Hebrews 5:8-10

Summary retelling of Hebrews 5:8-10

Although Jesus was God’s own Son, He suffered.  Through that suffering, Christ learned obedience.  Through that suffering, His perfection was displayed and He became the source of salvation for all who obey.  God designated Jesus as a priest among the order of Melchizedek.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Christ suffered.  He suffered again and again.  Time and time again Christ taught the crowd, only to have the majority of them turn away.  Time and time again Christ taught His disciples, only to watch them backslide into the ways of the world.  Of course He was handed over to the Romans, tried by the Jews, mocked by the soldiers, abandoned by His own disciples, and crucified.  Yes, He suffered.  Through it all, He was obedient.  He was perfectly obedient to the will of the Father in spite of His worldly circumstances.

How difficult do you think it was for Jesus Christ to be obedient to the Father – especially knowing that He was not only fully divine but also fully human?

Second Thought:

This passage speaks of Jesus Christ being salvation to all those who obey.  Here we understand yet again the significance of being obedient to God.  As we’ve heard many times, perfection is not attainable by human beings.  But while perfection is not attainable, obedience is.  We can do God’s will some of the time.  We can be repentant all of the time for those moments when we don’t do God’s will.  We can be humble and acknowledge God’s control all of the time.  Obedience – living a life dominated by the will and ways of God – is attainable because of the Holy Spirit and His grace, mercy, and forgiveness.

Are you obedient?  Why might you say yes?  Why might you say no?

Third Thought:

Here we have another reference to Melchizedek.  We know from the exodus story that God’s priests are descendants of the tribe of Levi – and the high priests are especially descendants of Aaron, Moses’ brother.  We also know that Jesus’ lineage is traced through David (and therefore the tribe of Judah) rather than Levi.  Melchizedek becomes the answer as to how Jesus can become a high priest even though his lineage isn’t from Levi (or specifically, Aaron).  In Genesis 14:18, we hear about Melchizedek, who is a priest of God but also the king of Salem.  Salem is the name of Jerusalem in the book of Genesis (Notice the word Salem even within Jerusalem?).  From Genesis, we hear about the tradition is that the kings of Salem are also high priests of God.  Thus, when David conquered Jerusalem, he became a priest – not because he was of the right lineage through Levi but because of the geographical order of priests through Melchizedek.  Therefore, since Jesus came from David and is believed to sit on the spiritual throne of David, Jesus is a high priest through the order of Melchizedek.

How neat is it that God worked through David a thousand years prior to Jesus in order to provide for a way that a descendant of Jesus could also be a high priest?  What does this explanation reveal to us about God’s plan and His patience in bringing about His plan?  What can it also teach us about God’s ability to work in ways that are not expected by us?

Passage for Tomorrow: Hebrews 5:11-14