"7 In the days of his flesh, Jesus[a] offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. 8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. 9 And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, 10 being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek."
Hebrews 5:7-10
The Apostle is referring to our Lord's fellow feeling with us, and turns our thoughts to the agony of Gethsemane, as if to say, "This is how 'human' He is". In what sense however can it be said that He was heard in that 'He feared?' (The NEB translates it, 'Because of His humble submission His prayer was heard'). This cannot refer to His prayer 'Let this cup pass from Me', for in fact He did drink it, to the dregs. It speaks rather of the (unrecorded) cries for strength and help from God to enable Him to walk the way of the Cross appointed for Him. This was the prayer that was heard (see Luke 22:43). And it is certainly striking to note the marked change that appears in the gospel record when Jesus moved out of the Garden. Troubled and burdened as He was when He entered it, His demeanour was thereafter marked with a serene calm that spoke of a battle that had been won and of prayer that had been answered. Then, in (8) the phrase 'He learned obedience...' This does not mean that Jesus learned to obey by the things He suffered, as if to suggest that before He suffered He was not obedient. That could not be. Rather, it means that He learned what obedience to the Father's will costs in the things that He suffered. It was thus that He was made perfect (9), in the sense of being brought into His full destiny as the Redeemer of God's people. It was His sufferings that brought Him 'into His own', as it were, as the Author of eternal salvation.