"Though He [Jesus] were a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered."
Hebrews 5:8
“Though He [Jesus] were a Son.”
There may be people who believe that because Jesus is the Son of God, that He led a charmed life with never any problems, at least nothing that He could not handle because He is God. We need to understand that Jesus had all of the same weaknesses of the flesh that we do, minus the sin nature (Philippians 2:6-8). He came to earth to die for us and to become our great High Priest. But before this could be, the child Jesus needed to grow and mature.
“His training for the priesthood involved suffering, even though He was a son”[1] (Vincent).
“… his position as a son did not exempt him from the obligation to godly fear, which is true as a fact… but is not the point of emphasis here”[2] (Vincent).
“Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto Him that was able to save Him from death, and was heard in that He feared” (Hebrews 5:7).
The humanity of Jesus Christ.
Even though Jesus is God in human flesh, His physical growth and his developmental experience was an essential part of his humanity.
“And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon Him” (Luke 2:40).
“And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52).
These verses show us the Jesus Christ grew mentally, physically, spiritually, and socially. The same ways that children today need to grow.
“Yet learned He obedience.”
This thought may seem strange to us as sinful beings. Because we are sinful, we have to learn obedience from the standpoint of being a sinner, who is willfully disobedient.
“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” (Guzik).
Jesus learned His obedience not from His Sonship, but through His sufferings (see JFB).
“As the Son, He was always obedient to the Father’s will; but the special obedience needed to qualify Him as our High Priest, He learned experimentally in practical suffering”[3] (JFB).
When we think of all that obedience involves, we compare it to our disobedience. As lost sinners, we lived in rebellion to God. Only as we have trusted Him for salvation, we can now experience obedience, both in our will and actions.
“By the things which He suffered.”
Jesus’ suffering matured Him.
“For it became Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings” (Hebrews 2:10).
Since God’s Son learned obedience through the things that He suffered, we know that when God brings suffering into our lives, we should never despise it, or faint from it (Hebrews 12:5), but welcome it. He is there to help us grow. There are lessons that God is teaching us through our suffering.
[1] M.R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament, the electronic version in eSword.
[2] Vincent, ibid.
[3] Jamison, Fausset, and Brown. Jamison-Fausset-Brown’s Commentary, the electronic version in eSword.