Monday 15th
Hebrews 5:1-10
NIV (v8) – ‘Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered.’
ESV (v8) – ‘Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered.’
It is important that when we look to Jesus and see him as our great high priest that we not only see him for he who is and what he is doing, but also to see what he has done. Obviously, we look back and see what he has done in the great work of redemption, but out of this comes our word for today ‘example’. As our great high priest, he has left us an example that we should follow. We see this in the book of Philippians chapter two which I will quote in a moment.
In the verses 1-10 of this chapter we see he left us an example of prayer and of reverence to God as his Father – ‘In the days of his flesh, Jesus 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.’ (v7) Jesus although being both fully God and fully man still prayed! He often prayed, he prayed when he needed to make a big decision, (see Luke 6:12-16) he prayed before he had a busy day (Mark 1:35) and after he had had a busy day, (Mark 6:46) he prayed what we call the high priestly prayer in John 17 and he prayed that great prayer of total surrender to the will of his Father in the garden of Gethsemane. (Luke 22:42) It is from that prayer we see that he learned obedience, not that he had been disobedient in any way, but his obedience was wrapped up in his committing himself fully to the way of the Cross, to the will of his Father. For ourselves in following his example, we need to surrender our lives fully to the will of God, see Romans 12:1-2.
Philippians 2:5-8 says ‘Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.’ Jesus was not only an example of obedience he was also an example of humility. He was willing to humble himself, become as we have seen already in Hebrews a little lower than the angels so that as a result he through his death and resurrection might lift fallen man up from out of the pit and lift us to the place where he has gone.
We have that great example of the humility of Jesus when he washed his disciples feet saying afterwards, ‘For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.’ Jn 13:15
Then we have the example in Jesus of what genuine love is all about ‘Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.’ Ephesians 5:1–2
What an example to have, Jesus, the Son of God, but what an example to follow, may we learn from him, and may we follow his example. ‘So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.’ Philippians 2:1-3