Hebrews 5:1-6 explains why Jesus, who was not of a priestly caste, became endowed with the status of High Priest and serves humanity in this critical function. These readings explicate the underlying meanings of scripture as it pertains to Jesus’s qualifications, qualities, roles, and duties as High Priest. Modeled after Aaron, the High Priest must have three core qualities. First, a High Priest must be singled out, special, and unique. Second, the High Priest cannot be self-appointed or even appointed by human beings. Only God can appoint the High Priest. In other words, the High Priest is called by God to serve. Third, the High Priest must have a set of qualities that include empathy for those who are weak and sinful, humility, and patience. The primary role served by the High Priest is that of intermediary between God and humanity. Pilch (n.d.) offers the best metaphor of the intermediary role, in that the petitioner will need a patron or a broker to conduct complicated affairs or to restore order or harmony. The High Priest reconciles the human being who has sinned with God, who is offended by that sin. With humility, empathy, patience, and kindness, the High Priest helps...

Far from the old model in which High Priests could only come from specific families, Jesus returned to the world the genuine model of the High Priest who serves humanity as intermediary. As the anointed one, the Christ, Jesus is royal, priestly, and divinely ordained. Jesus was also humble enough to surrender his divine privileges and assume the burden of sin in order to cultivate the solidarity with others needed to become truly empathetic and humble (Matera, n.d.). Even if Jesus was a layman, he fulfilled the primary requirements of High Priesthood.
Christians today can learn from Jesus’s radical new model of High Priesthood. For one, Jesus taught that birthright is not an effective means by which to determine fitness for spiritual leadership. Being called by God is really the only way to prove oneself able to fulfill the duties of the High Priest. Second, Christians can look to Jesus as the ultimate role model of priestly comportment. Humility, patience, and empathy are the qualities of a good leader in any…