Hebrews Chapter Five
1. For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins:
For every high priest who is taken from among men is appointed, on behalf of men, to that which concerns God so that he is offering both gifts and sacrifices for sins (literal).1
The writer continues to unfold the important matter of Jesus being our High Priest, using the Mosaic priesthood as that which foreshadowed the work of the Lord.
No mention is made of a high priest in the OT until Leviticus 21:10, where it is shown as priest (kohen), the great (gadol).2 Aaron was chosen by God to minister to Him as the primary priest, and his sons were attending priests, who would take his place one day. Moses was given very specific instructions on the holy garments that were to be made for Aaron, as the high priest (Exodus 28:4-39), whereas the holy garments for Aaron’s sons (Exodus 28:40) were simply tunics (coats, Hebrew kᵉthoneth), a sash (girdle, ‘abnet) and a headband (bonnet, migba‘ah).3 The high priest, who was responsible for all aspects of the Tabernacle, would wear his full “uniform” as he ministered every day, while the priests would work with him in their more humble attire. However, on the Day of Atonement, the high priest’s elaborate and carefully crafted garments were set aside, and he would enter the Holy of Holies dressed only in white linen garments as prescribed by the Lord: a tunic (kᵉthoneth), drawers (miknac) that covered the loins and hips, a sash (‘abnet) and a turban (mitsnepheth) (Leviticus 16:4).4 The elaborate garments were a testimony to the people of Israel that the high priest ministered for them: upon his shoulders and chest were the names of the twelve tribes, always present as he worked in the Tabernacle. However, when he entered into the presence of God in the Holy of Holies to make atonement for his sins and the sins of the people, he did so in simplicity and humility.
The Jewish high priest had oversight of the Tabernacle and all of the priests who assisted him in the work of dealing with sin in the lives of the people, and in receiving the prescribed gifts for the Lord. The Lord appointed Aaron as the first high priest (Exodus 28:2), and with the death of Aaron, the responsibilities (and the elaborate, holy garments) were passed along to Eleazar, his eldest surviving son (Numbers 20:25-26). The primary responsibilities of the high priest were to teach the people about the Lord’s requirements, to administer justice among them and to mediate between them and the Lord through the sacrificial system – he stood between the children of Israel and the Lord.
2. Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity.
Who is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and deceived, since he also is subject to weakness (literal).5
This describes the high priest who is appointed from among men to fill this significant role. Despite being given the responsibility of mediating with God for the people according to the prescribed procedures, he was still fraught with all of the frailties that came with being a human. As such, the anticipation is that he would be willing to deal kindly with those who came to him for his work as a mediator, and that he would be particularly vigilant lest he fail to retain his close relationship with the God for Whom he mediated.
However, when Jesus was taken by the mob in Gethsemane, they came from the chief priests, the Greek word is archiereon, which is a plural form of the word for high priest; it is safe to say that the high priest was involved in forming this group (Matthew 26:47).6 This mob took Jesus to the home of the high priest, where He was questioned; the high priest ultimately accused the Son of God of blasphemy, and determined that He was deserving of death (Matthew 26:65). The high priest, in this case, did not deal gently in his examination of the Lord, but harshly, because he, and all of the religious authorities, had been looking for a way to destroy Him (Mark 11:18). Jesus had gained the favor of the people because He taught with authority and healed many among them, and the religious leaders, out of envy, wanted Him removed, yet they feared the people (Mark 12:12; 15:10). The concern of the high priest was not for Jesus, nor for justice, but, rather, to protect his position over the people so as to maintain his lavish lifestyle.
The Jewish high priest, who understood the Mosaic Law thoroughly, was required to administer the Law without bias. However, by the time of Jesus, expediency had overtaken the office of the high priest, and it was now the Roman governor who made the appointment. For example, Caiaphas was appointed by the Roman Procurator (title of the governor), Valerius Gratus; there was now a decidedly political dimension to the high priest, for if he did not please the Roman authority, then he would be replaced.7 In the three years prior to the appointment of Caiaphas, there had been three high priests; security in this position was dependent entirely upon the whim of a pagan.8 Administering Jewish “justice” now required careful maneuvering in order to present the appearance of following the Mosaic traditions (for the people), and also ensuring the approval of Rome’s governing authority (for personal security). Clearly, Caiaphas was adept at walking this balance, for he retained the appointment for 18 years.9 By the time of Jesus, the role of the high priest among the Jewish people was but a shell of its former design.
3. And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins.
And because of this, as he is under obligation for the people, thus also for himself, to offer for sins (literal).10
Drawing from what came before (that the high priest is a sinner), the writer draws together the work of the high priest to atone for both the peoples’ sins and his own. On the Day of Atonement, the high priest would first make the offering for his own sins (and his household), and then for the sins of the people (Leviticus 16:11, 15).
4. And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.
And no one to himself takes the honor, but he who is appointed by God, even as Aaron (literal).11
This is an interesting observation made by the writer who would have been fully aware of the practice that was in place at the time of Jesus, where the high priest was appointed by the ruling Roman governor, and there would be those who would seek the governor’s favor just to be granted this influential position.
The lineage of Aaron was observed for the high priest until about the second century BC.12 With the conquests of the Greeks impacting the land of Israel, Jason, a descendant of Aaron, bribed the Greek leader of the Seleucid Empire, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, to become high priest,13 and so began a desecration of what the Lord had determined for the priesthood. Following Jason was Menelaus, from the tribe of Benjamin, who used the annual tribute to Antiochus as a bribe to grant him the role of high priest; from then on, each year he sold the golden articles of the temple, and whatever else he could find, in order to retain his position.14 This continued until the temple was desecrated in an attempt to force the Jews to adopt the Greek culture; after that, there was no high priest at all until Judas Maccabees led a revolt and restored Jewish control over Jerusalem and area. One of his brothers became high priest; although from a priestly lineage, they were not in line to hold the high priest’s office, and many Jews viewed him as being illegitimate.15 With the arrival of Herod the Great, the high priest became an appointed position, the first being Hananeel, an Egyptian.16 The guidelines that the Lord had put into place for this significant position, had become sidelined in favor of whoever met the appeal of the ruling authority. It became more of a political game in order to maintain a façade of being religious Jews still following the Torah; this is how it was when Jesus came, and it is very understandable that He clashed so frequently with the Jewish religious leaders. Indeed, when Jesus called them hypocrites and blind guides, that is exactly what they were (Matthew 23:15-16); they had left the doctrines of God and placed a burden upon the people that they themselves refused to bear (Matthew 23:4).
However, the high priest was to be appointed by God, even as the Lord chose Aaron and his sons. Exodus 28:43 tells us that the ministry in the holy place of the Tabernacle was given to Aaron and to his descendants; it was God Who had chosen the family line for the priesthood. Israel followed the Lord’s statute for quite some time, but, by the time of Jesus, they had bowed to the secular ruling authority and permitted a pagan ruler to appoint the high priest.
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.
Thus, also, Christ did not exalt Himself to be made High Priest, but He Who did speak to Him: “Thou art My Son, today I have become the Father of Thee” (literal).17
Following God’s order, Christ did not seek the glory of becoming High Priest, but He was appointed by His Father. Aaron, as the first high priest, was anointed with oil by Moses in accordance with the command of the Lord (Exodus 29:5-7). Just before Jesus began His earthly ministry, He was baptized by John; as He came up out of the water, John saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove upon Him (John 1:32). Jesus was not anointed with oil like Aaron, but with the Spirit of God – a far superior anointing for a much greater High Priest. When Jesus came to John and asked to be baptized, John’s response was: “I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?” (Matthew 3:14). Jesus’ reply was that it is fitting to do what God requires, and so John complied (Matthew 3:15). Jesus did not receive the special anointing oil at a Temple ceremony, rather, He went to John, a humble preacher in the wilderness, to be baptized in the Jordan River, and receive a heavenly anointing. “And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God” (John 1:32-34). John witnessed the anointing, and declared Jesus to be the Son of God!
The writer then quotes from Psalm 2:7 – “Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee [brought Thee forth]”;18 however, he says it in such a way that we cannot miss that this is God the Father addressing the Lord Jesus as His Son! This was the Father’s word to the Son on the day that He was born in the lowly stable. When Jesus was baptized, a voice came from the Father in heaven: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17); as Jesus was about to begin His earthly ministry, He, as well as others, heard the Father’s approval – and immediately after He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tested by the devil (Matthew 4:1).
What the writer is making evident is that God the Father and the Spirit were bringing events together in the Son – a plan was unfolding that had been prepared in eternity past: “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you” (1 Peter 1:18-20). Jesus, as the sinless Lamb of God, a member of the Trinity, came to earth to bring deliverance from sin to humanity – this was known before creation began!
For the second time, the writer refers to Psalm 2:7 (the first being in 1:5): Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee. The Hebrew for begotten is yalad, which means to bring forth; the Greek (gegennika), when used from a masculine perspective (as here), means to become a father of.19 As Mary gave birth to Jesus, the Father said, “Today I have become a Father to Thee”; as He began His ministry on earth, the Father said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17); to Peter, John and James on the mount of transfiguration, the Father declared, “This is my beloved Son: hear him” (Luke 9:35). God came to earth in the form of man: greater than sinless Adam, who was made in His image! “In the beginning was the Word … and the Word was made flesh … (John 1:1, 14); “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one” (1 John 5:7). When Jesus returns to earth to establish His Millennial kingdom, He is called the Word of God (Revelation 19:13); the eternal Word was made flesh and became the Son of God – conceived in Mary by the Spirit! The angel did answer and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come over thee, and the power of the Highest will rest on thee, wherefore also, the Holy Child will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35, literal).20 The Word became the Son of God (conceived by the Spirit of God) and the Son of Man (born of Mary); God on earth to fulfill His eternal plan of salvation for sinful mankind.
6. As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
Even as in another place He is saying: Thou art a priest forever, just like Melchizedek (literal).21
Here is another aspect to the priesthood of the Lord Jesus: He is like unto the OT mystery priest, Melchizedek, who met Abraham and to whom Abraham paid tithes of all (Genesis 14:18-20). Melchizedek is identified as being the king of Salem (understood to be what we know as Jerusalem), and his name means king of righteousness (Hebrews 7:2).22 We will learn more about him as we proceed.
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;
Who, in the days of His flesh, He did offer, with loud crying and tears, prayers and also supplications to Him Who is able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of Godly reverence (literal).23
This refers to the time that Jesus spent alone in prayer in Gethsemane, just before His death. His prayer was simply, “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42). His humanity shrank from what He knew was coming: he came to be in anxiety (Luke 22:44, literal) – a state of intense emotional stress; not a physical agony, but a deep inner anguish.24 Luke notes that His sweat [was] like drops of blood (literal); this is known as hematidrosis, a rare condition brought on by extreme fear or stress;25 however, even in this, Jesus willingly committed what He was about to face, into His Father’s hands.
Days of His flesh, refers to His time before His resurrection; flesh (sarkos), when it is applied to a person, refers specifically to a body of flesh and blood.26 After His resurrection, when Jesus appeared suddenly in the room where His disciples were gathered, He told them: “Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have” (Luke 24:39) – He described His body as being flesh and bones. Before He went to the cross, Jesus told His disciples: “This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed [from ekcheo] for you” (Luke 22:20b) – His blood would be shed for sins. Consider that during the time of the Antichrist, seven vials of God’s wrath will be poured out (from ekcheo) upon the earth (Revelation 16:1) – the vials are emptied! Shed and poured out are from the same Greek word, which speaks of something being emptied. When an animal was sacrificed for sin, it did not merely donate some of its blood – it gave it all; John saw Jesus in heaven as a Lamb as it had been slain (Revelation 5:6) – a Lamb Who had given all of His blood in payment for sin, and so His resurrected body had flesh and bones but no blood. The use of flesh in our text identifies this as being the time before Jesus’ sacrifice for sin.
Was heard in that he feared, is an interesting phrase. We might think that He feared the torture and crucifixion that was coming. Eulabeias (feared) speaks of having reverence or awe, which is completely different from phobos, to be afraid of something.27 Jesus was heard because of holding a proper reverence for His Father; even as His humanity shuddered at the violence that He would soon face, He placed that anxiety with His Father, and submitted to the plan for salvation as it had been devised in heaven before creation. Notice that He was heard, yet His Father did not send a host of angels to rescue Him, He sent an angel to strengthen Him (Luke 22:43); Jesus went on to suffer indescribably for our sins, yet He did so with His Father’s strengthening because He remained faithful to Him – He willingly committed what lay ahead to the Father, knowing that whatever came would have His approval, and that He would give what was necessary to bear it. His reverence for His Father extended to full submission to His will, regardless of the price to be paid! He is the ultimate example of faithfulness to the Lord!
8. Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; 9. And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;
Although, being a Son, He did experience obedience from what He did suffer, and so He, being made complete, did become the Source of eternal salvation to all who are obeying Him (literal).28
We’ve just looked at the suffering that Jesus endured before He ever felt the cruelty of the Roman soldiers, and His willingness to submit to His Father despite the extreme anguish that He felt about what was coming. Even though He was the Son of God, He learned, to a greater degree than we can imagine, the great price of obedience to His Father. It is because of what He suffered in His obedience to the established plan for man’s redemption, that He, as our High Priest, can have compassion toward us – He learned, through experience, the cost of obedience.
There is a philosophy that has gained some acceptance within modern Evangelical circles that says that God’s omniscience is limited to what has taken place because we are free to choose how we live, and the future is contingent upon our unknown choices; to put it simply, God does not know the future because it hasn’t happened yet, and so He is learning along with us – this is called open theism.29 Within this thinking, the future is open and unknown, even to God; yet the Lord has stated clearly that He is “declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure” (Isaiah 46:10). Man continually tries to fully understand his Creator, as though the Infinite can be comprehended by the finite. It is through theologies and philosophies that man flatters himself to think that he can place God within the confines of his mind. Theology is, quite simply, the study of God (Theos, God + ology, a study of).30 Philosophy (philo, love + sophia, wisdom) does not begin with a fear of the Lord, as true godly wisdom must (Psalm 111:10), but spins human wisdom and reasoning into a web that may, or may not have any correlation with God’s Word. God’s ways and thoughts are infinitely higher than ours (Isaiah 55:9), therefore, it is not surprising that “the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God” (1 Corinthians 3:19a). God has graciously provided us with His Word, a revelation of His workings with man and even a glimpse into the future, as we permit Him to guide our understanding. Although theology, per se, is a study of God, too often it becomes a mixture of what God has said and what the theologian thinks, with the latter holding a larger influence than it should. Paul warned the Colossians against being ruined by philosophies that are developed through human wisdom and tradition (with a strong appeal to logic), but don’t follow Christ and His teachings (Colossians 2:8) – in this day when philosophizing has become so popular, we need to keep this warning in mind.
Christ did not learn obedience, like our KJV might lead us to believe, but, rather, He experienced the price of obedience through the suffering that He endured. His experience was far greater than anything that we will ever be called upon to bear; as the Son of Man, He struggled with what was coming, yet, as the Son of God, He knew that this was His purpose in coming to earth. Moreover, He was sinless; the cruelty that He faced and the crucifixion, were for our sins – He had done nothing to deserve any of it. The penitent thief expressed the truth of the matter: “But the other [thief] answering rebuked him [the first thief], saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss” (Luke 23:40-41).
Probably the greatest agony came when, bearing the sin of the world, Jesus cried, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46b). God turned away from His Own Son Who was carrying the weight of all sin, yet, as He died, Jesus said, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit” (Luke 23:46). Jesus, Who knew no sin (2 Corinthians 5:21), bore humanity’s sins, experienced the blackness of God having turned away from Him, and remained faithful to the Father through it all! He was completely committed to the eternal plan of redemption; despite the tremendous physical and mental anguish that He endured, He completed His mission to earth with success. The price for our faithfulness to the Lord will never be that great.
The phrase, being made perfect, while referring to Jesus, does not mean that He was not altogether sinless. Perfect (teleiotheis) means that a goal has been achieved, or completed.31 One of the last things that Jesus said while on the cross, just before He committed His spirit to the Father, was this: “It has been completed” (John 19:30, literal).32 The plan of salvation for a sinful humanity, which had been set in place before the world was made, had been accomplished! The eternal Word was now also the Savior of the world, and the Son of God; it was now eternally possible for God to have fellowship with the creature whom He created in His own image.
The writer now elaborates on the salvation that was purchased through the Lord Jesus Christ: He is the means of eternal salvation for everyone who is obeying Him. When a lawyer (an expert in the Law of Moses) asked Jesus as to the greatest commandment, Jesus explained that there were two: love the Lord thy God and love thy neighbor (Matthew 22:35-40). There are some who believe that this is all that is required of them, and that it is up to them as to how they love God and neighbor; it is generally very popular today to say that the Ten Commandments were removed by Christ at the cross. This is due to the misconception that the Ten Commandments are a part of the Law of Moses, but we have already dealt with this failure on the part of preachers and teachers. Moreover, Paul clarified this matter for us: “For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Romans 13:9). Paul identifies these five Commands of God as being summarized in thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself; therefore, these five Commands must be obeyed in order to follow Jesus’ response to the lawyer – it is not an open ended, nebulous love, but rather, a very specific obedience to God’s Law.33
Once again, we must recognize that faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is only the first step into a life of obedience to His commands (John 14:15). Faith and obedience are inseparable! And in this we are coming to realize that we have known Him, if His commandments we are obeying; he who is saying, “I have known Him,” and His commandments he [is] not obeying, is a liar, and the truth is not in this one (1 John 2:3-4, literal).34 It is through our obedience to the Lord that we understand that we truly know Him; it is not enough to say that we know God, because unless we are living in obedience to Him, we are lying! John goes on to say this: everyone who is believing that Jesus is the Christ, has been born of God … that everyone who has been born of God is overcoming the world, and this is the victory that did overcome the world: our faith (1 John 5:1a, 4, literal).35 Our faith, in order to be living, must express itself through obedience to the Lord – there is no other way! Again, faith and obedience are inseparable! Therefore, when we read this: “He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son” (Revelation 21:7), we now understand that the one who is overcoming is the one whose faith in the Lord is expressed through obedience to Him. John calls the disobedient professor of faith a liar, and we are told that “… all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death (Revelation 21:8). Is obedience important? The answer remains a resounding, YES! Little wonder that Jesus taught that if we are loving Him, then we must be living in obedience to His commands (John 14:15); conversely, if we are not obeying His commands, then we are making it very clear that we have no love for Him, regardless of what we might say.
10. Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.
A High Priest who was designated by God just like Melchisedek (literal).36
Again, we have the declaration that Jesus became a High Priest because of the determination of God the Father, and that designation is likened to that of Melchisedek. It is evident that this comparison is important since its first mention goes all of the way back to Psalm 110:4. The writer deals with this in greater detail a little later.
11. Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing.
Concerning whom great [is] the word from us and difficult to explain, since ye have become lazy to hear (literal).37
This verse refers back (concerning whom) to both the Lord Jesus and Melchisedek, and how they fit together; the prophetic word makes it very clear that Jesus’ High Priestly status follows the pattern established by Melchisedek.
The writer explains that he has a significant teaching on the subject of Jesus and Melchisedek, but that it is quite complex and somewhat difficult to explain. However, this is not the greatest problem that he faces in this matter; g greater concern is that his audience has become selective in what they want to hear – if it’s complicated, or requires some careful attention and thought, then they are not interested. In essence, they have become spiritually lazy – they only want to hear what is easily understood. As new born babies, ye must long for the pure spiritual milk so that in it ye will grow (1 Peter 2:2, literal); and ye must be growing in grace and understanding of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18, literal).38 There is no place for complacency and slothfulness in the one who is born from above. When we come to faith in Christ, we must yearn for a growing understanding of Him and His truth; without it, we will become spiritually fruitless, and will wither and die (John 15:2a, 6).
12. For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
For, after a period of time when teachers ye ought to be, ye are having need of someone teaching you, again, the basic principles of the sayings of God, and have become those who are having need of milk and not of solid food (literal).39
The writer admonishes his readers concerning their slothfulness regarding spiritual understanding: after the passage of so much time, they should have been teachers of the Truth, but they have never grown spiritually. When the expectancy is to find maturity, infancy is present – like a child of ten who is living only on milk. What we learn as we examine the Gospel and come to be convinced of its Truth, is the milk of the Word, but that is not sufficient to last us for the rest of our lives; we must use this milk to grow in our understanding of God’s Truths. We must grow beyond milk to solid food, the truths that we must ponder, and permit the Spirit of God to provide us with the guidance necessary to properly understand them. The Word of God contains a wealth of knowledge about the One Who bought us out of sin: He is our Master, and we would do well to consider ourselves to be His slaves. “Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of [enslaved to] righteousness” (Romans 6:18).40 We were once enslaved to sin, but now we are enslaved to Christ and His righteousness!
Today’s professing Christians have been steeped in the heresy of once-saved-always-saved, and they have no desire to understand anything beyond what their favored preacher expounds; unfortunately, he, too, has been so steeped, and knows little beyond the theology that he has been taught, which does not find its full support in God’s Word. Theology is man’s study of God, and can be fraught with all sorts of errors;41 the Scriptures are God’s revelation of Himself to mankind – why would anyone be satisfied with a theology when God has given us His Word? Nevertheless, preachers and teachers today become familiar with their favored theology (and may even add some of their own nuances to it), but never learn to diligently study the Scriptures in order to discover what God requires of them.
And evil men and imposters will increase from bad to worse, who are leading astray and are being led astray (2 Timothy 3:13, literal).42 Notice that the imposters, those who profess but do not possess (most “pastors” today), are leading others away from God’s truth because they do not hold it, even while they, themselves, are also being led deeper into error. Of the two (evil men and imposters), imposters are the most dangerous; evil men are wicked and it is generally quite evident; however, imposters feign goodness and righteousness even as they spew forth heresies. Their façade of goodness may deceive some to follow them as spiritual leaders, and to accept the error that they teach. We have an example in Scripture that we must determine to follow: “These [of Berea] were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so” (Acts 17:11). We must measure everything that we hear/read against God’s Word: if it agrees, do it; if it disagrees, avoid the source of such error.
Paul provided this warning to the Christians in Rome: I am exhorting you, brethren, to keep a watchful eye on those who are causing divisions and enticements to sin, contrary to the teaching that ye learned, and turn away from them; for such as these are not serving our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own desire; so through their eloquence and flattery, they are completely deceiving the hearts of the unsuspecting (Romans 16:17-18, literal).43 A watchful eye is to be continually kept on those whose teachings do not agree with the Scriptures; we do this by testing all things according to God’s Word, allowing the Spirit of God to guide us into all truth (John 16:13). The most significant division that such heretics will cause is not between people, but between a child of God and the Savior; a separation that can lead to apostasy, a departing from God. We must be alert, and not deluded by any eloquent speaker just because he uses the Bible – many false teachers are in this world (1 John 4:1). Jesus warned us: for false christs and false prophets will rise and will produce great signs and wonders so as to lead astray, if able, even the elect (Matthew 24:24, literal).44 A prophet is not by necessity someone who proclaims future events, but rather, someone who speaks forth God’s truth for others to hear, and so a teacher, or preacher, should also be a prophet. Therefore, a false prophet is someone who assumes the role of declaring God’s truth, either as a prophet, teacher or preacher, but whose message is not in keeping with God’s Word. We must be vigilant and constantly increasing our knowledge of God’s Truth so that we are able to discern falsehood when it makes its appearance.
The writer is disappointed that his readers are needing someone to teach them again the basic principles of faith in Christ – they never got past their appetite for the milk of the Word. That is a description of the vast majority of Evangelicals today; even those who invest their lives studying the Scriptures have great difficulty moving past the theology in which they have been trained (indoctrinated). What is sadly lacking in the hearts of most professing Christians is an insatiable thirst for the truth of God’s Word. Jesus said that if we will seek, then we will find, but, alas, most within this camp have no desire to seek for anything – they are completely satisfied with their insipid faith that will not save them; they are content because it requires nothing of them! We must have a desire for the solid food of God’s Word – if we seek for it, then we will find it.
13. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.
For everyone who is partaking of milk [is] unacquainted with the Word of righteousness – for he is an infant (literal).45
Unacquainted with (unskilful) means to be without experience and to lack knowledge.46 Therefore, the one who does not grow beyond their desire for spiritual milk, is someone who knows virtually nothing about God’s Word. Today it is not uncommon to have someone profess to have been a “Christian” for forty or fifty years, yet still not know what God requires of them, and their knowledge of the Christian life is limited to what they have heard from their favorite preacher/teacher. This is a reflection on the teaching and preaching that has taken place during the past half-dozen decades, but, even more so, it reveals someone who has never felt the need, or even had the interest, to become more familiar with the Word of God through personal study. Jesus gave His life in order to pay the debt of sin, and while such as these claim to be “saved,” they hold no interest in learning more about the One Who paid for their sins, even though He has given us His Word. Jesus said, “If ye are loving me, then my commandments ye must obey” (John 14:15, literal).47 Our love for Him must lead us into His Word so that we will come to know His commands; if we have no desire to know His commands, then we can hardly be said to love Him, and if we do not love Him, then we are certainly not in Him and cannot claim to know His redemption – we are simply a deceived, religious person who is not destined for the heavenly glory that Jesus has made available to everyone!
The one hope that we find for those who have limited their spiritual diet to milk, is that they are still referred to as an infant. This would indicate that there is a possibility that they will realize their fatal error, and begin to study the Word to discover what has never been of interest to them before. Jesus said, “For everyone who is asking, is receiving; he who is seeking, is finding, and to the one who is knocking, it will be opened (Matthew 7:8, literal).48 The difficulty for the spiritual infant is that he does not ask, or seek – there is a numbing contentment with how he perceives things to be. Probably the greatest contributor to this numbing contentment is the heresy of once-saved-always-saved; within this teaching there is no need grow in our understanding of the Lord and His Word. The teaching is that, once you have placed your faith in the Lord (you’ve tasted the milk of His Word), your eternal destiny is heaven; this explains why there is such worldliness in today’s “Bible-believing” churches – for the most part, they are all sipping on spiritual milk with absolutely no desire to grow. The hope is that these infants will develop a thirst for the truth of God’s Word; it is as they seek to satisfy this thirst that they will acquire a spiritual appetite for the solid food of the Scriptures.
14. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
But solid food is for those of maturity: these, because of practice, their senses have become trained to differentiate [between] good and evil (literal).49
Solid food stands in contrast to the milk from the previous verse. Milk has its place and purpose – it is used as a metaphor for those basic principles of the Gospel that must lead to spiritual growth so that the deeper truths of God can be understood; milk is a means to a greater appetite to learn God’s Word, and is never intended to be a steady, prolonged diet. Solid food is for those who have made good use of the milk of the Word and are now feasting on a steady diet of the meat of the Scriptures – they have matured in their understanding of what God has prepared for us, and what He desires from us.
Practice (reason of use) involves doing the same things over and over in order that we will become skilled in doing them. To Timothy, Paul wrote: make every effort to present yourself genuine to God (2 Timothy 2:15a, literal).50 Practice requires expending energy (make every effort) so that we will become mature in Christ, not hoping to gain the glories of heaven through minimal effort, but willingly working out the salvation that Jesus makes available (Philippians 2:12). There is an interesting balance between the work of the Spirit of God within us and the efforts that we must make in obedience to the Lord’s commands. Jesus said that when the Spirit of God would come, He would guide us into all truth (John 16:13); guidance is only possible when there is movement, hence, if we are not growing in our understanding of God’s truth, how can the Spirit be our Guide? For someone who is stuck in the milk-stage of life, there is no guidance from the Spirit of God: they’re not growing, so there is nothing to guide. As we expend our energy in studying the Word of God, then the Spirit is able to guide our thinking and enable our understanding so that we will grow and mature in our faith in Christ. As our faith grows through an increased comprehension of God’s Word, so our obedience must also grow as we discover new truths and commands – this is the practice that must accompany our spiritual growth!
Senses (aistheteria) is not a reference to sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste, but to the ability to make moral decisions. Within our context, it requires a growing understanding of God’s Word so as to be able to discern what God desires, and, in this, the Spirit will be our guide, and, through repetition, our discernment will be sharpened. As we exercise the discipline of applying God’s truth to our daily living (with the aid of the Spirit), our senses will become practiced to discern God’s will, and we will become better able to immediately identify the difference between good (what God wants) and evil (the enticements of Satan). We might think that this should be obvious, but, for many, this can be particularly difficult in a day when these two, good and evil, have been turned on their heads: evil is touted as being good, and good as something to be avoided (in fulfillment of Isaiah 5:20).
Remember that Eve, who was created without sin, was convinced by the devil that the forbidden fruit was something that was good to eat (Genesis 3:6). Evangelicalism has become a haven for all kinds of evil that have been rebranded as acceptable; man is a rational being, and he has the ability to rationalize almost anything in order to make it appear to be good and beneficial. It is critically important that we have the Spirit’s guidance in sharpening our understanding of God’s Word to the point that we are readily able to discern God’s desire in whatever faces us. John wrote: “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1). To try the spirits means to examine them, to put them to the test,51 which requires us to have a firm understanding of God’s Word (the Standard used for such examinations) that comes through practice and the guidance of the Spirit of God.
For every high priest who is taken from among men is appointed, on behalf of men, to that which concerns God so that he is offering both gifts and sacrifices for sins (literal).1
The writer continues to unfold the important matter of Jesus being our High Priest, using the Mosaic priesthood as that which foreshadowed the work of the Lord.
No mention is made of a high priest in the OT until Leviticus 21:10, where it is shown as priest (kohen), the great (gadol).2 Aaron was chosen by God to minister to Him as the primary priest, and his sons were attending priests, who would take his place one day. Moses was given very specific instructions on the holy garments that were to be made for Aaron, as the high priest (Exodus 28:4-39), whereas the holy garments for Aaron’s sons (Exodus 28:40) were simply tunics (coats, Hebrew kᵉthoneth), a sash (girdle, ‘abnet) and a headband (bonnet, migba‘ah).3 The high priest, who was responsible for all aspects of the Tabernacle, would wear his full “uniform” as he ministered every day, while the priests would work with him in their more humble attire. However, on the Day of Atonement, the high priest’s elaborate and carefully crafted garments were set aside, and he would enter the Holy of Holies dressed only in white linen garments as prescribed by the Lord: a tunic (kᵉthoneth), drawers (miknac) that covered the loins and hips, a sash (‘abnet) and a turban (mitsnepheth) (Leviticus 16:4).4 The elaborate garments were a testimony to the people of Israel that the high priest ministered for them: upon his shoulders and chest were the names of the twelve tribes, always present as he worked in the Tabernacle. However, when he entered into the presence of God in the Holy of Holies to make atonement for his sins and the sins of the people, he did so in simplicity and humility.
The Jewish high priest had oversight of the Tabernacle and all of the priests who assisted him in the work of dealing with sin in the lives of the people, and in receiving the prescribed gifts for the Lord. The Lord appointed Aaron as the first high priest (Exodus 28:2), and with the death of Aaron, the responsibilities (and the elaborate, holy garments) were passed along to Eleazar, his eldest surviving son (Numbers 20:25-26). The primary responsibilities of the high priest were to teach the people about the Lord’s requirements, to administer justice among them and to mediate between them and the Lord through the sacrificial system – he stood between the children of Israel and the Lord.
2. Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity.
Who is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and deceived, since he also is subject to weakness (literal).5
This describes the high priest who is appointed from among men to fill this significant role. Despite being given the responsibility of mediating with God for the people according to the prescribed procedures, he was still fraught with all of the frailties that came with being a human. As such, the anticipation is that he would be willing to deal kindly with those who came to him for his work as a mediator, and that he would be particularly vigilant lest he fail to retain his close relationship with the God for Whom he mediated.
However, when Jesus was taken by the mob in Gethsemane, they came from the chief priests, the Greek word is archiereon, which is a plural form of the word for high priest; it is safe to say that the high priest was involved in forming this group (Matthew 26:47).6 This mob took Jesus to the home of the high priest, where He was questioned; the high priest ultimately accused the Son of God of blasphemy, and determined that He was deserving of death (Matthew 26:65). The high priest, in this case, did not deal gently in his examination of the Lord, but harshly, because he, and all of the religious authorities, had been looking for a way to destroy Him (Mark 11:18). Jesus had gained the favor of the people because He taught with authority and healed many among them, and the religious leaders, out of envy, wanted Him removed, yet they feared the people (Mark 12:12; 15:10). The concern of the high priest was not for Jesus, nor for justice, but, rather, to protect his position over the people so as to maintain his lavish lifestyle.
The Jewish high priest, who understood the Mosaic Law thoroughly, was required to administer the Law without bias. However, by the time of Jesus, expediency had overtaken the office of the high priest, and it was now the Roman governor who made the appointment. For example, Caiaphas was appointed by the Roman Procurator (title of the governor), Valerius Gratus; there was now a decidedly political dimension to the high priest, for if he did not please the Roman authority, then he would be replaced.7 In the three years prior to the appointment of Caiaphas, there had been three high priests; security in this position was dependent entirely upon the whim of a pagan.8 Administering Jewish “justice” now required careful maneuvering in order to present the appearance of following the Mosaic traditions (for the people), and also ensuring the approval of Rome’s governing authority (for personal security). Clearly, Caiaphas was adept at walking this balance, for he retained the appointment for 18 years.9 By the time of Jesus, the role of the high priest among the Jewish people was but a shell of its former design.
3. And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins.
And because of this, as he is under obligation for the people, thus also for himself, to offer for sins (literal).10
Drawing from what came before (that the high priest is a sinner), the writer draws together the work of the high priest to atone for both the peoples’ sins and his own. On the Day of Atonement, the high priest would first make the offering for his own sins (and his household), and then for the sins of the people (Leviticus 16:11, 15).
4. And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.
And no one to himself takes the honor, but he who is appointed by God, even as Aaron (literal).11
This is an interesting observation made by the writer who would have been fully aware of the practice that was in place at the time of Jesus, where the high priest was appointed by the ruling Roman governor, and there would be those who would seek the governor’s favor just to be granted this influential position.
The lineage of Aaron was observed for the high priest until about the second century BC.12 With the conquests of the Greeks impacting the land of Israel, Jason, a descendant of Aaron, bribed the Greek leader of the Seleucid Empire, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, to become high priest,13 and so began a desecration of what the Lord had determined for the priesthood. Following Jason was Menelaus, from the tribe of Benjamin, who used the annual tribute to Antiochus as a bribe to grant him the role of high priest; from then on, each year he sold the golden articles of the temple, and whatever else he could find, in order to retain his position.14 This continued until the temple was desecrated in an attempt to force the Jews to adopt the Greek culture; after that, there was no high priest at all until Judas Maccabees led a revolt and restored Jewish control over Jerusalem and area. One of his brothers became high priest; although from a priestly lineage, they were not in line to hold the high priest’s office, and many Jews viewed him as being illegitimate.15 With the arrival of Herod the Great, the high priest became an appointed position, the first being Hananeel, an Egyptian.16 The guidelines that the Lord had put into place for this significant position, had become sidelined in favor of whoever met the appeal of the ruling authority. It became more of a political game in order to maintain a façade of being religious Jews still following the Torah; this is how it was when Jesus came, and it is very understandable that He clashed so frequently with the Jewish religious leaders. Indeed, when Jesus called them hypocrites and blind guides, that is exactly what they were (Matthew 23:15-16); they had left the doctrines of God and placed a burden upon the people that they themselves refused to bear (Matthew 23:4).
However, the high priest was to be appointed by God, even as the Lord chose Aaron and his sons. Exodus 28:43 tells us that the ministry in the holy place of the Tabernacle was given to Aaron and to his descendants; it was God Who had chosen the family line for the priesthood. Israel followed the Lord’s statute for quite some time, but, by the time of Jesus, they had bowed to the secular ruling authority and permitted a pagan ruler to appoint the high priest.
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.
Thus, also, Christ did not exalt Himself to be made High Priest, but He Who did speak to Him: “Thou art My Son, today I have become the Father of Thee” (literal).17
Following God’s order, Christ did not seek the glory of becoming High Priest, but He was appointed by His Father. Aaron, as the first high priest, was anointed with oil by Moses in accordance with the command of the Lord (Exodus 29:5-7). Just before Jesus began His earthly ministry, He was baptized by John; as He came up out of the water, John saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove upon Him (John 1:32). Jesus was not anointed with oil like Aaron, but with the Spirit of God – a far superior anointing for a much greater High Priest. When Jesus came to John and asked to be baptized, John’s response was: “I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?” (Matthew 3:14). Jesus’ reply was that it is fitting to do what God requires, and so John complied (Matthew 3:15). Jesus did not receive the special anointing oil at a Temple ceremony, rather, He went to John, a humble preacher in the wilderness, to be baptized in the Jordan River, and receive a heavenly anointing. “And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God” (John 1:32-34). John witnessed the anointing, and declared Jesus to be the Son of God!
The writer then quotes from Psalm 2:7 – “Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee [brought Thee forth]”;18 however, he says it in such a way that we cannot miss that this is God the Father addressing the Lord Jesus as His Son! This was the Father’s word to the Son on the day that He was born in the lowly stable. When Jesus was baptized, a voice came from the Father in heaven: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17); as Jesus was about to begin His earthly ministry, He, as well as others, heard the Father’s approval – and immediately after He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tested by the devil (Matthew 4:1).
What the writer is making evident is that God the Father and the Spirit were bringing events together in the Son – a plan was unfolding that had been prepared in eternity past: “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you” (1 Peter 1:18-20). Jesus, as the sinless Lamb of God, a member of the Trinity, came to earth to bring deliverance from sin to humanity – this was known before creation began!
For the second time, the writer refers to Psalm 2:7 (the first being in 1:5): Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee. The Hebrew for begotten is yalad, which means to bring forth; the Greek (gegennika), when used from a masculine perspective (as here), means to become a father of.19 As Mary gave birth to Jesus, the Father said, “Today I have become a Father to Thee”; as He began His ministry on earth, the Father said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17); to Peter, John and James on the mount of transfiguration, the Father declared, “This is my beloved Son: hear him” (Luke 9:35). God came to earth in the form of man: greater than sinless Adam, who was made in His image! “In the beginning was the Word … and the Word was made flesh … (John 1:1, 14); “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one” (1 John 5:7). When Jesus returns to earth to establish His Millennial kingdom, He is called the Word of God (Revelation 19:13); the eternal Word was made flesh and became the Son of God – conceived in Mary by the Spirit! The angel did answer and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come over thee, and the power of the Highest will rest on thee, wherefore also, the Holy Child will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35, literal).20 The Word became the Son of God (conceived by the Spirit of God) and the Son of Man (born of Mary); God on earth to fulfill His eternal plan of salvation for sinful mankind.
6. As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
Even as in another place He is saying: Thou art a priest forever, just like Melchizedek (literal).21
Here is another aspect to the priesthood of the Lord Jesus: He is like unto the OT mystery priest, Melchizedek, who met Abraham and to whom Abraham paid tithes of all (Genesis 14:18-20). Melchizedek is identified as being the king of Salem (understood to be what we know as Jerusalem), and his name means king of righteousness (Hebrews 7:2).22 We will learn more about him as we proceed.
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;
Who, in the days of His flesh, He did offer, with loud crying and tears, prayers and also supplications to Him Who is able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of Godly reverence (literal).23
This refers to the time that Jesus spent alone in prayer in Gethsemane, just before His death. His prayer was simply, “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42). His humanity shrank from what He knew was coming: he came to be in anxiety (Luke 22:44, literal) – a state of intense emotional stress; not a physical agony, but a deep inner anguish.24 Luke notes that His sweat [was] like drops of blood (literal); this is known as hematidrosis, a rare condition brought on by extreme fear or stress;25 however, even in this, Jesus willingly committed what He was about to face, into His Father’s hands.
Days of His flesh, refers to His time before His resurrection; flesh (sarkos), when it is applied to a person, refers specifically to a body of flesh and blood.26 After His resurrection, when Jesus appeared suddenly in the room where His disciples were gathered, He told them: “Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have” (Luke 24:39) – He described His body as being flesh and bones. Before He went to the cross, Jesus told His disciples: “This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed [from ekcheo] for you” (Luke 22:20b) – His blood would be shed for sins. Consider that during the time of the Antichrist, seven vials of God’s wrath will be poured out (from ekcheo) upon the earth (Revelation 16:1) – the vials are emptied! Shed and poured out are from the same Greek word, which speaks of something being emptied. When an animal was sacrificed for sin, it did not merely donate some of its blood – it gave it all; John saw Jesus in heaven as a Lamb as it had been slain (Revelation 5:6) – a Lamb Who had given all of His blood in payment for sin, and so His resurrected body had flesh and bones but no blood. The use of flesh in our text identifies this as being the time before Jesus’ sacrifice for sin.
Was heard in that he feared, is an interesting phrase. We might think that He feared the torture and crucifixion that was coming. Eulabeias (feared) speaks of having reverence or awe, which is completely different from phobos, to be afraid of something.27 Jesus was heard because of holding a proper reverence for His Father; even as His humanity shuddered at the violence that He would soon face, He placed that anxiety with His Father, and submitted to the plan for salvation as it had been devised in heaven before creation. Notice that He was heard, yet His Father did not send a host of angels to rescue Him, He sent an angel to strengthen Him (Luke 22:43); Jesus went on to suffer indescribably for our sins, yet He did so with His Father’s strengthening because He remained faithful to Him – He willingly committed what lay ahead to the Father, knowing that whatever came would have His approval, and that He would give what was necessary to bear it. His reverence for His Father extended to full submission to His will, regardless of the price to be paid! He is the ultimate example of faithfulness to the Lord!
8. Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; 9. And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;
Although, being a Son, He did experience obedience from what He did suffer, and so He, being made complete, did become the Source of eternal salvation to all who are obeying Him (literal).28
We’ve just looked at the suffering that Jesus endured before He ever felt the cruelty of the Roman soldiers, and His willingness to submit to His Father despite the extreme anguish that He felt about what was coming. Even though He was the Son of God, He learned, to a greater degree than we can imagine, the great price of obedience to His Father. It is because of what He suffered in His obedience to the established plan for man’s redemption, that He, as our High Priest, can have compassion toward us – He learned, through experience, the cost of obedience.
There is a philosophy that has gained some acceptance within modern Evangelical circles that says that God’s omniscience is limited to what has taken place because we are free to choose how we live, and the future is contingent upon our unknown choices; to put it simply, God does not know the future because it hasn’t happened yet, and so He is learning along with us – this is called open theism.29 Within this thinking, the future is open and unknown, even to God; yet the Lord has stated clearly that He is “declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure” (Isaiah 46:10). Man continually tries to fully understand his Creator, as though the Infinite can be comprehended by the finite. It is through theologies and philosophies that man flatters himself to think that he can place God within the confines of his mind. Theology is, quite simply, the study of God (Theos, God + ology, a study of).30 Philosophy (philo, love + sophia, wisdom) does not begin with a fear of the Lord, as true godly wisdom must (Psalm 111:10), but spins human wisdom and reasoning into a web that may, or may not have any correlation with God’s Word. God’s ways and thoughts are infinitely higher than ours (Isaiah 55:9), therefore, it is not surprising that “the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God” (1 Corinthians 3:19a). God has graciously provided us with His Word, a revelation of His workings with man and even a glimpse into the future, as we permit Him to guide our understanding. Although theology, per se, is a study of God, too often it becomes a mixture of what God has said and what the theologian thinks, with the latter holding a larger influence than it should. Paul warned the Colossians against being ruined by philosophies that are developed through human wisdom and tradition (with a strong appeal to logic), but don’t follow Christ and His teachings (Colossians 2:8) – in this day when philosophizing has become so popular, we need to keep this warning in mind.
Christ did not learn obedience, like our KJV might lead us to believe, but, rather, He experienced the price of obedience through the suffering that He endured. His experience was far greater than anything that we will ever be called upon to bear; as the Son of Man, He struggled with what was coming, yet, as the Son of God, He knew that this was His purpose in coming to earth. Moreover, He was sinless; the cruelty that He faced and the crucifixion, were for our sins – He had done nothing to deserve any of it. The penitent thief expressed the truth of the matter: “But the other [thief] answering rebuked him [the first thief], saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss” (Luke 23:40-41).
Probably the greatest agony came when, bearing the sin of the world, Jesus cried, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46b). God turned away from His Own Son Who was carrying the weight of all sin, yet, as He died, Jesus said, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit” (Luke 23:46). Jesus, Who knew no sin (2 Corinthians 5:21), bore humanity’s sins, experienced the blackness of God having turned away from Him, and remained faithful to the Father through it all! He was completely committed to the eternal plan of redemption; despite the tremendous physical and mental anguish that He endured, He completed His mission to earth with success. The price for our faithfulness to the Lord will never be that great.
The phrase, being made perfect, while referring to Jesus, does not mean that He was not altogether sinless. Perfect (teleiotheis) means that a goal has been achieved, or completed.31 One of the last things that Jesus said while on the cross, just before He committed His spirit to the Father, was this: “It has been completed” (John 19:30, literal).32 The plan of salvation for a sinful humanity, which had been set in place before the world was made, had been accomplished! The eternal Word was now also the Savior of the world, and the Son of God; it was now eternally possible for God to have fellowship with the creature whom He created in His own image.
The writer now elaborates on the salvation that was purchased through the Lord Jesus Christ: He is the means of eternal salvation for everyone who is obeying Him. When a lawyer (an expert in the Law of Moses) asked Jesus as to the greatest commandment, Jesus explained that there were two: love the Lord thy God and love thy neighbor (Matthew 22:35-40). There are some who believe that this is all that is required of them, and that it is up to them as to how they love God and neighbor; it is generally very popular today to say that the Ten Commandments were removed by Christ at the cross. This is due to the misconception that the Ten Commandments are a part of the Law of Moses, but we have already dealt with this failure on the part of preachers and teachers. Moreover, Paul clarified this matter for us: “For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Romans 13:9). Paul identifies these five Commands of God as being summarized in thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself; therefore, these five Commands must be obeyed in order to follow Jesus’ response to the lawyer – it is not an open ended, nebulous love, but rather, a very specific obedience to God’s Law.33
Once again, we must recognize that faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is only the first step into a life of obedience to His commands (John 14:15). Faith and obedience are inseparable! And in this we are coming to realize that we have known Him, if His commandments we are obeying; he who is saying, “I have known Him,” and His commandments he [is] not obeying, is a liar, and the truth is not in this one (1 John 2:3-4, literal).34 It is through our obedience to the Lord that we understand that we truly know Him; it is not enough to say that we know God, because unless we are living in obedience to Him, we are lying! John goes on to say this: everyone who is believing that Jesus is the Christ, has been born of God … that everyone who has been born of God is overcoming the world, and this is the victory that did overcome the world: our faith (1 John 5:1a, 4, literal).35 Our faith, in order to be living, must express itself through obedience to the Lord – there is no other way! Again, faith and obedience are inseparable! Therefore, when we read this: “He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son” (Revelation 21:7), we now understand that the one who is overcoming is the one whose faith in the Lord is expressed through obedience to Him. John calls the disobedient professor of faith a liar, and we are told that “… all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death (Revelation 21:8). Is obedience important? The answer remains a resounding, YES! Little wonder that Jesus taught that if we are loving Him, then we must be living in obedience to His commands (John 14:15); conversely, if we are not obeying His commands, then we are making it very clear that we have no love for Him, regardless of what we might say.
10. Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.
A High Priest who was designated by God just like Melchisedek (literal).36
Again, we have the declaration that Jesus became a High Priest because of the determination of God the Father, and that designation is likened to that of Melchisedek. It is evident that this comparison is important since its first mention goes all of the way back to Psalm 110:4. The writer deals with this in greater detail a little later.
11. Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing.
Concerning whom great [is] the word from us and difficult to explain, since ye have become lazy to hear (literal).37
This verse refers back (concerning whom) to both the Lord Jesus and Melchisedek, and how they fit together; the prophetic word makes it very clear that Jesus’ High Priestly status follows the pattern established by Melchisedek.
The writer explains that he has a significant teaching on the subject of Jesus and Melchisedek, but that it is quite complex and somewhat difficult to explain. However, this is not the greatest problem that he faces in this matter; g greater concern is that his audience has become selective in what they want to hear – if it’s complicated, or requires some careful attention and thought, then they are not interested. In essence, they have become spiritually lazy – they only want to hear what is easily understood. As new born babies, ye must long for the pure spiritual milk so that in it ye will grow (1 Peter 2:2, literal); and ye must be growing in grace and understanding of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18, literal).38 There is no place for complacency and slothfulness in the one who is born from above. When we come to faith in Christ, we must yearn for a growing understanding of Him and His truth; without it, we will become spiritually fruitless, and will wither and die (John 15:2a, 6).
12. For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
For, after a period of time when teachers ye ought to be, ye are having need of someone teaching you, again, the basic principles of the sayings of God, and have become those who are having need of milk and not of solid food (literal).39
The writer admonishes his readers concerning their slothfulness regarding spiritual understanding: after the passage of so much time, they should have been teachers of the Truth, but they have never grown spiritually. When the expectancy is to find maturity, infancy is present – like a child of ten who is living only on milk. What we learn as we examine the Gospel and come to be convinced of its Truth, is the milk of the Word, but that is not sufficient to last us for the rest of our lives; we must use this milk to grow in our understanding of God’s Truths. We must grow beyond milk to solid food, the truths that we must ponder, and permit the Spirit of God to provide us with the guidance necessary to properly understand them. The Word of God contains a wealth of knowledge about the One Who bought us out of sin: He is our Master, and we would do well to consider ourselves to be His slaves. “Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of [enslaved to] righteousness” (Romans 6:18).40 We were once enslaved to sin, but now we are enslaved to Christ and His righteousness!
Today’s professing Christians have been steeped in the heresy of once-saved-always-saved, and they have no desire to understand anything beyond what their favored preacher expounds; unfortunately, he, too, has been so steeped, and knows little beyond the theology that he has been taught, which does not find its full support in God’s Word. Theology is man’s study of God, and can be fraught with all sorts of errors;41 the Scriptures are God’s revelation of Himself to mankind – why would anyone be satisfied with a theology when God has given us His Word? Nevertheless, preachers and teachers today become familiar with their favored theology (and may even add some of their own nuances to it), but never learn to diligently study the Scriptures in order to discover what God requires of them.
And evil men and imposters will increase from bad to worse, who are leading astray and are being led astray (2 Timothy 3:13, literal).42 Notice that the imposters, those who profess but do not possess (most “pastors” today), are leading others away from God’s truth because they do not hold it, even while they, themselves, are also being led deeper into error. Of the two (evil men and imposters), imposters are the most dangerous; evil men are wicked and it is generally quite evident; however, imposters feign goodness and righteousness even as they spew forth heresies. Their façade of goodness may deceive some to follow them as spiritual leaders, and to accept the error that they teach. We have an example in Scripture that we must determine to follow: “These [of Berea] were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so” (Acts 17:11). We must measure everything that we hear/read against God’s Word: if it agrees, do it; if it disagrees, avoid the source of such error.
Paul provided this warning to the Christians in Rome: I am exhorting you, brethren, to keep a watchful eye on those who are causing divisions and enticements to sin, contrary to the teaching that ye learned, and turn away from them; for such as these are not serving our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own desire; so through their eloquence and flattery, they are completely deceiving the hearts of the unsuspecting (Romans 16:17-18, literal).43 A watchful eye is to be continually kept on those whose teachings do not agree with the Scriptures; we do this by testing all things according to God’s Word, allowing the Spirit of God to guide us into all truth (John 16:13). The most significant division that such heretics will cause is not between people, but between a child of God and the Savior; a separation that can lead to apostasy, a departing from God. We must be alert, and not deluded by any eloquent speaker just because he uses the Bible – many false teachers are in this world (1 John 4:1). Jesus warned us: for false christs and false prophets will rise and will produce great signs and wonders so as to lead astray, if able, even the elect (Matthew 24:24, literal).44 A prophet is not by necessity someone who proclaims future events, but rather, someone who speaks forth God’s truth for others to hear, and so a teacher, or preacher, should also be a prophet. Therefore, a false prophet is someone who assumes the role of declaring God’s truth, either as a prophet, teacher or preacher, but whose message is not in keeping with God’s Word. We must be vigilant and constantly increasing our knowledge of God’s Truth so that we are able to discern falsehood when it makes its appearance.
The writer is disappointed that his readers are needing someone to teach them again the basic principles of faith in Christ – they never got past their appetite for the milk of the Word. That is a description of the vast majority of Evangelicals today; even those who invest their lives studying the Scriptures have great difficulty moving past the theology in which they have been trained (indoctrinated). What is sadly lacking in the hearts of most professing Christians is an insatiable thirst for the truth of God’s Word. Jesus said that if we will seek, then we will find, but, alas, most within this camp have no desire to seek for anything – they are completely satisfied with their insipid faith that will not save them; they are content because it requires nothing of them! We must have a desire for the solid food of God’s Word – if we seek for it, then we will find it.
13. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.
For everyone who is partaking of milk [is] unacquainted with the Word of righteousness – for he is an infant (literal).45
Unacquainted with (unskilful) means to be without experience and to lack knowledge.46 Therefore, the one who does not grow beyond their desire for spiritual milk, is someone who knows virtually nothing about God’s Word. Today it is not uncommon to have someone profess to have been a “Christian” for forty or fifty years, yet still not know what God requires of them, and their knowledge of the Christian life is limited to what they have heard from their favorite preacher/teacher. This is a reflection on the teaching and preaching that has taken place during the past half-dozen decades, but, even more so, it reveals someone who has never felt the need, or even had the interest, to become more familiar with the Word of God through personal study. Jesus gave His life in order to pay the debt of sin, and while such as these claim to be “saved,” they hold no interest in learning more about the One Who paid for their sins, even though He has given us His Word. Jesus said, “If ye are loving me, then my commandments ye must obey” (John 14:15, literal).47 Our love for Him must lead us into His Word so that we will come to know His commands; if we have no desire to know His commands, then we can hardly be said to love Him, and if we do not love Him, then we are certainly not in Him and cannot claim to know His redemption – we are simply a deceived, religious person who is not destined for the heavenly glory that Jesus has made available to everyone!
The one hope that we find for those who have limited their spiritual diet to milk, is that they are still referred to as an infant. This would indicate that there is a possibility that they will realize their fatal error, and begin to study the Word to discover what has never been of interest to them before. Jesus said, “For everyone who is asking, is receiving; he who is seeking, is finding, and to the one who is knocking, it will be opened (Matthew 7:8, literal).48 The difficulty for the spiritual infant is that he does not ask, or seek – there is a numbing contentment with how he perceives things to be. Probably the greatest contributor to this numbing contentment is the heresy of once-saved-always-saved; within this teaching there is no need grow in our understanding of the Lord and His Word. The teaching is that, once you have placed your faith in the Lord (you’ve tasted the milk of His Word), your eternal destiny is heaven; this explains why there is such worldliness in today’s “Bible-believing” churches – for the most part, they are all sipping on spiritual milk with absolutely no desire to grow. The hope is that these infants will develop a thirst for the truth of God’s Word; it is as they seek to satisfy this thirst that they will acquire a spiritual appetite for the solid food of the Scriptures.
14. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
But solid food is for those of maturity: these, because of practice, their senses have become trained to differentiate [between] good and evil (literal).49
Solid food stands in contrast to the milk from the previous verse. Milk has its place and purpose – it is used as a metaphor for those basic principles of the Gospel that must lead to spiritual growth so that the deeper truths of God can be understood; milk is a means to a greater appetite to learn God’s Word, and is never intended to be a steady, prolonged diet. Solid food is for those who have made good use of the milk of the Word and are now feasting on a steady diet of the meat of the Scriptures – they have matured in their understanding of what God has prepared for us, and what He desires from us.
Practice (reason of use) involves doing the same things over and over in order that we will become skilled in doing them. To Timothy, Paul wrote: make every effort to present yourself genuine to God (2 Timothy 2:15a, literal).50 Practice requires expending energy (make every effort) so that we will become mature in Christ, not hoping to gain the glories of heaven through minimal effort, but willingly working out the salvation that Jesus makes available (Philippians 2:12). There is an interesting balance between the work of the Spirit of God within us and the efforts that we must make in obedience to the Lord’s commands. Jesus said that when the Spirit of God would come, He would guide us into all truth (John 16:13); guidance is only possible when there is movement, hence, if we are not growing in our understanding of God’s truth, how can the Spirit be our Guide? For someone who is stuck in the milk-stage of life, there is no guidance from the Spirit of God: they’re not growing, so there is nothing to guide. As we expend our energy in studying the Word of God, then the Spirit is able to guide our thinking and enable our understanding so that we will grow and mature in our faith in Christ. As our faith grows through an increased comprehension of God’s Word, so our obedience must also grow as we discover new truths and commands – this is the practice that must accompany our spiritual growth!
Senses (aistheteria) is not a reference to sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste, but to the ability to make moral decisions. Within our context, it requires a growing understanding of God’s Word so as to be able to discern what God desires, and, in this, the Spirit will be our guide, and, through repetition, our discernment will be sharpened. As we exercise the discipline of applying God’s truth to our daily living (with the aid of the Spirit), our senses will become practiced to discern God’s will, and we will become better able to immediately identify the difference between good (what God wants) and evil (the enticements of Satan). We might think that this should be obvious, but, for many, this can be particularly difficult in a day when these two, good and evil, have been turned on their heads: evil is touted as being good, and good as something to be avoided (in fulfillment of Isaiah 5:20).
Remember that Eve, who was created without sin, was convinced by the devil that the forbidden fruit was something that was good to eat (Genesis 3:6). Evangelicalism has become a haven for all kinds of evil that have been rebranded as acceptable; man is a rational being, and he has the ability to rationalize almost anything in order to make it appear to be good and beneficial. It is critically important that we have the Spirit’s guidance in sharpening our understanding of God’s Word to the point that we are readily able to discern God’s desire in whatever faces us. John wrote: “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1). To try the spirits means to examine them, to put them to the test,51 which requires us to have a firm understanding of God’s Word (the Standard used for such examinations) that comes through practice and the guidance of the Spirit of God.
END NOTES:
1 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon; Bauer Greek-English Lexicon; Gingrich Lexicon.
2 Leningrad Hebrew OT; TWOT #959, 315.
3 Strong’s Online; Brown, Driver, Briggs Hebrew Lexicon.
4 Strong’s Online.
5 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon; Gingrich Lexicon.
6 Stephanus 1550 NT.
7 Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, Ch. 2.2.
8 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annas.
9 https://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/3903-caiaphas.
10 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon.
11 Ibid.
12 https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/high-priests-of-the-jews/; calculated based on the information given.
13 https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/high-priests-of-the-jews/; with the death of Alexander the Great, his kingdom was divided and Judah came under the control of the Seleucus, one of Alexander’s generals.
14 Ibid.
15 Ibid.
16 https://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/8924-joshua-phabi#.
17 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon; Bauer Greek-English Lexicon.
18 BDB.
19 BDB; Friberg Lexicon.
20 Stephanus 1550 NT; Liddell-Scott Lexicon; Friberg Lexicon.
21 Stephanus 1550 NT; Gingrich Lexicon.
22 Gesenius Hebrew-English Lexicon.
23 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon.
24 Stephanus 1550 NT; Vine’s, “agony.”
25 Stephanus 1550 NT; https://www.healthline.com/health/hematidrosis.
26 Friberg Lexicon; Gingrich Lexicon.
27 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon.
28 Ibid.
29 https://iep.utm.edu/o-theism/#H4.
30 https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=theology.
31 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon.
32 Strong’s Online.
33 The Fifth Command is to honor your father and mother, which doesn’t specifically apply to your neighbor, but is included in the last six Commands to guide us in our relationships with our fellowmen.
34 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon.
35 Stephanus 1550 NT; https://www.ntgreek.org/learn_nt_greek/nouns1.htm; Friberg Lexicon.
36 Stephanus 1550 NT; Gingrich Lexicon.
37 Stephanus 1550 NT; Strong’s Online.
38 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon.
39 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon; Gingrich Lexicon.
40 Friberg Lexicon.
41 https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=theology.
42 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon.
43 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon; Gingrich Lexicon; Bauer Greek-English Lexicon.
44 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon.
45 Ibid.
46 Friberg Lexicon.
47 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon.
48 Stephanus 1550 NT; Gingrich Lexicon.
49 Stephanus 1550 NT; Gingrich Lexicon; Bauer Greek-English Lexicon.
50 Stephanus 1550 NT; Gingrich Lexicon.
51 Strong’s Online.
1 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon; Bauer Greek-English Lexicon; Gingrich Lexicon.
2 Leningrad Hebrew OT; TWOT #959, 315.
3 Strong’s Online; Brown, Driver, Briggs Hebrew Lexicon.
4 Strong’s Online.
5 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon; Gingrich Lexicon.
6 Stephanus 1550 NT.
7 Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, Ch. 2.2.
8 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annas.
9 https://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/3903-caiaphas.
10 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon.
11 Ibid.
12 https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/high-priests-of-the-jews/; calculated based on the information given.
13 https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/high-priests-of-the-jews/; with the death of Alexander the Great, his kingdom was divided and Judah came under the control of the Seleucus, one of Alexander’s generals.
14 Ibid.
15 Ibid.
16 https://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/8924-joshua-phabi#.
17 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon; Bauer Greek-English Lexicon.
18 BDB.
19 BDB; Friberg Lexicon.
20 Stephanus 1550 NT; Liddell-Scott Lexicon; Friberg Lexicon.
21 Stephanus 1550 NT; Gingrich Lexicon.
22 Gesenius Hebrew-English Lexicon.
23 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon.
24 Stephanus 1550 NT; Vine’s, “agony.”
25 Stephanus 1550 NT; https://www.healthline.com/health/hematidrosis.
26 Friberg Lexicon; Gingrich Lexicon.
27 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon.
28 Ibid.
29 https://iep.utm.edu/o-theism/#H4.
30 https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=theology.
31 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon.
32 Strong’s Online.
33 The Fifth Command is to honor your father and mother, which doesn’t specifically apply to your neighbor, but is included in the last six Commands to guide us in our relationships with our fellowmen.
34 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon.
35 Stephanus 1550 NT; https://www.ntgreek.org/learn_nt_greek/nouns1.htm; Friberg Lexicon.
36 Stephanus 1550 NT; Gingrich Lexicon.
37 Stephanus 1550 NT; Strong’s Online.
38 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon.
39 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon; Gingrich Lexicon.
40 Friberg Lexicon.
41 https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=theology.
42 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon.
43 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon; Gingrich Lexicon; Bauer Greek-English Lexicon.
44 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon.
45 Ibid.
46 Friberg Lexicon.
47 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon.
48 Stephanus 1550 NT; Gingrich Lexicon.
49 Stephanus 1550 NT; Gingrich Lexicon; Bauer Greek-English Lexicon.
50 Stephanus 1550 NT; Gingrich Lexicon.
51 Strong’s Online.