In Hebrews 5, Aaron is contrasted with our blessed Lord in His Priesthood. The latter sets him aside as He did Moses in the Hebrews 3. In looking at the first four verses we see at once what an inferior priesthood Aaron’s was. he could have compassion on the ignorant, truly, and on those out of the way, but it was because he himself was compassed with infirmity. He was himself in the same state they were, and was thus able to sympathize; that is to say he was in a failing state, and thus he ought for the people, as also for himself, to offer for sins. Now we have seen that Christ was able to sympathize far better, but it is from the fact of His being outside the state of sin in which we were by nature, and thus able to maintain us outside it, in the position which His death and resurrection had placed us. Aaron was only for the maintenance of a people in a failing state, but Christ is to maintain them in that new position, Himself ever having been the perfect One.
His Priesthood was founded on His glorious holy Person. He did not glorify Himself to be made a High Priest, but He that said to Him, Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee (Ps. 2), as He said also in another place, Thou art a Priest forever after the order of Melchisedec. We have His Person set before us (ver. 5), His office (ver. 6); what fitted Him for that office (ver 7-8), and His consecration to it (ver. 9). His agony in the garden is alluded to (ver 7), and what enabled Him to gain the victory is set before us. He could not but shrink from death, as the holy One of God, especially from drinking that awful cup, the being forsaken of God, but it was the Father’s will, and He learnt obedience as the Son by the things which he suffered.
He is able thus to sympathize with His people, passing through suffering even unto death, and even with those who do not know fully their redemption, yet really born again, and dreading the judgment of God due to them for their sins. This will be Israel’s experience in the last days as delineated in the Psalms, and Christ is able in grace to sympathize with them while passing through the trial. Of course, they anticipate the judgment coming on them for their own sins. Christ anticipated the judgment coming on Him for the sins of others, Himself being without sin, though one of the Jewish nation.
His death was His consecration to the priesthood; He fully entered into it as the risen Man, the Author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, called of God an High Priest after the order of Melchisedec. The Aaronic priesthood utterly failed as having condemned Him to death, and is consequently set aside, and the risen Christ, the High Priest after the order of Melchisedec, takes its place.
But the apostle has to interrupt his discourse about the Melchisedec priesthood owing to the low state of the Hebrew Christians. When for the time they ought to have been teachers, they need to be taught what are the first principles of the oracles of God, and had become such as had need of milk instead of strong meat. Every one that used milk was unskillful in the word of righteousness, being a babe; whereas strong meat belonged to those of full age, who by reason of use had their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. This we see here Christians divided into two classes, some were babes, others were perfect or in other words, of full age, such who by reason of use had their senses exercised to discern between good and evil. We see also this is not merely a question of being old or young in the Christian life; many old Christians, like these Hebrews, are mere babes stunted in growth, whilst many comparatively young have attained to the age of perfection, and are able to feed on the meat of the Word. To understand only the way of the beginning of Christ as we have in Hebrews 6;1-2, was to be still in the age of babyhood; to understand about a heavenly Christ, the High Priest after the order of Melchisedec, was to be of full age. They were in danger of letting go this heavenly Christ through their want of apprehension about Him.