“ጸሎትንና ምልጃን አቀረበ”— “He Offered Prayers and Supplication” (Hebrews 5:7): An Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church Perspective

 

In Hebrews 5:7, it is written:

“እርሱም በስጋው ወራት ከሞት ሊያድነው ወደሚችል ከብርቱ ጩኸትና ከእንባ ጋር ጸሎትንና ምልጃን አቀረበ፥ እግዚአብሔርንም ስለ መፍራቱ ተሰማለት.”

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC), rooted in ancient Christ-centered theology and rich patristic tradition, understands this verse as a deep revelation of Christ’s humanity and priesthood. It goes beyond a portrayal of His agony in Gethsemane—it reveals the divine mystery of His incarnate obedience, humble submission, and triumph over death. This essay explores the theological implications of Hebrews 5:7, highlighting how Christ’s incarnate obedience and priestly ministry illuminate key aspects of salvation and provide a model for Christian discipleship within the EOTC tradition.

This verse offers a clear testimony of Christ’s incarnation (ሰው ሆኖ መገለጥ). Though our Lord is a perfect God, He is also a perfect man. In His flesh, He shared in all human experiences—except sin. He ate, slept, and wept, all as a man. Because of this, He is called the Second Adam, as it is written in 1 Corinthians 15:45: "እንዲሁ ደግሞ። ፊተኛው ሰው አዳም ሕያው ነፍስ ሆነ ተብሎ ተጽፎአል፤ ኋለኛው አዳም ሕይወትን የሚሰጥ መንፈስ ሆነ።"

The following verses show His human experiences:

Mathiew 8:23-24: "ኢየሱስም... ወደ ታንኳም ሲገባ ደቀ መዛሙርቱ ተከተሉት። እነሆም፥ ማዕበሉ ታንኳይቱን እስኪደፍናት ድረስ በባሕር ታላቅ መናወጥ ሆነ፤ እርሱ ግን ተኝቶ ነበር።" — He slept, because flesh sleeps; divinity does not.

Mathiew 26:20: "ኢየሱስም... በመሸም ጊዜ ከአሥራ ሁለቱ ደቀ መዛሙርት ጋር በማዕድ ተቀመጠ።" — He sat to eat with His disciples.

John 11:35 "ኢየሱስም እንባውን አፈሰሰ።" — He wept for Lazarus.

As our Lord taught us in John 14:6 — “እኔ መንገድና እውነት ሕይወትም ነኝ” — He is our way, our truth, and our life. Being our teacher, example, and role model (አራአያችን ምሳሌያችንና መምህራችን), He fasted and prayed, setting a path for us to follow.

"አርባ ቀንና አርባ ሌሊትም ከጦመ በኋላ ተራበ።" (Matthew 4:2) — After fasting forty days and nights, He was hungry.

Similarly, He prayed: "ተንበርክኮም። አባት ሆይ፥ ብትፈቅድ ይህችን ጽዋ ከእኔ ውሰድ፤ ነገር ግን የእኔ ፍቃድ አይሁን የአንተ እንጂ እያለ ይጸልይ ነበር።" (Luke 22:39–46) — He prayed in deep submission to the Father’s will. Through both fasting and prayer, Christ fully revealed the path of true obedience for our salvation.

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC) interprets Hebrews 5:7 — “እርሱም በስጋው ወራት ከሞት ሊያድነው ወደሚችል ከብርቱ ጩኸትና ከእንባ ጋር ጸሎትንና ምልጃን አቀረበ፥ እግዚአብሔርንም ስለ መፍራቱ ተሰማለት” — in the following way:

Our Lord, the true High Priest (Hebrews 5:5–6), during His life in the flesh, offered prayers (ጸሎት) in place of the bulls offered by the high priest under the Torah (ኦሪት), and supplications (ምልጃን) instead of lambs (በጎች/ጠቦቶች). He fulfilled the priestly ministry not through animal sacrifices, but through a spiritual offering grounded in His divine obedience and incarnate suffering.

This is beautifully captured in the Amharic version:

"ጌታችን እንደ ሊቀ ካህንነቱ (ዕብ 5:5–6) ሰው ሆኖ የሰውነትን ሥራ በሠራበት ወራት ጸሎትን እንደ ላም ልመናንም እንደ በግ አድርጎ አቀረበ።"

When the verse says “ከብርቱ ጩኸትና ከእንባ ጋር”, it means “በፍጹም ኃዘንና በእንባ”—with deep sorrow and tears. He offered this sacrifice once (አንድ ጊዜ አቀረበ) because it was a divine obligation that had to be fulfilled (ይህም የሚፈጸም ግዳጅ ነውና።)

The Fathers of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church interpret Hebrews 5:7 as referring to Christ offering prayers during His time on earth, presenting the salvation of believers as His own: “የምእመናን ድኅነት ለራሱ አድርጎ ሲያቀርብ ነው።” Likewise, the phrase “ከሞት ሊያድነው ወደሚችል” is explained as: “ምእመናን ከሞት ሊያድንለት ወደ ሚቻለው ወደ አብ አቀረበ።”

The verse “እግዚአብሔርንም ስለ መፍራቱ ተሰማለት” means “ልመናውም ተሰማለት።” Although the Son is fully God, He became a perfect man, and the prayer He offered on behalf of Adam was heard. He did not say, “I am God, I do not need to pray,” but in full obedience to the Father, He prayed as a true man. At that moment, Christ was offering prayers on behalf of Adam and all his descendants. However, this does not mean that He continues praying or interceding after the Cross. Rather, He offered an example for us: that in our lifetime, we should also pray with fear, tears, and supplication. His earthly life teaches us that such prayers will be heard by God.

When we reflect on this verse, it says “በስጋው ወራት” — "in the days of His flesh" — clearly indicating that Christ offered this prayer during His earthly life, as a perfect man, though He is also perfect God. Scripture makes it clear that He would not continue this work of prayer and intercession after His sacrifice on the Cross, as He Himself said: “እኔም ስለ እናንተ አብን እንድለምን የምላችሁ አይደለሁም።” (John 16:26)

Similarly, when it says “ጸሎትና ምልጃን አቀረበ,” it does not mean that Christ continues to pray and intercede after His reconciling work on the Cross. Rather, this was part of His saving acts performed in the flesh during His earthly life. These acts include not only the prayer mentioned in this verse, but also carrying the Cross, being whipped (በጅራፍ መገረፍ), drinking bitter gall (መራራ ሐሞት መጠጣት), and enduring great suffering. All of these were part of His redemptive work in the flesh. Even while on the Cross, He prayed for His enemies, saying, "አባት ሆይ፥ የሚያደርጉትን አያውቁምና ይቅር በላቸው" (Luke 23:34). These are all among His saving deeds during His incarnate life on earth.

Conclusion

Hebrews 5:7 reveals the profound mystery of Christ’s incarnation by highlighting His heartfelt prayers and sufferings as essential components of His redemptive mission. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church understands this verse as a powerful testimony to Christ’s full participation in human experience and His unique priestly reconcilation during His earthly life. Importantly, this verse does not suggest that Christ continues to offer prayers and supplications after His sacrifice on the Cross. Rather, it highlights that Christ, fully human, prayed during His earthly life, making prayer an essential part of His redemptive work and offering a model for believers to follow in times of sorrow and trial. This insight deepens our theological understanding of Christ’s humanity and calls the faithful to embrace prayer, humble submission, and steadfast faithfulness throughout their own spiritual journeys.