Albert Barnes Commentary Hebrews 5:2

"who can bear gently with the ignorant and erring, for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity;" — Hebrews 5:2 (ASV)

Who can have compassion. A marginal note reads: Reasonably bear with. The idea is that of sympathizing with. The high priest is taken from among men, so that he may have fellow-feeling for those on whose behalf he officiates. Aware of his own ignorance, he is able to sympathize with those who are ignorant; and since he himself is beset with infirmity, he is able to help those who have similar infirmities.

And on them that are out of the way: the erring and the guilty. If he were taken from an order of beings superior to men, he would be less qualified to sympathize with those who felt that they were sinners and who needed pardon.

For that he himself also is compassed with infirmity (Hebrews 7:28). He is liable to err, is subject to temptation, and must die and appear before God. Encompassed with these infirmities, he is better qualified to minister on behalf of guilty and dying men.

For this same reason, ministers of the gospel are chosen from among men. They are of like passions with others. They are sinners; they are dying men. They can enter into the feelings of those who are conscious of guilt; they can sympathize with those who tremble in dread of death; they can share the emotions of those who expect soon to appear before God.