Lectio 1
Lecture 1
Finis pontificis
Purpose of the high priest
5:1 Omnis namque pontifex ex hominibus assumptus, pro hominibus constituitur in iis quae sunt ad Deum, ut offerat dona, et sacrificia pro peccatis: [n. 239]
5:1 For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in the things that appertain to God, that he may offer up gifts and sacrifices for sins: [n. 239]
5:2 qui condolere possit iis qui ignorant et errant: quoniam et ipse circumdatus est infirmitate: [n. 245]
5:2 Who can have compassion on those who are ignorant and that err: because he himself also is compassed with infirmity. [n. 245]
5:3 et propterea debet, quemadmodum pro populo, ita etiam et pro semetipso offerre pro peccatis. [n. 248]
5:3 And therefore he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins. [n. 248]
5:4 Nec quisquam sumit sibi honorem, sed qui vocatur a Deo, tamquam Aaron. [n. 249]
5:4 Neither doth any man take the honor to himself, but he that is called by God, as Aaron was. [n. 249]
5:5 Sic et Christus non semetipsum clarificavit ut pontifex fieret: sed qui locutus est ad eum: Filius meus es tu, ego hodie genui te. [n. 250]
5:5 So Christ also did not glorify himself, that he might be made a high priest: but he that said unto him: you are my Son: this day have I begotten you. [n. 250]
5:6 Quemadmodum et in alio loco dicit: tu es sacerdos in aeternum, secundum ordinem Melchisedech.
5:6 As he says also in another place: you are a priest for ever, according to the order of Melchisedech.
5:7 Qui in diebus carnis suae preces, supplicationesque ad eum qui possit illum salvum facere a morte cum clamore valido, et lacrimis offerens, exauditus est pro sua reverentia. [n. 253]
5:7 Who in the days of his flesh, with a strong cry and tears, offering up prayers and supplications to him that was able to save him from death, was heard for his reverence. [n. 253]
239. Sicut a principio huius epistolae dictum fuit, intentio Apostoli est ostendere Christum excellentiorem esse omnibus his ex quibus lex habet auctoritatem, scilicet angelis, quorum ministerio data fuit, Gal. III, 19: ordinata per angelos, et Moyse, qui fuit legislator, Io. I, 17: lex per Moysen data est, et sacerdotio et pontificatu Aaron, per quem lex administratur. Expeditis ergo duobus primis, hic prosequitur de tertio, scilicet de eminentia sacerdotii Christi ad sacerdotium Aaron.
239. As we have said at the beginning of this epistle, the Apostle’s intention is to show that Christ is more excellent than all those from whom the law derives authority, namely, the angels, by whose ministry it was given: being ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator (Gal 3:19), and Moses, who was the law-giver: the law was given by Moses (John 1:17), and the priesthood and high priesthood of Aaron, by whom the law was administered. Having finished the first two he now deals with the third, namely, the excellence of Christ’s priesthood over that of Aaron.
Et circa hoc duo facit.
In regard to this he does two things.
Primo enim ostendit Christum esse pontificem;
First, he shows that Christ is a high priest;
secundo ostendit ipsum esse excellentiorem pontifice veteris legis, in VII cap., ibi hic enim Melchisedech.
second, that he is more excellent than the high priest of the old law, at for this Melchisedech (Heb 7:1).
Item in prima parte duo facit.
In regard to the first he does two things.
Primo ostendit Christum esse pontificem;
First, he shows that Christ is a high priest;
secundo praeparat aures auditorum ad consequentia, ibi de quo nobis grandis.
second, he prepares his hearers for what follows, at of whom we have much to say (Heb 5:11).
Adhuc circa primum duo facit.
In regard to the first he does three things.
Primo ostendit, quae requirantur ad pontificem;
First, he shows what is required of a high priest;
secundo ostendit illa convenire Christo, et sic concludit ipsum esse pontificem, ibi sic et Christus non semetipsum, et cetera.
second, that these are found in Christ, and he thus concludes that he is a high priest, at so Christ also did not glorify himself.
Item in prima parte tria facit.
In regard to the first he does three things.
Primo describit pontificale officium;
First, he describes the high priest’s office;
secundo ostendit pietatem quae pontifici necessaria est, ibi qui condolere;
second, he shows the compassion necessary in a high priest, at who can have compassion;
tertio ostendit modum perveniendi ad pontificatum, ibi nec quisquam sumit.
third, he shows the way of attaining the high priesthood, at neither does any man take.
240. Circa officium quatuor ponit. Primo gradus altitudinem, ibi ex hominibus assumptus; secundo pontificatus utilitatem, ibi pro hominibus; tertio materiam, ibi in his quae ad Deum; quarto ad actum, ibi ut offerat dona.
240. Regarding the office he mentions four things: first, the loftiness of this office, at taken from among men; second, its usefulness, at ordained for men; third, the material, at in the things that appertain to God; fourth, the action, at that he may offer up gifts and sacrifices for sins.
241. Istud autem officium convenit homini, non angelo. Et ideo dicit, quod ita dictum est, quod habemus pontificem magnum, et talis est Christus. Namque, pro quia, omnis pontifex ex hominibus assumptus, et sic debet etiam esse de numero hominum. Voluit autem Deus, ut homo habeat similem sui, ad quem currat. Unde et Ecclesia ordinavit, quod quando utilis invenitur aliquis de collegio, non eligatur extraneus. Os. II, 15: dabo eis vinitores ex eodem loco. Deut. XVII, 15: eum constitues quem Dominus Deus tuus elegerit de numero fratrum tuorum. Non poteris alterius gentis hominem regem facere, qui non sit frater tuus.
241. However, this office suits a man, not an angel. Hence, he says that we have a great high priest and he is Christ: For every high priest taken from among men ought to be a man. But God willed that man have someone like himself to whom he might run. Hence, the Church, too, has ordained that when someone from the college is found useful, a foreigner should not be chosen: I will give her vine-dressers out of the same place (Hos 2:15); you shall set him whom the Lord, your God, shall choose out of the number of your brethren. You may not make a man of another nation king that is not your brother (Deut 17:15).
Dicit autem assumptus, quia debet alios excellere, sicut patet de Saule, I Reg. X, 23. Et ideo Christus, Io. ult., interrogat Petrum quem volebat praeficere, si diligeret ipsum plus aliis.
But he is taken, because he should excel the others, as Saul did (1 Sam 10:23). Accordingly, Christ asks Peter, whom he wished to set over the others, if he loved him more than the others (John 21:15).
242. Finis et utilitas est quia pro hominibus constituitur, id est, pro ipsorum utilitate.
242. The end and utility is that he is ordained for men, i.e., for their benefit.
Non enim constituitur propter gloriam, non propter cumulandas divitias, nec propter consanguineos ditandos. II Cor. IV, 5: nos autem servos vestros per Iesum; et ult.: secundum potestatem, quam Deus dedit mihi in aedificationem, et non in destructionem. Si vero aliquis quaerit quod suum est, non est pastor, sed mercenarius.
He is not appointed for glory or for accumulating riches or for enriching his family: and ourselves, your servants through Jesus (2 Cor 4:5); according to the power which the Lord has given me unto edification and not unto destruction (2 Cor 13:10). But if he seeks his own, he is not a shepherd, but a hireling.
243. Materia dignitatis est quia pontifex principatur. Nam sicut principatur dux vel rector in civitate, ita iste pontifex in his quae ad Deum, supple: ordinantur. Ex. IV, 16: tu eris ei in his, quae ad Deum pertinent, et cetera. II Cor. X, 4: arma militiae nostrae non sunt carnalia, et cetera.
243. The nature of the dignity is that the high priest is set over the others. For just as a leader or ruler is set over a city, so too the high priest in the things that appertain to God: you shall be to him in things that pertain to God (Exod 4:16); for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty to God unto the pulling down of fortifications (2 Cor 10:4).
Sicut ergo illa quae pertinent ad Dei cultum excedunt temporalia, ita dignitas pontificalis excedit omnes alias dignitates. Non ergo pontifices debent se implicari negotiis saecularibus, praetermissis his, quae sunt ad Deum. II Tim. II, 4: nemo militans Deo, et cetera.
Therefore, just as the things which pertain to the worship of God transcend temporal things, so the pontifical dignity exceeds all other dignities. Therefore, high priests should not entangle themselves with secular business and neglect the things that pertain to God: no man being a soldier to Christ entangles himself with secular businesses (2 Tim 2:4).
244. Actus pontificis est, ut offerat dona, id est, voluntarie oblata, non extorta. Ex. XXV, 2: ab omni homine, qui offert ultroneus, accipietis. Et sacrificia pro peccatis, id est, quae sibi offeruntur pro satisfactione peccatorum. Lev. IV, 26: pro eis rogabit sacerdos, et pro peccatis eius, et dimittentur ei. In quo designatur, quod omne quod offertur, sive voluntarium et votivum, sive pro satisfactione, debet offerri secundum dispositionem praelati.
244. The act of the high priest is to offer up gifts, i.e., voluntary oblations, not extorted: of every man that offers of his own accord, you shall take them (Exod 25:2), and sacrifices for sins, i.e., which are offered for him to satisfy for sins: the priest shall pray for him and for his sin, and it shall be forgiven him (Lev 4:26). This indicates that everything offered, whether voluntary and under vow or for satisfaction, shall be offered according to the disposition of the prelate.
245. Consequenter cum dicit qui condolere, ostendit quid requiratur ad usum, scilicet pietas.
245. Then when he says who can have compassion, he shows what is required in the exercise of the high priesthood, namely, pity.
Et circa hoc tria facit.
In regard to this he does three things.
Primo ostendit, quod ad usum pontificis requiritur misericordia et pietas;
First, he shows that for the exercise of the high priesthood mercy and compassion are required;
secundo ostendit, quod requiritur misericordiae motivum, ibi quoniam et ipse;
second, a merciful motive, at because he himself;
tertio ostendit misericordiae signum, ibi et propterea.
third, the sign of mercy, at and therefore he ought.