25 March 2012

25 March 2012



"Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered;
and when he was made perfect,
he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him."


How is it that Jesus learned obedience?  Since he is God he is omniscient and therefore knows all.  Yet he gained an experential knowledge of obedience as he surrendered his own human will to that of his father.   That is why it can be said that he was made perfect even though he was perfect in one sense from all eternity.  The incarnation and sacrifice of Jesus made him perfectly fitting to be the source of salvation to us who believe.  Now he is able to sympathize with us because he has been similarly tested.  Because he remains sinless in spite of that testing he can make his obedience manifest in us.


"I will place my law within them and write it upon their hearts;
I will be their God, and they shall be my people."


These two necessarily coincide.  He wants a relationship with us and that can only happen when the law is fulfilled.  The law prohibits only and exactly having false gods.  It says that these temporary things, to which we attach undue importance, are fading and cannot satisfy.  They cannot be our Father, our elder brother, or the Spirit within us.  The law calls us to love and so mere things and pleasures must give way to persons and to God in particular.


"All, from least to greatest, shall know me, says the LORD,
for I will forgive their evildoing and remember their sin no more."


That is why when our sin is remembered no more we will truly be able to know him.  There will be nothing more to stand in our way.  Let us pray that he will create a clean heart in us that we may experience the joy of our salvation anew.


"I am troubled now. Yet what should I say?
'Father, save me from this hour?'"


See in this one who can sympathize with us in our weakness.  See his obedience as he is made perfect. See in his saying "Father, glory your name" him becoming the source of eternal salvation. The Father responds to such obedience immediately with thunderous approval.  


"And when I am lifted up from the earth,
I will draw everyone to myself."


Most perfectly he draws all to himself when he does away with the sin that stands between us. This lifting up is not just unto the cross but unto the throne of heaven.  Free from sin our hearts will finally be able to perceive the full extent of his glorious kingship and his reign over all creation.