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First, let’s just point out that this chapter is deep!
Here in Hebrews 5, we see two distinctive attributes of Christ’s character.
We live in a world of self-made, self-appointing peacocks. Strutting around with all their colorful feathers on display, they elevate themselves with a significant and authoritative title. They want everyone to know and see their power. This is happening in the church with both lay people as well as leaders.
No one takes this honor on himself; instead, a person is called by God, just as Aaron was. 5 In the same way, the Messiah did not exalt Himself to become a high priest, but the One who said to Him, You are My Son; today I have become Your Father, 6 also said in another passage, You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.
Hebrews 5:4-6 HCSB
Jesus could have claimed this title on His own through His own divinity. In other words, He could have stepped down onto Earth to claim His title of Messiah and high priest while demonstrating this fact with His unquenchable power. But this verse is not referencing His deity. We already know He is God’s Son through the Trinity. This passage is affirming his title as high priest because of His calling fulfilled through His obedience. When Aaron was ordained as high priest, he offered animal sacrifices to God. When Jesus was ordained as high priest, He offered Himself to God. Jesus became both the high priest as well as the slain Lamb of God by humbling Himself sacrificially. His glorification came through humility.
Amazingly, the author of Hebrews goes on to describe this kind of radical obedience as a learned process.
During His earthly life, He offered prayers and appeals with loud cries and tears to the One who was able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverence. 8 Though He was God’s Son, He learned obedience through what He suffered.
Hebrews 5:7-8 HCSB
What does this mean? It is true that as the Son of God there was nothing Jesus needed to learn. However, His experiences in the human flesh prepared Him for the final act of atonement where He would willingly give Himself up for the sins of humanity. We’ve heard this phrase so much we tend to take it lightly. None of us can know the type of obedience necessary to willingly have the sins of the world laid upon us while also being separated from our Father in Heaven. Jesus always knew how to obey, but His life of suffering allowed Him to understand the process involved in radical obedience to the Father while He identified Himself with us.
This is an incredibly convicting passage that requires us to dig deep into our souls and evaluate our own view of suffering and obedience. Throughout His life, Jesus modeled the idea that faith, obedience, and glorification stand on the other side of suffering. It’s not a pleasant thought to our flesh or a popular worldview today. However, this is exactly the point that the author of Hebrews is making. We can find rest for our weary souls in the High Priest Jesus Christ. He has been through the physical pain and suffering, the temptation from the enemy, and the rejection of friends and family. He is encouraging us to lean into the Father just as He did in His darkest hour. This is how we fight our battles!