Hebrews 5:8

Though he were a Son,— Notwithstanding his being a Son, he learned obedience by that severe discipline which he underwent. The connection of this and the preceding verse seems to stand thus: "Jesus offered up prayers unto him who was able to save him from death; and he was, heard too, by reason of the reverence and regard he shewed to his Father in all things; and he was accordingly rewarded. Yet notwithstanding his beinga Son,—the only-beloved Son,—he learned obedience by going through a state of sufferings." However, I humbly judge, that this obedience of Christ, in which he was improved by his sufferings and trials, must be understood agreeably to the scope of the discourse; wherein the apostle is designing to shew, that Christ acquired a sympathy with us, and so was well qualified to be a high-priest for us. If we look back to ch. Hebrews 4:14 we find he there speaks of our High-priest as the Son of God, who could be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, being tried in all things like as we are, yet without sin. This made a vast difference between him and the priests under the law, who might be moved to a compassion towards their brethren, byconsidering their own sinful infirmities; Hebrews 5:2. Now Christ not being capable of being moved to compassion by this, (being himself always perfectly free from sin,) the sacred writer seems here to suggest, that he was yet as effectually moved to it another way, even by his own sufferings, in the course of his obedience; and especially when he became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. The sense of the place therefore I take to be this, That by his sufferings he learned how difficult obedience was; and by this means was as effectually engaged to pity and succour us, as the high-priests of old were to pity and act in behalf of the people, from the experience they had of their own strength and infirmity.