Conclusion of the Hebrews 5:11-6:20 section of Hebrews.

The passage which begins at 5:11 and ends at 6:20 is a lengthy pastoral exhortation. It is an interlude. Before the author explains the doctrine of the high priesthood of Christ in the order of Melchizedek, he exhorts his readers to faithfulness. First, he admonishes them because of their dullness in learning the basic doctrines of God’s Word. Next, he delineates what these elementary teachings are: repentance, faith, baptism, ordination, resurrection, and judgment. He exhorts the recipients of his letter to advance in their understanding of these teachings.Throughout the epistle the author warns the Christians against the sin of unbelief (3:12; 4:1, 11; 10:26, 29; 12:15, 28-29). He describes the rebellious Israelites who perished in the desert because of this sin (3:16-19). In 6:4-6 the author pursues that same theme by referring to those persons who have hardened their hearts after receiving a knowledge of the truth. These people continue to crucify Jesus and to despise him. They do so in open rebellion. For such persons, says the author, there is no possibility of being brought back to repentance. They are lost forever.

This observation serves as a warning to the readers not to fall into the sin of unbelief, but to demonstrate their diligence in exhibiting the qualities of faith, hope, and love. The author singles out the virtue of hope and encourages them to make hope a priority in their spiritual lives. He commends them for their loving care shown to people in need and assures them that they are the recipients of the blessings of salvation. He exhorts them to cultivate hope. He points to Jesus, the forerunner who has entered heaven as high priest and who by his presence in heaven guarantees them entrance.

Hope is anchored in the finished work of Christ, who atoned for the sins of his people.

In the religious life of the Jew, no man received greater esteem than the high priest. Under his supervision were the priests who were commissioned to take charge of routine tasks. The high priest, man’s representative before God, entered the Most Holy Place once a year on the Day of Atonement and sprinkled blood for the remission of sin. Aaron was the first high priest to enter into the presence of God behind the curtain in the ancient tabernacle.

However, Jesus is superior to Aaron because Jesus “has gone through the heavens.” That is, he entered into the very presence of God, where the high priests merely entered the symbolical presence in the tabernacle or temple once a year. In his glorified human nature, Jesus has entered the presence of God. Fully acquainted with human weaknesses and temptations, he intercedes in our behalf when we approach the throne of God in prayer.

The author of Hebrews depicts Jesus in his role of high priest, fulfilling the responsibilities of the high priesthood of Aaron and assuming the priesthood in the order of Melchizedek.   As a priest in the order of Melchizedek, Jesus offered himself as a sacrifice for sin. This fulfilled the requirements of the Old Testament sacrificial system.

God appointed Jesus as high priest not when Jesus entered heaven, but prior to his coming to earth. According to Psalm 110:4 (“You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek”; italics added), Jesus’ priesthood is eternal. He was already priest before he began his earthly life.

The focus in chapter 4 is not so much on the unbelieving Israelites who refused to obey God as it is on the believers who in faith enter God’s promised rest. The unbelieving desert travelers failed to listen to God’s voice and died on the way to the land God had promised. The Christian who lives by faith enters into God’s rest, the Sabbath-rest for the people of God. And this entrance into rest can be accomplished only by listening obediently to the gospel.

The first thirteen verses of this chapter form an introduction to the author’s discussion about the high priesthood of Jesus the Son of God. Already in 2:17-18 the author introduced this subject, which in succeeding chapters he fully develops and explains.