Hebrews 5

Christ, a High Priest

¹For every high priest taken from among men is appointed in matters pertaining to God for the people, to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins.²³He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he is also clothed with weakness.⁴⁵Because of this, he must make an offering for his own sins as well as for the people.⁶⁷No one takes this honor on himself; instead, a person is called by God, just as Aaron was.⁸⁹In the same way, Christ did not exalt himself to become a high priest, but God who said to him, You are my Son; today I have become your Father,¹⁰

¹¹also says in another place, You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.¹²

¹³During his earthly life, he offered prayers and appeals with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence.¹⁴¹⁵Although he was the Son, he learned obedience from what he suffered.¹⁶¹⁷After he was perfected, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him,¹⁸¹⁹and he was declared by God a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.²⁰

The Problem of Immaturity

²¹We have a great deal to say about this, and it is difficult to explain, since you have become too lazy to understand.²²²³Although by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the basic principles of God’s revelation again. You need milk, not solid food.²⁴²⁵Now everyone who lives on milk is inexperienced with the message about righteousness, because he is an infant.²⁶²⁷But solid food is for the mature — for those whose senses have been trained to distinguish between good and evil.²⁸