Good morning,
Perfectly Qualified
Although he had watched it for a long, long time, he had never experienced the reality of personal suffering in a human body weakened by sin. Jesus had always been with his Father from before time became a reality and had always been surrounded by those who loved and obeyed him whenever he spoke. No one had ever successful opposed him. Even when Lucifer had mounted his rebellion against God, Jesus remained protected from the suffering that came with being weak and needing protection. Even before time began Jesus agreed with his Father that only his perfect sacrifice would erase the damage that would follow the willful choices that began with Adam and Eve. Just at the perfect time Jesus left his power and control behind to face the power of sin and death while living in a human body. Jesus began his journey in the womb of his mother Mary and went through all the stages of life, living like an ordinary person who was open to the attacks and pressures of everyone else around him. We know his arrival as Christmas, but he knew it as the beginning of a life of difficulty and temptation that he had never experienced before. The Bible tells us that, Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered.(Heb.5:8) Even though Jesus lived in a human body, he was also given the perfect strength of God’s Holy Spirit to give him success in every temptation he would ever face.
For this Son of Man there were no great banquets, just the dull routines of daily life for thirty long years. For this perfect man there were no plaques given for perfect performance, just resentment and opposition even from his own family and neighbors. For this Holy One of Israel there were no close powerful holy friends, just ordinary sinners who lived in rebellion to the Father of all. Once his years of ministry began he moved steadily toward the day when he would become the sin bearer for all of the sins of all mankind, but was just seen as the healer, teacher and threat to the religious leaders of God’s special people, the Jews. Now when Jesus prayed to his Father he did so with tears, pleadings and loud cries that showed the depths of his pain and the deep level of reverence that he had for God.(Heb.5:7) Now Jesus fully understood the reality of the pain caused by sin and willingly entered into the most painful part of the process required to finish his work in order to successfully conquer sin, death and the Devil. He suffered and died willingly and arose again in total victory. Christmas was the beginning of the qualifying process of becoming our perfect High Priest.(v.9) Dear Lord, please help us to be leaders in celebrating the joy and freedom of the season that began so long ago in Bethlehem.
Hebrews 5: 7 While Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could rescue him from death. And God heard his prayers because of his deep reverence for God. 9 In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him.
Roy Wisner
