Hebrews 5:7-9 *
In the name of Christ Jesus, dear friends:
There is a strong possibility that no one here today is Jewish. Many of us are European. Most of us are northern European. So why should we spend our time studying a letter that was written specifically for first century Jews? Hebrews is filled with Old Testament references and quotations. Hebrews assumes a broad knowledge of Jewish history and customs, a knowledge that we probably don’t have.
We have never made a pilgrimage up to
We can read about the history of the God’s people, but we can’t experience for ourselves what it means to be a full-blooded Hebrew. So what, if anything, can Gentiles like us learn from a letter like this thousands of miles and thousands years removed?
If you compared yourself with a person who read this letter when it was written, you could find all kinds of differences: language, skin color, diet, dress, etc. In spite of the many things that make us different, there is a common bond, a permanent bond, an unbreakable bond, the bond of faith.
The Hebrews were followers of Jesus. We are Jesus’ followers. The Hebrews believed in Jesus as their Lord and Savior. We believe that Jesus sacrificed his life on the cross to pay for the sins of the world.
Even if you have never been to
LEARN FROM THE GREAT HIGH PRIEST
II. Learn
from his suffering
“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” (7). The gospels record many different times
and places where Jesus prayed, but during this season of the church year one
specific occasion comes to mind. In
fact, it was in one of “The Places of the Passion” in our midweek Lenten series. That place is the
After they celebrated the Passover for the last time, after
they celebrated the Lord’s Supper for the first time, Jesus led his disciples
to the
“My father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me” (Matthew 26:39). Jesus knew what was coming. He had been preparing for it. He had prepared his disciples for it. Now it was the moment of truth. In a matter of hours, the wheels of God’s plan would be set in motion. Jesus could feel the weight of the world, along with the sins of the world, pressing down on his shoulders. And so he asked God if there was some other way, a way that would spare him from the pain and agony, an easier way to accomplish the same eternal goal.
These verses provide some details about Jesus’ prayer that the gospels do not. They tell us that he prayed “with loud cries and tears.” If there was any doubt that Jesus was a real human being, if there were any doubts that what Jesus was feeling was real, his audible cries and visible tears put those doubts to rest.
These verses also tell us that Jesus’ cries were heard in heaven, but were they really? Didn’t Jesus have to go through with it? Didn’t he have to feel the whips on his back and the nails in his hands? Didn’t he have to go without sleep and food and water? Didn’t he have to endure the mocking and spitting and beating? Didn’t Jesus die on the cross on Good Friday? Yes, he did. So how can the Bible say, and how can we say, that his prayers were heard?
“My father, if it is
possible, may this cup be taken from me” (Matthew 26:39a) was a conditional
prayer. “Yet not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39b) was an
unconditional prayer. Jesus wanted
things to be different, but he didn’t demand that things change. Jesus wanted what was better for him, but he
trusted God to do what was best for everyone.
The Father heard Jesus’ prayer “because
of his reverent submission” (7), and
God’s will was done.
Jesus’ prayer, Jesus’ entire life, is a model of submission. As followers of Jesus, it is only natural that we would want to follow in his footsteps. But we don’t. We don’t want to submit to God. We don’t want to submit to anyone.
In Ephesians 5 God instructs wives to “submit to their husbands,” but that’s easier said than done. Maybe those words applied to people two thousand years ago, but not to us, not today. Submission equals inferiority. Submission equals weakness. Submission in a marriage is an antiquated, unworkable idea in the modern world.
In Romans 13 God instructs citizens to “submit to the governing authorities,” but God might be the only one. I see bumper stickers on cars that encourage us to “Question Authority.” When people lie down in the middle of busy city streets, when protestors use their bodies as human shields, they are not acting as sterling examples of submission to God’s representatives.
In Hebrews 12 God instructs Christians to submit to him like a son submits to his father (vss.7-9), but how many kids want to listen to their parents? There are many times when we behave like disobedient children. We are selfish. We are self-centered. Even if we include God in the decision making process, even when we do pray to him, it’s on our terms. We tell God what he should do. We tell God what he could do better. That’s not reverent submission. That’s the opposite of submission. That’s exactly why Jesus’ reverent submission was so necessary.
Jesus submitted to his Father’s will for all those times when we rebelled against it. Jesus submitted to his Father’s will knowing that it was God’s way, the only way, to save the world. But his reverent submission came with a price. Because Jesus submitted to the Father’s will, he was forced to suffer. There is another lesson for us in that. We can learn from our great High Priest through his suffering.
Few people familiar with Jesus’ passion would argue the point that Jesus suffered on Good Friday. No one would volunteer to go through what he went through. It would be too hard. It would be too painful.
We know that Jesus suffered, but why did he suffer? Why did it have to be so difficult for him?
The easy answer (and maybe the best answer) is “We don’t know.” And that goes back to the first part of the sermon. We submit to God’s divine will and wisdom in everything.
These verses don’t try to answer this question entirely, but they do shed some light on it. They tell us that Jesus “learned obedience from what he suffered” (8). That’s the answer. The next question is: What does that mean?
It doesn’t mean that Jesus was ever disobedient. Even as a child he was perfectly obedient to his parents. And there was never a time when he defied his heavenly Father’s will. When God asked Jesus to go the way of the cross, he was asking him to obey to an extent he had never obeyed before. When God the Father asked his one and only Son to bear the burden of a world full of sin, he was asking him to do something that had never been done before.
“And once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him” (9). Jesus needed to be made perfect in much the same way he needed to learn obedience. He was never a work in progress, but his mission was. He was always perfect, but his work on earth needed to be brought to completion. And so the submission of Maundy Thursday gave way to the suffering of Good Friday.
From Annas to Caiaphas to Herod to Pilate, Jesus never lost focus on why he was doing what he was doing. From the courtyard to the Stone Pavement to “The Place of the Skull,” nothing could distract him from his goal: the salvation of souls.
To achieve that goal, Jesus had to suffer. He suffered physically. He suffered mentally. He suffered emotionally. But as intense as the suffering was, it was temporary. When Jesus cried out, “It is finished,” it was finished, and our salvation was secured.
A few years ago I read a fascinating book entitled, “Pain: The Gift Nobody Wants.” It talked about the importance of our bodies’ aches and pains. Pain tells us when to stop. Pain is the signal that keeps us from doing permanent damage to ourselves.
The book also addressed modern attitudes about suffering, especially in our culture. In many other parts of the world, suffering is to be expected. In our country, it is the exception. Pain is an unwelcome guest. And if it can’t be avoided entirely, you can probably find a pill or a prescription to make it go away.
What if Jesus would have adopted that kind of attitude? What if Jesus would have taken the easy way out? What if Jesus would have been unwilling to suffer and die? Without suffering there can be no salvation. Without Good Friday there can be no Easter Sunday. And without Easter there can be no hope.
Pain, at least when it comes to Jesus, is NOT the gift that nobody wants. Through his pain Jesus gave the gift that every person needs. Through his suffering our debt of sin has been paid in full. Through his death eternal life is ours.
In a way the original recipients of this letter have an advantage over us. They grew up with the Law of Moses. They understood the customs. They knew the culture. At the opposite end of the spectrum, we might not be able to tell the difference between a guilt offering and a sin offering and a burnt offering. Even though we do not engage in Old Testament worship practices anymore, we still have a priest.
We have a priest who is far superior to the priests that offered sacrifices day after day. We have a priest who is far better than the priests who had to offer sacrifices for their own sins before they could offer sacrifices for sins of the people. We have a high priest who not only offered the ultimate sacrifice. He was the ultimate sacrifice.
As we get closer and closer to the final destination of our Lenten journey, take some time to read the passion story again. Drink it in. Learn from Jesus, the Great High Priest. Rejoice because his reverent submission sent him to the cross. Give thanks because he suffered willingly for your salvation. Amen.