Hebrews: Human High Priests
Hebrews 5:1-4; Leviticus 10:1-13, 1 Peter 2:9-10 - Flawed human priests are replaced, once and for all, with the perfect high priest.
“For every high priest taken from among men is appointed on behalf of men in things pertaining to God, in order to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins; he can deal gently with the ignorant and misguided, since he himself also is beset with weakness; and because of it he is obligated to offer sacrifices for sins, as for the people, so also for himself. And no one takes the honor to himself, but receives it when he is called by God, even as Aaron was.”
Hebrews 5:1-4 NASB1995
Chapter breaks and verses in Bible books are an artifact introduced centuries later as a way to help us and our pastoral leadership find particular passages. Hebrews 5 follows on directly from what we read at the end of Hebrews 4, but our minds tend to shift gears when we jump into a new chapter in the Bible, when in reality, the text was intended to flow from the last chapter that we read. Most of the time the breaks are in the best place possible, but that’s not always the case. Here’s a nice explanation of this invention, which (in most ways) improved accessibility to Scripture - from Gotquestions.org:
When the books of the Bible were originally written, they did not contain chapter or verse references. The Bible was divided into chapters and verses to help us find Scriptures more quickly and easily. It is much easier to find “John chapter 3, verse 16” than it is to find “for God so loved the world...” In a few places, chapter breaks are poorly placed and as a result divide content that should flow together. Overall, though, the chapter and verse divisions are very helpful.
The chapter divisions commonly used today were developed by Stephen Langton, an Archbishop of Canterbury. Langton put the modern chapter divisions into place in around A.D. 1227. The Wycliffe English Bible of 1382 was the first Bible to use this chapter pattern. Since the Wycliffe Bible, nearly all Bible translations have followed Langton’s chapter divisions.
The Hebrew Old Testament was divided into verses by a Jewish rabbi by the name of Nathan in A.D. 1448. Robert Estienne, who was also known as Stephanus, was the first to divide the New Testament into standard numbered verses, in 1555. Stephanus essentially used Nathan’s verse divisions for the Old Testament. Since that time, beginning with the Geneva Bible, the chapter and verse divisions employed by Stephanus have been accepted into nearly all the Bible versions.
Hebrews 5:1-4 continues the truths that were identified in Hebrews 4:14-16. High priests among men were appointed on behalf of men to oversee and do the things pertaining to God. They could deal gently with the misguided and ignorant, since they were also beset with weaknesses. Because of those weaknesses, they were obligated to do sacrifices for their own sins, not just for others. This honor of being a priest could not be taken on as a career selection on your own but was a calling and appointment from God. I think Enduring Word has a decent explanation of the human priest and their requirements:
a. For every high priest taken from among men: God established both the priesthood and the office of high priest in the days of Moses, as described in Exodus 28 and following. The writer to the Hebrews neatly summarizes the work of the high priest, in saying “that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins.” The primary job of the high priest was to officiate, either directly or indirectly through lower-ranking priests, sacrifices unto the Lord.
i. The phrase “gifts and sacrifices for sins” reminds us that not every sacrifice offered a blood atonement for sin. Many of the ritual sacrifices were intended as simple gifts to God, expressing thanks and desiring fellowship.
b. He can have compassion: Ideally, the high priest was more than a meat-cutter offering animals for sacrifice. He also had compassion on those who are ignorant and going astray, and ministered the atoning sacrifices with a loving heart for the people. In this ideal, the high priest had this compassion because he understood that he himself is also subject to weakness.
i. God made specific commands to help the high priest to minister with compassion. In the breastplate of the high priest were set twelve stones engraved with the names of the tribes of Israel, and on the shoulder straps were stones engraved with the names of the tribes. In this, the people of Israel were always on the heart and on the shoulders of the high priest (Exodus 28:4-30). The intention was to stir the compassion of the high priest.
c. Because of this he is required as for the people, so also for himself, to offer sacrifices for sins: God also made specific commands to help the high priest serve knowing that he was also subject to weakness. On the Day of Atonement, the high priest had to sacrifice for himself first, to remind himself and the nation that he had sin to atone for, just like the rest of the people of Israel (Leviticus 16:1-6).
d. And no man takes this honor to himself, but he who is called by God, just as Aaron was: The High Priest was taken from the community of God’s people but was not chosen by God’s people. He was appointed by God for His people. The principle is that no man takes this honor to himself. The office of high priest was nothing to aspire to or campaign for. It was given by right of birth, and therefore chosen by God. It was an honor no man could take to himself.
i. The true priesthood and high priest came from a specific line of descent. Every priest came from Jacob, Abraham’s grandson, whose name was changed to Israel. Every priest came from Levi, one of Israel’s twelve sons. God set the tribe of Levi apart as a tribe to serve Him and represent Him to the whole nation of Israel (Exodus 13:2 and Numbers 3:40-41). Levi had three sons: Gershon, Kohath and Merari. Each of these family lines had their own duties. The family of Gershon had care of the tabernacle’s screen (veil), fence, and curtains (Numbers 3:25-26). The family of Kohath had care of the tabernacle’s furnishings, such as the lampstand, altar of incense, and the ark of the covenant (Numbers 3:31-32). The family of Merari had care of the boards and pillars of the tabernacle and the fence (Numbers 3:36-37). These families were not properly priests, though they were Levites. The priesthood itself came through Aaron, the brother of Moses, of the family of Kohath. Aaron’s family and their descendants made up the priests and the high priest, those able to serve in the tabernacle itself and to offer sacrifice to God. The high priest was generally the eldest son of Aaron, except if they disqualified themselves by sin (as Nadab and Abihu in Leviticus 10:1-3) or according to the regulations of Leviticus 21. In this sense, the priesthood was not popularly elected but chosen by God. Man did not appoint the high priest.
ii. There are dreadful cases where men who were not priests presumed to act as priests. These include:
· Korah, who was swallowed up in a divine earthquake (Numbers 16).
· Saul, who was rejected from his place as king (1 Samuel 13).
· Uzziah, who was struck with leprosy in the temple itself (2 Chronicles 26:16).
iii. Today, we also are prohibited from being our own priest. It is great arrogance to think we can approach God on our own, without a priest. But it is also great superstition to think we need any priest other than Jesus Christ Himself. God provides Jesus as a mediator and priest, and we must use the priest God provides.
iv. “A sinner can undertake to manage nothing towards God immediately, or by himself, but with a mediating priest, who must know God’s mind and perform it… The common sense of mankind about it since the fall doth evidence it; no nation being without a religion, a temple, a place of worship, or a priest.” (Poole)
As noted, these requirements were essentially laid out in Exodus, Numbers and Leviticus. The requirements were very strict, as noted in Leviticus 10:
“Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective firepans, and after putting fire in them, placed incense on it and offered strange fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. And fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. Then Moses said to Aaron, “It is what the Lord spoke, saying,
‘By those who come near Me I will be treated as holy, And before all the people I will be honored.’ ”
So Aaron, therefore, kept silent.”
Leviticus 10:1-3 NASB1995
It would be quite frightening today if God still struck down those “priests” (or pastors) who claim to speak and act for Him when they are really giving the enemy a platform to speak or act against a holy God and His commandments. But modern apostates will be judged by the Son. We all need a high priest to approach God and that is now perfectly defined in His Son, Jesus, who is our mediator and priest.
John MacArthur is quoted on Precept Austin about the perfect high priest:
Among the first things a Jew might have asked another person about his religion were, “Who is your high priest? Who mediates between you and God? Who offers the sacrifices to atone for your sins?“ A Jew during the time of the early church may well have asked a Christian, “How are your sins going to be pardoned when you have no one offering sacrifices and no one interceding for you? How can you claim that this new covenant supersedes and is superior to the Old Covenant made through Moses when it leaves you without a high priest?“ The Christian would have replied, “But we do have a high priest, a perfect High Priest. He has offered sacrifice for our sins. He does not confine Himself to an earthly temple, nor does He have to sacrifice yearly, much less daily. He made one sacrifice that atones for all sins ever committed, from the beginning to the end of time. That is how great a high priest He is and how great His sacrifice was. Not only that, but our High Priest is seated at the right hand of God and continually intercedes for those of us who belong to Him.“ (See Hebrews Commentary).
Peter tells us that we are all called into the priesthood, as God gives us gifts that can be used for His purposes. Peter was talking to the early Jewish believers in Christ in this passage, just like the writer of Hebrews was compelling those same believers to stay the course, but this message of grace and mercy is for all humans, Gentiles and Jews:
“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”
1 Peter 2:9-10 NASB1995
The next verses in Hebrews 5 make the case for Christ as our High Priest. My next devotional examines Hebrews 5:5-6 - Christ is a priest forever.
Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer
Dear Lord - I am in awe and wonder as to how the priestly requirements in the Old Testament flow so smoothly into the manifestation of our eternal High Priest in You, Lord Jesus. It is all intricately connected, better than the nerves and blood vessels that keep us alive. Amen
Credits and Citations:
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.Lockman.org
Precept Austin was accessed on 11/15/2025 to review commentary for Hebrews 5:1-4
Commentary from Enduring Word by David Guzik is used with written permission. ©1996-present The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik – enduringword.com
Within the Enduring Word commentary: Poole, Matthew A Commentary on the Holy Bible, Volume III: Matthew-Revelation (London: Banner of Truth Trust, 1969, first published in 1685)
Gotquestions.org was accessed on 11/15/2025 to answer the question, “Who divided the Bible into chapters and verses? © COPYRIGHT 2002-2025 GOT QUESTIONS MINISTRIES. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.