Hebrews 5:1 For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.
The author now gives his understanding of what the job of a high priest is. This is consistent with what we can read in the Old Testament. Reading the OT as a Christian, we can see how the high priest is a type for Christ. Typology is the study and understanding that certain people, places, or events are types for what is revealed in the NT. In this interpretation, God did not set up the sacrificial system and priesthood only for ancient Israel to resolve their sins. Rather, God set these up in preparation for Jesus and what Jesus has done for humanity. The OT points ahead to something greater. This “greater” is the key idea of Hebrews: Jesus is greater than the old system shown in the OT. That is because the OT points ahead by God’s purpose to something greater. A high priest is “chosen from among men”. Jesus came as a man, born in Bethlehem, grew up in Nazareth. The author has already shown how Jesus’ humanity brought temptation into his life, but he was victorious over this and never sinned. He was “appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God.” What did Jesus do? The rest of the epistle will describe this. Jesus gave his life as a sacrifice, opening the way to the Holy of Holies and God’s presence. His death and resurrection brought salvation to humanity. The “gifts” could include this salvation and also the gift of faith because he is the author and perfecter of faith (12:1-2). The sacrifice is his own life which enables us to bring sacrifices of praise (13:15). We would not have access to eternal life if it were not for what Jesus did as our high priest.
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