Hebrews 5:7-10

Jesus Learned the Cost of Obedience

While Jesus was in the flesh, He was in a position of humility. He, when in the garden, offered up His prayers to God, who was the only one who could have saved Him from His pain and suffering and, finally, death. Because He was reverent in speech to God, Christ was delivered from the hands of the tempter in this most trying hour, which was the thing He most feared. It should be noted that Christ's prayer was heard and answered, though the answer included death on the cross. It was answered because He feared, or respected God's authority (Matthew 26:39). The way Jesus confronted His greatest hour of weakness and grief fully qualified Him as our High Priest. He understands our weaknesses (Hebrews 5:7).

At Calvary, Jesus submitted completely to God's will (1 Peter 2:8). He passed through an hour in which He suffered the deepest possible human suffering and learned the cost of obeying God's command. Those sufferings made Him our perfect Savior and qualified Him to offer the sacrifice for sins that would lead to man's salvation. Such salvation is at once eternal and available to all who will obey His commands (John 3:16-17; John 14:15). W. E. Vine says the word "author" points to Christ as "the concrete and active cause of it" (our salvation). The writer then quoted Psalms 110:4 again to prove God appointed Christ to be a High Priest after the order of Melchizedek. He was appointed by God and satisfied all of the requirements of this position (Hebrews 5:8-10).