Qualifications for the Priesthood

5 For every high priest selected from among men is appointed to officiate on their behalf^[a] in matters relating to God, that is, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. ² He can deal gently with people who are ignorant and easily deceived, since he himself is subject to weakness. ³ For that reason he is obligated to offer sacrifices for his own sins as well as for those of the people. ⁴ No one takes this honor upon himself but he is called to it by God, just as Aaron was.

The Messiah’s Qualifications as High Priest

⁵ In the same way, the Messiah^[b] did not take upon himself the glory of being a high priest. No, it was God who said^[c] to him,

⁶ As he also says in another place,

⁷ As a mortal man,^[f] he offered up prayers and appeals with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his devotion to God. ⁸ Son though he was, he learned obedience through his sufferings ⁹ and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, ¹⁰ having been designated by God to be a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

You Still Need Someone to Teach You

¹¹ We have much to say about this,^[g] but it is difficult to explain because you have become too lazy to understand. ¹² In fact, though by now you should be teachers, you still need someone to teach you the basic truths of God’s word.^[h] You have become people who need milk instead of solid food. ¹³ For everyone who lives on milk is still a baby and does not yet know the difference between right and wrong.^{[i] 14} But solid food is for mature people, whose minds are trained by practice to distinguish good from evil.