Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge. But he who hates correction is stupid. ~Proverbs 12:1
Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best. But God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in His holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. ~Hebrews 12:10-11
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. Although He was a son, He learned obedience from what He suffered and, once made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek. ~Hebrews 5:7-10
At first glance, this devotional seems to be another review. It’s almost like we’re back to the basics that we seemed to repeat over and over again: discipline is good for us and knowledge is also beneficial. However, have you ever really thought about applying these principles to Jesus?
Along the way in this devotional, we have often used Philippians 2:5-11 as a supporting text for the proverbs about being humble. The verses there speak about Christ’s humble attitude and the glory that He has received because of His extreme act of humility, death on the cross. However, tucked in that passage is this one little nugget, “And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!” Became obedient? Was that obedience learned?
Have you ever thought about Jesus actually learning obedience? The writer of the book of Hebrews says, in our passage above from chapter 5, “Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from what He suffered.” I don’t think that the suffering here is just referring to His death, but also to the life He chose to live while here on earth.
He chose to be born to a poor couple who couldn’t even afford a lamb for His dedication at the temple when He was six weeks old. He chose to live in depravity and obscurity under Roman oppression. He chose a very difficult life to live. And so, I’m sure, Jesus experienced a great deal of suffering along the way. Through it, He learned obedience.
Luke even tells us, “He [Jesus] went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them.” (Luke 2:51) (referring to His parents, Mary and Joseph). Jesus had created His parents and yet He was obedient to them. That is such an amazing thought to wrestle with. He was often instructing His disciples on the importance of obedience, tying love and obedience together. “If you love Me, you will obey what I command.” (John 14:15)
He let it be known that everything that He did was in obedience to His Father, because they were One and because of their love. But, before He walked this earth, Jesus and the Father could easily be One because they were both in Heaven together. But now, as a man, Jesus was on earth, while the Father was still in heaven, adding a new dimension, perhaps even a type of obstacle to their oneness that could make obedience to His father more of a challenge. Yet, Jesus and the Father also stayed connected deliberately, by prayer, to demonstrate how it is possible for us.
In love, parents discipline their children and in response, children demonstrate their love through obedience. That is how Jesus can tie love and obedience together. But what could there have possibly been for Jesus to learn? He established the foundation of love, discipline, knowledge, wisdom and obedience in the beginning. He already knew it all.
Perhaps, He learned how hard it is to obey as a human. Human nature, independent thinking, and self-will, challenge the act of obedience, of submitting your own will to another. Jesus’ choice to live an obedient life, subduing self-will and wanting to do only what the Father wanted, as a human, enabled Him, in the garden of Gethsemane to say, “”Father, if You are willing, take this cup from Me; yet not my will, but Yours be done.” (Luke 22:42)
Perhaps there is a real sense in which, by living as a human, Jesus learned self-discipline through practicing self-control His entire earthly life. The desires of the flesh mean that it is likely that Jesus experienced what it is like to want something different, yet He obeyed His parents anyway. He experienced hunger pains and learned what fasting does to human flesh. What was it like for the Son of God to submit to earthly authority that He could have easily overruled? I believe it may have been as a result of these experiences, that in that moment in the garden of Gethsemane, when we needed Him the most, Jesus was able to overcome human urges to survive, and submit to the Father’s Will.
“Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge.” The knowledge that Jesus gained by walking our life and learning firsthand, by experiencing our struggle to obey, enables Him to sympathize with us now in our suffering. The writer of Hebrews tells us: “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Heb. 4:14-16)
This isn’t just referring to physical needs. It also means that we can approach Jesus to help us with our wills, to get them in line with the Father. We can talk with Jesus about even that struggle and Jesus can turn to the Father and say, “This really is a hard struggle for (put in your name). He or she wants to obey Us, but they also want their own way. I know how hard that is as a human. I’ve been there too.”
Jesus does understand how hard it is to submit our desires to the Father. He also knows that the second half of our proverb is actually a wise warning, “he who hates correction is stupid.” We may bristle at the harsh word, but maybe we need the jolt of strong language so that we realize the value of accepting correction, though we’d rather not. The wisest people learn that the discipline of submitting, to God the Father, will result in making us more holy.
“God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in His holiness.” Jesus is Holy. Jesus resisted disobeying His Father, as a human. Jesus already knew the importance of obedience to the Father. It is the one and only right way to live. But as a human, He not only knew, but learned how we struggle to do the same. Therefore, He is the One person to whom we can appeal to help us obey well.
Prayer: Thank You Jesus, for suffering as a human so you can fully sympathize with our plight. Thank You Father, for sending Your Son to do that for us, and for including that experiential aspect of the Incarnation. Thank You Holy Spirit, for being in us, groaning with us, as we struggle to make weak flesh do what our spirits are willing. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Song: In Christ Alone
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