Hebrews 5:5-11

⁵ So also Christ did not glorify Himself to become High Priest, but it was He who said to Him: “You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.” ⁶ As He also says in another place: “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek”; ⁷ who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, ⁸ though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. ⁹ And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, ¹⁰ called by God as High Priest “according to the order of Melchizedek,” ¹¹ of whom we have much to say, and hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.

Commentary

Vs. 5 So also Christ did not glorify Himself to become High Priest, but it was He who said to Him: “You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.”

Just as Aaron and his sons did not glorify themselves in serving God as high priests, since it was God who called them alone to serve Him in that capacity until the time of reformation (see Heb. 9:6-10). So also Christ did not glorify Himself to become High Priest, for it was God who said to Him alone, “You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.” (Psalm 2:7). Therefore if the Aaron and his sons alone were to serve God as His high priests, since God called them alone, how much more is the Lord Jesus Christ who is the Person the Scriptures declare to be His Son and foretold He would be His High Priest. For the Lord Jesus Christ alone having accomplished eternal salvation for us all who believe in Him, is now alone called by God the Father to serve and intercede for us as His High Priest. 

Vs. 6 As He also says in another place: “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek”;

Melchizedek' priesthood was unique in that it was without beginning and end (Heb 7:3), thus it is here distinguished from Aaron's which came into being with the giving of the Law. And so the Lord Jesus Christ being the Author of eternal salvation did not have His High Priesthood come according to the order of Aaron, for Christ did not come to reestablish the Old Covenant and it's priesthood but to fulfill it, so as to make way for the New Covenant, and thus establish His own High Priesthood which is according to the order of Melchizedek, whose person is without beginning and without end, who alone served God in that capacity, and as such he then signifies all that God planned to do through His Son the Lord Jesus Christ and His Everlasting Priesthood (consider Heb 9:6-14). 

Vs. 7 "who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear" 

The Lord Jesus Christ when He became a Man was fully human, fully capable of experiencing all the fears and pains and even death that we can and do, yet He alone is without sin. As well as a Man Jesus Christ in laying aside all of His Privileges as the Son of God, was just like us in another way, and that is He was faced with a reality that He was now totally dependent on God. Yes Jesus could do miracles and such as a Man, but everything that He now did was fully dependent upon God. Even His very life which is the point being made here, was fully subject too and dependent upon the Will of God (consider John 19:10-11). And so when in Gethsemane, (and likely at other times), when Jesus offered up prayers and supplications and vehement cries to God who was able to save Him from death, Jesus was heard because of His Godly fear. Therefore God did not give Jesus over to the graves corruption, rather Jesus Christ three days after His Crucifixion death rose to new and everlasting life, so that He might be the Author of eternal salvation for all who now obey Him (Heb. 5:9)

Vs. 8 "though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered."

Though Jesus Christ was a Son, the Son of God, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. That is Jesus learned obedience as a Man comes at a cost, for there is always resistance and opposition in this sinful world to anyone doing the Will of God. Therefore Jesus had to experience in the flesh the very things that make for obedience: the risks (Matt 10:34-42, vs. 36), the self denial's (Matt. 16:24), the "losses" (Mark 8:35), the facing of ones own fears (Matt 10:27-28; 2 Cor 7:5-7; 1 Peter 4:14-19; Heb 13:12-14 etc.). Therefore don't confuse this passage with any notion that Jesus ever had any inclination to disobey God the Father, because He never has (John 8:29). 

Vs. 9 "And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him" 


Perfection here pertains not to Christ's Person per-say, but what He has accomplished as our Lord and Savior, and specifically as our High Priest, as all of this pertains to our salvation. Therefore Perfection for Christ came through suffering, suffering for His obedience to God the Father and obeying His Will even to the point of death on a cross, Jesus Christ alone then has become the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him. 

Vs. 10-11¹⁰ called by God as High Priest “according to the order of Melchizedek,” ¹¹ of whom we have much to say, and hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.

Since Jesus Christ alone has been called by God as High Priest, called according to the order of Melchizedek, and thus called into an everlasting priesthood from which He alone serves as God's sole Mediator between God and sinful humanity (1 Tim 2:5), there is much more that needs to be stated about Melchizedek, and will be stated in chapter seven so as to enlighten and enrich us all as to the nature of Christ's Priesthood, which is being exalted way higher and far above Aaron's in both it's nature and it's scope in what it is able to accomplish for us all who believe In the Lord Jesus Christ. That all said there is a slight rebuke here of the original audiences dullness of hearing in that in learning such things as pertaining to both the nature of the Law and it's sacrifices and priesthood, as well as the priesthood which performed all such things prescribed within; which again is only being stated so as to show the superiority of the Lord Jesus Christ's Person, salvation, and priesthood all which has provided the everlasting atonement and redemption for everyone who repents and believes in His Person and calls upon His Name (Rom 10:9-10,13, Eph. 2:8-9); some had become dull of hearing, something which can happen to you too if don't believe and receive the Word of God's truths for yourself, so that you may also be a partaker of God's gift of new and everlasting life by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, "For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” Acts. 2:39 Therefore don't become dull of hearing instead receive the Lord Jesus Christ who will bring all the life and love and fullness of God deep inside you, for it is He alone who will fully satisfy and justify and sanctify you and keep your whole person and life until this redemption work and glory concludes with all our journeys home in heaven.

Scripture Quotations
The New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.

Additional Resources Consulted
Vs. 8 Vincent, Marvin Richardson. Word Studies in the New Testament. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1887.

Hebrews 5:1-4

¹ For every high priest taken from among men is appointed for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. ² He can have compassion on those who are ignorant and going astray, since he himself is also subject to weakness. ³ Because of this he is required as for the people, so also for himself, to offer sacrifices for sins. ⁴ And no man takes this honor to himself, but he who is called by God, just as Aaron was.

Commentary

Vs. 1 "For every high priest taken from among men is appointed for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins."

Under the Old Covenant the high priest was taken from among men so that He could present on behalf of the individual, as well as the nation of Israel, all their gifts, and the commanded sacrifices for sins according to the law. It was a solemn duty that was assigned by God to the sons (i.e. male descendants) of Aaron. They alone then were to officiate at the altar of God (Numbers 3:10). 

Vs. 2 "He can have compassion on those who are ignorant and going astray, since he himself is also subject to weakness."

And so though they were chosen, set apart, and sanctified by God for such a solemn duty, they were still just men, subject to all of the weakness (gr. ἀσθένεια) that is the human condition. Therefore they could have compassion on those who were ignorant and going astray, because they themselves being daily required to keep all the righteous requirements of the law, (that is all the moral and priestly and ceremonially aspects of it), they knew first hand both their own inability, as well those they were officiating for, inabilities too live it all out without fault or transgression before God, all that the law required of them all. (For a brief N.T. exposition of this dilemma, and the Apostle Peters rebuking those Jews who wanted to return the believing Gentiles back to the Law, see Acts 15:6-11, vs. 10). Therefore the high priest could have compassion (gr. συνπαθεο) on those who were ignorant and going astray, since he himself was also subject to weakness. That is the high priest knew that he himself was also capable of sin and error, and thus *he was to be tender in his dealings and moderate in his judgment; being neither to severe or tolerant; with those who are ignorant and going astray.  

Vs. 3 "Because of this he is required as for the people, so also for himself, to offer sacrifices for sins."

Therefore these high priests though being taken from the sons of Aaron were still just mortal men, they were no in way infallible, they also needed to have atonement made for their sins before they could make atonement and intercession for anyone else (Lev. 9:7; 16:6). The contrast then between these fallible high priests and their temporarily officiating as high priests before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ and His Work and Intercession now as our High Priest is a theme then that runs throughout the Book of Hebrews (consider Hebrews 7:26-28). 

Vs. 4 "And no man takes this honor to himself, but he who is called by God, just as Aaron was."

Because of the exclusive nature of God's priesthood being taken from the sons of Aaron, the position of being a high priest before God is an honor that no man can take to himself (consider Num. 16, vs. 38-40 and what happened to Korah and those with him there). Now this is being reiterate here so as to elevate the Lord Jesus Christ and His Priesthood. Since if the priesthood of God that came exclusively through the sons of Aaron was off limits to anyone but them, as the Scripture warns, "let them be put to death" (Num. 18:7), how much more then is the Lord Jesus Christ's High Priesthood Sanctified and Set apart for Him alone as the Sole Intercessor for us all who believe in Him. Therefore no man can take this honor to himself, that is of now acting as God's high priest, and thus acting as a Mediator between God and man, therefore all who do so now risk coming under the judgment of God in seeking to usurp the Authority of Christ by taking that solemn position unto themselves, for that honor, privilege, and duty belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ alone (1 Tim 2:5-6).

Scripture Quotations
The New King James Version. (1982). (Ac 15:6–11). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

Additional Resources Consulted 
Vs. 2 *Gleaned from: Wuest, K. S. (1997). Wuest’s word studies from the Greek New Testament: for the English reader (Heb 5:2). Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.

Hebrews 4:14-16

¹⁴ Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. ¹⁵ For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. ¹⁶ Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Commentary
Vs. 14 "Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession."

In the previous section it was revealed that the Word of God reveals our condition to us, so that by repentance towards God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ we can have remission of all our sins and everlasting life. Having then believed and received the Lord Jesus Christ we are not then just left to ourselves to wrestle with all the temptations and trials that we will have to face in this life. For Jesus Christ is not just our Lord and Savior, He is our High Priest, who unlike the mere mortal high priests of times past who died and then their tenures ended, has past through the heavens, that is Jesus Christ the Son of God when He rose from the dead and then fifty days later ascended back to God the Father in heaven has established for Himself an Everlasting Priesthood, that does not and will not end. Therefore let us hold fast our confession because our High Priest has a Priesthood that does not end. From His Atonement for us, to His ongoing intercession to God for us, Jesus Christ the Son of God is for us all who believe in Him then is the point being made in these verses. 

Vs. 15 "For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin."

 When God's Son Jesus Christ became a Man He did so not only to provide the Atonement for us all so that by faith in His Person we can be reconciled back to God, but He also did so I believe to answer the age old cry, that is God as Spirit, dwelling high up in heavens cannot possibly understand what we as mortal flesh in all of our physical weaknesses, limitations and fleshly temptations daily face (consider Job's despairing cry's in Job 10). Now I know that such cries are often born out of broken hearts and disenfranchised lives, just as I once was. Yet it was there in all of my darkness and despair that God not only saw me, but He also saved me, when I rejected the lies that I was beyond redemption and I just let my longing heart receive the Lord Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, and with that and without hesitation God opened the door of His Kingdom to me, bringing all of His Son's life, love, grace and all that is His salvation into me. And so I also want you to know and believe that the same grace of God is available to you as well, for God is loving and kind and He is Omnipresent and He does see us, and He does care for us in all of circumstances of life. And so Jesus was subject to all of the same temptations and fleshly desires and weaknesses that we as human beings all face (or will ever face), and yet He did so without sin. And so now Jesus Christ as our High Priest can and will sympathize with all us in our of weaknesses and circumstances of life. 

Vs. 16 "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

Therefore in light of God's love for us, and what Jesus has done to make His grace freely available to us all, let us all come boldly to the throne of grace. For it is from God's throne of grace that Jesus Christ as God's High Priest and Judge of all not only officiates as High Priest, but also makes intercession for us all. The invitation then is to one and to all, to come and have remission of all your sins and new and everlasting life by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore be reconciled to God today, receive Christ, and have new and everlasting life and all of the healing and cleansing and transforming of persons and lives that God's salvation freely brings to one and to all.

Scripture Quotations
The New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.

Hebrews 4:11-13

¹¹ Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. ¹² For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. ¹³ And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

Commentary

Vs. 11 "Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience."

The example of the wilderness wandering Israelite's having failed to believe and obey (and thus apprehend God's salvation that was offered to them) are to be an example to us all to be diligent and enter God's commanded rest, which we do by believing and then obeying the Lord Jesus Christ's Gospel (Rom 1:5; 16:26). For again the Israelite's who came out of Egypt did not believe God that He could bring them into the Promised Land when they saw the opposition and difficulties before them, and so rather than walking by faith, they turned away from Him in their hearts and instead they desired to return to Egypt, the very place of their bondage (Num. 14:1-4)! And so when they did so God swore in His wrath "they shall not enter My rest" (Psalm 95:10-11). Therefore let everyone be diligent to enter God's rest by repentance towards God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ by which we do enter God's rest and find eternal rest for our souls (Matt 11:28-30).  For today is the day of salvation, and tomorrow may not be a day when one can apprehend it for themselves, therefore be diligent and do enter Christ's Rest today! 

Vs. 12-13 ¹² For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. ¹³ And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

Now God's command to enter His rest comes to us all through the Living Word of God, that is the Holy Scriptures, which is sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (vs. 12). And so by it God reveals to us all just what we are and where we stand with Him, whether reconciled by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, or alienated by ones own willful unbelief. The Word of God then not only declares God's unchanging truth, but it also cuts through and exposes all that is false (vs. 12). No liar, no deceiver, then will ever outwit the Word of God (Matt 22:1-14, vs. 13). For the living and powerful and piercing reality of God's Word always reveals the truth about ourselves. It makes us see what God already knows and sees. There is then no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account (vs. 13). There is a good reason that the sword of the Spirit for us who believe is the Word of God, for it is by it that we discern for ourselves all that has come forth from the Word of God, and all that has not. Conviction of sin is never a bad thing then, especially if it makes one change course and choose a new direction, which happens when anyone repents and believes in the Gospel, therefore don't remain dead in your sins and transgressions, alienated from the life of God, choose Christ, choose life! 

Scripture Quotations 
The New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.

Hebrews 4:1-10

¹ Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. ² For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. ³ For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said: “So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest,’ ” although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. ⁴ For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”; ⁵ and again in this place: “They shall not enter My rest.” ⁶ Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience, ⁷ again He designates a certain day, saying in David, “Today,” after such a long time, as it has been said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts.” ⁸ For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. ⁹ There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. ¹⁰ For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.

Commentary

Vs. 1 "Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it."

The Holy Scripture having already given us a strong warning in chapter three by drawing it's lesson from those Israelite's who did not enter the Promised land because of their rebellion and disobedience and ultimately it was their unbelief that kept them out of the Promised land; therefore having shown us by their example of what not to do we are all to fear lest anyone now who professes faith in the Lord Jesus Christ likewise comes short of it, because a promise remains of entering His rest. Therefore no one should presume upon the grace of God, or play flippant with the faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, because God is not mocked, whatever a person sows that they shall also reap! (Gal 6:7) 

Vs. 2 "For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it." 

The gospel here means the Word of the Lord; the Promise of His giving and taking the Israelite's into the Promised Land (also consider Rev. 14:6). Yet as the Word of the Lord declares here the Word which they heard did not profit them because it was not mixed with faith in those who heard it. And so those who did not believe the gospel spoken to them did not enter the Promised land, instead they all perished in their own sins in the wilderness. The warning to us all is that hearing the Gospel and not believing it will likewise only end in ones own eternal condemnation (John 3:16-21). 

Vs. 3 "For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said: “So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest,’ ” although the works were finished from the foundation of the world."

Now that is not the state which we who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ are in, or will ever be in, since the Holy Scripture states here we who have believed do enter that rest, for having been sealed by the Holy Spirit of God the moment we believed our eternal fate is settled (Eph. 1:13-14). Therefore in quoting Psalm 95:11 the Holy Scripture is making it clear that unbelief is the cause of God's wrath falling on any individual who does not believe His Word, and thus that is what excluded those unbelieving Israelite's from entering the Promised Land, and that is what will now exclude those who do not believe the Gospel from entering the Kingdom of heaven (John 3:35-36). Now that the works were finished from the foundation of the world is stating that the works needed for our eternal redemption were settled from the foundation of the world. For God already knew what would happen when He created the world and humanity on it, and so He also knew what He was going to do (and when He was going to do it) to redeem us from sin, Satan, death. And so the point being made and will be made in the upcoming verses is that salvation is not based on what we do, or have done or not done, (whether good or bad), it is based solely on what God has done through the Crucifixion death and ressurection from the dead of His Son Jesus Christ and ones faith in Him (Rom 9:11). Anything that anyone then tries to do to add to that finished work completed and accomplished by God's Son for our eternal redemption is not counted as grace, but rather is charged as debt against them (Rom. 4:4-5). And so just as God rested from His works on the seventh day, so we who believe in Christ are to rest from ours, that is from every work (whether according to the law or not) that is only an attempt by us to try to earn salvation for ourselves by our own works and not by faith in God's. For the works were finished from the foundation of the world, and as it will be made clear in the following verses God is commanding us all to enter His Rest by faith in His Son the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Vs. 4-5 ⁴ For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”; ⁵ and again in this place: “They shall not enter My rest.”

And so to bring this point home to us the Holy Scripture now recalls God resting from His works on the seventh day, that is having completed everything He needed to do to bring us and all of creation into being, God rested from His works. For it was a settled issue God had completed everything that needed to be done. Therefore if God Himself rested from His works when they were completed so now should we rest from ours, because as we will also see in the following verses those who did not obey God did not enter God's rest. And God has commanded that we rest from our works, having used the seventh day, and then the Sabbath under the law, to reveal this Spiritual reality to us all, that He has through His Son the Lord Jesus Christ already accomplished everything that is needed to be done for our eternal redemption.

Vs. 6-7  ⁶ Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience, ⁷ again He designates a certain day, saying in David, “Today,” after such a long time, as it has been said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts.”

The Holy Scripture now reminds us that the promised rest was not just preached to the O.T. Israelite's and then ended, but it is open to one and all who repent and believe in the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Now to those whom it was first preached; that is the Old Covenant Israelite's who did not enter God's rest; they did not enter because of their disobedience, that is in refusing to believe and obey God they instead tried to return to Egypt, and thus return to their state of bondage which He had delivered them from. Therefore it was their own disobedience, again being born out of their own unbelief in not believing God could bring them into the Promised land, that they themselves shut themselves out of the Promised Land. So today both Jew and Gentile must beware that they too do not follow that same example of disobedience by not believing the Gospel (vs. 6). For God's Promise is not limited by or linked to time, for even in David's generation God was still extending His Promise to one and to all who would repent and believe, saying, “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts.” And so He does so even now not wanting any to perish but rather that all would come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). 

Vs. 8 "For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day."

Therefore the Promised rest did not come through Joshua, "For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day." Joshua then was not the Savior and Canaan was not the Promised Land through whom we find salvation and have eternal rest for our persons and souls. For that day of salvation is the day that God is always alluding to throughout the Scriptures so that both the Old Covenant Israelite's and every generation of humanity since would diligently look forward too and wait on the Day of the Lord Jesus Christ when He would accomplish and fulfill all that is required for our (and all of creations) redemption from sin and death, and thus Jesus has brought and He will usher in that Glorious Rest to us all who believe in Him (Matt. 11:28-30; 1 Peter 1:10-12). 

Vs. 9 "There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. 

Therefore the rest spoken of and often alluded too in the O.T. Scriptures is not then found through the Old Covenant which required diligent and constant and ongoing observance to all of its statutes and decrees, rather the Promised rest foretold and spoken of in the Holy Scriptures comes to one and to all through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (Matt. 11:28-30; also see Acts 15:7-11). And so there remains a rest for the people of God which God Himself will usher in when He has gathered together all the people of God through Christ to Himself. And so though we have entered that rest by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ Person we will not fully and eternally experience it completely and uninterrupted eternally until we are all gathered together in the Kingdom of heaven.

Vs. 10 "For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His."

Having then entered God's Rest through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, we who believe (and thus are trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ and Him alone for our salvation), have likewise ceased from our works as God did from His. Now works here is anything and everything that ones tries to do to atone for ones sins and transgressions whether done under or according to the Law or not. Therefore we who believe having ceased from our works as God did from His is not saying that we cease from serving the Lord, or doing good towards others; works here is trying to earn forgiveness or salvation by doing something. And so maybe for some of us before we knew God personally through Christ we were motivated by a sense of guilt or shame, or religious duty, rather than being motivated by the grace of God which not saves us, but also frees us to be all we can be. Therefore this is critically important for some us to understand because trying to earn salvation for oneself whether by observance of the Law or some other means (observing the doctrines and commandments of men which are not found in the Holy Scriptures, or are a perversion or misapplication of what is stated there) will not end with one receiving the grace of God, but rather the wrath of God for trying to supplant His Works with ones own (Rom 4:4-5). Therefore if you have not yet believed and thus received the Lord Jesus Christ by faith, placing all of your faith and hope on Him and what He has done out of God's love for you, by suffering Crucifixion death for you (John 3:16), then please don't delay receive Jesus Christ the Lord today! By a simple prayer of faith confess your need for Him and desire to have Him come into your heart and life and He will just as He Promises, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me." Revelation 3:20 Therefore invite Jesus into your heart and life today!

Scripture Quotations
The New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.

Hebrews 3:16–19

¹⁶ For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses? ¹⁷ Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? ¹⁸ And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? ¹⁹ So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

Commentary

Vs. 16 In drawing it's warning for us all from the Israelite's whom Moses led out of Egypt, the Holy Scripture pulls no punches when describing them here. Notice then the tone of words that is used to describe them. Rebelled (vs. 16), sinned (vs. 17), disobedient (vs. 18), concluding with unbelief (vs. 19). Now their rebellion was not just against Moses, but their rebellion was directed against God Himself, for that is how the Holy Scripture views their actions (see Num. 14:11). And so just as they rejected the Lord, so He rejected and disinherited everyone of them, and thus He none of those who did so ever entered the Promised Land (see Num. 14:26-38; Psalm 119:118). Therefore in recalling what they did, and what happened to them when they did, the Holy Scripture is warning us all, so that no one who is now in the assembly of the Lord deceives themselves into thinking they can be justified by the cross of Christ if they likewise do so (consider Matt. 7:23). For as we are clearly warned, it is because of these things that the wrath of God is coming on the children of disobedience (Eph 3:5-7; Col 3:5-6). Therefore we are not to be partakers with anyone in anything that is rebellion against, or disobedience towards the Lord Jesus Christ and His commandments. For we who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ have not only all our sins and transgressions atoned for and forgiven, (and thus thanksgiving and gratitude should now mark our persons), but we have also died with Christ, been buried with Christ, and risen to a new life with Jesus Christ as Lord of us all who believe in Him, and so whatever we once were we no longer are (2 Cor 5:17), and thus we are to live out this new life with Christ and each other in all grace and truth, and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them (Rom 6; Eph. 5:11). For we are not even to eat with any person claiming faith in the Lord Jesus Christ yet who is knowingly sinning against the Lord (1 Cor 5:11-13). For those who know the truth and yet continue to do so are only showing themselves as to have hardened themselves to Lord and His will for us all, which is our individual, as well as our collective sanctification (1 Thess. 4:3-8). Therefore those who are now seeking too "normalize" homosexual depravity, which is and has always been an abomination in the eyes of the Lord (Lev. 18:22; Rom 1:18-32), have only aligned themselves with Satan and his agenda in trying to normalize it in the social conscience so as to pave the way for the rise of the antichrist, as sinners reach their fullness (Dan. 8:23; 11:37; 2 Thess. 2:5-12). Therefore the Gospel of God, and the grace of God that comes to us all who believe in God through it, does not change the moral standards of God. Therefore we who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ are sojourners and strangers in this world, and now too this world, (John 15:18-25), and so we are to reject all who claim faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and yet in their own rebellion against God are practicing and or justifying whatever forms of wickedness or ungodliness or licentiousness that they do (antithesis 1 Tim 1:12-17). Therefore we who believe in God through Christ Jesus the Lord are to uphold His commandments and live by them (Jude 3-4), and not follow the degenerating "morals" of this world (1 Thess. 4:3-7; Titus 3:10-11) which will keep lowering the bar until nothing is off limits. 

Vs. 17 "Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness?"

Again God's anger fell on those who sinned, who in their rebellion against and rejection of the Word of the Lord spoken to them, not only sinned against it (by making the golden calf, then their practicing harlotry with Baal of Peor and the women of Moab, as well as their loathing of God's manna provisions for them, and of course their ongoing complaining and at times open rebellion against Moses leadership etc.) and so in their ongoing sin and rebellion against God they only became perceptual complainers and dissenters, and thus throughout their forty years in the wilderness some would be taken here and some there until that entire generation who initially refused to enter the Promised Land (except Joshua and Caleb) perished in the wilderness. 

Vs. 18 "And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey?"

From their initial rebellion to their ongoing disobedience the wilderness wandering Israelite's were a people whom God Himself swore in His wrath that they would not enter his rest (Num. 14:26-35). 

Vs. 19 "So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief."

At the heart of their rebellion and sin and disobedience was their unbelief. Unbelief in refusing to believe that God could bring them into the Promised Land and later their unbelief that God could provide for them while they were there. They simply were a people who not believe God in spite of all the mighty signs and wonders and works that He did in delivering them from the Egyptians, as well as delivering them out of all their troubles in the Wilderness, and these He did right before their own eyes! Now they are not unique because there are people today in the assembly of the Lord who likewise will hear God's Word and see God's mighty works being done through His people around the world and yet they too will not believe! And that is something that we all need to beware of so that we do not let ourselves become hardened to the truth, or cynical, or disobedient, or unbelieving, for when that happens to anyone they too risk not entering Christ's Rest! For to begin a journey with Christ and not finish it is the greatest tragedy that can happen to anyone. And that is what the Holy Scripture is warning us all here, not to become hardened by the deceitfulness of sin, or be overtaken by unbelief, or give in to voices of skepticism and doubt, but rather believe and live by faith day by day, everyday, until the Lord Jesus Christ comes and takes us all all home into the Promised Land.

Scripture Quotations
The New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.

Hebrews 3:7-15

⁷ Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you will hear His voice, ⁸ Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, In the day of trial in the wilderness, ⁹ Where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, And saw My works forty years. ¹⁰ Therefore I was angry with that generation, And said, ‘They always go astray in their heart, And they have not known My ways.’ ¹¹ So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’ ” ¹² Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; ¹³ but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. ¹⁴ For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, ¹⁵ while it is said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”

Commentary

Vs 7-11 ⁷ Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you will hear His voice, ⁸ Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, In the day of trial in the wilderness, ⁹ Where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, And saw My works forty years. ¹⁰ Therefore I was angry with that generation, And said, ‘They always go astray in their heart, And they have not known My ways.’ ¹¹ So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’ ”

In recalling the Wilderness Israelite's failings to believe and obey God (Psalm 95:7-8). the Holy Spirit is now warning us all not to miss out on Christ's salvation for ourselves as they did, by saying, "Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, In the day of trial in the wilderness ..."  For too harden ones heart as the O.T. Israelite's did in their rebellion in wilderness is now to only perish in ones own sins and transgressions separated forever from the Presence and thus the Salvation of the Lord. And so all that generation who did so, all perished in the wilderness, though they were the congregation of the Lord, yet they never entered the promised rest, because they hardened their hearts when God tested them in the wilderness, and by doing so they alienated themselves from the Lord, because they would not believe and obey the Lord. And so the Lord gave them up to forty years of wandering futility in the wilderness, until every last one of that generation perished from the presence of the Lord. This warning then of that rebellious generations end, should not be lost on any of us, because the Lord is the same today, yesterday, and forever (Heb. 13:8, also consider 1 Cor 10:1-13). And being in (or amongst) the congregation of the Lord is no guarantee that one is of the family (or people) of the Lord. For the Lord Jesus Christ Himself warns us all that 21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ Matt 7:21-23

Vs. 12-15 ¹² Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; ¹³ but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. ¹⁴ For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, ¹⁵ while it is said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”

Beware then brethren because no one is immune to having an evil heart of unbelief overtake them in this degenerating world, and thus have them depart from the living God (vs. 12). And so believers have to always be on guard against disappointments, distractions, doubters, dissenters and cynics etc., but specifically against the deceitfulness of sin, because nothing will harden ones heart more to the will of God than living in sin (vs. 13). Therefore while it is called "Today" that is the day or time of salvation for one and all who repent and believe, exhort one another to follow the Lord Jesus Christ in discipleship, in all faith and obedience to the will of the Lord. For as it states in verse 14, "we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end." Therefore the salvation of the Lord isn't just a one time confession of having faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and then one goes back to living however they were living. Rather it is a complete transformation of our entire persons and lives, (and so one must ever look back to what God called them out of like Lots wife did, for she perished in her desire to return, see Gen. 19:15-26; Luke 17:32), but rather we who believe are now to go forward in faith pursuing the will of the Lord for us, which always begins with our own repentance towards God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ who by His own Crucifixion death and shed blood has not only atoned for all our sins and transgressions, but through that Holy Sacrifice of Himself the Lord Jesus Christ has also washed us clean in the sight of God, thereby making us fit to be recipients of His Spirit and His new life, and thus His everlasting salvation as He baptizes us into His own death, burial and Resurrection (Rom 6), by which we have all died (our old selves are dead), so that Jesus Christ by His Resurrection from the dead can bring us into a new and everlasting life with Himself as the Head of it all (2 Cor 5:17; Col 1:18). Therefore as the Holy Scripture says, “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” Do not then be like the Wilderness wandering Israelite's who though they saw the works of God and heard His Holy Word for forty years would not believe Him, and instead kept mumbling and grumbling and complaining against Him, wanting to return to the land of Egypt, the very place of oppression and bondage that He had brought them out of! And so instead of following in their footsteps hear the Lord Jesus Christ's voice Today and open your heart to Him and receive Him as your own Lord and Savior, so that He might not only cleanse you and save you from all your own sins and transgressions, but He also might regenerate you (and thus transform you) and bring everlasting life and all the fruits of His Spirit (see Gal 5:22-23) into you (and thus hope and life and love and peace and joy) and then He will work through you a Godly purposed filled life with Himself as the Lord of it all if you do. Therefore do not delay, receive the Lord Jesus Christ today! 

Scripture Quotations
The New King James Version. (1982). (Mt 7:21–23). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

Hebrews 3:1-6

¹ Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus, ² who was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was faithful in all His house. ³ For this One has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as He who built the house has more honor than the house. ⁴ For every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God. ⁵ And Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward, ⁶ but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.

Commentary

Vs. 1-2 ¹ Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus, ² who was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was faithful in all His house.

The Scriptures in declaring the Preeminence of Christ Jesus now point to His own faithfulness towards God in all things that were appointed to Him, just as Moses was faithful in all that God had appointed to him. Now the point is not to put Jesus' own Righteousness and Faithfulness on par with Moses (since Christ Jesus was without fault and blame before God our Father, Moses however like all men was not, nor could he or anyone else ever be, for then that would put him or anyone else who thinks as much about themselves or anyone else above the place of needing redemption from sin and death). And so the point is to show us that just as Moses was faithful in all of his house, that is faithful to God in what God had appointed for him to do in his house, that is in the house of Israel, so Christ Jesus has been faithful to God in doing all that He has assigned to Christ Jesus to do for us all. Now here Christ Jesus is called the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, not an apostle, but the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, that is our confession of faith in His Person and belief in His Gospel which brings remission of sins and everlasting life to everyone who repents and believes (Rom 10:9-10, 13). And so Christ Jesus stands alone in His Position and Preeminence as the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, thus there are no other apostle's or priests by which (or through) we draw near to God, for Christ Jesus the Lord is the First and He is the Last, the beginning and the End (see Rev. 22:13). Thus the incarnation of all faith in God begins and ends with Him, not Moses, or anyone else. Therefore all of us who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ are holy brethren, because we have been saved by His blameless crusifixion death, washed by His sinless blood, and sanctified by His Holy Spirit. And so in this battle of flesh and Spirit let us all consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession Christ Jesus, who was faithful to God, (who appointed Him), just as Moses was faithful in all of His house (that is in the generation in which He was called). Because faithfulness towards God means that we will at times be (in the eyes of the world) an enemy of the world, that is of it's ungodly agenda, which is always antagonistic and hostile towards the Word of the Lord.

Vs. 3 "For this One has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as He who built the house has more honor than the house."

Moses was an amazing man of God, yet even he himself transgressed against the Lord at Maribah Kadesh (Deut. 32:48-52), and so the Holy Scripture is making it clear that just as Jesus is exceedingly greater than the angels, so His glory and greatness as a Man excels even that of Moses. Now it is God who built the house, that is the household of faith of which we and Moses and Abraham and everyone who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ belongs too. And thus it is Christ Jesus the Lord the Builder and the Head of the house (1 Cor 11:3), who has much more honor than the house. For the household was established and built by God so that He could glorify His Son as the Head of it all. 

Vs. 4 For every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God. 

God chose Abraham and through his seed He raised up both Moses and then the prophets, and Finally our Promised Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to redeem all the people He has chosen for Himself. All things then that pertain to our salvation, from it's origins to its end, have been designed and decreed and ultimately built and established by God. Thus Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior who is culmination of all of God's Work in redeeming sinful humanity from beginning to end is bestowed exceedingly far greater honor than those who are the inhabitants of His House. 

Vs. 5-6 ⁵ And Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward, ⁶ but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.

Moses was faithful in all of His house as a servant (not a Savior), but a servant, for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward. And so just as with all the apostles and prophets who have always considered themselves only as servants of the Word of the Lord, so with Moses. (consider Num. 12:1-16). Now what Moses was appointed (and faithful too) was the Law of God, ministering to God and people through it. Yet the Law of God was not the end, but was given for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward. Thus the priesthood, the sacrifices, the ceremonial ordinances, the feast days etc., were all pointing to something and Someone Far Greater than Moses and the Law, and that is the the Lord Jesus Christ through whom you and I can have Gods glorious grace and eternal salvation by repentance towards God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ through His Gospel. And so Christ Jesus as a Son, God's Son, was faithful to God over His own house, because He (like Moses) did all those things which God commanded of Him, and yet unlike Moses, Jesus was the objective of them all, to bring people to faith in and obedience towards God through Himself. Therefore the Scripture also says that we are apart of Christ's household if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end. Now this holding fast the confidence is not confidence in or our own faithfulness or righteousness or goodness etc. which one thinks they have earned for themselves through the Law (consider Hab. 2:4; Phil. 3:7-9), but rather we are all too hold fast to our confidence in Christ Jesus the Lord who has fulfilled every righteous required of the Law for us all who believe in Him, and thus through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ we are now both redeemed from sin and death, but we also now stand justified in the sight of God, because Christ Jesus has satisfied every righteous requirements of the Law for us all who believe in Him. Therefore holding fast ones confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ and and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end is what we who are of His Household must always do. For there is no salvation in any other, for there is no other name given under heaven amongst men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12; 1 Tim 2:5). 

Scripture Quotation
The New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.

Hebrews 2:10-18

¹⁰ For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. ¹¹ For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, ¹² saying: “I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You.” ¹³ And again: “I will put My trust in Him.” And again: “Here am I and the children whom God has given Me.” ¹⁴ Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, ¹⁵ and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. ¹⁶ For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham. ¹⁷ Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. ¹⁸ For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.

Commentary
Vs. 10 "For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings."

In stating it was fitting for the Lord Jesus Christ to have suffered Crucifixion death, the Scripture is undoing any and all notions that going through such a trial of suffering and anguish for our redemption was unfitting for the Son of God. Since in bringing many sons to glory the Lord Jesus Christ suffering Crucifixion death was not for Himself, it was for us all. The most selfless act then is not a downgrading of God's Person, rather through it the Lord Jesus Christ's Person is exalted and is going to be exalted for all eternity, because it was God Himself who ordained that such things must occur, that is the implication being stated when the Scripture states, "for whom are all things and by whom are all things," because Lord Jesus Christ's Crucifixion was not an act of man done outside of or against the Will of God, but was done by sinful men in order to fulfill the Will and Word of God (Acts 4:27-28) so that God could redeem us all who believe in Him and glorify His Son through our Redemption (Phil 2:8-11; Eph. 1:18-23). For it is Jesus for whom are all things and it is through Him that are all things, for God created all things to ultimately glorify His Son. For whether by Redemption or by Judgment, God will glorify and exalt His Son through them. 
And so the Lord Jesus Christ as the captain (gr. ἀρχηγός, the Originator/Leader) of our salvation in bringing many sons to glory had to to be made perfect through sufferings. Perfect in the sense that unless the Lord Jesus Christ suffered Crucifixion death He could not have been perfected as the Captain of our Salvation because that element of His suffering Crucifixion death in our place as foretold in the Scriptures would not have then been fulfilled. And so when Jesus prayed in Gethsemane all of foretold redemption history was bound up in that intense moment of personal decision for Him, where He had to overcome His own fears and desires for self preservation and trust and obey God even to point of suffering Crucifixion death. For unless Jesus did so we ourselves in no way could've been redeemed from sin and death, and thus ultimately transformed into His glorious Image as the now Resurrected Son of Man; who is no longer subject to death, but now, Jesus having ascended back to God the Father in heaven lives forever in His Glorified state as our Glorified Lord and Savior. Thus Jesus as the Captain of our Salvation is the firstborn of the Resurrection of the dead of us all who believe in His Person and trust in His Name, for He is Lord of us all who by faith in His Person have been and will be saved (John 5:24; 11:25; Eph. 1:13-14). 

Vs. 11-13 ¹¹ For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, ¹² saying: “I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You.” ¹³ And again: “I will put My trust in Him.” And again: “Here am I and the children whom God has given Me.”

And so Jesus as the captain of our salvation, in becoming a Man, obeying God in all things, and then in sanctifying us all who believe in Him (see Heb 10:14) is not ashamed to call us His brethren (11). Brethren here means the Lord Jesus Christ Himself now reckons us His brothers by birthright, and thus it is Jesus Himself who sees us all who believe in Him as sharing the same Father, His Father, God the Father who is in heaven (consider John 20:17). Therefore Psalm 22:22 (cited in vs. 12) now has the Lord Jesus Christ not only leading us in our praise and adoration and worship of God (BBC), but it is He Himself who is leading us in our trusting of God (Isaiah 8:17-18 cited in vs. 13).  

Vs. 14-15 ¹⁴ Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, ¹⁵ and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. 

As the Captain of our Salvation, the Lord Jesus Christ didn't just come as the Son of God, He like us all put on human flesh, that is He became a full human being, a Man, the Son of Man, that He might destroy him who had power of death, that is, the devil. Thus Jesus as the Son of Man was subject to everything that we are subject to as mortal beings, including death, so that He might destroy him who had the power of death that is the devil. Now destroy here does not mean Jesus by suffering Crucifixion death has annihilated the devil, (for the devil is still alive and actively at work in this world) it means that Jesus Christ's death on the cross brought the end of Satan's rule and tenure of death, and ultimately anything in God's Creation. Thus with the Lord Jesus Christ having destroyed the devil's dominion and domain over death, He has now paved the way for us all now to have the resurrection from the dead, this is assured too us all who believe in Him by His own Resurrection from the dead. The Lord Jesus Christ's victory over death then is so complete and finial that Satan's negation to being made utterly nothing, along with his finial relegation to depths of hell is certain . Thus too speak of Jesus having destroyed the devil who had power of death then is a very accurate statement, since Satan can now hold back no one from attaining too the resurrection of dead, for the Lord Jesus Christ has ended his tenure of it (consider Isaiah 14:16-21; Ezekiel 28:16-19; Rev. 20:7-10). Now the other aspect in destroying the devil by His own death on the Cross is that Jesus has by doing so released us all who believe in Him from the fear the death by which we were throughout our lifetime subject to bondage. For one of greatest burdens that every human being carries in their own heart and soul is the fear of their own death, which means their eternal separation from God in hell if they die having not been reconciled to God. Now God often uses that very real fear to draw us to Himself, so that by our faith in His Son's Person He can reconcile us who believe in Christ back to Himself; restoring His life, love, peace and joy to us all who repent and believe in Him (Mark 1:15; 2 Cor 5:21). Having a fear of death then is not God's rejection or condemnation of you, rather it is God trying to reach you, so that you come home.

Vs. 16 "For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham."

Now in making sure that we all understand that God's highest concern and priority is for humanity, for our redemption from sin and death, the Scripture now declares that Jesus didn't come into the world to give aid to angels, instead He became a Man to give aid to us all, which has always been and will always be God's highest priority, our redemption from sin and death on the one hand, and our over all well being on other, because God created us all for Himself, and we are His image bearers, not angels. Therefore God does not give aid too angels (in the sense that he gives aid to us) for they are his spiritual servants, rather He gives aid to the seed of Abraham, that is every believer who thus is apart of the spiritual descendants of Abraham because we believe God's Word spoken to us just as Abraham did (consider Rom 4:9-25, vs. 11, 16, Gal. 3:7). And so it is that God provides aid to us all who believe in His Son so that we can remain in constant and eternal fellowship with Himself.

Vs. 17-18 ¹⁷ Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. ¹⁸ For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.

Now in order for God to give aid to us all, the Lord Jesus Christ in all things had to made like His brethren, the implication being that Jesus had to learn and experience all that is to be human in a broken and sinful world. And so Jesus had to experience not only all of the physical limitations and emotions (both good and bad) that we are all subject too; but Jesus had to do so while remaining blameless before God, something which Job himself, a blameless man before God, yet when broken by his circumstances, could not do. And so in crying out to God about his own unexplainable plight one of Jobs main points was that God had no idea what it was like to be a mortal man in his very precarious place (consider Job 10:4-7, 15). And so again Jesus had to be made like us all in every aspect being subject to all of the temptations and emotions and physical limitations including death that we are all subject too. Just name an experience or temptation which we are all subject too as mortal beings living in a sinful and broken world and the Lord Jesus Christ has also experienced the same in the flesh, and yet He has overcome it all. Now this was done so that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in the things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. That is Jesus had too overcome all the ravages and temptations of sin from our mortal beings perspective, before He Himself offered Himself as the Sinless Sacrifice for us all; that is what propitiation means, by His own shed blood, Jesus Christ the Lord has provided the everlasting atonement for all of our sins before God. And so having complete knowledge of the human experience, and having overcome it all, and provided atonement for us all, Jesus can now not only intercede for us all as our High Priest before God, but He can also provide aid to us all so that we too can also learn to overcome whatever temptations and deprivations and circumstances and such that we will have to face as we also journey homeward.  

Scripture Quotations 
The New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.

Additional Resources Consulted
BBC: MacDonald, William. Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments. Edited by Arthur Farstad. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995.

LN or Louw-Nida: Louw, Johannes P., and Eugene Albert Nida. Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains. New York: United Bible Societies, 1996.