Not Taken, But Received
And no one takes the honor to himself, but receives it when he is called by God, even as Aaron was. So also Christ did not glorify Himself so as to become a high priest, but He who said to Him, “Thou art My Son, Today I have begotten Thee”; just as He says also in another passage, “Thou art a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.” Hebrew 5:4-6
Back in Hebrews 3:1 the inspired writer is moved to exhort the church to “consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession”. The church is to consider Jesus in these offices in juxtaposition to Moses, the Old Testament giant of faith. As the apostle of God, involved in the physical delivery of the nation out of slavery, he also functioned in a quasi high priestly position, by his admittance into the presence of Yahweh and intercessor of the nation of Israel. These were roles normally reserved for the high priest.