Hebrews 5:7

Hebrews 5:7

What a sacrifice!

It seems that the context of this verse is the sufferings of Jesus whilst He was here on earth. His pleas to His Father in the Garden of Gethsemane and at Calvary are recorded so that we might have some insight into the agonies He endured. These cries were, of course, very public and thus the Gospel writers could record them, but we know that the Lord Jesus also spent many hours in private, solitary prayer to His Father, often at night! However, the heart of this verse informs us that He pleaded with the “One who could save Him from death.”   In other words, Jesus knew that His Father had the authority and power to save Him from His terrible fate, God could still intervene and halt the events that led to the crucifixion of His Son. Why did He do nothing? Because of His love for us! Notice that the “fervent cries” of our Lord were accompanied with tears. Were these the result of the physical pain and torture or even the effects of the dreadful prospect of death? No, it seems that what cost Yeshua most was being separated from God His Father and being completely deserted and disowned by the human race. It was the sins of men that hurt Him so deeply, even the rejection of His closest friends and allies and then, and then, it seemed that heaven deserted Him too! 

No man has ever suffered such desolate loneliness as Jesus did when He bore the punishment of every man and woman’s sin, we cannot begin to imagine His isolation and aloneness in those hours of death. The truth is, Jesus did this for us all, no heart ever beat with a greater love for mankind than His love. But He had one other motivation, that was to honour God His Father. He submitted wholeheartedly and reverently to the Father’s will, in ways that no man has done, before or since. That is why He cried out “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?”Matthew 27:46. If we need a deeper insight into the cost of the sufferings of Jesus, I suggest setting time aside to read Psalm 22. 

We must not overlook the final words of the verse, “He was heard because of His reverent submission.” In other words, because Jesus threw Himself helplessly at His Father’s feet in the midst of His anguish and pain, because He persisted with His suffering without fighting it, without complaint and without resistance, He was heard! How do we know He was heard? God raised Him from the dead! Hallelujah!

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