Hebrews 5:11
08 February 2026
About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. (Hebrews 5:11)
Please turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews to chapter 5. If you're using one of our church Bibles, this can be found on page 1003. We're going to read Hebrews 5 from verse 11 to verse 14, the end of the chapter, and our focus this afternoon will be dealing with verse 11. Hebrews chapter 5 beginning at verse 11. This is the Word of God.
“About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil”. Amen.
Let's pray together. O God, we pray, may you be at work through the preaching of your Word, that we would be hearing your truth, that it would shape and drive our hearts towards you, towards the worship, praise, and honour of your name for the building up, the maturing of your people. Lord, we come as that people, born again and set apart, and we pray that there would be that longing, that hunger to hear, to receive, to apply Your Word. So, bless what is preached. Be glorified, for we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.
So, in the recent argument that we've been working through in Hebrews chapter 5, the biggest argument in all of the book, it's on a very deep, complex subject of the priesthood and its significance in the Old Testament, and why these types and shadows find their fulfilment in the new, in the coming of Jesus Christ. Now all that to say, as we come to chapter 5 verse 11, the author to the Hebrews just quite literally puts the brakes on this. He stops what he's been arguing and he urgently addresses now the subject of spiritual maturity.
But what we have to be clear about, as we deal with this abrupt, now we're covering the subject of spiritual maturity, this is not one of these, oh, Hebrew Christians, you're all spiritual babes and we'll keep feeding you milk until you grow. No, what we're dealing with here is very much a rebuke relating to the subject of spiritual maturity. So, this teaching on spiritual maturity is the author to the Hebrews, Hebrew Christians, on one fundamental level, rebuking where they are. Now this goes on for more than a chapter. So, it requires a lot of time and attention from literally chapter 5 verse 11 to all the way down to the end of chapter 6. And this whole chunk can basically be broken into two sections. Up until chapter 6 verse 8, it's the warning and rebuke on the subject of spiritual maturity. And then from verse 9 to verse 20 of chapter 6, it acts as more of an encouragement.
So, here as we initially begin this putting the brakes on the subject of spiritual, the spiritual subject of the priesthood, it is a warning and a rebuke. Now here in verse 11, it begins with the author saying that there is so much to say, but it's hard to explain, because of where these people, where these professing Christians are at in their faith with regards to their maturity in their faith.
Now this launches into an absolutely gigantic subject, which again, like everything in Hebrews so far, is why we are taking so much time to really dissect not only what is being said in these verses, but some of the key applications to this. On the subject of spiritual maturity, likely all of you as Christians have probably at different times thought and wondered, maybe about yourselves, about people close to you, and about other Christians in other settings, - Where they're at in their maturity, in their Christian faith? Are they growing in their faith in the way that they ought? And sometimes you might look at a group of Christians and think, well, they're not growing in their faith because maybe they're in a church context where the Word is not being taught. It's all very spiritually light and fluffy and you're not expecting a grounding in biblical doctrine and truth. Everything theologically, practically, and spiritually, therefore, is going to be very light and immature.
But then also, there might be other cases where you look at maybe a group of professing Christians, maybe individual Christians, and you're looking at them and thinking, well, they should be growing in their spiritual walk. Perhaps even you've looked at professing Christian in a setting where you know they have been or they are being, and maybe have been for a long time, being taught the Bible, where they've been being given a grounding in spiritual doctrine, biblical doctrine. They're being fed, they're being shepherded, and yet oh as such biblical subjects are being taught, there may be blast in the life of a biblically grounded church. They seem to be none the wiser. Biblical truths are being disregarded. Biblical disciplines are not evidenced, being displayed and lived out in the lives of such professing Christians.
And let me tell you as a, just as a way of inference, from a pastoral shepherding perspective, this is probably one of the greatest frustrations where you as the shepherd are coming to feed the flock, preaching, teaching the word, and exhorting, encouraging, and seeking to build up groups, individuals within that church setting. And instead of some people consuming the Word of God and then growing and maturing, they just keep seeming to bump into that same wall. They keep stumbling into that same ditch. They continue to even spit out the food, the spiritual food that they are being given. And this is what the issue is, that Hebrews chapter 5 and into chapter 6 is dealing with. Because the Hebrew Christians are not immature in their faith because of a lack of teaching. So just be clear on that. This is not a lack of teaching and not a lack of biblical depth and say, oh well they must have been in some silly charismatic church and they never opened up their Bibles. It's none of that. No, they're being taught biblical doctrine. We've been dealing with some Melchizedek stuff recently. So, they're getting some deep grounded doctrine. And the issue is that they're hearing the truth and yet the question is surrounded by how are they then receiving that truth. That's the issue.
You could have a group of Christians in a building like this, on an afternoon like this, where a preacher is coming to give solid food of the Word, to preach the Word of God. And the question then comes, how are you hearing? How are you consuming this word, this food? That's the question. How are you hear this afternoon hearing the Word of God. That's the issue. That is the issue that we're dealing with in our verse.
And so, there's two very clear and simple points that we're going to be addressing. One is the issue, and the second is the reason for the issue. The issue is that there's so much to say, but it's hard to explain. So, the author is literally stopping on the priesthood subject to say, there's a lot more to say about this and many other biblically rich doctrines, but it's hard to explain to you Hebrew Christians. That's the issue. And the reason for the issue is that they have become dull of hearing.
So, the issue is it's hard to explain these things and the reason for the issue is that they've become dull of hearing. So, this means that with what has been being taught already, for example on the subject of the priesthood, these are people who are not ready for all this weighty doctrine. Now that's quite a blast. If you're one of these Hebrew Christians grounded maybe in your knowledge of the Old Testament, they know their Old Testament, they know the law, they know things about the priesthood. It's not that they're sitting ignorant about these subjects. And the author to the Hebrews is saying, no you're not ready. This is actually hard to explain.
But what we need to be clear about is that chapter 5 verse 11 is not a bolt out of the blue for them. Think already in the first four and a half chapters there have already been many exhortations given to these Christians. The exhortation to pay closer attention, to consider Jesus, not to harden your hearts. Take care lest you have an unbelieving heart. Be diligent, hold fast to your confession. The book of Hebrews has already been containing so many of these exhortations and warnings so far in this letter. And these are being written because the author is concerned about the spiritual state of these professing Christians. And we're now really getting to the nuts and bolts as to why. Because so far, it's been exhortations for them to look to Jesus, to consider Jesus. And it's now only at the end of chapter 5 that he begins to address and diagnose the problem. So that's what we're getting our teeth into now.
And it's quite fascinating, as the Lord has ordained it, the timing and placement of this in the book of Hebrews is now. Now at the point when we've already dealt with so much. We're now getting into the real heart of the meat of the book on the priesthood, and all of us, we've been sitting here thinking, when are we getting onto Melchizedek? Well, we're going to get to Melchizedek in chapter 7, but the author needs to put the brakes on for the Hebrew Christians then and for us now to check that we're ready to hear it, that we're ready for the explanation, that we're ready for the unpacking of these doctrines. So, that's the question, brothers and sisters. Are you ready? And this is the preparation for that. Because even take the subject of the Order of Melchizedek. Well, that's a subject that quite a lot of professing Christians and maybe some who are not Christians would be quite fascinated by. In fact, the book of Genesis early on in particular is full of them. We've got the creation account, people who often fascinated by the Nephilim, the details surrounding the flood, the scattering in the Tower of Babel and so on. There's so many of these rabbit holes we would like to kind of dig into and really kind of find out and get all sorts of an insight into.
What the author wants to ensure is that your hearing of this subject, of these weighty biblical doctrines, is rightfully aligned, that the foundation is secure. Because it's not. For these Hebrew Christians, what has been their struggle on an issue like the priesthood? The way they are hearing it. They know about the priesthood system so much so that they rely upon it. They've heard, they've believed, and they would profess Christ and the Gospel, and yet as they should be growing then in their maturity, what instead is happening is they're going back to that Old Testament Jewish custom and practice way of doing things, and they're relying on that even at the expense of the Gospel that they professed faith in.
And we see throughout the New Testament; that's one of the big hot subjects. Even the apostle Peter struggled with this issue, dealing with navigating biblically the Jewish customs and how they relate to their fulfilment in Christ and how we now live as a Christian in the time of the New Covenant, all of that stuff. These Jewish Christians are getting so muddled up and messed up in all of that. And we might on one level think, wow, they're still pretty mature. They know about the priesthood. And people can sometimes look and sound the part. Oh, they've studied theology. They've got a bachelor in divinity. That person's got a PhD in this, that, and the other connected with divinity. So what? That does not in any way mean spiritual maturity. In fact, it can at times and sometimes often is an even greater indicator of stunted growth of spiritual immaturity. And that's very much what we're dealing with these Hebrew Christians. And we can consider how the enemy gets in in situations like this.
The enemy will take a subject like the priesthood and say to those who've maybe got this Jewish background, look, you know, you're Christians, but you know the Old Testament system is right. So even taking these deep doctrines and some of the strange ideas you have and running rings around this to keep you as far from what? As far from Christ and the gospel as possible. And there are so many warnings to this effect. 2 Peter 3:16 says, there are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.
So yes, the author has much to say more on the subject of the priesthood. And the issue is the way that the hearers are interpreting it. Because it can be so easy to take biblical truths, biblical doctrines, and maybe think, oh look, I'm Mr. Maturity, I'm dealing with the priesthood. And it's anything but. And this is why, with all of the deep and complex subjects we've already tackled so far in this series in Hebrews, it is by considering Jesus Christ, paying closer attention to Jesus Christ, seeing how it relates to Jesus Christ, how it points to and is about Jesus Christ. That is what we must grasp. And that's what always, always, always is how you do not lose your bearings, brothers and sisters, because Jesus Christ is your anchor.
These deep doctrines in Scripture, sometimes which are hard to be described, which are described in 1 Corinthians 2:7 of the secret and hidden wisdom of God revealed by the Spirit. They are hard to discern and to decipher and to understand. The resurrection of Christ and our bodies is described as a mystery in 1 Corinthians 15:51. There is the mystery of Christ in Ephesians 3:4-5. So, there is great complexity, there is great mystery surrounding this, and this is why we have to have Christ as that centre, anchor, foundation, all and everything.
Why we have to have in view in order to know where we are on the priesthood, in order to know where we are on some of these early parts of Genesis, to know where we are on these New Testament applications and so on, we have to have Christ at the centre of it all. That's where we do not lose our bearings going down into some root which will stunt our spiritual growth. It's why time and time and time again, Sunday after Sunday, day after day, week after week, who and what you need is Jesus Christ and the life-saving message of the Gospel.
If we're coming expecting something else or something that is more but in fact is a replacement of this, then we do not understand what biblical Christianity and spiritual maturity is all about. Because it is by understanding that the very reason by which you even have this spiritual milk that we'll get to in subsequent weeks, let alone solid food, is because your entire life, your perspective, everything has been transformed by the coming of the Son of God to this earth.
The only reason why the church is set apart from the world that is out there is Jesus Christ. We didn't become religious and mature in our religious outlook by any other way than by what Christ has changed in us. That's by coming to a realization of who we are before this God. That every one of you is a wretched, undeserving sinner, deserving of eternity in hell. And this is exactly why Christ came. He came to lay down His life for fallen, broken, and undeserving sinners. That's what He came for you, professing Christian, to do. To save you from hell. To rescue and redeem you. That you could be fit for heaven. How can you be fit for heaven? Only by Christ and His blood and His righteousness. Nothing more. Nothing can be added to that. Nothing can be taken from that. Nothing can be changed of that. It is all because of Christ. That's why we consider Christ. We pay more, closer attention to Christ. It's all about Christ. That's what needs to be prepared, in the hearts of how people are hearing this.
Now, with that said, we then come to the second point of this verse, because it says there's much to say and it's hard to explain. And here now we come to the reason why. Since end of verse 11, you have become dull of hearing. Dull of hearing. Now this is the same Greek word that's used in Hebrews 6:12, which you can just glance over, where the word sluggish is used there. So, it's the same word translated as sluggish. And so, what it means to be dull of hearing, is to be effectively lazy, indifferent, and spiritually apathetic.
And the Scriptures are full of warnings against spiritual sluggards, especially in the Book of Proverbs. For example, Proverbs 19:15 to read but one. It says, slothfulness casts into a deep sleep and an idle person will suffer hunger.
Now this issue of dullness of hearing, this sluggishness spiritually speaking, it's not an issue with your ears, it's an issue with your hearts.
That's the issue in question with regards to verse 11. And we see this very clearly when the word is used again. uh in chapter 6 verses 11 to 12. Let's just read this for a moment. It says, and we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end so that you may not be sluggish but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
Notice a difference between those in Hebrews 6:11 who have a hope, a hope to the end based on what they've heard compared to verse 12, those who are hearing and are sluggish.
Now just think about a situation where maybe you or you've been sitting and hearing the preaching of the gospel. The Word of God is going forth. The preacher, the person is calling sinners to repent. The gospel is clearly articulated. And what you hope and pray you'll see in the hearts of people around you, especially in the unbeliever is that they'll be moved to tears. There will be a conviction of sin. There will be a readiness and earnestness to receive the Word with faith, with saving faith, confessing with their lips Christ Jesus is Lord. And yet what do you find?
With people who are sitting, hearing that same gospel message that fires up so many professing Christians. To some people in their hearing of their hearts, it might as well have been background noise that you hear in an airport or a train station to the extent you listen to it.
And what's more startling is that Hebrews 5:11 is not dealing with an unbeliever who has flat out rejected the gospel and has no desire or interest and couldn't care less what's being said. Notice what it says. It says, since you have become dull of hearing, you have become spiritual sluggards. For these Hebrew Christians, the gospel and the rich doctrine centred upon Jesus Christ is not hitting home. And so instead of seeing and hearing issues like the priesthood through the lens of the cross as types and shadows, they've become dull to it all. They have become dull to it all. And they're now at a stage where they're hankering after a man-made fleshly system. That's why the Apostle Paul warns in Galatians 3:3, are you so foolish, having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? Similarly in Galatians 5:7, you were running well, who hindered you from obeying the truth.
And this is where it becomes so startling to consider that we're dealing with a group, a bracket of people here now who have professed Christ, who have received the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ with joy, with passion, with desire. And now where are they? They're dull of hearing. And we look with sadness and we wonder, why? What's happened here?
Have you seen groups of people in this bracket? Some who, back in their younger days, maybe they professed faith in their teenage years and they were so zealous for Christianity. They proclaimed that, belong to Christ. They've gone to the youth weekends and all of these things. And then as they grow up into early adulthood, suddenly they're not interested. These are people, they know the Bible. They know the Gospel. But ultimately, they don't know the gospel. They're not stirred by it. They're spiritually slothful and they're switched off to the truth.
And there's others, some who attend churches, maybe even in this church. They're attending, they're hearing, they're being seemingly fed by the Word and nothing's changing. Why is that? People who've maybe grown up with Christianity all their lives. And they could articulate points of Scripture better than many zealous believers. But they're dull of hearing. They're switched off to it. The gospel is not shaping, exciting, and transforming and building up this individual, this group of those who maybe once or still do profess faith in Christ. They're dull of hearing.
Then there's others who dig around. They're searching for the answers. They look into Catholicism, they look into Orthodoxy, they look into charismatic teachings and so on and so forth, because they're searching for the answers. But what's happening in the hearts of such people? In these cases, there's the great danger of being dull of hearing. Because your hearing has become so dulled that you can't think clearly. Now such people, they don't hold up their hand and say, yeah, I'm a spiritual sloth. That's why I'm searching around, because nothing's really hitting home. No, such people will say, no, it's because I'm thinking more deeply. I'm thinking in a way that you simple-minded Christians who are all about the Gospel are not able to do. But the reality is you're dull of hearing. That's your problem. And the Bible doesn't ever over-complicate or move past the centrality or the clarity of Jesus Christ and the Gospel. Romans 10:17. So faith comes from hearing. And hearing through what? The Word of Christ.
The Word of Christ. The author to the Hebrews hasn't suddenly realized, oops, chapter 5, I've been speaking too much about Jesus. That's not going to go down too well with these Hebrew Christians because they're spiritual sloths. No, he's shaking them up to realize the mess that they're in because they need Christ. The people need Christ and today people need Christ. And yet, what do we see? With the need that people have for the clarity of the gospel being proclaimed from our pulpits, being proclaimed from our churches, what do we see so readily instead? A dumbing down to suit the dull of hearing, that's what we see. That will satisfy and appease the people.
And it reminds me of many years ago, a senior pastor of a large church in this country saying to me as a way of exhortation and encouragement for my preaching, oh, illustrations, they're the things that people remember the most as a way to fill your sermons with illustrations instead of seeing that as an alarm bell to be rung. Yes, undoubtedly, we remember these things. I remember the horse on top of the market in an image, the pastor wearing a cap and drinking coffee, a picture of the Gallacher brothers on a screen at the beginning of a sermon. and a Buzz Lightyear figure being used as the main heart of a sermon. All things that I have seen and yes, today I remember these things and what does this do to me? It dumbs me down.
I remember them but it's not building me up to maturity as a mature believer in Christ. And that is our problem, brothers and sisters. So much so that even the spiritual standard and attitude towards the preached word has become so peripheral. Historically, the preaching of the word was absolutely central and foundational to the importance of a local church. But no more. No more. Take in a church like ours. We have had people who've not then come into membership or even some who have left membership who have said consistently, oh, I've liked the preaching, I've appreciated the depth of teaching. But each of these people, that has not been enough for them to come to commit to this church or that's not been enough for them to stay. Why? Because it's not enough. We want more. We want to be entertained. We want to be appeased. We want our fleshly consciences to be built up. And that's why the Word does not satisfy. And that's the challenge. That is the challenge because Hebrews 5:11 is diagnosing the reason for the problem, the dullness of hearing.
And the church is rapidly becoming the candy floss fluff fest that centre’s upon and panders to this very problem. And it's tragic. People want it and churches give them it. But Proverbs 13:4 warns, the soul of the sluggard craves and gets what? Nothing. That's what you get. If you want all the bells, whistles, flicks and tricks of modern-day entertainment church, you get nothing while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.
Brothers and sisters, this is the spiritual battle that we're in. The devil is bidding for our hearts to dull our hearing, to dumb our senses. Whether it's the bright lights of the world or the religious attractions of what you must do, anything that will numb your senses to the richness of the Gospel. And so, we have exhortations in Scripture that we must take heed of. James 1:21. Therefore, put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word which is able to save your souls.
Now brothers and sisters, let's not play games here. We know that the world is vying for your attention and your affections. Look at what James 1:21's warning of, the filthiness and rampant wickedness. Those fleshly things that we hold onto, those worldly things that we long for, those sinful things that we crave, you know in your hearts and in your conscience, where you so readily and so easily stumble.
It's why even when it comes to the preaching of the Word, the reading of Scripture, time to pray, your senses are dumbed down. You're too busy on your phone. You're too busy thinking about something else, something that gets nothing. As Proverbs 13:4 warns. What are we doing? When we think even this now is the opportunity to hear the Word preached. And we'd rather be somewhere else. Some are somewhere else, and others' heads are somewhere else.
Today, brothers and sisters, this very night, may it be that the Lord would increasingly stir our hearts and affections, that we would take heed of our Lord's words in a passage like Luke 8:18 which says, take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given. and from the one who has not even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.
Do you come to the Scriptures, to the preaching of the Word, to prayer, to spiritual disciplines in your life with a being prepared and ready to hear? Did you enter into this building this afternoon praying that you would have a spiritual readiness to hear the Word of God preached? This is a spiritual battle and the devil is out to dumb your senses. That's why the author to the Hebrews hits the brakes on the priesthood to set you right. To set your hearts, your minds aligned to what is right. Because if there's that desire and that hunger, there will be an even greater longing to hear even more preaching, more teaching of the Scriptures. Where are we today? Who can the sermons be shorter? Can we just have one service? Can we have a bit more fun? What are we saying? We're saying that which the dull of hearing are so driven by.
That's why it is an encouragement. When we see brothers and sisters in our local church serving, who are reliable, committed, soaking up the truth, have a love for Christ, not because they're looking for some kudos or platform, but they simply hear the truth, the life-saving gospel, and it fills them. It's attractive to their souls. And so, there's a readiness. Yes, I want to hear about Melchizedek. I don't know much about this, but I want to hear and devour more of the Book of Hebrews, of the Book of Romans, of the Book of Amos, of the Book of Joshua, of the Book of Ephesians. There's an earnestness in prayer. There's a desperation to gather to pray with the Lord's people. There is a longing to hear and to read and to devour the Word of God because the Word has taken root. It's the word which is received with meekness, James 1:21.
Here tonight, is that you? Or are you, and have you, for a long time, been nothing more than a spiritual sluggard, lazing around with the Scriptures and the things of God? Being in a so-called biblical church doesn't make it all right, as if that's your get-out-of-jail-free card. In fact, it can be an even greater indictment. For these Hebrew Christians, they're getting this doctrine and the author still has to stop. Whoa, hang on. There's much to say. But you Hebrew Christians, you can't comprehend it. You're spiritually asleep. Well, here we just are beginning a section where we hit stop. It is a call to wake up, smell the pages of Scripture, see and savour Jesus Christ.
If nothing more, may it be by the grace of God that we would understand that He is worthy. He is altogether lovely. He is the Lord and Saviour of sinners, the Lord over all. Everything is about Him. If that is the hunger, the desire, the appetite, the thirst that you have, then this is the beginning of that spiritual discipline that I will have a readiness to hear the Word, that I will be coming with a hunger and a desire to grow in my faith, to grow in maturity, that there wouldn't be a dullness of hearing, but there would be a readiness in my heart to hear, receive, and apply the Word of God. Because I love Christ, I love the gospel, and I love the God that I come to worship. May that be your prayer every day of your lives. Every time you prepare to gather with the Lord's people, every time you're thinking, maybe I'll just stay at home tonight, maybe I'll just forget my Bible reading this morning, every time those sin-driven temptations are leading to an increasing dullness of hearing, may it be that you pray, oh Lord, give me an even greater hunger, an even greater appetite for the things of God, for this glorious gospel that I know and believe. And in this, there will be a going from the drinking spiritual milk which we all need as we'll see to a pressing on to spiritual maturity where we are able to consume and grow in this solid food. Lord do such a work here in this church in our hearts for the upbuilding of the church of Jesus Christ. Let's pray together.
Oh Father, may you do such a work. Stir our hearts and affections with a desire, a longing for the truth of your Word to be implanted deep within our hearts that we would have ears to hear the truth, hearts ready to receive the glorious richness of the Gospel and the foundations by which we then live our lives. O God, we ask that you would work by your Spirit. Do such a mighty sanctifying work in a people who are born again and set apart for you, for your glory and honour, for we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.