Heb 5:4 is a common proof-text used by Latter-day Saints and others (e.g., John Fisher [d. 1535] used it to support the Roman Catholic priesthood against Martin Luther). Interestingly, this text has been used as a proof-text for the priesthood of all believers (and often, as a corollary to such, an exclusion of a New Covenant priesthood independent of the so-called priesthood of all believers). Consider the following from Wolfgang Musculus (1497-1563):
For how should we Christians come
to recognise as right such a priesthood and priestly dignity which has no
institution or calling from God?
It is written in Hebrews 5 that
no one should attribute priestly dignity to himself. As also Christ did not set
himself in the honour of becoming high priest, but he who said to him: “You are
my Son,” etc.
The priesthood of Aaron did not
come from human invention but from the institution and calling of God;
otherwise, it would have been null, indeed idolatrous. So also Christ did not
have to become high priest from his own intention, but from the calling of the
Father. How then should a priesthood in the New Testament be valid, which
comes, without any testimony of God’s will, from human good pleasure and own
choice?
Well then, let us see how the
Lord has provided his church with ministers and necessary offices, whether we
shall find among them also these sacrifice-priests and mediators between him
and men.
[Musculus then presents, to this day,
the standard proof-texts, for the Priesthood of All Believers] (Wolfgang
Musculus, “Against the Papist Mass,” sermon delivered at the Imperial Diet in
Regensburg, June 1, 1541)
Here are other representative Reformation commentaries on
Heb 5:4:
Ministers in the New Covenant. Lucas Osiander: And although today
in the new covenant there are no such ministers in the church who should
sacrifice as in the old, nevertheless it is pleasing to God that the ministers
are human beings, not angels, so that, mindful of human infirmities, they might
conduct themselves commodiously toward sinners and bring them back into the way
and not cast off the penitent. Neither should anyone betake to themselves to
sit in the ecclesial ministry, but they should take up that function through a
legitimate vocation. Epistle to the Hebrews 5:4.
No One Should Seek Priestly Office out of Ambition. Johannes
Oecolampadius: Heed this, you who wish to live a godly life. For currying favor
for the sake of ambition or for any kind of official status is not void of
offense. See how this passage fits together with that found in 1 Timothy 3, “If
anyone aspires to the office of bishop, he desires a noble task.” It is not the
place of a Christian to look out for their own interests, but to desire to
benefit others; this truly is exactly the role of a Christian. Now, there is no
better way by which you can benefit others than performing the office of a
bishop, seeing as it confers the highest usefulness to humanity; therefore it
is honorable to aspire to it, but only for someone who perceives himself to be
sufficient for the task. For people like this more capably look out for the
work and the interests of Christ than for recognition, success, and their own
interests. To desire the episcopal office is to undertake the examination and
care of everyone, not himself; but he will never achieve this unless he is endowed
with great love. We must so desire to benefit our neighbors that all ambition
and pride is banished, so that we do not run without having been called. For
the priesthood is such an important office that it is necessary that a person
be called by God, just as Aaron was called. In Numbers 17, when Aaron’s staff
blossomed, it was as a clear proof that Aaron had been selected by God as a
priest. Obviously the apostles of the Anabaptists, who assume apostleship
because they are called by themselves, failed to consider this passage. For
they cannot provide any reason sufficiently compatible with Scripture for their
behavior, to which they must be incited by their hollow wisdom and
inquisitiveness. But in olden times priests were ordained from the tribe of Levi
and the family of Aaron, which we read endured until the time of Herod and
Hyrcanus. If you wish to know about the settlement by which the priesthood
ceased among the Hebrews, and all the worst people were promoted to that
dignity by Herod, you may consult Josephus, Antiquities book 20. Explanations
of Hebrews 5:4–6. (Hebrews,
James: New Testament, ed. Ronald K. Rittgers and Timothy George [Reformation
Commentary on Scripture 13; Downers Grove, Ill.: IVP Academic, 2017], 69-70)
