According to Hebrew 5:1 and following, every high priest must himself experience human weakness so that he can sympathize with the "ignorant and the wayward." In this reading, Jesus experiences the fear of death and knows the pains and sorrows of each one of us.

Here we are reminded immediately of Jesus' prayer in Gethsemane (Mk. 14:35) and also of today's Gospel (Jn. 12:27). As in the case at Gethsamene, Jesus resists the temptation to escape His death and sees in it the Will of the Father, to which He is fully obedient. The parable of the grain that must die to give life reveals to us the radical reality of God living in us as we surrender to Him! Thus, the phrase, "Saved from death" refers to the resurrection rather than to being saved from dying. This transforming experience is the joy of His prayer answered. His obedience to the Father in undergoing the sufferings, that is, dying to self becomes salvation for others.

Obviously Jesus' priesthood did not end with His death. His role as intercessor and mediator between God and humankind continues forever.