Jesus Came to Display Obedience (Advent 14, 2024)

As we continue our look at the Letter to the Hebrews
and find visitation principles for Jesus’ first Advent, we come to this one:
Visitation Principle 14: Jesus Came to Display the Reward of Obedience

Hebrews 5:8 Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered 9 and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him 10 and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.

Whoa, whoa, whoa…whaddya mean “made perfect”? I thought you already said Jesus was perfect and sinless. Glad you asked.

Jesus couldn’t be the perfect sacrifice until he’d suffered earthly consequences of sin He never committed. That was the path to being appointed by God as High Priest. It wasn’t just conferred like the Kingdom will be, as God’s discretion and sovereign will, inheritance from Father to Son.

Jesus was appointed High Priest, and He earned His stripes, so to speak. Suffering, obedience, and endurance were the path to being the perfected High Priest of all time.

Let’s say for a moment that Jesus didn’t really suffer, was His obedience greater than ours if we suffer for what we’ve done? Now suffering unjustly, over and again, covers every kind of human suffering and any length of endurance, all the way to death.

“For the joy set before Him [Jesus] endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.” (Hebrews 12:2-4)

Jesus identifies fully with sinful human suffering (all the way to shedding His blood) while remaining distinct in His divine appointment and sinless existence. It’s how Jesus could declare, “It is finished!”

Questions for further thought:

How ought Jesus’ suffering and endurance to-and-through the Cross inspire us to live more holy lives, embracing suffering for its perfecting power in making us more like Jesus? “Be holy as I am holy” (1 Peter 1:14-17).

Is it easy to grow weary and to lose heart? How do we build endurance? How can we exercise our “faith muscles”?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, in this life when it’s hard, and we struggle day after day after day, it’s easy for us to lose heart. Please grant us the endurance to keep pressing on even in the face of odds against us. Help us to keep our eyes focused on You so that we might have perseverance to the very end. We thank you, Lord Jesus, for Your sacrifice. We thank You that You are our High Priest and have transcended everything to advocate for us with the Father. We thank You that it is finished, and all we need to do is receive. Help us to find rest in that acknowledgement and peace in You. We love You, Lord Jesus, and it’s in Your Name we pray, Amen.

===

By signing up on the sidebar of my Home Page you can receive these daily “Visitation Principles” devotionals. Or they will be reposted on SeminaryGal’s Facebook page as well.

===

Acknowledging inquiries about an entire season’s devotionals for your study group’s planning purposes, Seminary Gal’s prior seasons’ Advent devotionals can be accessed via the archives to the right and are as follows:

“From the Jews for the World” was the theme of last Advent’s devotional series. It is archived beginning December 3, 2023, and explored how Jesus’ Jewish heritage was necessary for the salvation of Gentiles, too.
“Awaken Remnant” was the devotional topic for 2022. It began November 27, 2022, and highlighted the remnant found throughout Scripture as evident in Jesus’ lineage.
The multi-faceted Interlude between the promise of a Deliverer and the birth of our Messiah and King was the theme of 2021’s devotional series. It is archived beginning November 28, 2021.
2020’s Devotional Series Divine Intervention began on November 29, 2020 and explored God’s activity on behalf of a hurting world and nations in tumult– Intervention for you and for me when our status as sinners required nothing short of a miracle.
God’s Christmas list explored what might be on God’s Christmas list, learning what He wants from us. It began December 1, 2019.
Storyteller began December 2, 2018 and entered into the Christmas story through its telling.
The 2017 series Still Christmas, began December 3, 2017 and was the Advent complement to the Lenten series, Be Still and Know that I AM God.
The 2016 season devotionals were called “Timeless: The Message of Christmas for All Ages” and explored how the message of Christmas is timeless truth, for all ages of people, and for all ages at all times. Timeless hope, encouragement, grace, peace, and love as we looked into the Word, saw the face of our Lord Jesus, and experienced restoration in His presence. His goodness and His Gospel are truly Timeless. The 2016 devotionals began November 27, 2016.
The 2015 season devotionals were titled Incarnation and involved digging deep–and yes, I mean deep– in this important mystery of Christian theology. They began November 29, 2015.
Carol Me, Christmas! remains one of my most popular offerings and tells the Christmas story through our most beloved Christmas hymns and carols. You can access all of the numbered devotionals from 2014 via the archives. They began November 30, 2014.
The 2013 series was Emmanuel: When LOVE Showed Up in Person and examined the Prologue to the Gospel of John. It began December 1, 2013.
The 2012 series focused on Expecting the Unexpected…the unexpected, unlikely, and uniquely divine qualities of God’s perfect plan outlined in Luke’s account of the Christmas story. It began December 1, 2012.