An Exemplary Standard

04.29.09

J.A. Matteson

"Consider Him who has endured such hostility…that you will not grow weary and lose heart." Hebrews 12:3

The Lord Jesus Christ is the quintessential example of perfect single-minded devotion to God. The Lord began and concluded His earthly ministry displaying an unshakable resolve to faithfully discharge His Father’s will, irrespective of how men interpreted it; an inner awareness of absolute devotion to His Father existed from the earliest years, “Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father's house?” (Lk. 2:49). This compulsion towards obedience defined the Lord’s life and finds resemblance in the circumcised heart, inclining it toward the faithful discharge of the saving truth entrusted to it, “For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel” (1 Cor. 9:16).

The Lord Jesus Christ serves not only as a perfect model for obedience, but also as an exemplary standard of endurance in the midst of suffering—the result of obedience—and to this end the faith of the saints of old serve as an encouragement. Along the pilgrim’s path unexpected dangers lurk and their intended end is to divert the pilgrims devotion away from the Savior and Calvary, tempting him to concentrate upon temporal concerns, the utmost of which is to preserve personal autonomy while serving his Master, to which the Lord warns, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me” (Matt. 16:24). The Apostle daily mortified the flesh with its vigorous tendency towards self-determination exclaiming, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me” (Gal. 2:20).

The Lord encountered overt hostility to His Gospel, enduring all things for the joy set before Him, so too the pilgrim is called to endure while maintaining an eternal perspective. As the Son of Man the Lord Jesus Christ experienced humanity completely, if this were not so He could not qualify as the pilgrim’s high priestly intercessor. He was misunderstood in His speech and reviled, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’ The Jews then said, ‘It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” (Jn. 2:19-20); He was ridiculed for His stated identity, “In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. "He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself” (Mk. 15:31); He was vilified regarding the perceived source of His empowerment, “He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons" (Matt. 9:34); He was mocked, beaten, bled, and died in response to His unwavering convictions, “…after having Jesus scourged, he handed Him over to be crucified” (Matt. 27:26).

In spite of ill treatment the Lord was never demoralized, discouraged, distracted, doubtful, scared, concerned, bitter, envious, inclined to outbursts of anger, cynical, pessimistic, disparaging, or in any other way unsettled within, for these things depict the fallen depraved nature of man. In the midst of the storm the Lamb of God knew nothing but perfect obedience and peace. It is this disposition that the Spirit steadily produces in the hearts of the saints so that they “not grow weary and lose heart.” Let the saints of old serve to encourage you as you sojourn, for they like you were mortal men who, gazing into the future looked intently for a better city, whose foundation and walls are not made by human hands. And knowing that God was for them they remained undaunted in their mission of mercy to proclaim the excellencies of Him who calls and sanctifies in order that men might escape the coming wrath of the Lamb. The impetus of obedience is love, and the fruit of love is endurance, “…love… bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails” (1 Cor. 13:7-8). And love comes full circle in that the object of the pilgrims love is Jesus Christ the Son of God, who is love. Perfect loves casts our fear in the face of violent hostility to the messenger and his message; therefore, let the pilgrim be fully persuaded of the Lord’s immutable love for him. And let him not entertain the false conclusion that opposition signals defeat, “What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Rom. 8:31).

Let him recognize, rather, that terse opposition indicates the Lord is taking enemy ground and that he may confidently stand firm in the administration of the Gospel to which he has been called.

Copyright 2009 Immutable Word Ministries ("...the word of our God stands forever." Isaiah 40:8)