However, we must never imagine that our Savior prayed that he might be kept from dying as our Substitute, or even from being made sin for us. He came into this world for that purpose. His determination to fulfill his covenant engagements for the glory of his Father and the salvation of our souls never wavered.

His prayer described here was a prayer of reverence, consecration, and worship. This Man feared God as no other man ever could, not that he might be kept from dying, but that he might be delivered from death. He was heard because he was perfectly righteous and holy in nature and in conduct. Having fully satisfied the law and justice of God for sin, our Savior was raised from the dead and declared to be the Son of God. He was thus delivered from death and the grave. We are delivered from death in him. He said, He that believeth on me shall never die.

The Things He Suffered

Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered. As a Man, as our Mediator and Substitute, the Lord Jesus Christ learned obedience by that which he suffered.

If the Man Christ Jesus would be our Savior, he must be a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. God spared his Son nothing (Rom 8:32). He suffered all that we deserved, both in his life and in his death. Let no one deceive you in this matter. Suffering is not an indication of Gods disfavor or disapproval. None of Gods children in this world are exempt from suffering (Joh 16:33). We must all enter into the kingdom of God through much tribulation.

Though he is the Son of God, the Lord Jesus himself could not bring in everlasting righteousness and could not put away the sins of his people, satisfying all the demands of Gods holy law and infinite justice, without the things he suffered as our Substitute (Luk 24:44-47).

The Author of Eternal Salvation

Rejoice in this. The sufferings of our Savior are gloriously effectual! Being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him. That salvation which Christ accomplished for and gives to his people is an eternal salvation. It is given to those, only those and all those, who obey him, who believe the gospel.

Being perfect in his obedience in life and in death, Christ became the author of a perfect, eternal salvation to all who believe on him. He gives us a perfect righteousness before the law and a perfect justification before the throne (2Co 5:21). He gives his sheep eternal life, and they shall never perish.

We are assured that our salvation in Christ is an eternal salvation, because he is an everlasting Priest with an everlasting priesthood. He is “an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.”

Fuente: Discovering Christ In Selected Books of the Bible

Christ: Joh 7:18, Joh 8:54

Thou: Heb 1:5, Psa 2:7, Mic 5:2, Joh 3:16, Act 13:33, Rom 8:3

Reciprocal: Exo 29:9 – the priest’s Isa 55:5 – he Joh 1:14 – the only Joh 3:27 – receive Joh 5:43 – come Joh 13:31 – Now Rom 1:4 – the Son Phi 2:8 – he Heb 5:10 – General Heb 7:28 – maketh the Heb 9:11 – an high priest

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Heb 5:5. Thou art my Son, etc., was not what made Jesus the High Priest of the Christian Dispensation. It is quoted as an identification of the One who did call Christ into that office. David is the one who wrote the statement by inspiration, and it was written many centuries before Christ was born.

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary

Heb 5:5. These requisites of the high priests are all found in Christ, and found in Him in such a degree as proves Him to be superior to all others.

Thus Christ also (as well as others) glorified not himself, took not the honour upon Himself (see Joh 8:54) to be made High Priest, but he (the Father) who spake to him: Thou art my Son; I have this day begotten thee. He it was that made Him Priest, and made Him Priest in the very passage that speaks of Him as Son; the Only-begotten. This deeper meaning which regards the Sonship that Christ had before His incarnation as itself having reference to redemption, and to Christs place therein, is favoured by the Fathers. Others who regard the quotation as giving honour to the Son without making that honour an assertion of His Priesthood, interpret simply Christ did not Himself assume the office of Priest; God who acknowledges Him as His Son in a sense that raises Him above all creatures, God gives Him the office.

Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament

Jesus, A Priest After the Order of Melchizedek

Unlike one who might usurp authority, Jesus did not assume any honors ( Heb 5:5 ). Rather, God bestowed the honor upon Him when He raised Him from the dead. The quote from Psa 2:7 has reference to God’s raising up of Christ from the dead, as it does in other places, such as Act 13:33 . “Jesus, even though Messiah, did not glorify himself to be made a high priest (cf. Joh 8:54 .) He did not come in His own name nor did he rely solely on His own testimony ( Joh 5:43 ; Joh 5:31 .)” (Lightfoot, p. 108).

Christ was a priest after the “order of Melchizedek”. Melchizedek is mentioned in Gen 14:18-20 and Psa 110:4 , which is the passage quoted in Heb 5:6 . The scriptures do not record his parentage, birth, or death. Thus, he is used as a figurative representation of Christ and the facts surrounding Christ’s priesthood. His order is superior to Aaron’s since it is a figuratively eternal priesthood, while Aaron’s lasted for but a time and was imperfect. Also, Melchizedek was a king and priest at the same time, which can easily be compared to Jesus who is our High Priest and head of the kingdom. It should be noted that Christ became priest upon his resurrection from the dead, much as he received other honors at that time (see comment verse 5). Aaron’s priesthood was confirmed by a miracle. God consumed those who questioned Aaron’s authority ( Num 16:1-50 ) and, through Jude, warns those false teachers who might challenge Christ’s authority ( Jud 1:11 ).

Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books

God appointed Christ as king-priest when He sat down at the right hand of God following His ascension (Heb 1:5). The title "Christ" (Anointed One) stresses our Lord’s humility. As the Anointed of God, Jesus (cf. Heb 4:14) did not exalt Himself as He might well have done. [Note: Guthrie, p. 127.] These two offices and functions were primary in the writer’s argument in this epistle. Psa 2:7-9 and Psa 110:1 (cf. Heb 1:13) predicted Messiah’s reign. Psa 110:4 also predicted His priesthood. The same God who appointed Jesus as His Son also appointed Him high priest forever (cf. Heb 6:20; Heb 7:17; Heb 7:21; Heb 7:24; Heb 7:28). We have a great high priest, Jesus the Son of God, and it is as He is Son that He carries out His vocation of high priest. [Note: Moffatt, p. 64.] No other New Testament writer referred to Psa 110:4, but this writer quoted it three times (cf. Heb 7:17; Heb 7:21) and alluded to it eight more times (in chs. 5-7). [Note: See D. M. Hay, Glory at the Right Hand: Psalms 110 in Early Christianity, pp. 46-47.]

"The appeal to Melchizedek, who as the first priest mentioned in Scripture is the archetype of all priesthood, validates Jesus’ priesthood as different from and superior to the Levitical priesthood." [Note: Lane, p. 123.]

"When . . . Jerusalem fell into David’s hands and became his capital city (2Sa 5:6 ff.), he and his heirs became successors to Melchizedek’s kingship, and probably also (in a titular capacity at least) to the priesthood of God Most High." [Note: Bruce, pp. 95-96.]

"All that a priest does in offering sacrifice for men Christ does. But whereas they do it only symbolically, he really effects atonement.

"There was no succession of priests from Melchizedek and thus no ’order.’ Jesus, however, was a priest of this kind-not like Aaron and his successors." [Note: Morris, p. 49.]

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

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