“Every high priest is a man chosen to represent other people in their dealings with God. He presents their gifts to God and offers sacrifices for their sins. And he is able to deal gently with ignorant and wayward people because he himself is subject to the same weaknesses. That is why he must offer sacrifices for his own sins as well as theirs. And no one can become a high priest simply because he wants such an honor. He must be called by God for this work, just as Aaron was. That is why Christ did not honor himself by assuming he could become High Priest. No, he was chosen by God, who said to him, “You are my Son. Today I have become your Father.” And in another passage God said to him, “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.” While Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could rescue him from death. And God heard his prayers because of his deep reverence for God. Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered. In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him. And God designated him to be a High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.”
Hebrews 5:1-10 NLT
It may shock some Christians to learn that the Godhood of Jesus was compatible with the humanity of him, but this mystery is beautifully highlighted in this passage. Here we learn that Jesus, in his humanity, had to “learn,” obedience in order to be qualified to be the messiah. This title was afforded to him, not because of his godhood but because of the submission demonstrated in his manhood. What many may not understand is that there is something special about experiential knowledge. It is different than simply knowing something. It is different enough that Jesus gained a meaningful experience of obedience, while already understanding obedience fully. This seems to be an important aspect of the Messiah. Like a high priest, as a federal head, God established that the position only be filled by someone who could empathize with humanity, rather than just sympathize. They had to have experienced obedience, and fought temptation to stray. Only Jesus has done this with the clean slate of Adam. Only he experimentally knows how hard it is to stay obedient. He’s the only one who accomplished it. This makes him qualified to be the perfect federal head. He knows enough to care for emphatically for those needing a sacrifice. He cares enough to make that sacrifice to give of himself, because he understands the impossible odds for the children of Adam. He cares enough to bring us into the blessings of his obedience.
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