Many words can be used to describe Jesus--loving, forgiving, compassionate, merciful--just to name a few. One word that is not often used is obedient. Perhaps we, at times, forget that Jesus was at all times perfectly obedient to God and God's will for him. As we read the account of Jesus' betrayal, trial, and crucifixion, the extent of Jesus' obedience to God becomes obvious.
Throughout the story of His passion, there are multiple places in which Jesus could have used His divine powers to save himself. He even says he could call down legions of angels to protect him. He knows what is going to happen. He is painfully aware of what God's plan is, and God's plan comes at the price of Jesus' life. We are also able to see just how human Jesus is, as he pleads with God for some other way to accomplish God's plan. Through all of this, though, Jesus remains completely obedient to God; obedient to the point of being brutally flogged and nailed to a cross!
Although Jesus' obedience came with a steep price, it also came with great rewards. In His obedience, Jesus also gained His freedom. The glorious part of Jesus' passion is that the cross is does not have the final word! Jesus gets the final word as He walks out of the tomb on Resurrection Morning! In His resurrection, Jesus found perfect freedom. That freedom is promised to each of us. As we we are obedient to God, so do we find the freedom to live and be as God would have. To close out Matthew, here is my question: What in our lives do we need to sacrifice upon the cross so that we might be obedient to God and live in the freedom God gives us?
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