Impressing God

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 (Hebrews 5:7-9).

The path to God is not what most people expect. 

We like to cozy up to people who are rich, famous, or powerful.  Rich people live in mansions, eat delicacies, and throw lavish parties.  Who doesn’t enjoy such things?  And if a rich friend gives you an expensive gift, so much the better.  Famous people have looks and talent; it’s fun just being in the same room with them.  Being seen with someone famous is good for your reputation; who doesn’t enjoy getting a little of the spotlight?  Powerful individuals fill you with energy and purpose; leaders make you feel as if you’re part of something important.  On top of that, influential people are well connected; they can help you out by introducing you to the right people.

The rich, the famous, the powerful—we want to be close to them.  But it’s hard to get noticed, so we try to make a good impression.  We focus on looking our best, whether it involves a trendy hairstyle or dressing fashionably.  When we talk, it’s a mixture of flattery and bragging.  We look for ways to show that we are tough, smart, sophisticated, and funny.  We want to be part of the inner circle, so we work hard to sell ourselves.

There’s no one who can top Jesus.  He is the richest person in the world—everything belongs to Him.  He is the most famous person in the world—His autobiography, the Bible, has been a best seller for centuries.  Jesus is the most powerful person in the world—He can control the weather, cure any disease, even raise the dead!  If you want to cozy up to riches, fame, and power, Jesus is your man.

But impressing Him is a problem.  Jesus is God’s Son; seen from His perspective, we are nothing but filthy beggars. King David wrote, there is no one who does good (Psalm 14). Isaiah said, all our righteous acts are like filthy rags (chapter 64).  There is no way that we can impress God.  He values righteousness, but we are addicted to sin.  We have nothing to boast about; we have nothing that God needs. 

There is a way to impress God, but it’s completely different from anything we’re used to.  In today’s Epistle lesson, we are told how Jesus impressed God.  These verses tell us what God is looking for in those who would join His inner circle. 

During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions.  Jesus is the Son of God, and He has always respected His Father’s authority.  In Philippians chapter two Paul wrote, Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus; although He was God, He did not insist on be treated as God’s equal, but made himself of no account, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  Jesus is equal to His Father in every way—eternal, all knowing, all-powerful—but he honored his Father by submitting to His will.  That is why Jesus prayed.  Jesus did not have to ask God for anything—Jesus is God, born in a human body.  Jesus submitted to his Father by asking for His help. 

He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death.  Clearly, this refers to the night when Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane.  Luke chapter 22 tells us, He…knelt down and prayed,  "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done"…And being in anguish, he prayed even harder, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.  Jesus showed submission to his Father by kneeling while he prayed.  He showed submission by saying if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.  And we can see how intensely he prayed; his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.

What was Jesus so concerned about?  What was the ‘cup’ that he wanted to avoid?  That ‘cup’ was the cup of God’s anger at our sins.  Isaiah speaks of those who have drunk from the hand of the LORD the cup of his wrath…who have drained to its dregs the goblet that makes men stagger (chapter 51).  Ezekiel mentions the cup of ruin and desolation (23:33).  Ancient Greeks used to force convicts to drink a cup of poison when sentenced to death; in the same way, God has a cup of death filled and waiting for all who break His laws.

Jesus came to earth as a man so He could die for our sins.  He came to drink the cup of God’s wrath so we could avoid tasting its poison.  Jesus came to die because He loves us and wants to spare us from the hellish punishment that we deserve.  But our Lord was not eager to drink the cup of suffering.  He knew how awful it would be to suffer God’s punishment for every human sin.  Just the thought of what was to come made Him start sweating blood.  So he asked God if there was any other way to rescue us from sin, death, and Satan.  But if there was no other way, then Jesus was prepared to do what he must—yet not my will, but yours be done.

Jesus submitted to his Father completely, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.  God sent an angel to strengthen Jesus there in the garden (Luke 22:43).  Through that heavenly messenger, God assured Jesus that he would not be abandoned to the grave or allowed to see decay (Psalm 16:10); God would raise his Son back to life. Although he knew what death was, Jesus had never experienced it personally; as the Son of Man, God Himself would taste the death that every human fears (Hebrews 2:9). But Jesus trusted in his Father, because God is the one who could save him from death. 

As the Son of God, Jesus knows everything.  Yet although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered.  You are well aware that there is a difference between book learning and experience.   You can warn a little boy to stay away from fire, but he won’t fully appreciate what hot is until he gets burned.  You can read all sorts of romantic poetry, but you won’t appreciate what love is until you’ve felt it for the very first time.  So it is with Jesus.  He was always obedient to his Father, but that obedience never came at a significant personal cost.  When the time came to suffer and die for our sins, Jesus’ obedience was put to the ultimate test.  Satan was hoping that Jesus would rebel against God the way that all humans do.  Instead, Jesus grew—he learned from experience the nature of true obedience. 

The Bible says that this experience made Jesus perfect.  It’s easy to read this the wrong way.  Jesus is God—he was and is perfect.  1 Peter 2:33 says, He committed no sin.  Paul says, God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might gain the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). God’s Son became a man because he had work to do.  He was to succeed where we have failed.  God made us to be servants, but we want to take control of our lives and leave God out of the equation.  God made us to love Him and each other, but we focus most of our love on ourselves.  God made us to be caretakers of His wonderful creation, but we waste our resources and foul the environment; we hoard wealth for our private use and destroy things for our sick amusement.  God expects us to live up to His lofty standards—be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy (Leviticus 19:2).

The job of man is to obey the Lord—it’s a job everyone has failed at miserably.  So Jesus was sent to obey God’s laws on our behalf.  He submitted to God’s leadership the way we’re supposed to.  Jesus was perfect in Himself; He became a man to be perfect for us.  When He died, He said it is finished (John 19:30)—He had been perfectly obedient in our place, obedient all the way to a shameful death on the cross.  He brought His work to perfect completion; and so the Bible can speak of Him as achieving perfection through His suffering.

He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.  We cannot achieve perfection, not on our own, not in this life.  We are too much in love with sin and darkness and evil.  Thankfully, Jesus has been perfect for us—we don’t have to worry that our failures will deny us God’s love or keep us from heaven.  Jesus suffered the punishment that we deserved for breaking God’s laws. Through Jesus, we have everything a person could want—access to the richest, most loving and powerful Being in the universe. We don’t have to impress the Lord to join His inner circle of dearly loved friends.  We have much to be grateful for.

But how do you show your appreciation?  By now, the answer should be obvious—God wants you to obey Him.  Of course, none of us can ever obey God like Jesus did—He is perfect while we are deeply flawed.  Jesus trusted His Father completely.  A lot of the time we struggle with doubt.  Jesus never disobeyed God.  We procrastinate and take short cuts; we argue with God or just ignore Him altogether.  We can never please God like Jesus did.  But we can try.  We can spend time with God’s Word so we know how He wants us to behave.  We can pray to Jesus, asking for His help.  We can thank God for His goodness by looking for ways to obey Him.  Jesus gave some concrete examples in Matthew chapter 25. When the Son of Man comes in his glory…All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.  He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.  Then the King will say to those on his right, `Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.  For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'  Then the righteous will answer him, `Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?  When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?  When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'  The King will reply, `I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

How do we honor God for His generosity?  We honor Him by obeying Him, with the aid and support of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus summed it up this way on the night before He died: As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.  If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love.  I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.  My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you (John 15:9-12).