A brief review of chapter 4:

  • There is a “rest” that remains for the people of God. It is heaven.
  • We must be diligent to enter our rest. Israel missed their rest in the land of Canaan because of disbelief. We will miss ours as well if we follow in their footsteps.
  • The word of God (which Israel rejected) is powerful and convicting (Hebrews 4:12). It is the standard by which God will judge us.
  • Not only is Jesus superior to Moses, but He is also superior to Aaron. The Lord is a far better High Priest than Aaron because He passed through the heavens. He can truly sympathize with our weaknesses because He lived as a man and was tempted in every way, but did not sin.

Chapter 5:

  • The topic of the priesthood of Jesus begins in Hebrews 4:14ff. This is a recurring theme in Hebrews (Hebrews 2:17; 3:1; 4:14-15). The point of this is to demonstrate that Jesus is a more superior High Priest than Aaron.
  • Every high priest under the old covenant was divinely appointed (Hebrews 5:1-4). He was appointed to minister on behalf of God’s people.
  • Like those priests under the old covenant, Jesus was also divinely appointed (Hebrews 5:5). The Father chose His Son to become a high priest “according to the order of Melchizedek” (Hebrews 5:6).
  • Melchizedek is an interesting character. There is only one incident of his life recorded in the Bible (Genesis 14:18-20). He was both a king and a priest. The Hebrews writer uses Melchizedek’s position to teach several things about Jesus. Like Melchizedek, Jesus was also appointed to be a King and Priest.
  • Jesus’ humanity was a key component to Him being qualified to serve God’s people as a faithful High Priest (Hebrews 5:7-10). Like us, Jesus suffered and endured trials. He prayed in moments of anxiety and was heard by His Father. He learned obedience from the various trials He experienced.
  • The writer wanted to say much more about the priesthood of Jesus, but could not because the subject was too difficult for these Christians to understand (Hebrews 5:11-14). They had not matured in the faith because they had become dull of hearing. We need to learn from their mistake!