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In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. (Hebrews 5:7 ESV)
At first glance, it might seem that in this verse the author of Hebrews is referring to Jesus’s prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. The details certainly fit the gospel accounts of Jesus’s experience in the garden on the night before his crucifixion. As Jesus prayed in Gethsemane, he was “in agony,” and “his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (Luke 22:44 ESV). And when he asked his Father to remove the cup of God’s wrath from him (Luke 22:42), he was asking to be spared from the death he would die on behalf of sinners.1
But take a closer look at Hebrews 5:7. The author mentions Jesus’s anguished prayers “in the days of his flesh.” Note that days is plural. The text is not referring to a one time event, but a pattern of tearful prayers over the course of Jesus’s life. He didn’t cry out to his Father one time in Gethsemane, but he offered up angonized prayers throughout his life here on earth. Facing death, especially the kind of death he would die, was difficult, and he struggled with it—not just once, but regularly.
The author of Hebrews used this truth to show his readers that Jesus was qualified to serve as their high priest. A high priest had to sympathize with the weaknesses of those he interceded for. The Old Testament priests were “beset with weakness,” so they could “deal gently with the ignorant and wayward” (5:2). Jesus did not share the old covenant priests’ identification with human sinfulness, but still, he knew the pain that comes with human existence.
For one, he understands human fear of suffering and death. Jesus can identify with these fears because “in the days of his flesh,” he, too, “offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death.” He could serve as our high priest and offer propitiation for human sin because he was one of us. He understands from experience our mortal fears, and he willingly subjected himself to death on a cross to free us from them (Hebrews 2:14-15). And he still sympathizes with our human weakness as he intercedes with God for us now. His identification with our human frailty qualifies him to be our high priest.
Think for a moment about how this verse would have encouraged the first readers (or hearers) of Hebrews. They were facing persecution for their embrace of Christianity. They had been through it before and had stood firm in their faith. Now they are facing it again. Would it be worse this time? Would any of them be asked to die for their faith (12:4)? Perhaps some were thinking, “I don’t have it in me to endure persecution again. If I turn back from faith in Jesus and return to my Jewish roots I can avoid it.” The author is concerned that this time round, they won’t all hold firm.
This verse reminded them that Jesus, the founder and perfecter of their faith (12:2), the high priest on whom their salvation depended, regularly offered up prayer to God, the one who was able to save him from death, “with loud cries and tears.” They weren’t enduring anything he hadn’t endured. They weren’t facing anything he hadn’t faced. He understood their suffering, and he was willing to help them. He would give them the strength to endure. They, too, could offer up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who is able to save them from death, and be heard.2
I haven’t faced real persecution, and I haven’t (yet) been truly tempted to turn away from Jesus, but this verse encourages me, too. Life can be hard sometimes. As I age, I grow more and more aware of my mortality. It is a blessing indeed to know that Jesus, the founder and perfecter of my faith, continually prayed to his Father “with loud cries and tears,” and he was given the strength to complete his mission. He was given the courage to endure the suffering that came from doing his Father’s will.
1Jesus had one important caveat, of course: “Father, if you are willing…” (Luke 22:39-44 ESV). As we know, the Father was not willing, and Jesus willingly went on to the cross. He asked to be spared, but nevertheless was “obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8 ESV)
2This brings up these questions: How was it that Jesus was heard? How was his prayer to be saved from death answered? What do you think?