Hebrews: The Son Learned Obedience
Hebrews 5:7-10; Matthew 26:36-45 - Once in Christ, in Christ forever!
“In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety. Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation, being designated by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.”
Hebrews 5:7-10 NASB1995
Jesus prayed constantly during His earthly life. He was always retreating somewhere to pray to His Father. He also shed tears at the tomb of Lazarus, and also when thinking about the lost sheep of Jerusalem and that city’s fate in the near future. But His prayers became most urgent and tearful when He prayed in the Garden the night before the crucifixion. He asked that the cup of His dreadful trial be taken from Him, but He learned about obedience throughout His life and especially in those last hours. He knew what He had to do. That obedience was another way that He was perfect.
Enduring Word has excellent commentary on verses 7 through 8:
Who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.
a. When He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears: The agony of Jesus in the Garden of Gesthemane (Matthew 26:36-39, Luke 22:44) proved He struggled with the difficulty of obedience, yet He obeyed perfectly.
i. These prayers were “Most ardent requests, uttered with deep sighs, hands lifted up, and manifold moans, in a most submissive manner.” (Trapp)
ii. This answers the question, “How can this glorious, enthroned Jesus know what I am going through down here?” He knows; obedience did not always come easy for Jesus.
b. Prayers and supplications: The ancient Greek word for supplications is hiketeria. This word means “an olive branch wrapped in wool” (Clarke) because that is what the ancient Greek worshipper held and waved to express their desperate prayer and desire. Significantly, this supplication of Jesus took place in a garden of olives – and He supplied the “wool,” being the Lamb of God.
c. And was heard because of His godly fear: Jesus asked that the cup be taken away from Him (Luke 22:42), yet the cup was not taken away. Nevertheless, His prayer was heard because His prayer was not to escape His Father’s will, but to accept it – and that prayer was definitely heard.
d. He learned obedience by the things which He suffered: Though Jesus was God and is God, yet He learned obedience. God, enthroned in heaven’s glory, can only experience obedience by casting off the glory of the throne and humbling Himself as Jesus did.
i. Jesus did not pass from disobedience to obedience. He learned obedience by actually obeying. Jesus did not learn how to obey; He learned what is involved in obedience. Jesus learned the experience of obedience, and part of that learning was enduring suffering.
ii. One thing that God, enthroned in heaven does not know is the experience of obedience. Enthroned in the heavens, God obeys no one – all obey Him. The angels must have marveled as they saw God the Son, who added humanity to His deity, actually live out obedience.
· He obeyed in the spectacular challenges.
· He obeyed in ordinary life.
· He obeyed as a child, as a teen, as a young man.
· He obeyed privately and He obeyed secretly.
· He obeyed God His Father, and He obeyed rightful human authority.
· Jesus obeyed in all things, even to the end.
iii. “Obedience is a trade to which a man must be apprenticed until he has learned it, for it is not to be known in any other way. Even our blessed Lord could not have fully learned obedience by the observation in others of such an obedience as he had personally to render, for there was no one from whom he could thus learn.” (Spurgeon)
e. He learned obedience by things which He suffered: Suffering was used to teach Jesus. If suffering was good enough to teach the Son of God, we must never despise it as a tool of instruction in our life.
i. Some say that we might learn through suffering; but such lessons are only God’s second best and God really intends for us to learn only by His word, and it is never His real plan to teach us through trials and suffering. But Jesus was never in the Father’s second best.
ii. The Bible never teaches that strong faith will keep a Christian from all suffering. Christians are appointed to affliction (1 Thessalonians 3:3). It is through many tribulations we enter the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22). Our present suffering is the prelude to glorification (Romans 8:17).
This commentary references the agony of Christ in Gethsemane as documented in Matthew 26 and Luke 22. Although our perfect Lord struggled, he knew that obedience was the only path for our salvation. He did ask three times for the cup to pass from Him, but the answer was not His release but in our redemption.
I have often wondered about that horrible agony that our dear Lord had to suffer. It makes me so sad to know that this was the only way to redeem miserable, fallen humans and yet so many miserable, ignorant, fallen humans refuse to see the path to their salvation. Instead, they laugh and mock Him like the crowds at His trial and crucifixion. But He still loves them (and us). WOW… His perfect obedience means everything to the believer and so does our obedience.
Here’s the passage from Matthew 26:
“Then Jesus *came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and *said to His disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and distressed. Then He *said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.” And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.” And He *came to the disciples and *found them sleeping, and *said to Peter, “So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, Your will be done.” Again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. And He left them again, and went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more. Then He *came to the disciples and *said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.”
Matthew 26:36-45 NASB1995
So how is it that the perfect Savior can be “made perfect” through His obedience and become the source of eternal salvation to those who obey Him? This explanation from the late John MacArthur, found in Precept Austin, is good:
In His suffering and death, Jesus fulfilled the third requirement for high priest. He offered the sacrifice of Himself and thereby became the perfect High Priest and the source of eternal salvation. Jesus went through everything He had to go through, and accomplished all He needed to, so He could be such a perfect High Priest. He was not, of course, made perfect in the sense of having His nature improved. He was eternally perfect in righteousness, holiness, wisdom, knowledge, truth, power, and in every other virtue and capability. Neither His nature nor His person changed. He became perfect in the sense that He completed His qualification course for becoming the eternal High Priest.
In offering His sacrifice, however, Jesus differed in two very important ways from other high priests. First, He did not have to make a sacrifice for Himself before He could offer it for others. Second, His sacrifice was once-and-for-all. It did not have to be repeated every day, or even every year or every century....By His death, Jesus opened the way of eternal salvation. All the priests of all time could not provide eternal salvation. They could only provide momentary forgiveness. But by one act, one offering, one sacrifice, Jesus Christ perfected forever those who are His. The perfect High Priest makes perfect those who accept His perfect sacrifice, those who obey Him (See Hebrews Commentary).
What more can be said, other than to share a splendid commentary from Charles Spurgeon, as found on Precept Austin:
A perfected Saviour presents all believers with a perfect and everlasting salvation. He was always perfect in character, but his sorrowful life below gave him a complete qualification for the office of Saviour, which nothing else could have obtained. Who would not obey a Master who has undergone all kinds of sorrow that he may be able to sympathise with his servants? Who would not possess a salvation won for us by such condescending love.?
But mark, not to one more. No soul that refuses to obey Christ shall have any part or lot in this matter.
“Being made perfect.” “What,” says one, “did Christ need to be made perfect?” Not in his nature, for he was always perfect in both his divine and his human nature; but perfect as a Savior, perfect as a Sympathizer,-above all, according to the connection, perfect as a High Priest. “Being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him.” Christ will not save those who refuse to obey him, those who will not believe in him; there must be an obedient faith rendered unto him, or else the virtue of his passion and death cannot come to us.
That is, perfect in his obedience, perfect as a sacrifice, perfect as the Mediator and Substitute for his people, —
Brethren, what a grand expression that is, “eternal salvation”! You know that there are some who preach a temporary salvation; they say that you may be in Christ today and out of Christ tomorrow, that you may be saved by grace at one hour, but damned by sin the next. Ah! but the Bible says no such thing. This may be the gospel according to Arminius, but it is not the gospel according to John, nor according to Paul, nor according to our Lord Jesus Christ. That gospel is, —
Once in Christ, in Christ for ever;
Nothing from his love can severChrist became the author of “eternal salvation,” and the word “eternal” must mean without end; so that, if we once receive the salvation which Christ has wrought out, we are saved in time, and shall be saved throughout all eternity. Christ is the Author of this eternal salvation; not our good works, though our faith and our works become the evidences of our having received this eternal salvation.
Boy, that man could preach! When we meet up with the faithful departed in the next life, I would like to meet Charles Spurgeon and C.S. Lewis, among others. Of course, we are in eternity with our Saviour, but we also have eternity for the great banquet of the fellowship of Christ.
My next devotional examines Hebrews 5:11-14 - Their senses have grown dull and they are fed like infants the Word of God.
Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:
Dear Lord - Tribulations lead us to greater obedience. I have had a few tribulations in life, but not nearly as many as so many other saints, because I have been blessed so much by You. I ask for Your guidance in my latest concern for the surgery coming up soon that will hopefully restore some of the vision in my left eye. Amen.
Credits and Citations:
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.Lockman.org
Precept Austin was accessed on 11/19/2025 to review commentary for Hebrews 5:7-10.
Commentary from Enduring Word by David Guzik is used with written permission. ©1996-present The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik – enduringword.com
Within the Enduring Word Commentary:
Clarke, Adam The New Testament with A Commentary and Critical Notes, Volume II (New York: Eaton & Mains, 1831)
Spurgeon, Charles Haddon The New Park Street Pulpit, Volumes 1-6and The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Volumes 7-63 (Pasadena, Texas: Pilgrim Publications, 1990)
Trapp, John A Commentary on the Old and New Testaments, Volume Five(Eureka, California: Tanski Publications, 1997)