Hebrews 5:7-9 WHO IS JESUS CHRIST?
The One who Submitted & The One and only Source
7 During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. 8 Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered 9 and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him
Who is Jesus Christ? These next two weeks you will hear a lot about him. Next Sunday is Palm Sunday. Then comes Good Friday. Then comes Easter. This is that time in the year when you hear people talk about Jesus Christ. But unlike Christmas, Easter has escaped the intense commercialism that might sweep away its true spiritual meaning. Unlike Christmas, when school children sing about a man in a red suit and snow, no one really knows what to sing about or what to do when Easter arrives. After buying some candy and painting some eggs, most people wonder, “Is that it? What is the deal with Easter?” And so many are left to talk about Jesus Christ, and who he is.
Who is he? Everyone believes he existed. Unless you are completely uneducated, you know that there was such a man named Jesus. Secular histories, unconnected with the Bible, talk about a Jewish teacher named Jesus who lived in the early first century who upset a lot of people, and who was crucified by the Roman governor Pontius Pilate. He did exist, and that's a historical fact. But after that, opinions go in different directions about who he really was. Was he the Son of God? Was there more significance to his death than what meets the eye? Did he really rise from the dead?
You know the answers to these questions. This morning, we want to get rid of any doubt you might have in your mind about who Jesus Christ is. Today, if you have any doubt in your heart about who Jesus is, any confusion - even a little, then it is my prayer this morning that the words we study will help you understand more clearly who Jesus, this person you are going to hear so much about in the next two weeks.
Our text for today, taken from the book of Hebrews, chapter 5, talks about the identity of Jesus Christ. To help us remember the content of this section, think of it this way - “the two S’s.”
S #1 is from verse 7: “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.” Who is Jesus? Think of the word "submission." He was the Son of God, who submitted to the will of his Heavenly Father. This verse describes Jesus praying to God with loud cries and tears. The picture here is the Garden of Gethsemane. Shortly before he was arrested, Jesus looked into the future and he could see what lay ahead of him – he could see all the suffering and death. It was a terrible thing.
Can you imagine being able to see into your future? Can you imagine being able to see that you were about to die a slow and gruesome death? It would be a terrible thing, to know that.
And that’s what Jesus saw. And it wasn’t just the physical suffering that made him recoil. It was the spiritual suffering – he was about to have all the sins of the world placed upon him. He was about to have God his Heavenly Father punish him for the sins of all mankind. Jesus could see this in his future, and it was a terrible thing.
He could have skipped it. After all, he was the Son of God. But he knew that this was the only way to save people from total destruction. And so he submitted to his Heavenly Father, as it says, “Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered.” He submitted to the betrayal, to the arrest, to the beatings, and ultimately, to the crucifixion. When you ask yourself, “Who is Jesus Christ? Think of the word “submission.” This is how he took your sins away.
There is another “s” in this section that I would like to focus on for today. Verse 9: “And, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.” The Greek word for “made perfect” actually means “to complete” or “to finish.” Once Jesus completed his suffering, what happened? He became the source of eternal salvation. There’s your other “s.”
Our little 3 year old daughter loves her mother. When she is hungry, she looks for her mother. When she falls down and is crying and is looking for comfort and needs a bandaid, I'm right there to help her - I'll get you a bandaid, I say. No, mama, she says. She wants no one except mother, her one and only source of comfort. When she's tired and wants someone to read books to her and put her to bed - it's her mother. There's a special bond there - sometimes I can help out, here and there - but when she needs something or wants something - the only place she will go, her source of comfort and food and everything else - is her mother, and no one else.
Where do you go? When you need comfort? When you need food for your soul? When you need forgiveness for the sins you have committed in your life? Where do you go? Who is your source?
Lots of religions will offer to you there ideas. Lots of people will offer to you their opinions. But there is only one source, and that is Jesus Christ. "once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him." Jesus was made perfect when he rose from the dead. That is the moment in history when he became the only and only place to go if you are looking for something for your soul that will last forever and ever. “Source” is the second “s” to think about as you ponder in your mind who Jesus Christ really is.
Who is Jesus? To many, the story of Jesus might seem quite sad, and quite trivial. A traveling Jewish teacher, unpopular with the religious establishment, who is put to death by the government. He taught the world to be nice, and to this day, we are all trying to be nice.
But there must be more! And there is. When you realize to what extent he submitted to the Heavenly Father, when you realize that he is the source of our eternal salvation – that changes everything. It changed the lives of 11 men – his disciples, from doubting cowards to courageous witnesses. May his life and death and resurrection – all these things that happened for you – change your life as well. Amen.
