Bible Verses About the Merciful and Faithful High Priest: 12

"For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people."

— Hebrews 2:17 (NIV)

People who search bible verses about the merciful and faithful high priest want Scripture on Hebrews 2:17's claim that Jesus became a merciful and faithful high priest — not only the high priest inventory alone, not great high priest alone, and not advocate alone. This page is a numbered list of twelve passages with the NIV text and a short note on each. Related lists: Bible verses about high priest, Bible verses about great high priest, Bible verses about advocate, Bible verses about mediator, Bible verses about Jesus, Bible verses about Christ, Bible verses about hope, Bible verses about faith, Bible verses about God's love, Bible verses about worship, and Bible verse of the day. Merciful and faithful high priest here means Hebrews 2:17's eleēmōn kai pistos archiereus — the incarnate Son who atones because he is both merciful and faithful — distinct from bare high-priest and advocate inventories alone.

Word study (lead theme). In Greek, ἐλεήμων eleēmōn (Strong's G1655; Bible Hub G1655) means merciful / compassionate; πιστός pistos (Strong's G4103; Bible Hub G4103) means faithful / trustworthy; ἀρχιερεύς archiereus (Strong's G749; Bible Hub G749) is high priest. Hebrews 2:17 joins all three: made like us so he might become a merciful and faithful high priest and make atonement. This list tracks that merciful-and-faithful-high-priest line and related "tempted as we are / help those who are tempted / draw near" language centered on Hebrews 2–4, not every high-priest title alone.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Hebrews 2 presses that Christ was made like his brethren that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest — able to make reconciliation for the sins of the people (Bible Hub MHC Hebrews 2; Blue Letter Bible, Matthew Henry on Hebrews 2). (High priest, great high priest, and advocate live on those pages; this list centers Hebrews 2:17's merciful-and-faithful pairing.)

12 Bible verses about the merciful and faithful high priest

1. Hebrews 2:17. "For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people." A merciful and faithful high priest — the title itself. See Bible verses about high priest.

2. Hebrews 2:18. "Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted." He is able to help those who are being tempted. See Bible verses about hope.

3. Hebrews 4:15. "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin." Tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. See Bible verses about faith.

4. Hebrews 4:16. "Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Receive mercy and find grace to help. See Bible verses about God's love.

5. Hebrews 5:1-2. "Every high priest is selected from among the people and is appointed to represent the people in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness." Able to deal gently with those who are ignorant. See Bible verses about Jesus.

6. Hebrews 5:7-9. "During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him" Learned obedience from what he suffered. See Bible verses about Christ.

7. Hebrews 7:25-26. "Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens." He always lives to intercede for them. See Bible verses about mediator.

8. Hebrews 8:1. "Now the main point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven," We do have such a high priest. See Bible verses about worship.

9. Hebrews 9:11-12. "But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption." Christ came as high priest… by his own blood. See Bible verses about hope.

10. Hebrews 10:19-22. "Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water." Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart. See Bible verses about faith.

11. Romans 8:34. "Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us." Is also interceding for us. See Bible verses about advocate.

12. 1 Timothy 2:5. "For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus," One mediator between God and mankind. See Bible verses about mediator.

How to use these verses

Pick one verse when you need the merciful and faithful high priest — not twelve as a grind. If you need Hebrews 2:17's title itself, start at Hebrews 2:17. If you need help in temptation, open Hebrews 2:18 or 4:15-16. If you need intercession language, open Hebrews 7:25 or Romans 8:34. For the bare high-priest inventory, open Bible verses about high priest. For the great-high-priest title, open Bible verses about great high priest. For advocate language, open Bible verses about advocate. For a daily verse, open Bible verse of the day.

Questions people ask

What is a good Bible verse about the merciful and faithful high priest?

Hebrews 2:17 (a merciful and faithful high priest) is the clear starting place; Hebrews 2:18 and 4:15-16 press the same merciful help in temptation.

How do Bible verses about the merciful and faithful high priest differ from high priest alone?

High priest pages track archiereus broadly. This list centers Hebrews 2:17's paired merciful-and-faithful claim tied to the incarnation and atonement.

How do Bible verses about the merciful and faithful high priest differ from advocate alone?

Advocate pages track paraklētos intercession language. This list centers Hebrews 2:17's high-priest mercy-and-faithfulness pairing.

What Greek words sit under merciful and faithful high priest?

Eleēmōn (G1655) + pistos (G4103) + archiereus (G749) — merciful / faithful / high priest — in Hebrews 2:17.

Where should I start if I only read one page?

Start here for the Hebrews 2:17 title; open high priest for the wider inventory; open advocate for intercession language.