Hebrews 5 Devotional

The Priest Who Prayed with Tears

“During the days of Jesus’ earthly life, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverence.”Hebrews 5:7 (BSB)

Every high priest in Israel was taken from among the people, so that he could deal gently with the ignorant and the wayward, since he was weak himself (5:1-2). No one took that honor for himself; God had to call him (5:4). Hebrews 5 says Christ did not seize the role either. God appointed him, naming him Son and a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek (5:5-6).

Then the chapter gives a striking picture of Jesus' days on earth. He prayed and pleaded with loud crying and tears to the God who was able to rescue him from death, and God heard him (5:7). Though he was the Son, he learned obedience through suffering (5:8). The old priests were gentle because they shared our sin (5:2-3). Jesus is gentle because he has shared our suffering. The chapter closes by rebuking readers who have stayed immature (5:11-14), and the way forward is to know this priest more deeply. You can bring your hardest prayers, even with tears, to the one who has prayed that way himself.

To think about: What prayer have you held back because it felt too raw, and how does Jesus' own praying change that?