Friday, July 10, 2026

Opening Scripture

But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood, to be received by faith. Romans 3:21-25

Opening Prayer

Gracious Father, I praise You for all that You are and all that You’ve done. I praise You for Your abundant blessings to me in Jesus Christ, my Lord and Your Son. I praise You for Your Spirit, who lives in me, comforting, counseling, and guiding me each day. Thank you for adopting me into Your eternal family. I offer myself to You this day, through Jesus Christ, who rules and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever more. Amen.

Daily Bible Reading

Hebrews 5:1-10

Every high priest is selected from among the people and is appointed to represent the people in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness. This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people. And no one takes this honor on himself, but he receives it when called by God, just as Aaron was.

In the same way, Christ did not take on himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father.” And he says in another place, “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”

During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.

Reflection  

In today’s passage, the writer delves deeper into Jesus’ “high priesthood.” This is a central component of his explanation of the Person and work of Jesus the Messiah to a Jewish audience.

The writer said previously that Jesus “had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people” (Hebrews 2:17).

As we see throughout the witness of Scripture, Jesus Christ is both the spotless Lamb of God, who served as the perfect sacrifice for our sins, as well as the High Priest who administered that sacrifice on our behalf.

The writer compares Jesus to the Levitical priesthood, pointing out both similarities and differences. The high priest was selected from among the Levites and appointed to represent the people in matters related to God. Since these high priests are sinful humans themselves, they understand weakness. As such, they must also offer sacrifices for their own sins, as well as those of the people.

Another important aspect about the high priest is that he does not “take this honor on himself, but he receives it when called by God, just as Aaron was.” God called both Aaron and Jesus to function in their respective roles. They were willing to serve, but didn’t choose it for themselves.

The writer then quotes Psalm 110:4 to establish Jesus’ uniqueness. “The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind: ‘You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek,’” and he references it again at the end of the passage.

This is a prophetic promise where God the Father swears an eternal oath that the coming Messiah will serve as both an eternal King and an eternal Priest, not tied to the hereditary Levitical priesthood, but in the unique and ancient “order of Melchizedek.”

In Genesis 14, we read the story of how Abraham rescued his nephew Lot after Lot was taken captive by four kings, who seized all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham and 318 trained men, born in his household, recovered everything and everyone that had been taken and brought them safely home.

After the great victory, Melchizedek, the king of Salem, brought out bread and wine as a celebration. In addition to being a king, “he was a priest of God Most High” and he blessed Abraham. In response, Abraham gave Melchizedek a tenth of all the spoils of war, which was a “king’s share.”

Melchizedek – which means “King of Righteousness” – was the king of Salem (short for Jerusalem). Abraham recognized him as both king and priest. Melchizedek’s priesthood predates the nation of Israel and the Mosaic Law, which indicates that the Messiah’s priesthood is not exclusive to the Jewish people, but is for all of humanity. The writer will have much more to say about this in the coming verses.

Flourishing Habit

Flourishing Christians

The closing section of today’s passage describes Jesus the High Priest making an offering of “prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears” to God the Father. This “offering” was received by the Father – “he was heard because of his reverent submission” – though God’s will was for Jesus to be the perfect sacrifice.

The writer tells us that all this was necessary because Jesus ”learned obedience from what he suffered.” This is an interesting play on words connecting “he learned” (emathen) with “he suffered” (epathen).  

Learning through suffering.

What could the eternal Son of God, who came from glory, possibly need to learn? That is part of the mystery of the Incarnation. Only God knows all that was involved in the Word becoming flesh and dwelling among us. We often have an easier time understanding that Jesus was fully God than that He was fully human.

The writer has already said, “In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered” (Hebrews 2:10).

He told us, “For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted” (Hebrews 2:17-18).

And we read yesterday, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet he did not sin” (Hebrews 4:5).

Luke told us that, as a boy, “Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52). It is reasonable to assume that the process continued throughout Jesus’ life in ways that we cannot fully grasp, reaching its magnificent fulfillment at the crucifixion.

Because Jesus willingly embraced the full human condition, with all its suffering and temptation, “he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him”

What are you learning through temptation and suffering?

Remember: Nothing changes until something changes!