JESUS, OUR SUPERIOR LEADER
In this first week of prayer and fasting the scriptures that we are reading speak of Jesus and who he is to humanity, to the angels, and to God. Hebrews 1:3 says this, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.” This scripture tells me that the same Son, who is Jesus, that died for me and was thinking of who I would be one day as he was nailed to a bloody cross, is the same Son who sits at the right hand of the father and is an exact replica of God. This scripture gives me hope, because I know that if he’s the God of the universe and he still has time for me, and all of humanity, then we must be pretty special to him.
Jesus is God incarnate, but he is also like us. Why? Why would Jesus, who is God in human form, become like us? It sounds like He took a major step downwards from being God to being human, and that’s because it is. This is something called Sacrifice, Jesus became like us so we could be like him. Jesus paid the price to save our souls because we couldn’t do it ourselves.
Chapter 2 of Hebrews explains Jesus’ sacrifice, and it can be summarized like this.
He was made lower than the angels, even though they worshipped him.
He tasted death for everyone, even though he is the immortal God.
He suffered for us, even though he is the omnipotent Savior.
He calls us brothers, even though he is the Creator of us all.
He shared our humanity, even though he is the unlimited, perfect Spirit.
Why did he sacrifice this for us?
So that he could be merciful to us in our humanity.
So that he could empathize with our temptations.
So that he could deliver us from our sufferings.
I encourage you to continue praying and fasting throughout these 21 days and to remember that Jesus is the superior leader of all of creation, but he also thinks of us every moment of every day of our lives. Doesn’t it give you encouragement to know that the God of all creation is in your heart and lives with you day by day? This is why salvation is important because without him in our hearts, we can not save ourselves from sin or the evil this world has to offer. Our Jesus, who is greater than men, greater than the prophets, greater than Moses, (3:3) greater than the angels, who is the God, cares about you and as he was being nailed to a cross, he was thinking of you. Since we have such a great God who would do that for us, let’s remember to help each other. We are all children of God and we are all servants to our superior leader who is Jesus.
This last scripture is one to remember and live by when it comes to helping one another, and holding your brothers and sisters accountable.
Hebrews 3:12-14 (NIV)
“12 See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. 14 We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end.”
Jesus, our superior leader, became like us so that we could be like him.
- Jared