Hebrews 5:1
26 October 2025
For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.
Now, as we begin Chapter 5, this is undoubtedly the biggest argument in the Book of Hebrews. In fact, it is an argument that will take us all the way to the most part of Chapter 10, dealing with the subject of the significance of the Levitical priesthood and how it is fulfilled in what we see in Jesus Christ.
Now, initially, with such an introduction, maybe for some people listening to this, it may sound like a little bit of a dry subject to be dealing with for just a couple of weeks, let alone something that will probably take us years to work through, dealing with the depths of books like Exodus and Leviticus. These are probably some of the books that we spend less time reading and studying. And yet the Book of Hebrews, one of the most in-depth, Christ-centred, Christ-focused, Christ-magnifying books, is grounded in these books, these arguments that we find being built in the Old Testament in books like Exodus and Leviticus. And what we need to begin to see even today is that the significance of the Levitical priesthood, the significance of the subject of the priest, is absolutely central to what you already and what we pray you will increasingly understand about the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Think about a few things that you would be in the habit of articulating that people would say from pulpits, lecterns, and out in the street all the time when speaking about Jesus and the Gospel. For example, we speak so readily about someone having to die, that someone being Jesus. We talk about Jesus dying for my sins, we talk about Jesus being a sacrifice, and we talk and sing about the significance of the blood. If we just stop for a moment and think, this language that we are using—sacrifice, dying, blood—would not be otherwise considered normal modern-day contemporary language that people would be speaking and using. And yet it is at the very heart of the Christian faith. It is at the very heart of the very Gospel you proclaim, that you believe, and by which anyone of us has been saved.
This is why Hebrews from here until Chapter 10 deals with this subject, because He is going into such depth. It is literally, as we mentioned when we introduced Hebrews almost two years ago, the treasure chest of the Scriptures. Hebrews is digging so deep to give us the blessed opportunity to understand more of the very Gospel that we believe. And so, when we come to the language of the priesthood and Jesus being not just a priest, but the Great High Priest, this is absolutely essential to understand because it is the Gospel, it is the life-saving message of the Gospel that we are dealing with. And again, just by this very brief introduction, we already should have in mind, "Okay, there are dots that are connecting here that join together with your Exoduses and your Leviticuses of the Old Testament." So, if we are thinking, "Well, those books are a bit dry, stale, and not really much to do with the Jesus that we talk about," well, we need to think again and understand that they have everything to do with what we now speak about here today. And thanks be to God that in the Book of Hebrews this is exactly what is being drawn out. It is exactly what is being drawn out.
Now, as we begin, we are going to spend almost half of our time introducing the subject, because, as we can imagine, it is a big one. But Hebrews Chapter 5 isn’t the very first place that we see mention of priest and priestly language. So, just to jog your memory, because we have obviously worked through everything in the first four chapters in much detail, there have already been references, for example, with regard to Jesus as the High Priest in Chapter 2, verse 17, and then in Chapter 3, verse 1. And we have something even more explicit in Chapter 4, verse 14.
Now, Hebrews 4:14 is a very important verse in the Book of Hebrews, because it is very much an introductory declaration of the argument which is being built from the end of Chapter 4 all the way to the end of Chapter 10. Now, if you were to just scroll your eyes across some of these chapters, you might be thinking, "Well, hang on a second. There seems to be some tangents and subcategories," like, for example, the warnings against apostasy, the specific teachings on different covenants, with the new being superior to the old, as crucial to all of this. But all of these points link into the bigger argument which is being established here, which is regarding Jesus and the subject of the priesthood.
Now, another thing that is very important for us to realise is that what we now have being built—this argument being built—would have been quite a startling argument for the context of who this was written to. Remember, we are dealing with the Hebrew Christians coming from a Jewish background, where the subject of the priesthood would have been absolutely all-encompassing in their minds.
I stumbled across a very helpful quote by a Scottish minister called Dr. John Brown, and it really does give a very helpful explanation as to why the priesthood was important to Jews. Now, this is something that I do not often do—give quotes, especially lengthy quotes—but this will help to capture not just why this is important to the Jews, but why this subject is so rich in many ways. So, this is his quote:
No part of the Mosaic economy had taken a stronger hold of the imaginations and affections of the Jews than the Aaronic high priesthood, and that system of ritual worship over which its occupants presided. The gorgeous apparel, the solemn investiture, the mysterious sacredness of the high priest, the grandeur of the temple in which he ministered, and the imposing splendour of the religious rites in which he performed, all these operated like a charm in riveting the attachment of the Jews to the now overdated economy, and in exciting powerful prejudices against the simple, spiritual, and unostentatious system by which it had been superseded.
Now, if you have not quite got all of the points in this quote, what we very much see is that this priesthood and all that it involved—what the priest would wear, what the priest is doing, and the significance of it for Israel, for the Jews and their sins—that really captured the imagination of the people. And what the writer to the Hebrews is doing to any who are holding onto that system as a means of their hope of getting to Heaven, He is smashing that idolatry. So, there is another thing, another subplot to what is being argued from Chapter 5 onwards: to smash the idolatry of any Jew that would hold weight to the priesthood in a way that, even we have in the Old Testament, it was not meant to carry.
Now, this is important to stress because what we have in the Old Testament is of such significance, but it is of such significance because of Christ. Something, an argument we have heard being made repeatedly, and we will continue to make it until we finish with the Book of Hebrews, repeatedly, again and again: it is because Christ is superior, because Christ is better, because there is fulfilment in Christ. And we are unashamed, unapologetic in being emphatic in declaring this with regard to the priesthood. So, have that in mind, brothers and sisters, because this would have been a major tension point for the original reader.
Now, with that said, one question that we may have, "Well, why priesthood at all? Why do we need all this? Why don't we just get straight to Jesus coming and doing what He needs to do to save us?" Now, even by asking or potentially thinking like this, already we need to realise that some things have happened in order for Jesus to be coming. Because the Bible begins with the existence of God and the creation of man. But then we have the problem of the fall of man. And this is again something very commonly known and understood for anyone who comes to know and understand the Gospel: that we are in a fallen condition, we are broken in our sin, and we are separated from God, and we are deserving of hell.
Now, all of these truths, these spiritual realities which cut every one of us off from God, then become essential to our subject today. Because you have got a problem, men out there who have got absolutely no interest in any of this: priests, blood sacrifice, absolutely no interest. And yet that is exactly the point. That is exactly the problem, brothers and sisters, because man is in a fallen condition with a disregard and a contempt for the Living God. And this is something which is man's condition from the time of Genesis. In Genesis Chapter 3, what happens because man has rebelled against God? Well, we have angels coming with a flaming sword turned every way. In Genesis 3:24, man is cast out. We are in a stage of therefore being separated from God.
And so, what then happens throughout the Old Testament? We then deal with categories, periods in history with covenants being made, with the Law being given, with the priesthood being established, with the kingly line being established. All of these key themes in the Old Testament, different categories which the Lord has ordained, would be building towards, pointing forward to, enabling us to understand, therefore, the need that man has for a Saviour, the need that you have this very evening, this very hour, for Jesus Christ. So, have that in mind and understand already: because of God and the fall and our separation, there comes a need, and it is Israel’s need.
Let me just give you a few verses to highlight Israel's situation before God. And remember Israel in the Old Testament: they are the people chosen and set apart from all the other nations. So, we might think, if any nation, if any people, are going to be able to be in some sort of relationship with God, then of course it will be Israel. And yet their condition is clear. Exodus 19:12: “You shall set limits for the people all around, saying, ‘Take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death.’” Nobody, no man is allowed to touch the mountain where God will dwell. And then in Isaiah 33:14 it says, “The sinners in Zion are afraid, trembling has seized the godless. ‘Who among us can dwell with the consuming fire?’” This is God, the consuming fire, against man in his sin, wickedness, and rebellion. Then one more. Isaiah 59:2: “But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.” It could not be more clear. There is a separation. There is God and then there is us, separated from God.
Now, all of this that is being built, we are taking great time to build the picture as to why the subject of the priesthood is essential. And, and we are dealing first of all with this separation, even of the people of God, Israel; they are separated from God. And with this, therefore, we then begin to introduce the significance of priests and why the line of the priesthood is of such importance. Because the priest would be the one who would represent the people before God. This people who are separated from God, there is a priest who will come in and represent that separated people before God. And also, we are going to see, make sacrifice for them for their sins.
And the first man who did this, the first priest, was a man called Aaron. In Exodus 28:1, it says, “Then bring near to you Aaron, your brother, and his sons with him, from among the people of Israel, to serve Me as priests: Aaron and Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.” Now, this man Aaron comes from one of the 12 tribes of Israel. So, if we think to our history of the Old Testament, that should be increasingly familiar. We have God’s covenant with the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jacob has 12 sons, which are these 12 tribes. They have relocated to Egypt. They spend centuries in slavery. And these 12 tribes are going to be these 12 sons initially are going to be the 12 tribes where there will be many, many, many hundreds of thousands of descendants. And that will be the people of Israel. And one of them, one of these 12, is the tribe of Levi, which is the priestly line. And that is something that is introduced in Exodus Chapter 6, which is a people who are to make intercession and provide spiritual guidance as well as holiness for these other tribes. So, that man being separated from God issue, God has decreed that one of the 12 tribes, the tribe of Levi, are going to have a special calling to address this issue.
Now, if we can turn to a very important passage in the Book of Jeremiah, Chapter 33, because this is where we see the importance of the priestly line and the priesthood being affirmed. So, we will read Jeremiah 33, and beginning at verse 19: “The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: Thus says the Lord, ‘If you can break My covenant with the day and My covenant with the night, so that day and night will not come at their appointed time, then also My covenant with David My servant may be broken, so that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne, and My covenant with the Levitical priests, My ministers. As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, and the sands of the sea cannot be measured, so I will multiply the offspring of David My servant, and the Levitical priests who minister to Me.’ The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ‘Have you not observed that these people are saying, “The Lord has rejected the two clans that He chose?” Thus they have despised My people and so that they are no longer a nation in their sight.’” And we will stop there.
Now, what do we see here? We see the significance of two particularly important lines: the kingly line, which is from David, where a covenant is established in 2 Samuel Chapter 7, of which we have the tribe of Judah coming eventually from David, which will lead us to the coming of the Messiah. The other line that is of great significance here is the priestly line, which comes from the line of Levi. Now, this is important because even as we saw last week in Hebrews 4:16, there is one who will fulfil these offices, the office of the king, the office of the priest, and that is Christ Jesus Himself. It is why you and I have the opportunity to come before the Throne of Grace. It is a throne because Jesus is the King. It is the Throne of Grace because Jesus has graciously, mercifully made the way of salvation, because He is this Priest. And we can begin to see why then this priestly line, why the Levitical priesthood would be so important. Because there is a line of priests, beginning with Aaron and his sons, and then those who follow, generation after generation, until eventually we come to the one who will fulfil the office of the priesthood, the one who is unique in every way.
Again, let’s just note what is declared in Hebrews 4:14, that significant verse: “Since then we have a Great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.” Everything about that verse helps us to see that with the importance of the priesthood, there is one who is unique. Jesus is unique because He is the Great High Priest. He does not simply go through the fancy apparel of the earthly tabernacle or temple. No, He enters Heaven itself. And He is not simply an earthly mediator. He is God Himself, becoming man. Jesus, the Son of God. That is who we are dealing with as we work towards and build the picture of the importance of the priesthood. The priesthood as a system of dealing with the sin of Israel is not the picture in and of itself. It is building toward the picture which is being painted and then fulfilled in Christ.
And so, with that said, we come then to deal with our verse, Hebrews 5:1. Let me just read this again: “For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.”
So, we have got two things that we are going to deal with in our remaining time.
1. How the high priest is appointed.
2. What the high priest is appointed to do.
So, let’s work through both of these points.
How the High Priest Is Appointed
First of all, how the high priest is appointed. Now, the verse begins by saying that “every high priest chosen from among men.” So, we are being introduced to a special category within the priesthood. So, we have mentioned about the significance of priests of the priestly line. This is actually a special category within that priesthood. I read somewhere in studying for this that there were up to 24 categories within the priesthood in the Old Testament. But here there is mention of only one specific who is the High Priest, the chief high priest. In Leviticus 21:10 it says, “The priest who is chief among his brothers, on whose head the anointing oil is poured, and who has been consecrated to wear the garments, shall not let the hair of his head hang loose, nor tear his clothes.”
Now, if you are wondering, "Well, this word High Priest, what does that mean?" Well, it basically means the beginning priest, the first one, the first priest. And we saw back in Exodus 28:1 that this first priest was Aaron. Now, in Exodus 30:1, he is described as the priest in verse 10. And later, as we get to Leviticus, and particularly in Numbers, when the priesthood has grown, there is a specific designated one priest, the chiefest priest, who is then named specifically as the High Priest. Now, that might sound quite technical, but it is important just so that we understand where this terminology comes from.
And a key thing to note about this one man, this chiefest priest, is he is a man who is chosen by God. He is ordained by God. Note the verse again: “Every high priest chosen from among men”. Who is doing the choosing? God is doing the choosing. This whole system begins with God. Man cannot orchestrate any of it because, as we will see in verse 3 next week, even the high priest himself needs sacrifice for his own sins. So, we do not self-appoint, we do not come up with a system to try to sort out the mess of sin. And as if, “Well, we are separated from God, but we can do our own thing to sort this out.” No, God has ordained the means and He is the one who ordains the people.
And this, brothers and sisters, is at a time when the Law is being given to Moses. And that is striking. So, this Levitical priesthood which is being formalised and established is within the Law of God. It reveals God’s moral character and rulings and man’s failings before this Law and the condemnation we face because of the Law. So, it is interesting to note that when the Law is given, the Law condemns you. But also, in the giving of the Law, the Lord has ordained the way by which there is a solution. That is through the establishing of the priesthood, which will take us to the Saviour, Jesus. So, Exodus, that time that we studied for many years, that period when the Law is being given, yes, it very much condemns man, and if we are thinking at that point, "Well, the priesthood system will save us," no, the system in and of itself will not save us. But the establishing of the system is helping us to understand how we can be saved from the Law which condemns.
Now, brothers and sisters, we are just beginning to deal with very solid food-like teaching on the depths of the Gospel that we believe. But this should excite us because every little piece that we uncover, every little thing that starts to put another piece in that jigsaw that makes more of a sense of what we have in Scripture, is the maturing of the bride of Christ in our understanding. And it begins here with regard to the subject of the priesthood that God started it. God appointed the means and He appointed the person, which is Aaron initially, according to His Law. Hebrews 7:28: “For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son Who has been made perfect forever.” And there is that contrast between the establishing of the priest in the Old Testament and then the coming of the Son of God as we come to the new. So, that is the first point to consider with regard to how the high priest is appointed.
What the High Priest Is Appointed to Do
Now, we begin to draw out in a bit more detail what the high priest is appointed to do. What is he appointed to do? Well, in the verse, it says “chosen from among men,” and it begins first of all saying that he is appointed “to act on behalf of men in relation to God.” That is the first thing we see. What is he appointed to do? To act on behalf of men in relation to God.
Now, at this point, if we can actually turn to the Book of Exodus and Chapter 28, we are going to see specifically what was so beautiful, what was so spectacular about what Aaron was doing, but all the more so the sense of fear and trepidation that we would have imagined we were in Aaron’s position. So, in Exodus Chapter 28, one of the first things to note in, for example, verse 2, is that he has holy garments to wear. And it says it is “for glory and for beauty.” Verse 2. So, this is beginning to get this fancy apparel, that everything has to be precise, everything has to be splendid. And this is God ordaining it. So, this is not vain piety for the sake of trying to look fancy and religious. No, it is because everything that the priest does, even what he wears, how he acts, it matters before God. That is the reason it is significant. So, the very best of materials are used for garments to wear and so on.
But let’s just scroll our eyes down to verse 15, which is quite significant. In verse 15 we read, “You shall make a breastpiece of judgment, in skilled work.” And then it mentions, “in the style of the Ephod; you shall make it of gold, blue, purple, scarlet yarns.” And the details are given. This breastpiece of judgment, consisting of a dazzling array of 12 stones which represent the 12 tribes of Israel, as is mentioned in verse 21, literally means that this priest, this High Priest, is standing before God, representing His people on behalf of these people.
So, note what verse 1 of Hebrews 5 says. It says, he is appointed “to act on behalf of men in relation to God.” And this is exactly what he does. He puts on the breastpiece of judgment with these 12 stones marking the 12 tribes. So, he is therefore then literally representing the people, the people of Israel, acting on behalf of men. These men, he goes before God. And if we just scroll our eyes down to verse 29, it then says, “So Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece of judgment on his heart, when he goes into the holy place, to bring them to regular remembrance before the Lord.”
Now, the weight and the significance of what is mentioned in this verse is striking because this is a people deserving of judgment, and there is a man amongst them, this priest, who has been consecrated and set apart for the daunting task of making atonement for their sins, this undeserving people. Note the very important picture: somebody being called and set apart to represent an undeserving people, to literally carry their names in his heart and bring them, representing them before the Most High God in the most holy place of the Temple, behind a curtain which is to separate the Most Holy God from sinful man. These are hell-deserving sinners that we are dealing with. And there is a curtain which is to separate us from God. And there is one man who is appointed to go through this, to represent this people. Oh, he is being tasked with such a weighty, weighty calling.
And next week when we get to verses 2 to 4, we are going to unpack more of just what it is that he is facing, given this man himself has so many limitations. But what we need to see in the closing minutes we have here is that in Hebrews 5:1, it goes on to tell us exactly what it is he is doing by acting on behalf of men in relation to God. And that is where the verse ends by saying what he offers. What does he offer before God? Well, it says that he offers “gifts and sacrifices for sins.” Hebrews 8:3 also states, “For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; thus it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer.” So, there is a man; he is called and set apart within the Levitical line, the priesthood. A man who has been tasked to represent a separated people, separated from God. He is tasked to represent them before God. And how does he do so? By entering into the most holy place, offering these gifts and sacrifices.
And the final question that we need to engage with as we just begin to work through this vast and lofty subject: why gifts and sacrifices? How is that going to change anything? We have built enough of a picture to see, "Okay, well, man’s sin means that we do not go through that curtain. We are cut off from God. We get that. God has ordained a way, a means, a person who is to represent these people." But how are gifts and sacrifices going to make any difference to our, to your issue?
Well, it is important to note that the giving of sacrifices, giving of offerings before the Lord, do not start with Aaron in Exodus; they actually start with Cain and Abel in Genesis Chapter 4. And they have a twofold significant purpose. Number one: it is as a means of worship before God. That is the first reason that giving a sacrifice before the Lord is important. But the second one, which is of crucial importance, is because sacrifice is needed for sin.
So, what would happen when a sacrifice is brought before God? For example, the priest comes through this temple. In the case of Exodus, it would have been the tabernacle with a sacrifice which is a sacrificed animal, a year-old lamb without blemish, which would be given. It has been slaughtered; its blood has been shed. And what would this represent? Well, it would represent the sacrifice being made for a people’s sin, because the sins of the people of Israel would be transferred to this animal sacrifice and it would act as a covering for their sin before God. The theological word for this is expiation, and it is covering Israel’s sin. This is fundamentally essential for Israel to be able to worship their God. They need a covering for their sin because their sin separates them from God.
Similarly, it also acts as an offering which is pleasing in the sight of God because it literally appeases, it satisfies His righteous anger. And the theological term for this is propitiation. So, we have priests who are coming in, and this is where we are being introduced to why sacrifices and blood and all of these things are important. They are important because otherwise Israel is separated from God and they can have nothing to do with God. But because this priest enters into the most holy place with this sacrifice, it covers their sin and it satisfies God’s wrath. And that is how Israel functions in the Old Testament, again and again and again. Because repeatedly, again and again, year after year after year, the priest, and specifically on the Day of Atonement, the High Priest, will be required to make these sacrifices for sin.
And so, on the one hand, first of all, we can see how incredible this is. We can understand why the Jews would have such a central emphasis on the importance of the priesthood, because this is the means by which they were able to function and worship their God. So, it is of absolute, essential importance to the Jews in the time of the Old Testament.
But this is where we come, and in closing, to be reminded once more that that system in and of itself saves no one. It saves no one. So, if there is anyone alive today in the name of Judaism or anything else, thinking that they need earthly priests, flawed, sinful earthly priests, to be entering into any sort of sanctuary or environment, bringing blood sacrifices to cover their sins, that will not get anyone into Heaven. And that is the crucial point. That is the takeaway point. This system we see in the Old Testament is not to be disregarded in, in our understanding. It is to be understood that it is pointing towards what we rejoice and magnify today, which is the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
What did Jesus do on the cross? He is the expiation for sin. He is the propitiation for sin, but eternally, once for all. Because on that cross, Jesus was not simply covering your sin, He was dealing with it eternally. He eternally put away your sin. That sin which is transferred to the animal sacrifice in the Old Testament, Jesus takes upon that sin and He eternally puts it away. This is how He is the atonement for sin, which means that He is bringing God and man back into a perfect union.
And He does so by His own life being laid down, by His own blood being shed, because His blood being shed is what satisfies the wrath of God eternally. How can you stand this very hour, righteous, justified in the sight of God? Only by the Blood of Jesus Christ. Only by the Blood of Jesus Christ. And this is why for the Christian this very day and every day, the subject of the priesthood is central to our understanding of the Gospel. Because if it were not for Jesus Christ being the Great High Priest, who, who would lay down His life on Calvary, His blood being shed for sinners, cleansing us of our unrighteousness, that we may stand perfect before this God, perfect because of His perfect life being sacrificed for your sin, then you are a hell-bound sinner this very night.
But because of the blood, because of the sacrifice, because of Jesus Christ, you here tonight are saved. Saved by the blood, the Blood of the Lamb Who was slain, the High Priest Who has made the way of salvation, and why we declare He is the Great High Priest Who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God. It is why we do not need to offer gifts and sacrifices this day. Jesus Christ is the sacrifice once for all for your sin. It is dealt with; it is put away eternally. And it is why, even in Him dying, He would rise because He defeats sin and death and He is victorious as the All-Conquering One.
And this, brothers and sisters, is just the first verse of many chapters beginning to unpack the glorious weight, the magnitude, the beauty of the priesthood which is building the picture of the very Gospel we believe, that Jesus Christ Himself is our Great High Priest in Whom we trust, Who we praise and worship today. The priesthood is central to all that we know and understand because it helps us to understand the very Gospel that we believe.