HEBREWS 5 

Every high priest chosen from among mortals is put in charge of things pertaining to God on their behalf, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. ² He is able to deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is subject to weakness; ³ and because of this he must offer sacrifice for his own sins as well as for those of the people. ⁴ And one does not presume to take this honor, but takes it only when called by God, just as Aaron was. 

⁵ So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest, but was appointed by the one who said to him, 

“You are my Son,
    today I have begotten you”; 

⁶ as he says also in another place, 

“You are a priest forever,
    according to the order of Melchizedek.” ⁷ In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. ⁸ Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; ⁹ and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, ¹⁰ having been designated by God a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

Journey’s End 

The end of Jesus’s journey to the Cross is obviously, the Cross. “⁷ In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears …” This is end of the journey, the complete humiliation, torture, and execution of a man, who is as human as any of us. The complete vulnerability of Jesus at the end of the journey is just like ours: he cries out, he weeps, he prays, he begs God for help. Looking at Jesus at the end of the journey, we see ourselves at our lowest point. He even calls out to God, “Why have you forsaken me?” 

Jesus’s journey has many ups and downs: 1) the glimpse of glory, 2) repentance, 3) home and belonging, 4) mercy, and 5) the coming of the king. Jesus walks and talks, he witnesses and teaches about our journey. We are made for glory. We are called to repentance. We need home, we need to belong. We turn to God for mercy. We may even have welcomed Jesus as our king. How do put all of these themes together? Where do they converge? Everything comes together in Jesus on the Cross. 

The labyrinth of life is full of confusion and dead ends. When things go well, we are painfully aware they this is temporary. We as individuals and communities struggle as we try to figure out the big questions, of meaning and purpose: why are we here? Where are we going? 

On this journey with Jesus, it may see strange that the answer to all of our questions may be seen in Jesus on the Cross. Do you see a man who is suffering and dying? This is truly Jesus who is human just like you, no matter who you are, or where your faith is. Faith in Jesus is a new gift, which we can accept, which is our decision. The people who journeyed with Jesus mostly misunderstood him. They were looking for the king promised to their people, Israel, by God. They expected a conqueror, who would lead his people to victory over their enemies. 

So who is Jesus? We can ask those who were there, the witnesses to Jesus’s journey. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John give us first hand testimony to who Jesus is, and to what he did. They tells us two remarkable things about the End of the Journey. Three days after this horrible, humiliating death on the Cross, Jesus was alive again, he rose from the dead. Secondly, they testify that Jesus is God, not just man. 

This is our hope: the end of our journey is our resurrection, and coming home to God. So Christians can proclaim: Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!