Hebrews 5:5-10 (NRSV)
Read Hebrews 5:5-10 on biblegateway.com
Verse 5So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest, but was appointed by the one who said to him, "You are my Son, today I have begotten you"; Verse 6as he says also in another place, "You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek." Verse 7In 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, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Verse 8Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; Verse 9and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him,
Verse 10having been designated by God a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.
Devotion
What shape will the new covenant take? Who is this God
who is present for us, full of mercy and eager to welcome
us back into relationship? Our forebears in faith imagined
the Messiah. Our Christian progenitors, in faith, saw
Jesus as the One who had opened his heart to others and
had the courage to engage fully in his context, even when
it cost him his life. Their legacy of faith is our inheritance.
In him they saw the pre-eminent high priest, who
intercedes on our behalf, the begotten one whose claim
on us makes us also children of God. In him we can enter
God's house as ones who belong. Like Jesus, we do not
come into this relational home triumphant and boasting,
but as ones who are embraced with a full-knowing love.
In humility we come home, shame upended by the light
of grace.
Prayer
Jesus, your pedigree reaches back deep into the long
history of faith. Your faithfulness is a fertile blessing, even
now as we prepare again to tell the story of your passion
and resurrection. We are awed to be descendants of your
grace. Amen.