Study notes

Hebrews 5

Introducing HebrewsWho wrote it, when, why, and what to look for as you read

4:14–5:10 Section

God appointed Jesus to be the high priest. When he lived on earth, Jesus went through things that all people go through. He was born as a baby and learnt things as he grew up. At times he was weak and hurting. At times he was tempted and tested but he never sinned. At times he suffered.

All throughout his life he learnt how to obey God while being a human being. His understanding of what life is like for human beings is complete. This is what it means that he was made perfect. As their priest, Jesus deals gently with believers. This gives believers the boldness to come to God. Believers can trust that God will show them grace and mercy.

5:1

  • Every high priest: This phrase outlines what high priests must do.

  • among men: The high priest was one of the people, so Jesus needed to become human (see Hebrews 2:17–18).

  • Another requirement for high priests was to represent others by offering sacrifices for them (7:25–28). Only the high priest could offer the sacrifice on the Day of Atonement (Exodus 29; Leviticus 16:1–25).

5:1–10

This section discusses how the Son of God became a superior high priest. The main text is Psalm 110:4, where God promises that the Son will be a priest forever like Melchizedek.

5:2

A high priest could be kind to those who sin because he also had weaknesses, meaning he was sinful (Hebrews 5:3; compare 4:15).

5:3

On the Day of Atonement, the high priest had to offer sacrifices for himself and his family before offering sacrifices for the people (Leviticus 16:11).

5:5–6

The author connects Psalms 2:7 and 110:4 because both passages feature God speaking to his Son. The exalted Son, who became human (Hebrews 1–2), is appointed by God to a special high priesthood.

5:7

The phrase with loud cries and tears likely refers to the suffering Jesus experienced in the garden of Gethsemane (see Matthew 26:36–46; Mark 14:32–42; Luke 22:40–46). God heard his prayers by affirming his righteousness and his role as high priest. Jesus showed faithful devotion to God. His example encourages the readers to remain faithful as well (compare Hebrews 12:2–3).

5:8

He learned obedience through his suffering. Jesus was always obedient, even before his suffering. He lived his human life, including his death on the cross, fully submitting to God's will. We are expected to follow the same path (Hebrews 12:1–11).

5:9

  • And having been made perfect: In Hebrews, perfect means "complete" or "mature" (see Hebrews 2:10; 5:14; 7:11; 9:9–11). Jesus became the source of eternal salvation for everyone who obeys him through his sufferings.

  • As the Son obeyed the Father (5:8), fully following the Father's will, those seeking salvation must obey him.

5:11

dull of hearing: The Greek term means "slow, not very smart, careless, or lazy."

5:11–6:3

This message addresses the spiritual laziness of the recipients.

5:11–6:20

After starting to talk about the role of Jesus as high priest (Hebrews 5:1–10), the author addresses the audience with several encouragements (5:11–6:20). This change in the sermon or speech aimed to capture the listeners' attention.

5:11–6:12 Section

The author of Hebrews described what growing up in faith means. When someone starts following Jesus, they are like a spiritual baby. They learn the basic teachings about Jesus. And they keep growing spiritually.

They are to continue learning with faith and patience for the rest of their lives. If they stop wanting to understand what Jesus wants to teach them, they stop growing. The author also spoke about falling away from the faith. This happens when believers no longer want God’s light in their lives.

They no longer look forward to the age to come with hope. The age to come was another way of talking about the new creation. They no longer want the Holy Spirit to be working in them. This leads to living in ways that are sinful and aren’t godly. The author described those ways like a field that produces thorns and weeds.

The author wanted the believers to be like a field that produces a good crop. Some of them were already doing this in the ways they showed that they loved God.

5:12

  • Their lack of spiritual energy was surprising because they had been believers for so long. They should have been spiritual leaders teaching others from their knowledge and Christian experience.

  • the basic principles: The simplest parts of the Christian faith (see Hebrews 6:1–3).

  • The imagery of milk and solid food was used to separate basic from advanced education, and immature from mature students.

5:14

Knowing the difference between right and wrong shows spiritual maturity.

Verse notes: Adapted by Mission Mutual (Aquifer Open Study Notes) from Tyndale Open Study Notes © 2023 Tyndale House Publishers. CC BY-SA 4.0. Section notes: Biblica Study Notes © 2023 Biblica, Inc. CC BY-SA 4.0, via BibleAquifer. About the sources