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Holy Week · Good Friday · Year C

Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9

Jesus the Great High Priest

The Agony in the Garden, Andrea Mantegna
The Agony in the Garden, Andrea Mantegna, c. 1458-1460National Gallery, London
Christ on his knees in a stony garden, the angels holding out the cup, the disciples asleep below.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.Andrea MantegnaMantegna, who carved his landscapes out of rock and made the ground itself look hard.National Gallery, LondonThe National Gallery, London.National Gallery, London

Overview & Insights

“Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered.” (Hebrews 5:8)

In the last verses of chapter 4 the author again exhorts his readers to faithfulness, but this time on the basis of his argument concerning the high priesthood of Jesus. The connection has already been made between Jesus’ high priesthood and his ability to help his people (see 2:17–18), but now it is elaborated and leads the author into the beginning of a discourse on why Jesus is qualified to be high priest. First the author reviews the role and calling of high priests (5:1–4), and then he turns to the qualifications of Jesus as high priest (5:5–10).

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Take it further: Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9

Commentary

Background & Word Study

The Church Fathers

Questions preachers ask

How is Christ the great high priest?

Appointed by God as a priest after the order of Melchizedek, Christ offered up loud cries and tears, and being made perfect became the source of eternal salvation.

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