We had a couple of kids when my wife thought she should be a doula. After some of her experiences, both in Korea with our firstborn and here in the US with number two, God had taught her a great deal about his character and love through the process of pregnancy and natural childbirth. My wife didn’t want to do all the medical training to be a midwife, but a doula has training and walks with a woman through the birth as emotional and medical support. After several classes and an official certification, she started working as a doula. The term doula means “servant,” and she served women in hospitals and home births. A few were quite dramatic.
The Bible doesn’t separate knowledge from practice. We do this in our Western educational culture, thinking that we have knowledge if we read a book on a subject. Hebraic philosophy, and the approach of Scripture, are different: what we do is evidence of what we know and believe. Belief is important, but if it doesn’t manifest in a change of behavior, then what good is it? James exemplifies this with his statement, “Faith without works is dead” (James 2:14). He’s not saying that we earn our salvation through works, simply expressing that a change in belief and thinking, especially the powerful and transformative gift of faith in God, will result in a change of action.
Because our Western academic culture somewhat separates knowledge from action, a verse like “faith without works is dead” may feel controversial. Similarly, the statement “Jesus learned obedience by the things he suffered” may seem shocking.
Where Does the Bible Say Jesus Learned Obedience by the Things He Suffered?
The writer of Hebrews spends a great deal of time proving that Jesus is greater than any other authority, whether angels or priests. In chapter 5, the author of Hebrews argues from the Old Testament that Jesus is a priest according to the “order of Melchizedek.” Melchizedek was the King of Salem (peace) that Abraham tithed to. Hebrews discusses how Melchizedek was both a king and a priest, and Abraham gave him a tithe, making Melchizedek a greater priest than Aaron (who came later).
This argument included an explanation of Jesus’ experience, how although he was the Son of God, he learned obedience through his suffering. That experience “perfected” Jesus to become a High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.
When Did Jesus Suffer?
Jesus was free to choose whether to become human—to subject himself to the limitations and experiences of this world. Sometimes this seems to have conflicted him—such as when as a 12-year-old, after staying behind in Jerusalem at the Passover, the Son of God had to submit himself to his earthly parents, Mary and Joseph (Luke 2:51-52).
Christ also chose to live humbly, in obedience, even unto death (Philippians 2:6-8). He suffered through temptation, fasting for forty days and dealing with the Devil directly (Matthew 4:1-11). In fact, Jesus was tempted in every way any human has been tempted and yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15).
Hebrews makes another point regarding Christ’s suffering: how Jesus resisted temptation so much he sweated blood (Hebrews 12:4; Matthew 26:36-46). Jesus tells the disciples that they’ve been a comfort to him through his trials, indicating that his ministry was difficult (Luke 22:28).
Of course, the greatest moment of Christ’s suffering happened on the cross. He was beaten with the “cat of nine tails” within a breath of life, rendering his back a bloody mess. Jesus was whipped 39 times because they believed 40 would kill a man. He then carried the horizontal beam of his cross through town, humiliated, punched in the face, with the hair of his beard pulled out. All that was before he was nailed to a cross to suffocate to death (Matthew 27:24-50). Crucifixion was designed to combine the most humiliation with the most pain, a form of execution to deter any criminals.
One of the earliest heresies in Christianity tried to convince people that Jesus was God but not human. The apostle John deals with this in his first letter to the church, saying that those who speak by the Spirit must also affirm that Christ came in the flesh, meaning that Jesus was both fully human and fully divine (1 John 4:1-3). Again, the New Testament depicts his suffering as a human as a central and essential doctrine. There’s a reason.
Who Did Jesus Obey When He Suffered?
At his core, Jesus obeyed one person—his Father in Heaven. Every decision was based on what God wanted him to do. There was no other input in those choices.
Jesus clearly stated this. He said that he was unable to do his own will but could only do what he perceived the Father was doing (John 5:19). This required a constant vision of what was going on in the eternal Kingdom, and once he saw his Father act, Jesus acted accordingly on Earth.
The Son of God also said that he only spoke what his Father said to him (John 8:39, John 12:49). In the same way as the heavenly vision, this required a constant hearing and awareness of the Father’s voice. And he only spoke what God told him to say.
How Did Suffering Perfect Jesus?
None of this suffering made Jesus the Son of God. He already was. He didn’t need to suffer or obey to become the Son. His obedience to the Father was simply the manifestation of his identity, as the Son, as the Christ.
His suffering was for us. Through the pain he experienced, he achieved something on our behalf.
The first written book of the Bible was Job. Job was a contemporary of Abraham, and like Abraham, he was a righteous man. While he was truly righteous, he experienced great pain and suffering. A running theme is Job’s desperate cry for a mediator between him and God, someone to help him bring his case before the throne (Job 9:33-35).
The word “perfect” in Hebrews 5 is better translated as “completed.” Perfect, in this instance, doesn’t mean more sinless or holier. The writer clarifies that Jesus was already the Son before suffering. We see that at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, at his baptism, when God said, “This is my Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). He hadn’t done much yet, and God affirmed his identity and love.
The suffering “completed” something. Another translation says the suffering qualified Jesus for a role, the role of High priest. How?
As we see with Job, suffering challenges our faith. Suffering makes us question the goodness of God. Many believers become atheists for this very reason. How can God be good when something tragic has happened? One of the examples of the good and bad soil from the parable was the shallow faith that couldn’t survive hard times (Luke 8:1-15).
Even David dealt with this reality when he saw the wealth of the wicked and thought his obedience was a waste. But then he heard the word of God in the Temple and realized his humility and the ultimate reward of God (Psalm 73).
Our world is broken and corrupt. Our faith doesn’t mean much if it can’t survive tragedy and trauma, giving a different option than hopelessness and waste. To be the mediator and priest we need, Jesus had to experience the pain, the poverty, the grief, the oppression, the learning, the temptation, birth and death, betrayal, all of the extremes of the human condition … yet within obedience. This makes him the perfect high priest for us.
When we come to faith in Christ, we are born again. Born from heaven, anew from the Spirit of God. Like Jesus, we are now partakers of the divine nature in these human shells.
Who knows how to live the divine life while also being human, existing in a flesh constantly tempted and weak? How do we live as humans and obey God?
Only one person knows how to do this completely. Jesus. That is what he accomplished for us. He went through it all as a spiritual pioneer to relate to our experience and comfort us when we deal with these hardships that make it difficult to obey and see the good. But Jesus doesn’t leave us there in comfort. He can show us how to obey in faith during tests and temptations… because he did.
He has become that great mediator that Job longed for. He is on the throne, and he is also always with us and within us through faith and the Holy Spirit.
What Does This Mean for Us Today?
The writer of Hebrews takes it a step further, relating the work of Christ to our spiritual walk in 5:11-14. Hebrews begins by chastising the readers, saying they need to be taught but should be teachers. However, they are immature, like babies on milk, and unable to deal with solid food.
Growing up, this passage was taught as simple doctrine for the immature, then deeper theology and Bible knowledge for the mature. But more head knowledge isn’t the distinguishing feature between milk and solid food. The mature know what is right and wrong because they’ve put their faith into practice.
“But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”
Our maturity will be accomplished the same as Jesus. We are born again, and we are sons and daughters apart from what we do, only through the work of Christ.
But our maturity will happen when we put that identity into practice. It happens when we apply our faith to life situations—our jobs, our temptations, Through “reason of use.” Returning to James, he writes that we should be joyful about hard times because they complete and mature the character of faith within us (James 1:2-4). Putting that faith into practice when it is difficult, seemingly impossible, proves it is real.
That is when we can teach others.
Jesus didn’t teach about the love of the Father and the Kingdom of God through words alone. He also obeyed. He taught truth through his words and actions.
We can’t do this on our own, in our power, but with the Spirit within us, we are meant to do the same. We teach by our words and how we live, especially through hard times. That gives hope and the Gospel to others. They’re going through hardships, too. They know grief. Seeing someone respond in faith, hope, and love stands out.
The writer of Hebrews shows us that we can obey throughout our difficulties and hard times. We have been given the Spirit of the one who already accomplished it, the one who sits as a priest at the right hand of the throne to help and guide us through each situation… because he’s already been through it with victory. So can we.
And as a good priest, when we fail or miss the mark, Christ is faithful to forgive and set us back on the path of life and redemption.
Peace.
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/kevron2001
This article is part of our larger resource library of popular Bible verse phrases and quotes. We want to provide easy to read articles that answer your questions about the meaning, origin, and history of specific verses within Scripture's context. It is our hope that these will help you better understand the meaning and purpose of God's Word in relation to your life today.
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