A Long-Distance Race

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Opening Prayer

Mighty God, You are not just my commander, You are my commander-in-chief. Help me to be obedient without reserve.

Read Hebrews 5:1–10

^[1] Every high priest is selected from among the people and is appointed to represent the people in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. ^[2] He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness. ^[3] This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people. ^[4] And no one takes this honor on himself, but he receives it when called by God, just as Aaron was. ^[5] In the same way, Christ did not take on himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father.” ^[6] And he says in another place, “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.” ^[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 ^[10] and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.

Meditate

“Jesus—he is the greatest One to know; the wisest One to follow; the perfect One to trust; the faithful One to serve; and the highest One to love” (Roy Hession).

Think Further

In my conversations with Jehovah’s Witnesses we come back time and again to who Jesus is. Not only is this the key to our confronting those who deny Jesus’ deity, it is also essential to understanding and interpreting the Scriptures for our own living. The writer of Hebrews has been demonstrating this through his use of well-known passages he now applies to Christ—a model for us in handling Old Testament references. The kingdom, the Law, the national identity of the Hebrew people—all are fulfilled in Jesus. Knowing these Scriptures illuminates our understanding of Jesus and the new covenant he inaugurates.

In particular, today’s reading brings together the paradoxes of Jesus’ identity: deity and humanity; glory and humility. He is fully God yet he is called into his role, he submits, he learns obedience. What can this possibly mean? Some suggest that the picture is the company owner’s son learning the business he will one day inherit by rotating around the different sectors, experiencing all their dimensions. We must be careful, however, not to cast Jesus as less than perfect in his incarnation and certainly not less than divine.

It is more useful to see Jesus giving us an example of persistence to follow. In an age when we expect things to be instant and results obvious, Jesus’ refusal to take shortcuts in his mission is a challenge. “When the disciples expressed horror about his cross, he told them about theirs… The act of taking up the cross may [be for us] a crisis. But following after Christ and denying oneself is a daily, painful, costly reality that cannot be achieved by a sudden crisis, but only by a lifetime of constantly renewed dedication and obedient responsiveness to all that God requires of his people and equips them to do” (Raymond Brown).

Apply

“Father… take this cup… yet not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42). How does this statement challenge you?

Closing prayer

Heavenly Father, putting Your priorities before mine does not come easily for me. I long to do this but I need an infusion of Your power to see it done.

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