Words in italic type have been added for clarity. They are not found in the original Hebrew or Aramaic.

Caiaphas disqualified himself from being High Priest and the timing was perfect because Jesus became High Priest for all believers.

Qualifications for High Priesthood

Hebrews 5:1 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.

Hebrews 5:2 He can have compassion on (deal gently with) those who are ignorant and going astray, since he himself is also subject to weakness.

Hebrews 5:3 Because of this he is required as for the people, so also for himself, to offer sacrifices for sins.

• ^{John 1:29 The Lamb of God – The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! (Note: He was the “Passover” Lamb)}
• ^{Hebrews 7:27 who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.}
• ^{Revelation 5:6 And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain,}

Hebrews 5:4 And no man takes this honor to himself, but he who is called by God, just as Aaron was.

• John 8:54 Jesus answered, “If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing. It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God.

A Priest Forever

Jesus became the High Priest when Caiaphas, the high priest, disqualified himself when he tore his clothes against the commandment of scipture:

• ^{Leviticus 21:10 ‘He who is the high priest among his brethren, on whose head the anointing oil was poured and who is consecrated to wear the garments, shall not uncover his head nor tear his clothes;}
• ^{Leviticus 10:6a And Moses said to Aaron, and to Eleazar and Ithamar, his sons, “Do not uncover your heads nor tear your clothes, lest you die, and wrath come upon all the people.}
• ^{Matthew 26:65 Then the high priest tore his clothes, saying, “He has spoken blasphemy! What further need do we have of witnesses? Look, now you have heard His blasphemy!}

Once Caiaphas tore his clothes he was no longer eligible to be High Priest, spiritually, Jesus became our High Priest.

• John 19:23b Now the tunic was without seam, woven from the top in one piece. ²⁴ They (the soldiers) said therefore among themselves, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be,”

Hebrews 5:5 So also Christ did not glorify Himself to become High Priest, but it was He (the Father) who said to Him:

“You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.”

“Begotten” means “Risen from the dead” ie: “Born Again”:

• ^{Acts 13:33 God has fulfilled this for us their children, in that He has raised up Jesus. As it is also written in the second Psalm: ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.’}
• ^{1 Peter 1:3 A Heavenly Inheritance – Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,}
• ^{1 Corinthians 4:15 For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you (raised you up from death to life) through the gospel.}
• ^{John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.}

Hebrews 5:6 As He also says in another place:

“You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek”;

Hebrews 5:7 who, in the days of His flesh (when Jesus was man in the flesh), when He had offered up prayers and supplications (in the Garden of Gethsamane), with vehement cries and tears to Him (the Father) who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear,

• ^{Luke 18:31 Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished [fulfilled].}

Jesus went through the agony in the Garden of Gethsame knowing what was going to happen to Him, and yet he could have saved Himself.

• ^{Philippians 2:6-8 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God (something to be held onto to be equal), 7 but made Himself of no reputation (emptied Himself of His privileges), taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.}

Hebrews 5:8 though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.

He was not just a man, He was not a slave. He was all powerful and yet He learned OBEDIENCE. His obedience was His suffering.

• ^{Heb 2:10 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.}

Obedience is “believing” in the outcome of God and then “doing” it.

Hebrews 5:9 And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him,

Many people believe Grace is a “Get out of Hell Free” card therefore they can continue in their lascivious lifestyle. This is one of Satan’s biggest lies.

Hebrews 5:10 called by God as High Priest “according to the order of Melchizedek,”

Verses referencing Melchizedek:

• ^{Hebrews 7 The King of Righteousness – For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated “king of righteousness,” and then also king of Salem, meaning “king of peace,” without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually. …}
• ^{Psalm 110:4 The Lord has sworn And will not relent, “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.”}

Hebrews 5:11 of whom we have much to say, and hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.

The Jews have become dull of hearing and unable to comprehend the ways of God.

God withholds spiritual insight as a judgment against those who refuse the insight they’ve already been given. This is why Jesus spoke in Parables and why tongues were used on Pentecost.

• ^{1 Corinthians 14:22 Therefore tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but prophesying is not for unbelievers but for those who believe.}
• ^{Matthew 13:15 For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.’}

Spiritual Immaturity

Hebrews 5:12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles (Sayings, Scriptures) of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food.

Hebrews 5:13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe.

Hebrews 5:14 But solid food belongs to those who are of full age (mature), that is, those who by reason of use (practice) have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

Helping others and/or yourself demands discernment which comes from the experience and exercise in obedience. How do we know obedience if we do not study the scriptures? Man, by his nature, cannot know right from wrong. Only God can decide what is “right” and what is “wrong” for men because He is our creator.

IS IT GOOD? Why did God say “it is good” or “it is very good” each day during creation in Genesis chapter one? Answer: Because the heavens and the earth were being prepared to run perfectly and smoothly for human habitation. When finished, God would have a universal “factory” for a healthy, whole, and happy place (without defect), for mankind to live. On each day of creation He declared “It is good”. He made the universe by instituting His morality, laws, boundaries, species, etc for a society that runs like a well oiled machine, and by well-oiled, I mean an anointing by the Holy Spirit. Anything man does contrary to God’s specifications throws a monkey wrench into the machine and causes the cogs and gears to break down, rusting without oil, finally ending in a destroyed planet and a destroyed people.

Discernment:

• ^{Proverbs 2:3 Yes, if you cry out for discernment, And lift up your voice for understanding,}
• ^{Ezekiel 44:23 “And they shall teach My people the difference between the holy and the unholy, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.}
• ^{Matthew 16:3 and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.}
• ^{Philippians 1:9 And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment,}
• ^{Hebrews 4:12 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.}

“True Discernment means understanding the Ways of God.” ~ Barbara Grover