Week 8: Chapter 7 — He Can Deal Gently

1.Hebrews 5:2 says a high priest "can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward" because he himself is "beset with weakness." Ortlund emphasizes the phrase "can deal gently" — it is a capacity, an ability shaped by experience. How does this shed light on why the incarnation was necessary, not just strategic?

2.The chapter makes much of the word "gentle" in Hebrews 5:2 (metriopathein in Greek) — a word that describes a middle path between cold detachment and excessive emotion. What does this calibrated, measured gentleness look like in practice when Christ deals with your sins and failures?

3.Ortlund draws a contrast between the Old Testament high priest (who had to offer sacrifice for his own sins as well as the people's) and Jesus, who is sinless yet fully sympathetic. How is it possible to be simultaneously sinless and genuinely sympathetic? How does Jesus' perfect obedience actually increase rather than decrease his compassion?