Ouch that hurts




I’d be the first to say—I don’t like pain.  My mother prided herself in saying she had a high pain tolerance—not me!  If I’m in pain, I need CTV news contacted—to get Canada praying for my hang-nail.  Pain to me, is not helpful—it serves no particular purpose—even if I am told differently.

Imagine my distaste and unbelief at this statement:

Hebrews 2:10
“10 And it was only right that God--who made everything and for whom everything was made--should bring his many children into glory. Through the suffering of Jesus, God made him a perfect leader, one fit to bring them into their salvation.” (NLT)


Hebrews 2:10
“10 For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.” (NKJV)

Yikes!
Note the correlation between pain and leadership.  Jesus was made “perfect through suffering.”  More specifically he was made the captain of salvation (the perfect leader) through suffering.

Perfect:
This means:  to overcome or supplant an imperfect state of things by one that is free from objection, bring to an end, bring to its goal/accomplishment.  It is used of Jesus.  As the context indicates, he receives highest honours via suffering and death in his identification with humanity. This is usually understood to mean the completion and perfection of Jesus by the overcoming of earthly limitations. (See Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament)

Suffering:
This means:  that which is suffered or endured, suffering, misfortune


So, are you with me?  It was through suffering that Jesus’ mission was completed.  So suffering was a necessary and important part of Jesus’ mission and destiny.  In order to be ‘successful’ —Jesus had to suffer.  His suffering made him the author of salvation for us.


Are you ready to suffer?

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