Year 9, Day 109: Hebrews 5

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Hebrews 5 continues to speak to Christ and His nature as High priest.  He was given the mantle of high priest by the Father.  He came to die for our sake.  He came to deal with sin once and for all.

The interesting dynamic that what we learn in this passage with respect to how Jesus developed.  Jesus was heard because of His submission.  He learned obedience from His suffering.  The author of Hebrews is making a point that most human beings simply don’t want to hear: submission and suffering are a natural part of life.  If we want to develop into mature people of God, submission and suffering must be seen as events to be embraced because they teach us rather than seen as things to be avoided at all costs.

We like to avoid suffering.  I know I do.  I don’t enjoy the hard moments of life.  I don’t enjoy the times when I feel my life is crumbling round me.  I don’t enjoy the uncertainty, the sorrow, and the bleakness.  But I do learn through them.  I learn to survive.  I learn to live.  I learn to endure.  I learn what is truly important in life and what can be lost.

The same is true about submission.  Human beings don’t like to submit.  We like to do what we want and when we want it.  We start that pattern of behavior from moment one of our life!  Yet in submission we learn order to life, we learn how to get along with others, we learn community, and we become well-rounded.

The author of Hebrew takes this point and goes a step further with it.  After talking about Christ, he then speaks to his audience about their maturity.  He speaks to them about needing milk instead of solid food.  But in doing so, he uses a great expression.  It isn’t so much that his audience is incapable or immature.  The issue is that they are no longer trying.  They’ve become complacent.  They should be teaching others, but they are still at a place in their life where they need to be taught themselves still.

God doesn’t expect perfect, because He knows we cannot deliver.  He doesn’t even always expect maturity, because we all have to learn and grow.  What God does expect is that we try.  We must avoid complacency at all costs, because when we are complacent we stop learning and start diminishing.  Complacency is the great enemy of discipleship.

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