Hebrews 5:1-4 – The inadequacy of the Aaronic priesthood

Starting from this chapter right through chapter 10, the author’s subject is Jesus as the High Priest. We will know why He is the kind of High Priest that we believers need. To show us the uniqueness of Christ as High Priest, the author first dealt with the Aaronic priesthood. The first four verses of chapter 5 introduce us to the work; qualification and appointment of the Old Testament Aaronic priesthood.  

A high priest was essentially appointed to mediate between men and God. His task was to offer gifts and sacrifices on behalf of man. “Gifts” were the usually bloodless offerings; but “sacrifices” would require the death of the victims. The gifts and sacrifices were both offered by the high priest himself, or at his direction.

All Aaronic high priests were fellow sinners, therefore they could identify with the people and sympathize with them. To be an effective mediator, a priest had to be one who understood the condition of those he represented. He would then be able to deal gently with the ignorant and misguided. The priest should be balanced. He was required not to act indifferently toward sin, yet at the same time he had to be sensitive to repentant sinners seeking God. He himself would know from personal experience how susceptible he also would be toward sin.

A high priest also had to be one who was called and appointed by God, he could not appoint himself. Here, the author was telling us that the Aaronic priest was not one that could take the honor to himself, but one who had to have the call of God.

The only way to draw near to God was through the channel that He had chosen. He had chosen that man approach Him through an ordained mediator. In the Old Testament, that mediator was the high priest. However, since these chosen priests were themselves sinners, it revealed the inadequacy of the Old Covenant. Hence, the letter to the Hebrews revealed the need for the perfect High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ.

The wonderful truth is that Jesus is our great High Priest par excellent. He is unlike the Aaronic priests. He became a man so He can now understand us perfectly. The uniqueness is that as human He had no sin. Therefore, we can confidently draw near to God through Him. What’s more important is for us to be aware of the advantage we have as New Covenant believers, and seize the opportunity to draw near as often as we can.