Lenten Devotional: Jesus’ obedience

Before I get into the reason I see for Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross, I must first say that I strongly believe in the substitutionary atonement theory: that Jesus died on the cross as a substitute to atone for our sin. He did this in order to bear the penalty of death that we deserve for our sin and to bear God’s wrath against our sin. Through Jesus’ death on the cross we are then reconciled to God through faith in him. However, that is not going to be the focus of what I have to say today.

As I have listened to others who have shared what they perceive as the reason Jesus had to suffer and die on the cross, I have been challenged to look beyond my primary belief to see other possibilities. This has led me to consider again not only scripture that tells specifically of the ordeal Jesus went through as he suffered and died, but rather to consider a broader context as the reason for the cross. In that I have come to see that one of the reasons Jesus had to suffer and die on the cross was because of his commitment of obedience to the will of God the Father.

This obedience to the will of God the Father can be seen as Jesus is dying on the cross. We find in John 19: 28-30:

“Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, ‘I am thirsty.’ A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on the stalk of the hyssop plant and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, ‘It is finished.’ With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”

What we see here is that Jesus’ obedience to the Father was necessary in order to fulfill Scripture and also to accomplish the will of God. The verb translated in verse 28 as “completed” and in verse 30 as “finished” (from the Greek verb “teleo”) denotes the carrying out of a task. And in this context it points to the fulfillment of a religious obligation by Jesus to God the Father.

That same verb is used in John 17:4, where Jesus says, “I have brought you (the Father) glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.”

In John 10:17-18, Jesus says:

“The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life – only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

So what we see in these verses is that Jesus voluntarily lays down his own life in obedience to the command he received from the Father. In John 8:29, Jesus says, “I always do what pleases him (the Father).” And in John 14:31 Jesus says, “I love the Father and…I do exactly what my Father has commanded me.”

Jesus went to the cross out of a commitment of obedience to God’s will. This obedience of the Son to the Father is eternal in nature, and is certainly exemplified in Jesus willingly laying down his life on the cross in obedience to the Father. The Apostle Paul comments on the obedience of the Incarnate Son in Philippians 2:8 where we find that “he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross.”

Yes, Jesus died as a substitutionary atonement for our sins as the only perfect sinless sacrifice – or, as John the Baptist refers to him in John 1:29, “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world!” Through Jesus’ death on the cross we receive forgiveness of our sins through faith in him. But his death on the cross was only necessary for the forgiveness of our sins; it was his lifetime of obedience to the will of God the Father that imparts his righteousness to us.

We find in Romans 5:19:

“For just as through the disobedience of the one man (Adam), the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man (Jesus), the many will be made righteous.”

It is because of the obedience of Jesus throughout his entire life, including his final act of obedience in his death on the cross that we can be made righteous in God’s eyes through faith in Jesus. In fact, there is no other way that we can be righteous in God’s eyes other than through faith in Jesus. We cannot become righteous on our own or even through our own acts of obedience. The only way we can be righteous in God’s eyes is through faith in Jesus.

Jesus not only becomes our righteousness through his obedience, but he also becomes our ultimate example of obedience to God’s commandments. Although we cannot achieve the perfect lifelong obedience to God that Jesus achieved, we are still called to obedience in order to show our love for Jesus and  for God the Father. We find these words of Jesus in John 14:23-24:

“…if anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.”

This brings us then to the question, “What about us?” How obedient are we to God and His Word? What does our obedience, or lack of obedience, to God’s Word say about our love for Jesus and the Father? During this season of Lent, as we consider the reasons for Jesus’ death on the cross, and as we see Jesus’ obedience to the Father in willingly offering himself as a sacrifice for our sins on the cross, let us also take time to consider the ultimate example Jesus set for us regarding obedience to God and his will. Will we, like Jesus, be obedient even unto death?

If we love Jesus, we will obey what he commands.