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[Announcer] (0:00 - 0:39) Think about the Bible like you never have before. You're listening to Christian Questions. Experience more episodes, videos, and Bible study resources at ChristianQuestions.com.

Our topic is: "Why Did Jesus Need to Learn Obedience?" As Christians, we often marvel at all Jesus did for us with awe and gratitude. What we don't think about are the challenges of his learning experiences.

Wait a minute! Jesus was perfect. Couldn't he understand everything? Yes and no. Comprehending and applying are two different things. Jesus did both! Here's Rick, Jonathan, and Julie.

[Rick] (0:41 - 0:51) Welcome, everyone. I'm Rick. I'm joined by Jonathan, my co-host for over twenty-five years. Julie, a long-time contributor, is also with us. Jonathan, what's our theme scripture for this episode?

[Jonathan] (0:51 - 0:53) Hebrews 5:8: "Although he was a son, he learned obedience from the things which he suffered."

[Rick] (0:57 - 2:00) 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 of his loyalty to and reverence for the Heavenly Father. Those things were 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.

How did he do this?

[Julie] (2:00 - 2:18) The events that took place surrounding the very beginning of humanity's experience clearly defined this learning path of loyalty Jesus would be called upon to accomplish several thousands of years later. By taking a brief look at Lucifer's fall from God's favor, we're going to see the beginnings of the learning experiences of Jesus as a man.

[Jonathan] (2:19 - 2:33) Before Satan was Satan, he was a glorious being! Isaiah 14:12: "How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, you have weakened the nations!"

[Julie] (2:34 - 2:44) The King James Version uses the term "Lucifer "here instead of "star of the morning" and calls him "son of the morning." This implies he was bright and beautiful, like a light in heaven.

[Rick] (2:44 - 3:11) This is important because you begin--and we're just opening the door--to see the glory that Lucifer had before his fall, before becoming Satan. Let's go now to expand that. When speaking to Job, God revealed others with great heavenly glory at the beginning as well as Lucifer, this "morning star." Let's look at Job 38:4-7:

[Jonathan] (3:11 - 3:28) "Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding, who sets its measurements?... On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?"

[Julie] (3:28 - 3:33) Ah, "morning stars," plural. There's more than one. In fact, we're only told of two.

[Jonathan] (3:33 - 3:51) Jesus revealed himself as a "morning star." He was also a glorious being! Revelation 22:16: "I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star."

[Rick] (3:52 - 4:42) You have Jesus showing himself as several things--the root, because he's involved in the creative process (we'll get to that in a moment); the descendant of David as a man. Then he goes to the fact that he's this "bright morning star." You have "star of the morning" (Lucifer) and the "bright morning star" (Jesus). Let's go back now to Lucifer.

Now we've got sort of a context here. Lucifer, as this "morning star," was given the immense privilege of overseeing God's earthly family. The privilege that he's given here, it takes your breath away when you realize this brand new creation on earth, these brand new beings, this brand new ecosystem, this brand new physicality, and Lucifer is chosen for a very specific responsibility. Ezekiel 28:12-14.

[Jonathan] (4:42 - 5:21) Here Lucifer is allegorically described as the king of Tyre: "...take up lamentation over the king of Tyre and say to him, Thus says the Lord GOD, You had the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering... On the day that you were created they were prepared. You were the anointed cherub who covers, and I placed you there. You were on the holy mountain of God; you walked in the midst of the stones of fire. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created until unrighteousness was found in you."

[Julie] (5:22 - 5:36) Obviously the literal king of Tyre was never a protector of the Garden of Eden, so we know this is allegorical. Lucifer here is described as an "anointing cherub." The word "anointed" here is in the sense of expansion, like outstretched wings.

[Jonathan] (5:37 - 5:50) God appointed Lucifer to "cover" Eden, meaning to protect it. We covered these texts extensively in Episode #1305: "How Do Satanic Demons Influence Our World?"

[Rick] (5:50 - 6:41) We have a sense of this incredible privilege and responsibility. Julie, I like the way you described "anointed," meaning "outstretched." It's like he's covering over and protecting this sensitive, brand new, magnificent earthly creation.

God gave the privilege of oversight of this physical creation to one of His highest and most respected. He had to give it to His highest and most respected because it was such an important part of His creation. Yet Satan (or Lucifer) made a choice to enhance his own glory and his own splendor and not God's! He made a choice after being given this privilege, and it was an abundantly destructive choice, as we will see. We'll go further in Ezekiel 28:16-17:

[Jonathan] (6:42 - 7:05) "By the abundance of your trade you were internally filled with violence, and you sinned; therefore I have cast you as profane from the mountain of God. And I have destroyed you, o covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor. I cast you to the ground;..."

[Rick] (7:05 - 7:53) Gives us a description. You were "lifted up because of your beauty." Because you had so much going for you, it played against you. This is important as we try and understand Jesus' learning obedience. Seeing this in Lucifer helps us to understand the magnitude of what Jesus would end up going through. Lucifer's dramatic fall from God's favor began as this growing, festering and deadly thought process. We're going to look at Isaiah 14:13-14. It's a summation of Lucifer's deadly spread of sinful thoughts. Instead of just reading through the verse, we're going to read a piece of the verse and then just put it to comment. Understand what was happening in the heart and mind of Lucifer.

Again, Isaiah 14:13-14:

[Jonathan] (7:54 - 8:06) "...you have said in your heart..."

JULIE:

It always begins by entertaining dark thoughts in the heart. JONATHAN:

Now listen for the number of times Lucifer says "I." "I will ascend into the heavens..."

[Julie] (8:06 - 8:09) He was already arranged to be God's earthly representative.

[Jonathan] (8:09 - 8:13) "I will exalt my throne above the stars of God..."

[Julie] (8:13 - 8:17) Already he was one of those special stars of God, but he wasn't high enough.

[Jonathan] (8:17 - 8:22) "I will sit in the Mount of Congregation in the uttermost parts of the north."

[Julie] (8:22 - 8:23) In other words, where God abides.

[Jonathan] (8:23 - 8:26) "I will ascend above the heights of the clouds..."

[Julie] (8:26 - 8:29) Above the influence of God's presence with man.

[Jonathan] (8:29 - 8:32) "I will make myself like the Most High."

[Julie] (8:33 - 8:38) Not replacing, but rivaling the Most High. Lucifer had a pride problem!

[Rick] (8:38 - 9:15) I will be like "the Most High." Remember that statement as we go through this lesson, because it will bear great fruitage later. Not for Lucifer, though.

What you see is this internal pride problem that is growing and festering and changing the goodness and glory of what he was given into darkness and self-service. Never a good thing in God's creation. There are three basic points that we want to draw from Lucifer's gifts and privileges and his fall.

Jonathan, what's the first point?

[Jonathan] (9:16 - 9:22) Lucifer was given extraordinary privilege and dominion over God's earthly creation.

[Julie] (9:23 - 9:27) Lucifer made that privilege about himself and reached for that which was beyond his permission.

[Rick] (9:28 - 10:02) These actions resulted in a stripping of his freedoms as God's representative. What did he have? He had extraordinary privilege and he had dominion.

They were handed to him. Here, I trust you with this. I trust you with the sacredness of this sensitive new creation.

He took it and he made it about himself, and these actions would result in him being stripped of his freedoms as God's representative. That's what it says in Isaiah 14:15:

[Jonathan] (10:07 - 10:10) "Nevertheless you will be thrust down to Sheol (the grave), to the recesses of the pit."

[Rick] (10:11 - 10:47) "Thrust down to Sheol," to the grave. You will be destroyed. That's what the end result of such pride will always yield in the end in God's creation as we expand this. Now, let's go a little bit further.

It was the exact opposite when Jesus was in his pre-human existence as the Logos, the Word. The Word "Logos" means "word." In that pre-human existence, Jesus wasn't wrestling with pride.

He was loyal. In Proverbs 8:30, it's a picture of the relationship that Jesus had with the Heavenly Father. Proverbs 8:30:

[Jonathan] (10:51 - 10:58) "Then I was beside Him, as a master workman; and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him."

[Rick] (10:58 - 11:38) Think about the camaraderie. Think about the joy. Think about the productivity when you have that kind of unity that's described in this verse. I was His "master workman." Whatever He set me out to do, I went out and I did it with enthusiasm. "Daily His delight." There's this beauty of fellowship and strength as the creation work is being done.

Jesus, as the Logos in his pre-human existence, did God's will in every detail. He was a light that darkness, and for that fact, Satan, could not comprehend. Now we go to a New Testament brief description of this period of time.

John 1:3-5:

[Jonathan] (11:38 - 12:16) "All things came into being through him, and apart from him nothing came into being that has come into being. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it." What a stark comparison with the two morning stars! In Episode #1328, we looked at a comparison between the two greatest influencers our world has ever seen, Jesus and Satan. Jesus; his "why" was to honor God fully and eternally. Satan's "why" was personal glory and power.

[Rick] (12:16 - 12:43) By making this comparison at the beginning of saying how did Jesus learn obedience, what we're seeing is the obedience that was already in place in the eons of time before. Jesus was already there, and that's significant as we're going to go and develop this even further.

As we take this apart, we want to pause and consider the Power of Learning and the Power of Experience. Jonathan, what do we have?

[Jonathan] (12:43 - 13:07) Before his earthly existence, Jesus as the Logos had mastered loyalty, reverence, and service to God. Lucifer had the same opportunities within the scope of his responsibilities and chose self over service and darkness over light. His decisions and actions would present dysfunction, disloyalty, and destruction to all of God's harmonious creation.

[Rick] (13:08 - 13:27) All of that dysfunction, disloyalty, and destruction came from one of God's most trusted lights. Think about that. It is remarkable what happened here.

Even before Jesus came to redeem humanity, the depth of his devotion to God was in dramatic contrast to Lucifer's pride!

[Jonathan] (13:27 - 13:35) The contrast between the Logos and Lucifer is dramatic. How does this help us understand Jesus' need to learn obedience?

[Rick] (13:36 - 14:08) The work of redeeming humanity from sin and death would be difficult and have to be done perfectly and selflessly. We know that through the prophet Isaiah the Logos stepped forward to handle this task. Even though he had already proven loyal, even though that had already been done, his becoming human would be a completely new experience.

What did that mean? It means he would be learning all over again right from the beginning.

[Julie] (14:08 - 14:29) That's a huge consideration to go from a spirit being to a human level. Being human is completely different. I mean, I don't even know how we would compare the capacities and the abilities so we could understand it.

Maybe like a human to a frog, or a human to a mosquito, or a little single-celled organism; there's that vast of a difference between the natures.

[Rick] (14:29 - 15:06) There's no previous experience, so you're going into this and you have to learn. Let's now review the fall of humanity from God's favor. We took a look at the fall of Lucifer to become Satan.

He fell from God's favor. When we look at the fall of humanity, this helps define the challenges that Jesus would face, because he became human. In these human experiences—and we're going to be focusing on Adam for a while here—in these human experiences, there is a strong similarity with Lucifer's fall.

We're going to look at three different pieces. We're going to look at Adam, we're going to look at Lucifer, and then compare them with Jesus. Julie, let's get started with Adam.

[Julie] (15:07 - 15:17) Adam was created. He was given a perfect home in Eden. This home provided all that he needed to live and to prove his obedience to God.

He had the gift of life plus opportunity.

[Rick] (15:17 - 15:20) Jonathan, let's go now to Lucifer.

[Jonathan] (15:21 - 15:32) Lucifer was given great privilege and a place to be as the covering cherub of Eden. He also could live and prove his obedience to God.

He had the gift of life plus opportunity.

[Rick] (15:32 - 16:12) There's a similarity. Let's now take a look at Jesus. Jesus would be given a human life, which provided all that he needed to live while proving his obedience to God. He also had the gift of life plus opportunity. There is a baseline of clarity as to how God works. He gives opportunity to prove our obedience as he gives us the things that we need.

There's a beautiful, beautiful lesson here and it helps us to learn, to see how Jesus learned from the bottom up. Let's get started with the Garden of Eden, because there's some fascinating things here. There were two very specific trees placed in the middle of the garden. Jonathan Genesis 2:9:

[Jonathan] (16:12 - 16:40) "Out of the ground the LORD God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." Now, the word for "midst" here means "in the center" or "in the middle." We assume the "tree of life" and the "tree of knowledge of good and evil" were in close proximity to each other.

[Julie] (16:40 - 17:01) It's interesting when we were all studying for this, this had really never crossed our mind before, about that they were this close. We can imagine it would be difficult that you're eating every day from this tree of life, and you look at the one right over there with its delicious fruit, and does it taste any different? Well, look at the color, and what's that over there?

Why can't we have that?

[Rick] (17:01 - 17:21) Because God said no. There you have it, there you have it. But you're right, you have this close proximity and the ability to glance, always ever present.

God now plainly reveals this test of obedience that would determine man's direction by putting these trees close to each other, and that's reflected in Genesis 2:16-17:

[Jonathan] (17:21 - 17:33) "The LORD God commanded the man, saying, from any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die."

[Rick] (17:33 - 17:38) You've got the proclamation that requires obedience. Let's go back to Adam.

[Julie] (17:38 - 17:53) Well, Adam, I mean, what a temptation! The tree Adam needs to sustain life is near the tree he needs to avoid to maintain life. Isn't that the way the temptation works, though, with us?

It's within our reach, but you have to step out of the line of righteousness in order to get to it.

[Rick] (17:54 - 18:01) Remember that thought, because it's a repetitive thought, and this is what Jesus would also end up having to go through. What about Lucifer, Jonathan?

[Jonathan] (18:02 - 18:13) The authority which was given to Lucifer to thrive in God's service eternally was right next to the pride of claiming that authority as his own, which was a choice that would lead to death.

[Rick] (18:13 - 19:38) See, he had the same principles that he was tested on, and of course we know what the results were there. Now we take a look at Jesus. Jesus would live according to God's Jewish Law, while having no authority to step beyond God's limitations for him. He was also in a position to have everything he needed, but right there was the capacity to step outside of it. As we can see already with the experience of Lucifer and the experience of Adam unfolding, stepping outside is not necessarily that hard a thing to do. We need to be focused on keeping our steps exactly in line.

You've got the temptation set up because it is a test of obedience. Adam and Eve were living in harmony with God in this beautiful Garden of Eden. It was now that the fall of Lucifer would reveal itself.

It was now that it would be made plain to humanity. The ego-driven desire for glory that had taken place in his heart would now be transformed into actions that would seek to grab God's glory as his own. Satan presents a test, and in presenting this test, he steps beyond his permission.

He has no authority to test humanity! He does it because he wants the glory. Genesis 3:1-5:

[Jonathan] (19:38 - 20:06) "... And he (Satan) said to the woman, Indeed, has God said, You shall not eat from any tree of the garden? The woman said to the serpent, From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die. The serpent said to the woman, You surely will not die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

[Julie] (20:07 - 20:39) What's the saying? The best lies have an element of truth. Lucifer was correct.

Their eyes would be opened, and they would now have direct experience with good and evil. The trap was set for Eve, and she now considered what appeared to be big advantages from eating this fruit. She didn't question it, she just ate it. She gave it to Adam, and he also chose to eat it. Satan wanted dominion, and he tried to win Adam through the deception of Eve. That was Adam's weak spot.

There's a great quote from John Bowlby: "Loneliness makes cowards of us all."

[Rick] (20:40 - 21:03) You see this great test, and he goes to Eve, and Eve partakes, and she presents the fruit to Adam, and he is presented with a choice. The two shall be made one flesh. They were bound together.

You can see how the two are acting as one. One does it, and the other is going to follow along. Let's take a look at what happens to Adam and Eve in this situation. Julie?

[Julie] (21:03 - 21:14) You have the heart of man (which is Eve) deceived, and man's thoughts and actions (that's Adam) followed. Like you said, Rick, they're one flesh. If you get one, it's a lot easier to get the other one.

[Rick] (21:14 - 21:29) That's how deception works. Deception finds the crack, right? The path of least resistance, and it will get in there and it will do what it's going to do. Now, let's look at the deceptive actions regarding Lucifer himself.

Again, looking at his own fall. Jonathan?

[Jonathan] (21:30 - 21:36) Lucifer's fall began in his heart, and he followed its evil direction and claimed God's glory for himself.

[Rick] (21:36 - 22:26) He decided that God's glory would become his. Didn't ask, didn't discuss. He took it.

He reached for something that was outside of where he needed to be. In contrast, Jesus becomes a man. He would be constantly faced with human examples of self-service, human examples of individuals going here and there and deciding outside of the narrow confines of the Law that, hey, I can do this too, and this as well. He would be seeing those examples as he continually did one thing, glorified God. As with Lucifer, Adam and Eve were given wonderful gifts. There were three points that we talked about with Lucifer that he had been given.

Let's look at those three gifts in relation to Adam and Eve. Jonathan, let's get started.

[Jonathan] (22:26 - 22:34) They were given extraordinary privilege and dominion over God's earthly creation. What a beautiful environment they were given!

[Rick] (22:34 - 22:46) It was an exceptional privilege to have this dominion. They're put in charge and they're given this commandment, and they don't follow it. What happens next?

[Julie] (22:47 - 22:59) Unfortunately they made that privilege about themselves, and they reached for that which was beyond their permission. They received life, dominion, protection, food, and yet they wanted that one thing that they weren't given.

[Rick] (22:59 - 23:24) When we step beyond that which is beyond our permission, we step beyond the confines of God's path. It happened to Lucifer, and we're seeing how it unfolds happening to Adam and Eve. Keep in mind, Jesus had to learn obedience as a man.

He would have to follow in these footsteps but not step outside. Jonathan, what's that third point?

[Jonathan] (23:24 - 23:38) These actions resulted in a stripping of their freedoms as God's representatives. They were thrown out of the Garden, removed from the tree of life, and they and all the generations to follow were held captive by sin and death.

[Rick] (23:38 - 24:58) The consequences were monstrous for this sidestepping of the path that God had laid out for them. The consequences were monstrous! The consequences with Satan's fall from grace were monstrous as well on an entirely different level.

The consequences if Jesus stepped outside those guidelines as a human being, would have been even greater, and that shows you the pressure. Jesus would be tasked with the same challenges of privilege and dominion. He would be given those same things.

He would be required to only do God's will in God's time, and by being faithful to this, by being faithful and staying on that very clear, narrow path, he would cancel Adam's sin and he would ultimately destroy Satan, the usurper of authority. He had within his power, by being obedient, the power to right every wrong--literally to right every wrong. No pressure, no pressure! Just the universe hangs on your shoulders, the shoulders of a man. We go to Romans 5:18-19, because this begins to describe what obedience as a man looked like. Jonathan?

[Jonathan] (24:58 - 25:28) "So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the one the many will be made righteous." Now this word for "obedience" means "attentive hearkening; that is (by implication) compliance or submission." To "hearken" is an old-fashioned word for listening.

[Julie] (25:28 - 25:36) Yeah, think of the Christmas carol, "Hark the Herald Angels Sing", means listen to the angels, they're bringing important news; "attentive hearkening."

[Rick] (25:36 - 25:58) This becomes the theme for Jesus. In Romans it says even so through the obedience, through the "attentive hearkening" of one, "the many will be made righteous." He has in his power, by doing exactly God's will as a human being, to change everything. Jonathan, the Power of Learning and the Power of Experience; where are we?

[Jonathan] (25:58 - 26:21) Jesus' pre-human existence had been a powerful proving ground over ages beyond count. However, becoming Jesus the man was a whole new experience with a barrage of challenges and pitfalls that he never knew. His task was to "attentively hearken" to God's will and sacrifice every part of his perfect human will in the process.

[Rick] (26:21 - 26:51) Attentively hearken to God's will and sacrifice every single part of his human will in that process, if it did not one hundred percent comply with that which was higher. That's the task of learning obedience as a human being that Jesus faced. It's pretty amazing to see how the tests of loyalty in God's plan all work in similar ways.

This really shows us what's important to God.

[Jonathan] (26:52 - 26:59) Lucifer and Adam were tested in similar ways. Where and how did the true test of obedience begin for Jesus?

[Rick] (26:59 - 28:26) Jesus' experiences in learning obedience were pretty much immediate. As soon as he was baptized, he went into the wilderness for forty days to seek out and understand his Father's will. As his time for fasting and praying was coming to an end, Satan appeared on the scene.

Why? To challenge him, of course! He's the usurper. He wants the authority. It's mine.

Leave me alone. That's basically what Satan is saying. Satan needs to dominate, and Jesus needs absolute loyalty to God.

Satan needs to dominate versus absolute loyalty to God. This is a collision course, and that's exactly what's going to happen. As we see this develop as a man, Jesus needed to learn "attentive hearkening" to God's will and God's way. This was his primary objective because his mission was, as we said before, to destroy Satan's reign of evil and to buy back the human race. Now as we move forward, we're going to look at what happens with the hearts of men when Satan gets a hold of them. Satan can touch a heart that has even a hint of rebelliousness in it, a hint of selfishness, a hint of pride. We want to take a look at that and then compare it to what Jesus' heart produced in him. Jonathan, let's start with the rebellious heart that Satan entices. What happens there?

[Jonathan] (28:27 - 28:32) The rebellious heart that Satan entices says, "My needs are central and must be met first."

[Rick] (28:33 - 28:48) I am most important. That's what he seeks to find in us. It's easy to go down that road of, Hey, what about me?

Hey, what about me? Hey, what about me? Julie, let's compare Jesus in his approach to things.

[Julie] (28:48 - 29:14) His learned habits of obedience, his highest nourishment, was feeding on God's word and will. We can imagine that he spent time in this wilderness experience pouring over the prophecies that had been written about him. Now that he received God's Spirit—remember, he just came from his baptism, it's God's power and influence-- with that help, he could see beyond what a simple human mind could comprehend and he knew why he came to earth, and here he is preparing himself for his ministry ahead.

[Rick] (29:14 - 29:36) Now Satan comes on the scene to disrupt, to collide with and destroy. Make no mistake, a spirit being is more powerful than a human being, so this is an unfair fight right from the start. Let's look at how this unfolds. Here's the first temptation in the wilderness, here in Matthew 4:1-4:

[Jonathan] (29:36 - 30:14) "Then Jesus was led up by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he then became hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread. But he answered and said, It is written, MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD." Jesus quoted from Deuteronomy 8:3, referencing the manna that fed the Israelites in the wilderness. Food is necessary, but it's just as important that we feed on God's word to study and to obey it.

[Julie] (30:15 - 30:32) Here in this first temptation, Satan is scanning for a weakness in Jesus. After all, this is what he's been great at throughout human history! I know what I'm like when I'm really hungry, and it starts pulling away all my focus.

But Jesus isn't compromised at all. It doesn't even seem like he even considers or weighs out this offer.

[Rick] (30:32 - 31:17) Now, he's hungry. It's unequivocal that he's hungry, because the scripture says he's hungry. What mattered is, what do I do with how I feel?

See, Jesus had God's spirit. Here's where the temptation really comes in. He had the power--because he had God's spirit--to miraculously provide sustenance. However, loyalty to God demanded that God provide these things, provide what he needed without the use of miracles. See, for Jesus, that would be easy to know. But for anybody, that would be hard to do.

It's one thing to know something. It's another thing to apply it. Let's now look at another example in relation to this temptation, in relation to this thought; John 4:31-34.

[Jonathan] (31:17 - 31:41) This took place after he had revealed to the Samaritan woman at the well that he was indeed the Messiah: "Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, Rabbi, eat. But he said to them, I have food to eat that you do not know about. So the disciples were saying to one another, No one brought him anything to eat, did he? Jesus said to them, My food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to accomplish His work."

[Rick] (31:41 - 32:21) "My food..." I don't care about anything else. I may be hungry, but you know what?

It's not relevant, because as a man, Jesus learned that God's will was always the primary need that needed to be filled. Nothing else mattered. Again, we can look at this and say, yeah, that's easy to know.

We can acknowledge that. But it's very hard to do! Knowing is one thing.

Doing is another. Let's look now, as we set the context for the next temptation, let's look at the perspective that Satan would have had going into this, what he's looking to accomplish.

[Jonathan] (32:21 - 32:28) The rebellious heart that Satan entices says, "I am defined by my self-appointed importance."

[Rick] (32:28 - 32:42) When he says that, what he's saying is, look, you can stack everything up, but right now, it's me. In our hearts, we can get that little tap on the shoulder that says, "Look, Rick, you are the most important. Don't forget that."

[Julie] (32:42 - 32:44) I, I, I, I, I, I, I ...

[Rick] (32:44 - 32:53) Right, and so we need to be careful of that. Now let's look at Jesus' thought process in response to that self-definition of being so important.

[Julie] (32:53 - 33:21) We're looking at his learned habits of obedience. His highest self-definition was to be humble, godly, and sacrificial. By being tempted, Jesus is able to identify with us sinners. There's an expression to "walk a mile in my shoes," meaning from experience, how I'm feeling. He showed us that temptations can be overcome, and he showed us how to overcome them with humility and decisiveness. You repel the temptation, you don't play with it.

[Rick] (33:21 - 33:31) Exactly! You put it aside. You saw Jesus in that first temptation in regards to sustenance. Now let's look at the second temptation, Matthew 4:5-7:

[Jonathan] (33:32 - 33:55) "Then the devil took him into the holy city and had him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, HE WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS CONCERNING YOU; and ON their HANDS THEY WILL BEAR YOU UP, SO THAT YOU WILL NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE. Jesus said to him, On the other hand, it is written, YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST."

[Julie] (33:55 - 34:12) Did you catch that? "IF you are the son of God??" Oh, Satan knew exactly who Jesus was! This was a scripture battle.

Satan knows scriptures, too. He misquoted Psalm 91:11-12, but Jesus fights back with Deuteronomy 6:6 about not testing God.

[Jonathan] (34:12 - 34:22) Jesus knew it would be wrong to tempt God by selfishly expecting God to save him if he made such a foolish, risky and unnecessary choice.

[Rick] (34:22 - 34:40) Let's think about this, though. Jesus did have the protection of angels. He did not even consider, though, like you said, Jonathan, putting that protection to the test in some grand attention-getting stunt.

Easy to know, hard to do. See, here's what was happening. Satan was trivializing obedience and sacrifice.

[Julie] (34:40 - 34:41) Oh, good point!

[Rick] (34:41 - 35:23) He was looking at this saying, you know what? It's not that important.

Let God take care of you. You know he's going to. The obedience and sacrifice, he was pushing aside, pushing aside, pushing aside, just like with the food. Remember that thought as we move forward. Let's go to another scripture, though, in relation to the second temptation. This context of the scripture is Jesus speaking to his disciples of his coming death when some Greeks had come and said, hey, we want to talk to this man named Jesus. Here's his response to his disciples in John 12:24 and then 26-28. Listen to the emotion that Jesus brings out:

[Jonathan] (35:23 - 35:58) "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit... If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there my servant will be also; if anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. Now my soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, Father, save me from this hour? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name. Then a voice came out of heaven: I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again."

[Rick] (35:59 - 37:13) You saw in that second temptation, Satan basically saying, ah, let God take care of you. Let God take care of you... Let God take care of you... Here, Jesus is head on facing trial and crucifixion. What does he say? My soul is troubled.

I am troubled within me. Why? Because of the weight of the responsibility.

Then he says, but what am I going to do? This is the very reason I came. I'm not complaining about it.

I'm expressing the depth of the responsibility and the pressure. What's his gut reaction? His gut reaction to this is, "Father, glorify Your name." This voice from heaven says, I have and I will. That was giving Jesus that encouragement to say, you can do this. You've got this.

But you're seeing the obedience being put to the test. He understood that to glorify God, he was called to be the sacrificial lamb, needed to take away the sins of the world. It's easy to intellectually know that.

I have to sacrifice my life. It is incredibly hard to actually do it and stay on that straight and narrow path. Now, let's set up what Satan looks for in the third temptation, what he's looking to draw from Jesus.

[Jonathan] (37:13 - 37:21) The rebellious heart that Satan entices says, "My power and authority must be attained by any means."

[Rick] (37:21 - 37:43) What he's saying is, I will do what's necessary to get what I want. He's going to go to Jesus and say, look, do what's necessary to get what you want. He's really going to be pushing Jesus to circumvent the issues that need to be dealt with.

As we know, that's what Satan is looking for. Julie, where is Jesus' heart and mind?

[Julie] (37:44 - 37:52) Well, as opposed to the ends justify my means, Jesus' learned habits of obedience were that his highest loyalty was to God and God only.

[Rick] (37:53 - 38:07) You have this loyalty that says, I serve One. There is no discussion. Like you said, there's no crack.

There is no conversation. There is no thought. There is no take a breath and go, but none.

[Julie] (38:08 - 38:12) Maybe, maybe ...

[Rick] (38:13 - 38:16) There is no maybe...there is no room. All there is, all there is, is godly loyalty.

[Jonathan] (38:17 - 38:46) Let's look at the third temptation in the Matthew 4:18-11: "Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; and he said to him, All these things I will give you, if you fall down and worship me. Then Jesus said to him, Go, Satan! For it is written, YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY. Then the devil left him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to him."

[Julie] (38:46 - 39:15) You can almost see what's happening like a movie. Come on, the two morning stars back together again! Think about what we could do together! Eventually you're going to have all these kingdoms under your feet. Just consider this a shortcut without all that unpleasant suffering and dying that has to go on. Satan is called "the God of this world" in 2 Corinthians 4:4, so control of this all was his to give. The glory of the world is a strong temptation for all of us in one way or another.

[Rick] (39:15 - 40:11) For Jesus especially, because he came to take the world back and Satan says here, I'll give it to you. Just worship me and we're good. You can have it.

Now, obviously that is a misrepresentation, a gross misrepresentation, of what God had sent him to do. What we have to understand is Jesus' answer captures all that he would learn in these next three and a half years. Remember, this is the very beginning of his ministry! He hasn't talked to a single soul yet about what he came to do. Not one. His only conversation has been with this powerful spirit being who's trying to crush him.

Jesus came to do one thing for one purpose, and it can only be done one way. End of statement. He said, Satan, go! Go away. I am done with you! He essentially dismisses the higher, more powerful being and the higher, more powerful being actually listens. Think about that.

[Jonathan] (40:11 - 40:19) With each temptation, Jesus demonstrated one hundred percemt dependence on the Father--and the Father alone.

[Rick] (40:19 - 40:21) Isn't that just absolutely inspiring?

[Julie] (40:22 - 40:35) He never went outside the boundaries. That's what is striking me here. God set up these boundaries for Lucifer, set up the boundaries for Adam. Yet here, Jesus stays within the boundaries, not looking lustfully at that tree of that other fruit.

[Rick] (40:35 - 41:00) Exactly! He doesn't care because the mission of honoring his father is the only thing that matters. Let's now go to Jesus praying in the garden the night before his crucifixion, because that same dedication we can see was shining out here. That one thing that he was doing is still the only thing that he cared about, and that is serving God. Matthew 26:37-39:

[Jonathan] (41:00 - 41:22) "And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and distressed. Then he said to them, My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with me. And he went a little beyond them, and fell on his face and prayed, saying, My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not as I will, but as You will."

[Rick] (41:22 - 41:54) There you have it, not stepping outside the lines. This is heavy. This is, I feel like it's breaking me, but not as I will, just as You will. Being faithful unto the end in every single painful and disheartening detail would yield the sacrifice that would redeem the world. That's what he came to accomplish. For us, that's easy to know, but it's really hard to do. This is the example Jesus set for us. Jonathan, the Power of Learning and the Power of Experience; where are we?

[Jonathan] (41:54 - 42:17) Upon being given God's spirit, Jesus was immediately put to the test. Satan, with his spiritual power and authority, would go at him in his physical weakness to attempt to break his will. Instead, Jesus solidified the fact that his will would only follow God's will.

Through the rest of his ministry, he would fully mature into this faithfulness.

[Rick] (42:17 - 42:38) This is a very remarkable example that we have as we look at him standing for just that one thing, no matter what came before him. The intensity of the battle of wills between Jesus and Satan is palpable. How did Jesus overcome such a powerful spiritual being?

Through God's word.

[Jonathan] (42:38 - 42:46) We know that Jesus' faithfulness would bring the world back from death. How did this "attentive hearkening" to God's will change Jesus?

[Rick] (42:46 - 43:33) Well, we know Jesus was entirely faithful in every single challenge and experience that God had put before him. This resulted in his being elevated to an even higher level than he had been for all those ages before he became a man. Why?

His work would ultimately--now think about this--his work would ultimately vanquish sin, reconcile the ransomed human race, and destroy Satan and all disloyalty to God. It would do all of those things. God recognizes eternal loyalty when he sees it. He sees it and he rewards it, and we see that in Jesus.

Meanwhile, though, meanwhile, what's Satan looking to do here at this point?

[Jonathan] (43:33 - 43:41) The rebellious heart that Satan entices says, "Give the people what will serve my power and my authority."

[Rick] (43:41 - 44:07) He doesn't stop. He doesn't pause. He doesn't consider.

He stays on it, and especially with Jesus. Jesus was his greatest, greatest, greatest challenge, in which he failed miserably, incidentally. Thank God for his obedience.

But, you see the intensity with which he just keeps coming after Jesus. Meanwhile, when we look at it, Jesus's approach to Satan talking about serving his power and his authority--Julie, what was that?

[Julie] (44:08 - 44:30) Jesus' learned habits of obedience says that his highest objective was serving others while honoring God. That "while honoring God" part is really important because Jesus served others without spiritual pride or resentment, or looking down on those he served. Because you can have that goal, that objective, but if you're not honoring God, it's useless.

[Rick] (44:30 - 44:53) Always has to be exactly in line. Because of his obedience, God gave him this opportunity by appointing him to be the high priest of a spiritual priesthood to serve all of humanity in bringing them back to God. Now we're going to fast forward to what God is doing behind the scenes in relation to Jesus's faithfulness, his obedience. Let's look at Hebrews 5:5-7:

[Jonathan] (44:53 - 45:22) "So also Christ did not glorify himself so as to become a high priest, but He who said to him, YOU ARE MY SON, TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU; just as He says also in another passage, YOU ARE A PRIEST FOREVER ACCORDING TO THE ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK. In the days of his flesh, he offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save him from death (meaning out of death by resurrection), and he was heard because of his piety."

[Julie] (45:22 - 45:42) You can easily see the comparison. Lucifer says in his heart, I will be like the Most High. Jesus, on the other hand, waits for God Himself to elevate him to a position of this eternal high priest with "under priests," his faithful followers. He waits for God to elevate him and would have accepted any position that God offered him.

[Rick] (45:43 - 46:37) Absolutely. God sets it up. What does Jesus do? He accepts it. He will accept it because he's eternally loyal, and he will work it and work with it and work through it. As with the Old Testament priesthood, this royal priesthood, like you said, Jesus as the high priest and the underpriests, if you will, will accept the offerings of the people that they bring before God.

They will teach, they will intercede, and they will bring the people God's blessings as well. This is all in the next age. That's what all of this is set up for.

Jesus' faithfulness, his obedience, put that process in place. It wasn't because God is looking and saying, I have nobody to do this; okay, I guess I'll choose Jesus. He's the one because he proved his loyalty by doing things beyond what anybody could have expected. That's the level of loyalty we're talking about. But again, let's go back to what Satan is trying to accomplish.

Jonathan?

[Jonathan] (46:37 - 46:47) The rebellious heart that Satan entices says, "Take the authority given to me and amplify it. Amplify it beyond its permissible guidelines."

[Rick] (46:47 - 47:04) Beyond its permission. See, that's the problem. The problem always is beyond its permission in terms of godliness.

Contrast that with Jesus in terms of looking at take the authority and amplify it. What does Jesus say? What does Jesus do, Julie?

[Julie] (47:04 - 47:12) Well, his learned habits of obedience says his highest method was to humbly maximize God's glory through submission.

[Rick] (47:12 - 47:21) You can't get more opposite! Therefore, you can't get more faithful than Jesus. Now let's look at Hebrews 5:8-9.

[Jonathan] (47:21 - 47:35) And this is our theme text: "Although he was a son, he learned obedience (that's that "attentive hearkening" word) from the things which he suffered. And having been made perfect, he became to all those who obey him the source of eternal salvation."

[Julie] (47:36 - 48:05) Adam was created sinless, but he didn't have moral perfection. He didn't have the maturity that comes with experience. His disobedience was voluntary. When we ask, "Why did Jesus need to learn obedience?" it wasn't in a sense that he didn't know what obedience was. I have a quote from Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible; It says: “He was willing to “test” the power of obedience in sufferings; to become personally and practically acquainted with the nature of such obedience in the midst of protracted woes.”

[Jonathan] (48:05 - 48:17) Jesus was already fully obedient to the Father under favorable conditions when he was the Logos in heaven. Now he learned what it meant to be obedient under the most adverse conditions.

[Rick] (48:17 - 48:59) It says "having been made perfect," having been made complete. That was the completion, the maturity that was necessary for God to be able to say you have done exactly, precisely what I needed you to do, and now I have your next task. It's an entirely different kind of task. There is no pain, there is no suffering here that's coming.

Jesus' example in victory brings his followers--brings his footstep followers, those of us who are his disciples--the hope of being true overcomers. For us, we are imperfect. We're going to keep falling every single day, but there's incredible hope in his incredible overcoming actions.

Hebrews 4:14-16:

[Jonathan] (48:59 - 49:24) "Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

[Julie] (49:24 - 49:41) We're given what we need and every opportunity. His example for us is we can still remain obedient, even in the most difficult times. Based on what he went through, is there any doubt that he can feel our sorrows, our loneliness, our mental and physical pain? He went through it.

[Rick] (49:42 - 50:39) He did. There is such comfort in that because we are broken. Face the facts.

We are broken. When we can see that, and then we can go with confidence to the throne of grace because we know he knows what we feel, that's where the confidence comes. You don't get the healing --you don't get the spiritual healing, the spirits of guidance and direction to deal with the trials of your life--unless you go to that throne of grace so we may receive mercy and find grace to help in every time of need. It is a beautiful, beautiful picture for us to follow.

It's an example. It actually happened. Therefore, I can walk more clearly, more firmly, more directly.

As imperfect followers of Jesus, our responsibility is to actively deny ourselves as he denied himself. Let's look at 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, and we're going to find that "attentive hearkening" popping up again in this text:

[Jonathan] (50:39 - 51:00) "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience ("attentive hearkening") of Christ."

[Rick] (51:00 - 51:44) Now notice the difference. We take "every thought captive to the obedience of Christ." Christ's obedience was to God.

Why are we obeying Christ? Because there's a hierarchy here. He is the head.

We are the body. The body has to listen to the head. The head tells you, here's how you act.

You can see that because he was faithful, because he was obedient, we can follow his directions for us with this incredible confidence. Because of his learning and applying this obedience, he fulfilled the precise requirements of God's justice. His reward would be remarkable! Let's take a glimpse at it in Hebrews 10:10-12:

[Jonathan] (51:45 - 52:05) "By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but he, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD."

[Rick] (52:05 - 52:49) He sat down at God's right hand. There is no place of greater power, greater honor, and greater authority than at the right hand of the living God! That's where he ends up. Now, what happens with all that Satan has been trying to do?

JONATHAN:

The rebellious heart that Satan entices conclusion: Its end result is destruction as an enemy of righteousness. RICK:

It can't survive. It is terminal because unrighteousness has no place in God's plan.

Meanwhile, contrasted with that, what do we see in terms of the end result for Jesus?

[Julie] (52:50 - 53:23) His learned habits of obedience has an end result, and it's being rewarded to a level most like the Most High, as close as you can get on God's right hand. By God's grace and glory, here's the irony; Jesus earned what Lucifer tried to take.

He tried <Editor's note: received> what Lucifer desired. This is really the cautionary tale of two brilliant, glorious morning stars. One will end in permanent destruction, and the other is described by God as "in whom I am well pleased," because of his complete and fully-tested loyalty.

[Rick] (53:24 - 53:35) Obedience is everything, and Jesus is the primary example for all of eternity to show us that. Let's take a prophetic look at this quickly in Psalms 2:6-9:

[Jonathan] (54:06 - 54:09) "But as for me, I have installed my king upon Zion, my holy mountain. I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to me, You are My son, Today I have begotten you. Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as your inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron, you shall shatter them like earthenware." Why is that good when it sounds harsh? Because Jesus will take down these kingdoms to build up God's kingdom. Jesus earned the right to do it!

[Rick] (54:09 - 54:36) That's the precursor to the Day of Judgement. Like it says in Daniel, these kingdoms will be crushed by the kingdom of God, and all will be good, because the resurrection will be a resurrection to righteousness, to reconciliation. That's what the plan is. That's what Jesus' obedience brought to every single human being, that opportunity.

The Apostle Paul sums up the praiseworthy power of Jesus' learned obedience. Our final scripture is Philippians 2:8-11:

[Jonathan] (55:03 - 55:09) "Being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted him, and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

[Rick] (55:10 - 55:31) You notice how great the position of Jesus is and what's the last words of that verse? "To the glory of God the Father." What has been Jesus' only objective from the beginning of his existence throughout eternity? "The glory of God the Father." You see, obedience brings glory to God the Father. Just ask Jesus. Just follow his example.

Jonathan, let's wrap this up. The Power of Learning and the Power of Experience:

[Jonathan] (55:32 - 55:58) Jesus is the example for the ages of one who was always loyal to God. He willingly emptied himself of his previous heavenly position to learn obedience on an entirely new and lower level of creation. Because of his learning and his profound overcoming, he has set in motion the full destruction of all evil influences as we will look forward to God's promised kingdom for all humanity.

[Rick] (55:58 - 56:38) Jesus, when he taught us to pray, taught us to pray "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." You know why we can pray that? You know why that's going to come true?

Because Jesus learned obedience by the things that he suffered, by the things that he experienced, so he could justly put away Satan, put away death and destruction, and put God's kingdom exactly where God originally planned it to be. That is the obedience of Jesus. Think about it.

Folks, we love hearing from our listeners. We welcome your feedback and questions on this episode and other episodes at ChristianQuestions.com. Coming up in our next episode: "What Defines Moral Behavior?"

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