By faith Jesus … ?

Having finished working through Hebrews chapter 11 and stories of the faith of the Old Testament saints, and then recognizing them at the start of chapter 12 as our surrounding host that witness to us the life of faith and the faithfulness of God through good and bad times alike, 12:2 turns our attention back to Jesus Christ, the Son and High Priest that is the focus of this great letter. But verse two is surprising to me and maybe to you as well. Certainly the author is helping us to see Jesus as the focus of our faith and the inspiration for our endurance, but he also shows Him to be the supreme example of an enduring faith. Jesus had faith? Why did He need it? He is the eternal Son of God! God and His glory and faithfulness and holiness were all experienced fact to the Second Person of the Trinity. Surely all God’s plans and purposes were clear as day to Christ. I’m confused! He didn’t need faith; only us frail humans need … oooooh, I think I get it.

Yeah, we just too often forget the true humanity of Jesus Christ — the full reality of the incarnation. Hebrews is a great book to remind us of this full reality. Using Psalm 8 as a baseline text, the author tells us in chapter 2 that this great Son of God exalted in chapter 1 was made into man for a short period and caused to suffer (2:6-10). Jesus called us humans His brothers and sisters (2:11-12). He shared in all the things that come with being flesh and blood (2:14). He was made like us in every way (2:17). All of this Jesus took on in accordance with the Father’s plan so that He could become our Substitute on that cross, our great High Priest who understands our weaknesses and can help us (2:17-18). He was tested in every way, just like us, yet without sin and therefore able to empathize with us (4:14-16). And this is the kind of High Priest we need: one that has the same experience as us, but is holy, innocent, undefiled, separate from sin and exalted above the heavens (7:26).

But maybe you’re still hung up on the “faith” thing because you think that there was no way with Jesus’ eternal background that he could have ever doubted God — you don’t have to believe in something you know is a fact. But that’s not just a misunderstanding of the reality of Christ’s human nature, it is a misunderstanding of what faith is. The lessons of chapter 11 are clear, faith is seeing the unseen — it is essentially orienting your life toward a God-revealed knowledge that goes beyond the 5 senses (11:1-3). But it’s not just giving assent to certain truths, but acting upon this knowledge with hope of reward. And it’s enduring any earthly, temporal circumstances because you know there are better heavenly, eternal circumstances to come.

So consider Jesus’ faith in action. He prayed regularly and passionately in reliance on His Father (5:7; also see Mark 1:35; Luke 22:39-46). He relied on the Holy Spirit to guide Him and empower Him (Luke 4:1, 14, 18). Jesus learned obedience to God through suffering (Hebrews 5:8) and dedicated Himself to doing the will of the Father (John 6:38; 17:4). Jesus endured with this faith all the way to death. All of this matches what we who follow Christ are to do in our lives of faith. Therefore, Jesus is our great example even for faith. Jesus is present in this great cloud of witnesses to the glory and faithfulness of God made up of both Old and New Testament believers, but He is also the one who brings this great cloud together by His high priestly ministry and who is the Author and Perfecter of the faith of each member. Kind of a paradox going on there, but nobody ever said understanding the divine and human natures of Christ was easy.

But it’s just so helpful to take it as it is. Jesus was able to look ahead through the pain of the cross and see the joy of the fellowship restored between God and man and His own exaltation to His proper seat at God’s right hand as ruler over all. Developing a consistent “look ahead” mindset smooths out all the roughness of the painful moments of life and helps us see the race course markings (see 12:1) so we know where to run when our strength is failing. I remember having to figure out some major failures and sufferings in my past and there were some times in trying to navigate those where I let my fear take over my faith and everything came to a standstill. Thankfully, God didn’t leave me idling on the shoulder, but faithfully boosted my faith and told me where to go. Much of that came about because I had had faithful men and women train me well in the promises of God and so my hope was never too far from my mind even in the difficulties.

I love my faith in Christ and I recognize the grand, eternal (AND here-and-now) benefits that I receive from it. But I also love the faith of Christ that has shown me the proper attitude and motivation for endurance.

Keep on learning with me from the Master, dear friends.