Redeeming Obedience

“‘Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?’” “Jesus said, ‘It is finished.’ With that he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” John 19:30.

Another characteristic of a servant’s mind is obedience. In Judges 7 God instructed Gideon to decrease his army from 30,000 to 300 when attacking the Midianites. God stated His reason: ‘In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength saved her.’ God was so aware that this would strike fear in the heart of His servant, He encouraged Gideon to go down to the camp prior to the attack and listen to the ‘buzz’. God provided both encouragement and confirmation for Gideon through this manner. The non-Israelites confirmed that through a dream they knew that Gideon was going to attack them and be victorious.

There have been many faithful and obedient servants over the span of centuries which advanced God’s work but the Champion of servants through His obedience was Jesus Christ. The obedience of Christ spanned His life from boyhood to Savior as highlighted in our verses this morning. His obedience was consistently displayed to the point of death. John 19:30 states that He bowed His head and gave up His spirit. ‘This phrase was an unusual way of describing death, perhaps suggesting an act of will’ (or obedience). NIV Study Bible, p. 1663.

My Believer’s Bible Commentary states that the work His Father had given him to do was obeyed, followed through and complete. His work was the pouring out of His soul as an offering for sin! ‘Some Bible scholars tell us that bowing His head may mean that He leaned His head backward, the deliberate putting of His head into a position of rest. That He gave up His spirit emphasized the fact that His death was voluntary. He determined the time of His death. In full control of His faculties, He dismissed His spirit.’ P. 1565. His obedience was daily walked from boyhood to death. Thank God for the obedience of Christ as it relates to our salvation and daily provisions from Him.

Our obedience to what God calls us should never be considered in relation to our comfort levels. Most times, we will be called to something greater than our own abilities to bear witness that it was not ‘our own strength that saved us.’