Jesus was perfected
"And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him..;" -Hebrews 5:9 (KJV)
After allowing Himself to be tried, tested and baptized (Mtt 3:13-17, Luke 4:18, Mark 1:12), He was perfected. We all know that for something to become perfect, it must have gone through different phases, much like earthly gold does before we can appreciate it. Jesus trusted His father and obeyed Him until He was made perfect.This perfection, ultimately is God's desire for all His new creation of which Jesus is firstborn. Jesus wants to see you perfected, and we will be, if only we continue to draw near and do not faint. (Hebrews 7:19,22,25.) Praise be to God!
The Bible tells us that it is impossible for God to lie; It is an immutable thing, meaning non negotiable, unchanging and impossible. God's character remained unchanging when He sent Jesus to be our perfect example. Jesus was sent to this world as a blueprint for all who were to come after Him, confirming Word that He is the firstborn of creation. Imagine a sovereign God, leaving His Kingly Glory to be confined to a womb, and then born in less than pristine conditions to otherwise average parents. He had nothing of earthly value but He carried a grace and mandate for the most powerful ministry ever recorded. I like to think that as Jesus grew, He had to go through all the things that we have also come to struggle against but He decided that He would work to develop a great love and relationship with His Father, and He followed through with that decision.
I would like to share a few points that demonstrate the immensity of the Gift and Example that Jesus is for all believers, that we may be encouraged.
Jesus stands as the ultimate proof that no one is a "nobody" before God. Jesus had no affluence or beauty that we should desire Him, yet God was pleased with Him. That sure is good news for those of us who feel like we aren't worthy of love from God because of something the world feels we lack. This means that surely, we can please God too.
Jesus gave Himself to the study of the Word. Imagine that! John 1:1 tells us that Jesus is the Word, yet He chose to study. He had every right and every opportunity to show off His knowledge and power, but He chose to subdue Himself under God. (Phil 2:5-11) If God ever attended Jesus' PTA meetings, I'm sure He would have been the proudest father there.
Jesus pursued a relationship with God. Jesus had every reason to rely on the fact that He was the Son of God. And only reach out to God to empower Him for miracles-much like we do now-but Jesus decided to build a relationship. Reading Hebrews 5:7-10 made me understand this. And as every prize has a price that must be paid, Jesus paid the price through trials. He gave Himself up to go through similar things as we do now. The passage says He offered up prayers, cries and supplication. And He was heard because of Godly fear. Notice it doesn't say because He was the son of God, it says because of Godly fear! Verse 8 says Jesus learned obedience. I imagine that Jesus was as frustrated with the flesh as we are, but He learned to obey God by the things He suffered. Hallelujah!
Jesus fasted. He was tried and then anointed. (Matt 4:2-4, Luke 4:18) Jesus subdued Himself through fasting. We see again that He did not take His Son-ship for granted. Many of us if put in His position, would have wanted to snap our fingers and have the enemy spiraling into another dimension. But Jesus, dear Jesus, showed us how it ought to be done. He also taught us in the passage above how to fight with the Word. In Matt 4:11, we see that afterwards, the angels came to minister to Him. I like to imagine, that they had been going back and forth from God's throne room asking when they could see Him and worship again like they had when Jesus was in Heaven. When they got the chance, they came quick!
Jesus struggled. Now don't get it wrong, struggling doesn't mean your are not a victor. Just look at Jacob who struggled all night and still got an encounter he never forgot for the rest of his life. People who don't stand a chance never even attempt to struggle. In Mark 14:32-42, we see how Jesus struggled but still overcame. He was deeply distressed. His Spirit was ready but His soul and flesh were not (Mark 14:34,36,38), and so they fought the directive given to Him by His Father. How similar our struggles now are! What is right, our flesh always seems to fight. But Jesus overcame, so can we!
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