THE HUMANITY OF JESUS
Every high priest who is chosen from among men is appointed on men’s behalf to deal with the things which concern God. His task is to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins, in that he himself is able to feel gently to the ignorant and to the wandering because he himself wears the garment of human weakness. By reason of this very weakness it is incumbent upon him, just as he makes sacrifice for the people, so to make sacrifice for sins on his own behalf also. No one takes this honourable position to himself, but he is called by God to it, just as Aaron was. So it was not Christ who gave himself the glory of becoming high priest; but it was God who said to him: “You are my beloved Son; today I have begotten you.” Just so he says also in another passage: “You are a priest for ever according to the order of Melchizedek.”
Hebrews 5:7-9
In the days when Christ Jesus was in the flesh, he offered 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 reverence. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered; and when he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.
BACKGROUNDER
The Letter to the Hebrews is explaining how Jesus came to mediate between God and us. Who could possibly bridge this gap between Creator and created. The universe is truly grand, its beauty, complexity and the sheer power of cosmic phenomena like exploding suns, or the gravitational pull of black holes (which are so strong that even light can’t escape!). Yet, the whole universe only exists because God holds it in being: creation is nothing with the Creator.
Yet Jesus shares both in the divine nature of God, and in our created human nature. So, can be our high priest, and for three reasons. First, God appointed Jesus, as every high priest isn’t self-selected, but is chosen by God. Second, the high priest offers sacrifices. In the Old Testament the high priest would have offered animal sacrifices like, bulls, sheep or goats. Jesus offers his body, his whole self, as the final sacrifice.
Third, Jesus is human, and this makes him our high priest. On the cross his humanity is fully revealed, because there he died. The humanity of the cross is the supreme revelation of who God is. It is on the cross that Jesus saves us.
How is the character of Jesus revealed? Like any of the rest of us he prayed and begged. He uttered loud cries. The tears flowed from him. His flesh felt pain. This is important to us, because we may feel that accepting what God asks means remaining calm no matter what happens. Yet this is not what Jesus is like. His suffering was not unemotional and detached from the experience of our broken humanity.
In the humanity of the cross, Jesus, learned obedience, and was made perfect, in that his humanity was transformed. We who are all too human, receive salvation by obeying him, as he obeyed the Father.