Hebrews 5 - Introduction

Introduction to Chapter 5

One central theme running through the letter to the Hebrews is the thought of Jesus Christ the Son of God as our Great High Priest. Along with the reigning son of David the High Priest was the theocratic power in the land. And together they represented Israel before God. Thus when Jesus is revealed as Son of God, son of David and great High Priest, we find in Him the One Who is totally complete to represent us. And when we add to this the revelation of Him as restored Man, the second man replacing Adam, the picture is complete.

The idea of Jesus Christ as our great High Priest is first indicated when the writer is describing Him as ‘the Son' Who reveals all the fullness of what God is (Hebrews 1:1). There He is declared to be the One Who, as the glorious revealer of God, ‘makes purification for sins', a priestly action, and sits down at the right hand of the Majesty on High (Hebrews 1:3)

The idea is then taken up again in chapter 2 following a passage where His death and saving work has been described, stressing that He is High Priest as supreme Man. There the idea is completed by a description of Jesus as our ‘merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people' (Hebrews 2:17). So in both places emphasis is laid on His priestly work connected with the offering of a sacrifice for the purpose of atonement, both to cleanse and to propitiate, in the first case as the ‘Son' from Heaven, and in the second as ‘Jesus', the perfect Man.

This is taken up in Hebrews 3:1 where Jesus is described as ‘the Apostle and High Priest of our confession' and emphasis is there laid on His faithfulness and accomplishment as being greater than those of Moses. His purpose is revealed as to bring us into ‘rest', and this is confirmed in Hebrews 4:14 where after the description of that rest we are told of ‘a great High Priest Who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God', Who can sympathise with us in all our needs and from Whom we can find help in all our testings and temptations, and Who awaits our approach to His throne (compare Hebrews 1:3), which is a place where mercy and grace are to be found.

Thus in Him is found cleansing, propitiation, and gracious, empathetic response to our needs. Of what sort then is this Great High Priest, for He is certainly unlike the High Priests who are (or have been) active in the world? In this chapter we learn that He is a High Priest Who has also been appointed God's Son, Who is of the house of David, and is therefore ‘a priest after the order (likenesss) of Melchizedek'. He is a royal priest, of a priesthood older than that of Aaron, and superior to both Moses and Aaron.

Preliminary Note on The Order of Melchizedek.

In the account in Genesis 14 where Abraham is revealed as the deliverer of both Lot, and the captives and wealth of Sodom, from the hands of the kings from the north, Melchizedek is revealed as the priest-king of Salem (Jerusalem), a royal priest who presided over all parties involved, both as a superior, and as having special privilege before the Most High God. He appears suddenly, and disappears equally as suddenly, and in his status ministers to Abraham and receives tithes from him.

The idea of the Melchizedek priesthood is then taken up in Psalms 110:4. The Psalm would later have Messianic connections but it firstly had in mind the Davidic kingship. We must remember that David captured Jerusalem and made it his own city. That is why the people of Jerusalem always saw themselves as separate from Israel and Judah. And it appears that as a result he would have conferred on him by the people of Jerusalem the position as priest-king of Jerusalem, the ‘royal priesthood of Melchizedek', as the successor to the previous priest-kings. He took the place of the former priest-kings. This need not necessarily mean that he offered sacrifices. Indeed he specifically introduced the Levitical priests into Jerusalem for that purpose, along with the Tabernacle, for he was too good a Yahwist to go against the Law. But he almost certainly in his exalted position took part in major religious ceremonies, in recognition of his royal priestly connections and status. Later Davidic kings, not so scrupulous, might even have gone further, but we have no specific evidence of it in relation to Yahwism. We can also compare the special privileges of the Davidic prince in Ezekiel's temple (Ezekiel 44:1). There too he was to have a unique place. Here was one uniquely in a position to intercede on behalf of his people, which indeed David often did, both in the salvation history (see 2 Samuel 24:17) and in the Psalms.

Psalms 110:4 reveals that this unique position of David also reflected God's view of him. God swore by an oath that David's unique privilege as representing his people in a special way before God would stand for ever. He would be seen as a priest after the order of, in the likeness of, Melchizedek.

With regard to this we must remember that in ancient days kings were regularly seen as representing their people in religious events, and as having special influence with their divinities. They had a special sacral role which varied from the full deity of the Pharaoh, and the semi-deity of Mediterranean kings, to an exalted priesthood of lesser royalties like Melchizedek. David too enjoyed this special status, and it was linked with him being a priest after the order of Melchizedek through being king of Jerusalem. But by taking the Tabernacle into Jerusalem David prevented a division in the mind of the Jerusalemites over which priesthood was the most important cultwise, for he established and oversaw the Levitical priests for ritual purposes connected with sacrifices (1 Chronicles 16:1 - note the ‘they') and he himself carried out intercessory functions and set up worshipping functions (1 Chronicles 6:31; 1 Chronicles 16:4), and thus he and the Levitical priesthood were conjoined in the minds of the people.

The use of the title ‘priest after the order of Melchizedek' in Psalms 110:4 confirms that it was a recognised part of his royal status, and seen as approved by God. It was seen as making him very much someone who was close to God in a unique non-sacrificing priesthood, having a special religious status before God, and special access in prayer, both on his own behalf and on behalf of the people (see 2 Samuel 24:17), without necessarily himself directly offering sacrifices. And this was closely linked with his kingship and his coming worldwide rule. Thus it could be said of him by God, 'You are my son, today I have begotten (by adoption) you' (Psalms 2:7) in relation to that priesthood (Psalms 5:5) which was an essential part of his being the anointed king. Kingship and priesthood went together. He was seen as the 'firstborn' of Yahweh, supreme among kings because of his special relationship with God (Psalms 89:27), and this included his position as priest after the order of Melchizedek. The title ‘after the order of Melchizedek' was thus representative of his royal priestly status and of his unique position with God as a priest-king ‘begotten' by God. This link is specifically made here in Hebrews 5:5.

The whole Psalm later became recognised as Messianic (an advance on Davidic), as referring to the future king Messiah who would come to bring about God's purposes, who was thus portrayed as both priest after the order of Melchizedek, and as God's anointed king. The title and function was therefore particularly apt for application to Jesus. (It was also taken up in later Jewish tradition as referring to a heavenly figure, but there is no suggestion of this in Scripture).

End of Note.

It is these ideas which are taken up by the writer to the Hebrews. Jesus is here depicted as the royal priest of a better priesthood than that of the Mosaic law, 1). Because it was more ancient (already established in the time of Abraham), 2). Because it continued for ever in the King, and 3). Because what he offered was heavenly intercession.

And he later draws attention to how Melchizedek, priest-king of Salem, source of the Davidic priesthood, was described as not limited by genealogy and without recognised antecedents. Nothing was known about him. He was simply accepted by God without any such evidence. So from the point of view of the tradition in Scripture how he emerged mysteriously, and disappeared equally mysteriously, was thus a good illustration of the eternal heavenly priesthood. Unlike the Levitical priests, who rooted themselves firmly to earth by their ancestral claims, he was not required to produce a pedigree. There is no mention of birth, no mention of death, but a continuing for ever of his priesthood, as is shown by his reappearance in Psalms 110:4 in connection with the everlasting Davidic kingship (2 Samuel 7:13; 2 Samuel 7:16). The writer was drawing out the idea, not expressing a verdict on the original Melchizedek.

We must remember the importance of descent and genealogy to the Jew. Each priest assiduously traced his ancestry back (whether accurately or not) to prove his legitimate descent, and as one generation died so another replaced it. This was what gave him his status. He was firmly connected to an earthly source. But this Melchizedek was firmly in place as priest-king, without genealogy, without such claims, and yet he was of such superior status that Abraham acknowledged him, and submitted to him, and there was no record of his being replaced. He stands there as a seemingly eternal, heavenly figure.

He was manifestly greater than Abraham, for Abraham offered him tithes, whereas Abraham never offered tithes to the Levitical priests, for they came from the loins of Abraham, that is were descended from him, and Abraham was thus superior to them. So the Melchizedek priesthood is represented as superior to the Levitical priesthood. He was a royal priest, associated with righteousness and peace which are elsewhere royal attributes of good kings (Melchizedek indeed means 'my king is righteousness'. Compare Isaiah 11:4 for the ‘righteous' king and Isaiah 9:6 for 'the Prince of Peace'. See also Psalms 72:7.

So all this indicated that the new priesthood of Jesus as the Davidic heir, had good and ancient antecedents, was distinctive from the Levitical priesthood and was far its superior, and yet had close enough connections, confirmed by God in Psalms 110, for Him to replace the Levitical priesthood as the heavenly royal priest, taking over the role of the earthly servants with a better sacrifice than theirs, a sacrifice which the earthly priests could not offer. It signified His eternity, His royalty and His sufficiency to offer the perfect sacrifice, a superior priesthood in every way.

Note on Messianic.

In describing Psalms as Messianic we must recognise what is meant by that. In one sense all psalms which referred to the house of David were ‘Messianic', in that they referred to the experiences and future prospects of the house of David, of those who were God's anointed', and thus also were necessarily applicable to the final, great, everlasting coming king of the Davidic house. But it was only later that this developed into the full blown ideas of ‘the Messiah' from the house of David that we find later. Many Psalms prepared for such an idea and can therefore be seen as ‘Messianic' from the start, in intent if not in name. But certain of them later actually became depicted as Messianic.

End of note.

Chapter 5 Our Great High Priest After The Order of Melchizedek.

This chapter begins by outlining the characteristics of the earthly High Priesthood, and goes on to show the superior High Priesthood of Jesus. This then leads on to another digression and exhortation as the writer feels the difficulty of expressing his case before those who through neglect have become babes in doctrine. He is not sure that they can cope with what he has to say, and gives a strict warning in chapter 6 of the dangers of faltering and falling away from the truth.