Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. And He said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to Him, "Lord, come and see." Jesus wept. (John 11:33-35 NKJV)
Through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned. ... But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man's offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. (Romans 5:12,15 NKJV)
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 [complete], he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him. (Hebrews 5:7-9 NIV)
Why does a good God allow suffering and death? Our good God knows suffering and death will teach us what even Jesus Himself had to learn by reverent submission: obedience. Perfect God was mysteriously incomplete until He Himself became man, suffered and died as we do, and "learned obedience from what he suffered."
The Father deemed it necessary for His own Son to suffer "with loud cries and tears." The free gift of grace now available to us abounds much more because of it. To be made complete and fully know that grace, we must also suffer and show reverent submission.
Lord Jesus, thank You for suffering more than any one of us ever has. Thank You for making the gift of grace abound to many. Thank You for calling us who are among those many, and not among those who will perish in their suffering, apart from You.
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Copyright 2008, Anne Lang Bundy
I received the following feedback privately:
ReplyDeleteI have to disagree with a comment you made yesterday. You said, "Perfect God was mysteriously incomplete until He Himself became man, suffered and died as we do, and 'learned obedience from what he suffered.' " I could never think of God as incomplete, only us as incomplete without Him. What scripture supports that?
The Scripture involved is the one on the post (Hebrews 5:7-9), which speaks of Jesus as "made perfect." ["Complete" is another way to translate the Greek teleioo.]
Here's another way to look at the concept of Jesus being made complete: a woman brings completion to a man when they are married; the fact that he's more complete WITH her doesn't mean there was anything lacking IN him before her.