In the days of Jesus’ life on earth he knew his purpose. He knew the need for a prefect once-for-all sacrifice to become the source of eternal salvation to everyone who placed their faith in the Perfect One alone. He knew he was that sacrifice. He knew exactly what John the Baptist was declaring when he pointed to Jesus and cried, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”
The author of Hebrews pulls back the curtain on Jesus’ earthly life and we see our worthy Savior walking daily, even minute by minute, with his Father in prayer. The weight of creation itself rested firmly on Jesus’ shoulders in this time of testing. One sin in his 33 years would send the entire salvation plan to the fiery abyss. One sin would end for all time the hope of eternity. The times of Jesus’ testing made famous in the Gospels, in the wilderness and in the garden with Satan, sometimes so overshadows his day to day life that many Christians fail to marvel at the love of our Savior to endure to the end for our sake. O how he loves us!
HOMEWORK:
The label “Christian” means to be like Christ. Many scratch their heads when thinking about his sinless life; most of the time it’s because we think of a Christ-like life as a list of do’s and don’ts. The author of Hebrews paints a much different picture. We see Jesus, with prayers and supplications, crying out to the Father for help. We see Jesus knowing without doubt that God is his only hope. We see Jesus living out his life loving righteousness and hating sin.
Read Romans 7:7 through 8:1
How did knowing the Law affect Paul? (see verses 7-11)
What happens to you when you try to live according to a list of do’s and don’ts?
Did Paul expect to live a perfect life? (see verses 15-20)
What did Paul love and what did Paul hate?
Where did Paul place his hope? (see verse 24)
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