April 9, 2021
Please use the comment section on this page to share insights from today’s reading OR your own personal Bible reading.
Reading along with us in Hebrews? Here’s today’s reading:
Hebrews 5 (NIV)
1Every high priest is selected from among the people and is appointed to represent the people in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness.......Continue Reading
Jesus came to earth and lived as we live and still was able to stay obedient to God despite His sufferings. His example is our reminder that even when things are not as we hope, want, or desire we must remain obedient to God’s call on our life. Suffering brings teaching and maturing essential for growth and making us ready for whatever God has next and what better example of this was Jesus’ life here on earth.
Jesus is a great High Priest because He offers Himself in representing us to God rather than needing sacrifices made for Him so He can represent us before God, like the High Priests in the Old Testament. And yet He still needed God to appoint Him to be High priest and He learned obedience through suffering and thereby could be the source of our salvation.
Now we can’t miss that the writer takes a detour here. He wants to continue to write about this deep mystery of Jesus being like Melchizedek, but he believes his listeners are too immature. SO he will address their immaturity here and in chapter 6 and then return to Melchizedek in chapter 7. It causes us to think to what extent we are growing in maturity, coming to God on His terms rather than having Him come to us on our terms, not only learning and growing in our knowledge of the word but in our adherence to it as well…….
Hebrews 5
Every believer should.strive for maturity in the faith.
Hebrews 5
I thought of Matthew 4:4 after reading this chapter. I do agree and think a huge part of Christian maturity is discipleship of our peers, family friends acquaintances. Where we are placing God in our lives and how obedient we are to him.
This reminds me that though Jesus is God, He is also fully man. I have had fleeting thoughts that because Jesus was God it was somehow easier for Him to obey God and go through with the sacrifice on the cross. This scripture speaks of his agony before God as His Son facing torture and death on our behalf. We must remember that He could have declined. He could have take Satan up on his offer of kingdoms. “who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, 8 though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. 9 And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him,” It is strange to think that He “learned obedience” through His suffering. Jesus wasn’t just perfect, He had to be made perfect by suffering.
More evidence of the superiority of Jesus as our ultimate high priest. He has been appointed, has no need to sacrifice for His own sins, and rather than a temporary covering of sin, He offers eternal salvation.
Hebrews 5
One purpose of suffering is obedience, and Jesus experienced it to the highest degree. The result was eternal salvation to all who believe. In order to grow as a Christian, we must study the simple truths of the word so we can build upon that understanding of the truth to help us discern good from evil.
7During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. 8Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered 9and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him 10and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.