Devotional 17 June 2025

When we read that Jesus “learned obedience” and was “made perfect,” it’s easy to misunderstand these phrases as if Jesus lacked something. But the author of Hebrews is not suggesting that Jesus was ever disobedient or imperfect. Rather, these verses speak to how Christ’s perfection was revealed through lived experience in the context of real human suffering.

Jesus did not become obedient in the sense that He moved from disobedience to obedience. Instead, He, who was always obedient as the eternal Son, took on our flesh and entered a world of temptation, pain, and death. In doing so, He experienced what it means to obey the Father as one of us—not merely in word, but in flesh, in agony, in Gethsemane, and on the cross.

Paul says in Philippians 2:6–8 that although Jesus was “in the form of God,” He “humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” His obedience wasn’t new; it was now made visible in the most costly way. Likewise, Isaiah 53:3–5 foretells the Suffering Servant who would bear our griefs and walk the path of obedient affliction for our sake.

The word “perfect” (teleioō) in Hebrews 5:9 doesn’t imply that Jesus was incomplete or flawed. It means He was brought to completion in His role as Savior. Hebrews 2:10 says that the founder of our salvation was made perfect “through suffering.” In this way, Jesus becomes our fully qualified High Priest—not only divine, but experientially human.

As one who “learned obedience” through suffering, Jesus understands our trials. Hebrews 4:15–16 tells us that He sympathizes with our weakness, and we can draw near to Him with confidence. And Hebrews 12:2–3 calls us to look to Him, who endured the cross, as our example in perseverance.

So, when we suffer or struggle to obey, we do not turn to a distant deity but to the One who walked our path and remained faithful. And as we hear His voice and obey Him, we experience the salvation He secured—a salvation forged in His perfect obedience.