Though He were a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered. Hebrews 5:8 KJV
Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. Heb 5:8 NASB
He became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” Philippians 2:8 KJV
He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Philippians 2:8 NASB
God prized obedience. Samuel reminded Saul that “to obey is better than sacrifice” and “Hath the Lord as great delight in … sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord?” (1 Sam 15:22). Obedience is the surrender of the will in submission to the will of God. It owns His wisdom and righteousness, disavowing my own will and way.
Each human being brought into the family of God begins the journey by responding to God’s command for “obedience of faith” (Rom 16:26). Salvation is viewed as obeying the command to repent (Acts 17:30) and to believe the gospel message.
Subsequent to the “obedience of faith,” each of us enrolls in a school where we learn to obey. It is a life-long course. Stubborn wills,
personal agendas, and self-confidence in our own wisdom are some of the obstacles which we must learn to overcome. There are no commencement exercises or diplomas issued from this school. We do not graduate until we are home in heaven.
But there was one Man Who did not need to enroll in the course. But He did need to learn the cost. The passage cited from Hebrews 5 does not mean that the Lord Jesus needed to learn how to obey. His parting words as He left heaven were, “I come to do Thy will” (Heb 10:7). What He had never known (if such words are appropriate for omniscience) was the cost of obedience. He never experienced the binding of His hands in heaven. He never experienced buffeting from the hand of an angel. Bruising and scourging were words foreign to the realms above. Betrayal by one of His own in the heavenly sanctuary was unknown. All these were part of the cost of obedience. He came knowing fully what the experiences would be; but He had never Himself experienced them.
Obedience was inherent in His heart. There was not an atom of resistance to the will of God; not a thought of independence; there was not a possibility of waywardness in His heart. He did not need a course in obedience; but, He did need to know the cost of obedience. It was ultimately all that we have mentioned and a cross at the end. He was obedient in His life all the way to the point of a cross death.
Consider:
When do you think His obedience within the Godhead began?
PS. At this time if you would like to share a Gospel-focused virtual postcard on Facebook or other social media go to LostSheepFinders.com