Articles

Hebrews / Chapter 5 / V7-9

During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him. ~He 5:7-9

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This passage raises 3 difficult questions. The first, why did the author of Hebrews claim that God had heard Jesus’ prayers and petitions to save Him from death when He died after being nailed on the cross? The second, why did Jesus have to learn obedience from what He had suffered, since He and the Father are one? – This seemed to suggest that Jesus had yet to be fully obedient to the Heavenly Father. The third, Jesus was said to be “once made perfect” from His suffering, in other words, was He imperfect prior to His death on the cross?

To answer the first question, we need to understand the type of “death” that the Lord was saved from.

Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will live in hope,
because you will not abandon me to the grave,
nor will you let your Holy One see decay.
You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence.'
… But he [David] was a prophet and … Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay. God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. ~Ac 2:26-32

From the passage in the book of Acts, we know that being saved from “death” did not mean that Jesus would be saved from dying on the cross. What it really meant was that God did not abandon Jesus’ soul to the grave by raising Him up from the dead. When the Lord entrusted Himself to the Father and having pleaded with loud cries and tears for His life, the Father heard Him and fulfilled His prayers by raising Him up from the dead. Being saved from “death” here clearly did not mean Jesus would escape death on the cross, but that He would be saved from eternal death.

We know that when the Father sent Jesus to earth, He was not sent on a holiday. If it were so, Jesus would not need to learn obedience. On the contrary, He was sent to endure great suffering: a lesson that had to be learnt even by the Son of God! When Jesus was sent to this world, He was sent with the purpose of accomplishing God’s salvation plan – to save the whole mankind – what great difficulties must have awaited Him! On the night before His crucifixion, He prayed to God in the Garden of Gethsemane. His prayer was so earnest that His sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground. This was because the trial that was set before Him was the greatest trial He had ever faced. It was a trial with a magnitude that no one on earth had experienced before. Yet the Lord Jesus chose to remain obedient to the will of the Father till the very end, choosing to deny the will of the flesh: “… My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death… My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will… if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.” (Ma 26:36-46) The author of Hebrews placed special emphasis on Jesus’ deity as the Son of God, indicating that even though the Lord being God Himself, had to learn obedience to the Father through suffering. Obeying the will of the Heavenly Father is never an easy task for anyone, for it involves great pains and sufferings. Nevertheless, the Lord has become the example for all of us to follow; even in the most trying situations, and even unto death on the cross, He did not waver but remain obedient to the Heavenly Father.

If the Lord had chosen otherwise and decided not to do the will of the Father, He would have become imperfect. Though He would be perfect in His power, wisdom and deity, with respect to His obedience to the Father’s will, He would be imperfect. For the Heavenly Father’s will was for Jesus to accomplish the plan of Salvation, to save all those who believe in Him; that in so doing, He would be bestowed with all authority in heaven and earth, and be crowned the most glorious eternal King. Now, let all thanks and praises be given unto the Lord our God! For our Lord Jesus has obeyed the will of the Father and accomplished the work of Salvation, that He could be called perfect in all His ways. For Jesus has now become the Saviour of all mankind, saving a great multitude of people into the Kingdom of Heaven.

Jesus, through His absolute obedience to the Father, has become the role model for us to follow. Though many a time, we find that obedience to the will of God always sets us at war with our flesh; such that even the Son of God Himself struggled bitterly before He could submit to the will of the Father. However, it is also in Jesus that we have seen the immense reward of one who has completely obeyed the will of God. Though the path of obedience be ever so difficult and severe, how it pales in comparison to the future glory in Heaven that we shall receive!