Hebrews 5:5-6
16 November 2025
So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by Him who said to Him,
“You are my Son,
today I have begotten you”;
as He says also in another place,
“You are a priest forever,
after the order of Melchizedek.” (Hebrews 5:5-6)
The subject is the priesthood. Up until verse five, the focus has been on the Old Testament system, so the system of the priesthood before the coming of Christ. And this is one of the key reasons why the author to these Hebrew Christians is writing about this subject. Because one of the concerns, one of the key concerns and rebukes from the Jews towards the Christians at this time of writing, was the fact that, "You Christians, you don't have a high priest who can give sacrifices for you." So they have a system. Their system is what we find in the Old Testament. There are sacrifices given by priests, by high priests, and this is the way by which there is a covering for sin.
Now, brothers and sisters, as we have already been dwelling on, we see not just the imperfections of this because of the fact that these priests were sinful men, but also the fact that in and of themselves, what takes place in the Old Testament cannot save anyone. Now it's important to stress that it cannot save anyone. And this is why (Hebrews 4:14), which we'll refer to again and again, is a very, very important introductory verse to this big argument that is being drawn out.
So let me read (Hebrews 4:14) again. It says, "Since then we have a great High Priest who has passed, not through some earthly tabernacle or temple, but through the Heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession." So everything about this Great High Priest that is mentioned here is greater and superior. And so the argument is not simply, "Oh, we're Christians, we have a priest too," like the Jews, but what we have is something vastly, eternally superior. It is literally eternally life-saving.
Because the system of the priesthood, and the importance of the priestly garments, the animal sacrifices, the blood being shed, it's all central to what we have in the Old Testament. It's not being downplayed here in the Book of Hebrews. No, it is of great significance, but not as the Jews would attribute, as if it is a means of anyone's salvation. And this is the big issue at hand that this author is dealing with.
Now that Christ has come, the ministry and service in the temple of God has come to an end. And this is the big shock for the Jews that are amongst these Christians and even for the Christians getting their heads around this: this Old Testament system of giving sacrifices in the temple, it's gone, it's done. If there is a continued need for these priests and sacrifices, then it would mean that the priests and sacrifices have their own efficacy. But what we need to understand is even before Christ came, that was never the purpose. It's not as if in the Old Testament we have this priesthood system and that's not quite met up to a standard, so let's think about Jesus now.
The plan, the purpose, the foreshadowing, the pointing forward to, has always been Jesus Christ, the Great High Priest. And this should help us to see straight away, if you're going through books like Leviticus and thinking, "Well, where does this all connect?" It connects because it's about Christ. That's what it's about. This is helping us to understand all that Christ is.
And that's something that should embolden and enliven us in our hearts and minds, because we have the opportunity as we go through the Bible to dig deeper into understanding Christ and the Gospel. It is literally that central. Where before we were dealing with a system that would be acting as a covering for sin, that would need to be done again and again, here we have now this Great High Priest having passed through the Heavens, and it is Jesus, the Son of God.
And just think of what we see of the Old Testament in the examples of priests. Take Eli's sons at the beginning of 1 Samuel. It's why there is the promise of what is to come in (1 Samuel 2:35): "And I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in My heart and in My mind. And I will build him a sure house, and he shall go in and out before My anointed for ever." There is a faithful High Priest, which is Jesus Christ. And everything in the Bible is connected and magnifying this point.
And this takes us then to our text today, because as we begin to and continue to unravel and unpack the argument that is being established, we're going to see just how profound, how rich Jesus as this vastly, eternally superior Priest to the Old Testament priests actually is. And there are two things about Christ in verses 5 to 6 that we will be dwelling on regarding Him as the Great High Priest, namely, His divinity and His eternality as the Priest, the Great High Priest. We see that unlike the priests of the Old Testament, there is divinity and there is eternality. These are the two things that we need to consider.
So if we just go to verse five, it begins by now talking specifically about Christ. Up until now, Chapter 5 has been dealing with these Old Testament priests. Now we get the contrast in verse 5 when it says, "So also, Christ did not." Now, the first thing to note here is that a contrast is being directly made: a contrast between Christ in verse five and what do we see in verse four? Aaron. So (Hebrews 5:4) says, "No one takes this honour for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was." So Aaron, the beginning of this Levitical line of the priesthood in the Old Testament, was called by God.
Then we contrast this in verse five. It then says, "So also Christ did not exalt Himself to be made a High Priest, but was appointed." So in both cases we see the purpose and calling of God. But if we've been paying attention to what we've seen so far in chapter five and where the priesthood has come from, namely this line of Aaron, the tribe of Levi, then we have a problem. And that problem is that Jesus has not come from this Levitical line.
So what we see in the Old Testament is the priests will come from this special set-apart tribe of the twelve, which is the tribe of Levi, where Aaron comes from, and priests are appointed from that tribe. And here we are having a contrast being established with Jesus. But it says, though it's the contrast stating both the calling, there is something that is different and unique about what happens with Christ.
A few verses to note are (John 5:19). It says, "So Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of His own accord, but only what He sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.'" (John 8:54), "Jesus answered, 'If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing. It is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, "He is our God."'"
Now here's an interesting point to note: the calling of a priest is done by God. But the first difference that should be in our mind is not that Jesus isn't coming from this tribe of Levi, which we're considering, but actually that Jesus is Himself God. Now this is going to be important to establish, because if you're wondering, "Well, how do we make sense of this tribe of Levi thing?" the answer is found in the fact that Jesus is on another realm entirely. And this is what's being established here in verse 5. He is called, but this calling is very different to Aaron. And this is where, if we think back to (Hebrews 1:8), it says, "But of the Son, He says, 'Your throne, O God, is for ever and ever.'" And so what have we already noted? Jesus is God. And here's the divinity of this Priest.
So we're dealing with these priests of the Old Testament coming from this special tribe of Levi. Jesus is coming from something entirely, and as we're going to see soon, eternally on another realm, because He's God. And we see clearly, He needs to be called God, but He is also called by God. So how do we make sense of this? If Jesus is God, then how can He be then called by God?
Well, as we see in chapter two of Hebrews, it says that Jesus, the second Person of the Triune God, became Man and was made for a little while lower than the angels, (Hebrews 2:9). And so when we see the Lord Jesus saying in (John 8:54), "If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing," Jesus isn't saying, "Well, I'm denying My divinity." And the reason is because He is eternally God. But it is because we have God coming from Heaven and becoming man. This is how Jesus is called to be a Priest. He doesn't come from a tribe in the way that Aaron does. He comes from Heaven itself, clothing Himself in human flesh.
And so, as we see in (John 17:5), when our Lord declares, "And now, Father, glorify Me in Your presence with the glory that I had with You before the world existed." We know and we've seen in Hebrews, the Lord had glory with the Father before the beginning of creation. He had this glory because He is God, His throne is for ever. And so then we would then ask, "Well, how can Christ's glory be called 'Nothing' in (John 8:54)?"
And this is where (Philippians 2:7) is important. It addresses this very point, saying of Christ that "He emptied Himself by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men." So this is the glory of the incarnation, which is of such relevance to this office of Priest that Jesus is going to fulfil. And so there's a divinity to who and what Christ is as this Priest.
So there's already something in our minds that we should have in view here: Aaron of the Levitical line, and Christ, both called by God. But the nature of these callings is different, because Jesus is wholly different in that He is the Most High God becoming a man dwelling among us.
And this is why Psalm 2 is quoted. If you see here in verse 5, it goes on to say, "You are My Son; today I have begotten You." Now in this declaration we see that God has ordained from eternity a time in which the second Person of the Triune God would be the Word begotten. And this is a phrase adhering to this eternality and divinity of Jesus Christ in which He would dwell in His humanity.
And this is the covenant. This is deep theology. But understand, this is the covenant between God the Father and God the Son, according to the eternal counsel of the Triune God. This is within the divine realm of who God is, that the Father and Son have this covenant, where it is decreed by which Christ, the second Person of the Triune God, would come as the Son, because there's a perfect union in this Godhead.
The revelation of this eternal Sovereign decree is that Christ would come. And to come as a Priest is a glory to behold, because Christ is begotten not by a man. He doesn't come from a line of priests, from Levi. No, He doesn't come from there; He doesn't come from an earthly father, but rather by His Father in Heaven, by God the Father. So He has a divine commission.
Understand the weight of this, brothers and sisters, because if you're a Jewish Christian here, and you see the importance of the priesthood, the Levitical line, and the need for these sacrifices to be given to atone for Israel's sins—all of these things. Now, we are being introduced to something greater: Christ coming from Heaven itself and coming here to fulfil this priestly office in this unique and incomparable way.
(Ephesians 1:11), "In Him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will." And this is the beautiful thing. We have this inheritance, something we inherit, something that we will get because of the eternal counsel of the will of God. The Triune God has eternally decreed that this priesthood system would come into place in the Old Testament. It would be typological, pointing forward to the coming of God in human form, and He would fulfil this office of Priest, the One who is divine.
There is divinity to this Priest, of which these sinful priests in the Old Testament there certainly isn't. And so therefore, because He is divine, He is God, and He comes to be like us, dwelling among us with human flesh. He is then the only One in the position to do something eternally about your sin.
Why are we dealing with sacrifices and blood and all of these things? Because you're in sin. Your nature is sinful, you're fallen, you're corrupted. This world is afflicted. There are aches and pains and disease and death. All of this because of sin, which cuts us off from God. And so this is of central relevance to every single person in this world today, because God has decreed this way, this means by which you can be saved from this—the sin which leads to death, which condemns you to hell, which is what everyone is deserving of.
And this system which points forward to and is fulfilled by Jesus Christ, is fulfilled by Jesus Christ because He would come to take upon Himself the sins of His people. He would literally take your sin, Christian, upon Himself. Think of the calling of a Priest. A Priest is to represent a people before God. How is Christ to do this by also becoming the very sacrifice that would take that sin, not simply cover it, but deal with it and eternally put it away?
God is righteously angry, and Christ will bear that on a cruel cross. And that's the message of the Gospel. And He does this by fulfilling the office of Priest. And He needed to be not one from the tribe of Levi called by God, but the One appointed by God. The only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, who is divine. One who has no sin, not just an animal without blemish, but Jesus Christ without blemish, sinless, spotless, perfect.
And so the contrast with men like Aaron, worthless sinners, deserving of hell, we see the glory of Jesus Christ, One who will be glorified. It says explicitly in the beginning of John 17, our Lord begins this prayer that when the hour comes, the Lord Jesus will be glorified by the Father. How can this be? Because Christ will deal with sin. And He will deal with sin by being this Lamb who will be slaughtered. He is the Passover Lamb. He is the sacrificial Lamb. He will be slain on Calvary facing the sword of judgment that you deserve to face.
And yet He will be exalted because He is the begotten Son. That's what (Psalm 2:7) is declaring. And it's why this very point is noted in key aspects of Christ's ministry. If you turn just briefly to (Matthew 3:16), at our Lord's baptism, it says, "And when Jesus was baptised, immediately He went up from the water, and behold, the Heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on Him, and behold, a voice from Heaven said, 'This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.'"
This is the declaration of this Priest. This is God the Father, declaring, "This is My Son. I am well pleased with Him." Not a priest who comes from sin, but the Son who comes, who is called from Heaven. And this can begin to help us to understand why and how. Yes, absolutely. Jesus Christ fulfils the office of Priest, but He also fulfils the office of King.
Because you might be wondering, "Hang on a second, priests being exalted? Priests have got their job. Surely it's kings that are exalted." Yes, kings are exalted. And this is why (Zechariah 6:13) talks about the promise of a priest who will be on His throne. Now, the only way we can see an overlap, a connection with this, is if there's something unique about this Priest. And this is exactly the argument that's being built.
It's a complex argument, but a very important one. Because He is the Son of God, because He comes clothed in human flesh, because He is divine, He will be exalted. Because He's not like another priest who needs sacrifice for His own sin. He is sinless. He's not a priest who needs to find some sacrifice like the lambs and the bulls and these sorts of things in the Old Testament. No, He is the sacrifice because He is the divine, perfect, sinless One.
And He quite literally, spiritually satisfies the righteous anger of the living God—that righteous anger that you deserve to spend eternity in hell for. Jesus satisfies it. He does so as a Priest, and so He will therefore be exalted as a King. We see this picture. He will be sacrificed, fulfilling this office of Priest. He will be exalted as the King, the One who reigns and rules over all. And He does this because He is divine, because He is the Son begotten of the Father, who comes to this earth.
And this is also, therefore, a very important introduction to arguably one of the most complex subjects in all of Scripture, namely the order of Melchizedek. Just think what we've been saying. Repeat these points so that we've got this in our head. We have a Priest who is not like those of the tribe of Levi. We have One who comes from Heaven itself, begotten of the Father. It is the Son. He is divine. It is Jesus Christ. He fulfils the office of Priest by being the Priest who would not only be representing His people to God, but He actually sacrifices His very life for that people—Jesus being the sacrifice for sinners. And so therefore, by that sacrifice being laid down, He will be exalted, for He is also the King. Priest and King.
Where have we seen the picture of Priest and King? And there's only one specific example that we have in Scripture leading up to the Lord Jesus Christ, and that is Melchizedek. Now, if you're wondering at first glance who is Melchizedek, I have no idea. Well, there are two references to Melchizedek in the Old Testament. We're going to turn to one now as we go back to Psalm 110, which is quoted in (Hebrews 5:6).
Now, if you're looking at your watches and thinking, "How much of Melchizedek are we going to get into today?" Not much. We're just literally giving some bullet-point snapshots, because that's what Hebrews 5 does. It's just introducing the way for the big argument in Hebrews 7. So just to let you know, this is just setting the parameters, if you like, for what is going to be unpacked further. But this is what we need to do at this time.
So we're dealing with the divinity of Christ as we've seen in verse five. Now we come to the subject of the eternality of Christ, both as Priest and King. So let's just pay attention first to (Psalm 110:1). It says, "The Lord says to My Lord: 'Sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies Your footstool.'" Now this is a fascinating Psalm for many reasons, not just because we've got Melchizedek being thrown in in verse four, but here in verse one, we've very much got a regal, kingly picture being painted.
And the Lord Yahweh says to "My Lord," who is this? Well, initially we'd think, "Well, this is surely about David." And yet when we read this, "The Lord says to My Lord," this is David. Who would be David's Lord? Who is this Lord who is sitting at the right hand until the enemies are made His footstool? This is speaking of Christ. This is a Messianic Psalm that we have here, and it's a Messianic Psalm that Hebrews certainly makes reference to many times. And even before we have reference to Psalm 110, think back to (Hebrews 1:3), when it says, "after making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high." So Jesus sitting at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
Here in (Psalm 110:1), "Sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies Your footstool." So there's a picture here of Christ as the King. But then let's just notice, and remember we're just kind of giving some overview snapshots of this, how this Psalm progresses, because it goes on in verse 2. It says, "The Lord sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your enemies!" So again, very much, this is the picture of One who is ruling as a King. That's Jesus Christ. Enemies are a footstool. None can compare to the One who is elevated, exalted high above all: Jesus Christ.
Then we go on in verse 3, "Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of Your power, in holy garments. From the womb of the morning, the dew of Your youth will be Yours." And then He goes on in verse 4, "The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind: 'You are a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.'" Now, at this point, it's a complete head-scratcher. We're getting this picture of Jesus as a King, Him ruling, and people being subject to Him. That's relatively clear to understand this picture. But now we're getting a picture of something that is to do with the eternality of Him. But it's after the order of Melchizedek.
So if we just turn briefly now to Genesis chapter 14, which is the other reference that we have in Scripture of Melchizedek, after Abram has rescued Lot. Remember, Abram being the one who God has established this covenant. He will be the father of many nations. So he is an important figure. In (Genesis 14:18), we see mention of Melchizedek. It says, "And Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High."
So note that in this one verse we've got this character, Melchizedek, who is king. And also added, He was "priest of God Most High." And notice what this King, this Priest, does before Abraham. Notice who the authority is. (Genesis 14:19), "And he," Melchizedek, "blessed him," Abram, "and said, 'Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of Heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!'" And what does Abram do? It then says, "And Abram gave him a tenth of everything."
Now that is quite a verse. And it gets even more interesting if we just note (Hebrews 7:3), which we'll deal with in a few months' time, when it says of Melchizedek, "He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God, He continues a priest for ever." Now this is quite striking. Abraham, who is the father of many nations, the authority that he has is standing before One who is a greater authority, described as a Priest of the Most High God.
No mention of where He's from, what connections He has. He just appears in Genesis chapter 14. Then we don't hear anything of Him until there's reference to Him in Psalm 110, a Messianic Psalm. And then it's an argument that is being drawn out in great depth when we get to Hebrews chapter seven. Now if that's not an enticing invitation to stick with us in the coming months as we work through Hebrews, then I don't know what is.
But one thing that we do need to note with regards to (Hebrews 5:6) is the emphasis on the eternality of this Priest, the fact that He is both King and Priest, and that this is speaking with regards to who Christ is. All of these are things that should be in mind. If we have mention of someone who's a Priest and King in the Old Testament, we can be very sure straight away, without even joining these dots, that this has got something to do with Christ Himself.
And quite literally, it says here in verse six of chapter five, "as He says also in another place, 'You are a priest for ever, after the order of Melchizedek.'" So whatever this order is, it is something that is eternal, for ever and ever and ever. And that can contrast entirely from the priestly system of the Old Testament, because these priests like Aaron are not for ever and ever and ever. They are sinful men and they will die. Jesus Christ is a sinless Man. He will die. But what do we find? He will live and reign for ever.
In (Philippians 2:6-7), we see that He empties Himself, taking on the form of a servant. But then in (Philippians 2:9-11), "Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in Heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
That's where this is headed. By the Priest, the Great High Priest, Jesus, the Son of God, being slain on Calvary, being buried in a tomb, He will rise victorious from the grave, and He will be the exalted One who is seated at the right hand of the Majesty on high, until the enemies are put under as His footstool. Jesus Christ reigns over all. He is Priest and He is King, for He is divine and He is eternal. That's what's being introduced here.
And again, note, it's just introducing this. If you're thinking the Jews are saying, "Well, we've got priests. What have you got?" We've got Jesus Christ. He is divine. He is God, and He became a man. And He died for me. He Himself died for me. And not only did He die for me, He defeated death because His sinless life meant that there was no claim. The pangs of death have no claim over the life of Jesus Christ because He is without sin. And He has literally defeated sin and death on the cross. That's the Gospel. That's the saving power of this Great High Priest. And so therefore He is exalted.
So, yes, we have the One who is divine and He is eternal because though He died, He rises victorious and He eternally reigns. We have a Priest as Christians who reigns for ever and ever and ever over all, over any ruler, over any leader, over any other false religion. Jesus Christ is the One, the only One, the entirely glorious One. Priest and King, Jesus Christ, divine and eternal Jesus Christ.
This is the argument. And it's why, though we see the importance of the priesthood in the Old Testament, when we get Christ into view, the priesthood simply becomes putting pieces together to understand more about Christ. And that's what we're doing in Hebrews, seeing the richness of the priesthood and the office of Priest in order to understand what it would mean for Jesus to be the Great High Priest, the One who is exalted on the throne, the One who is the Priest for ever, after this order of Melchizedek.
And even just with introducing these glorious truths here this afternoon, we can get more of a feel for this is a spectacular saving reality for us now, dearly and beloved Christians here this evening. This is your hope right here in the pages of Scripture. Because the priesthood doesn't have an efficacy by which any can be saved, but the Great High Priest is and does.
Is your hope here this evening in not the system of the priesthood, not in, "Well, I need to get some lambs to be slain in order to cover my sin," or look for some sort of penance or some sort of way to make myself feel good about myself? No. Is your hope in Christ, the One who has eternally put away sin, the One who is divine, the One who is eternal? There is salvation in no other name but in the name of this Great High Priest. Turn to Jesus Christ. Look to Jesus Christ and see what He has done, what He has fulfilled. And oh, may it be by the grace of God that there would be true conviction of sin and salvation in His name.