IBS Application for Hebrews 5:8

“Although He was a son, He learned obedience through what He suffered.”

We have in Christ the most perfect example of obedience towards the will of the Father. Even though He was specifically set apart and begotten by God as the Son, whereas we are all adopted by the Father, He still suffered as we did. He still lived His life on earth as a human being that was tempted and tried. Though He did not fall to His temptations, He was still made to suffer condemnation as if He had sinned.

The interesting thing of note for me about this verse is that Christ “learned obedience through what He suffered.” Why would Christ need to learn anything if He has divine omniscience? The word for “learned” here means “to understand by experience.” So if we modify the verse in this new light, we now understand that Christ understood obedience to the will of God by experiencing suffering.

It never ceases to amaze me that Christ went to such great lengths to make Himself our great high priest. Being God and therefore having omniscience, He didn’t have to go this far, but He chose to endure suffering, for the purpose of becoming a high priest to us who can sympathize with our struggles.

One of the ways in which He can sympathize with us and encourage us is by submitting Himself to the will of the Father, while not deviating from that will to do what He wanted. We see in the Gospel accounts regarding His time praying in the Garden of Gethsemane that He was anxious about the task before Him; and rightfully so, for He was about to not only die, but deal with separation from the father as a result of taking on the sins of the world. Although He asked if there was another way to accomplish what He was sent to do, He still complied with the Father’s wish, and was obedient to the point of death.

Christ stands as a prime example of what Biblical obedience looks like. Though He asked if there was another way to do things, He didn’t give in to fleshly temptations and still praised God, saying “Thy will be done.” even in the midst of great suffering. We can also learn from His example, with specific regard to the trials we will undoubtedly face during our field time and beyond that point.

I’ve struggled with giving up my own wants and desires since coming here to Ignite. It’s led to some moments of wrestling with God that have ultimately turned out for the good of me and the glorification of God, but in the moment, they’ve all been unpleasant to say the least. I want to reach a point of obedient contentment with God that reflects the obedience of Christ, where I can still ask for these things but still be willing to give them up, should God ask it of me. For my application, I will devote some of my devotional time in the morning and evening to asking that God’s will be fulfilled in my life each day for the next week, regardless of what I want.