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In these two verses our apostle illustrates what he had taught before, and confirms his foregoing proposition concerning Christ's participating of flesh and blood, and acquaints us here with one special end of it, namely, to be such an High-priest as our exigencies and necessities did require: for we being persons obnoxious to temptations and sufferings of all sorts, the wisdom of God, and the nature of the thing, required it, that Christ, our great High-Priest, should in a special manner be able to relieve and help us: in order to this,
Observe, 1. How our apostle reports and re-asserts, that Christ was in all things, or every manner of way, made like unto his brethren; that is, he assumed the human nature, with all its essential properties, subjected to temptations and sufferings, but not to sin, for that would have been so far from conducing to the end aimed at, that it would have been utterly destructive of it. Had he been himself a sinner, he could never have satisfied the justice of God for our sins.
Observe, 2. The general end of Christ's conformity to his brethren: namely, That he might be a merciful and faithful High-priest. That he might be our priest, it was necessary that he should partake of our nature; for every High-priest for men must be taken from among men; this is not work for an angel, nor for God himself as such: and that he might be our merciful and faithful High-priest, he was subject to sufferings and temptations.
With great condolency and tender sympathy doth he exercise acts of mercy and compassion towards the human nature; and thus was he merciful, and with great condescension and care doth he take notice of all the concernments of his brethren under wants and sorrows, under all their temptations and sufferings: and thus is he our faithful as well as merciful High-priest.
Learn hence, That such was the unspeakable love of Christ towards his brethren, that he would refuse no condition of life, neither sufferings nor temptations, to fit him for the discharge of his office, which he had undertaken for them. Christ suffered, and was tempted, that he might succour them that are tempted: he suffered under all his temptations, but sinned in none; he suffered, being tempted, but sinned not being tempted.
Observe, 3. The special design and end of Christ's being our great High-priest: namely, To make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
From whence learn, That the principal work of our Lord Jesus Christ, as our great High-priest, and from which all other actings of his in that office do flow, was to make reconciliation or atonement for sin; his intercession in heaven is founded on earth. The Socinians, therefore, who deny the satisfaction of Christ, and his dying, as a propitiation or propitiatory sacrifice for sin, take from us our hopes and happiness; from Christ his office and honour; from God, his grace and glory; they do indeed allow of a reconciliation in words, but it is of men to God, and not of God to men.
They plead the expediency of our being reconciled to God by faith and obedience, but deny the necessity of God's being reconciled to us by sacrifice, satisfaction, and atonement; so resolved are these men to be as little as may be beholden to Jesus Christ, that rather than grant that he has made any reconciliation for us by his blood, they deny that there was any need of such a reconciliation at all, never considering the inflexibility of God's justice, nor the impartiality of his indignation against sin.
Oh! the depths of Satan! and, oh! the stupidity and blindness of those men that are taken captive by him at his pleasure!