Why Did Jesus Need to Learn Obedience?

Christian Questions Bible Podcast

Jesus is Lord. He sits at the right hand of the throne of God, which is the position of highest power and authority in ALL of God’s glorious creation. This position was not thoughtlessly given. It was awarded to Jesus because his loyalty to and reverence for the heavenly Father were and are without equal. This position of unfathomable power and glory was attained by Jesus as a result of his willing submission to a grueling test of loyalty. This test was not only unique, but it was also profoundly necessary for the good of God’s angelic creation, as well as for the future of the entire human race. This test required Jesus to experience change, hardship and uncertainty. It required him to learn, adapt and grow while always being exactly on target with fulfilling God’s will. So, how did he do this?

When Jesus came to earth as a man, he essentially wrote a new chapter in history. Never before in all of God’s creation was one sent from the spiritual realm to become human and live a human life. This change would mean leaving all the glory behind and replacing it with the simpler, lower-level existence called humanity. If this wasn’t enough of a shock to the system, Jesus would also be required to give up any and all human ambitions and focus only on doing what God would instruct him to do.

Let’s think about all that is involved here.

Jesus was given a perfect human body with its natural physical limitations. His mind would also have human limitations, even though it was perfect. When Jesus went to be baptized by John, God gave him His holy spirit. This power and influence would aid him with not only discerning scripture, but also with reading other’s hearts and performing miracles. This was all a completely new and completely untested combination. A physical body, a physical mind and the power of God’s influence driving you. No wonder he needed to learn obedience!

So, how did these lessons in obedience take place?

Right from the start, Jesus learned by being engaged. Immediately following his baptism, he went to the wilderness to fast and pray. His objective was to be in full harmony and understanding with what God had sent him to do. It is in this environment that Satan came to him with the focused objective of derailing him from accomplishing his God ordained mission. Jesus’ learning had begun with a massive confrontation!

Check out our recent podcast, “Why Did Jesus Need to Learn Obedience?” for more. We trace the “why” of his learning obedience by linking the sins of Satan with the sin of Adam and Eve. We dig deeply into the details of how his responses to his experiences were in stark contrast to all that had been done before him. Join us on this revealing pathway to understanding what true obedience looks like. Let Jesus’ example inspire you to daily and steadily rising to higher heights of Christlikeness.