And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, (Hebrews 5:9)
This is one of those verses it is easier not to think about. When you do think about it, it raises some not-so-easy questions.
If Jesus was God, then why would he need to be “made” perfect?
What perfection was he lacking?
How would it be accomplished?
Jesus is the Son. The author of Hebrews makes this clear in verse 8 when he says, “Although he was a son”. So the scripture says Jesus was already the Son, but . . . but what?
Although he was a son, he learned obedience…
Here is the answer to our first two questions. What perfection was he lacking? He had to learn obedience. This doesn’t mean he was disobedient before this. Remember, verse 7 tells us this is happening “In the days of his flesh”, so we’re looking at Jesus’ earthly life as a man. During this life, he learned what it is to obey God as a man.
Jesus is eternally perfect as the Son of God, but . . . during the “days of his flesh” he became perfect as a man also. He learned to obey as a human.
How? How did Jesus learn obedience? The rest of verse 8 tells us.
Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered.
Jesus learned how to obey, as a man, in the midst of suffering, trial, and temptation. Obedience is easy when life is easy. When you tell your child to eat their desert, obedience is easy for them. When you tell them to eat a vegetable they don’t like, obedience becomes much more difficult. Jesus learned to obey even when it wasn’t easy, even when it meant great suffering, physical pain, rejection, and separation.
How did Jesus do this? How did he learn perfect obedience where we so often fail? Verse 7 offers us some insight.
In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. (Hebrews 5:7)
Jesus prayed . . . a LOT. If you read the gospel accounts of Jesus’ life, you’ll notice that he spends a lot of time in private prayer. And this text tells us that “he was heard”. I think that means that God answered his prayers. And since the context tells us of Jesus obedience, I think Jesus was praying and asking God for perseverance, for the stamina and will to obey. If God heard his prayers and the context is that he did obey, then it stands to reason, that was his prayer.
We were once disobedient, rebellious children (Titus 3:3) ourselves. This is why Jesus had to learn perfect obedience for us. That’s what verse 9 says. After telling us, in verse 8, that through his suffering, he learned obedience, scripture says
And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him . . . (Hebrews 5:9)
This is the glory of the gospel, Jesus’ perfectly obedient life exchanged for our foolish, disobedient lives. He is the source of our salvation, eternally! And it is more even than just an exchange. It is a union. When we exercise the obedience of faith (Romans 16:26), we are united with Christ so that he lives in and through us. In Christ, we become sons of God. And by resting in the finished work of Christ, as he lives through us, we too learn obedience and are made perfect.
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