Hebrews 5:8 “Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered.”
Observation: Does it seem odd that God had something to learn? Isn’t He the all-knowing One, the very Source of knowledge itself? Yet here, speaking of Jesus, the Bible makes clear that He was previously unfamiliar with suffering. Why did He come? To identify with me so I could more clearly see and identify with God. Yet this verse shows that the Savior had Himself to learn obedience to the Father through the suffering He experienced.
Application: I love the idea of a savior, of one who comes to rescue me from pain, affliction and the exhaustion of daily living. I want my Savior to be close. Something within me knows I lack everything till I have gained Him. Still, when I come in my life to the point of His own greatest learning, I work furiously to escape identification with Him.
It is as though I am the oarsman in a canoe, desperately paddling to escape the grip of waters rushing me ever faster toward the precipice. But consider this: if Christ Himself had to suffer in order to learn obedience, why should I feel exempt? Why do I consider my own suffering as something I don’t deserve, rather than accept it as something I need? God says He prizes my obedience above all else (see 1 Sam. 15:22).
I can try taking many shortcuts to reach full relationship with Him, but they all lead to dead-ends. Only by walking with Him full-faced into suffering can He deliver me through to the other side, where obedience finally basks in His full approval.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, it’s a stunning thing to realize You had anything yet to learn when You came to purchase me. The price You paid was awful, but I thank You for it. Lord, I do resist suffering, yet what You have told me to resist is the devil, because He would then flee. Forgive me for my confusion. Thank You, Lord, that You are molding my heart into something that desires to obey You even more than my flesh wants to avoid suffering.