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Humble Hero
Satan represents God’s law of love as a law of selfishness. He
declares that it is impossible for us to obey its requirements. He
blames the Creator for the fall of our first parents, leading people to
look upon God as the author of sin, suffering, and death. Jesus was
to unmask this deception. As one of us, He was to give an example
of obedience. For this, He took upon Himself our nature and passed
through our experiences. “In all things He had to be made like His
brethren.”
Hebrews 2:17
. If we had to bear anything that Jesus did
not endure, then on this point Satan would claim that the power
of God was not enough for us. Therefore, Jesus was “in all points
tempted as we are.”
Hebrews 4:15
. He endured every trial that we
may face. And He exercised no power in His own behalf that is
not freely offered to us. As a human being, He met temptation and
overcame it in the strength that God gave Him. He made plain the
character of God’s law, and His life testifies that it is possible for us
also to obey the law of God.
By His humanity, Christ touched humanity; by His divinity, He
takes hold of the throne of God. As Son of man, He gave us an
example of obedience; as Son of God, He gives us power to obey.
To us He says, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and
on earth.”
Matthew 28:18
. “God with us” is the guarantee of our
deliverance from sin, the assurance of power to obey the law of
heaven.
Christ revealed a character that is the opposite of Satan’s. “Being
found in human form, He humbled Himself and became obedient to
the point of death—even death on a cross.”
Philippians 2:8
, NRSV.
Christ took the form of a servant and offered the sacrifice, with
Himself as the Priest and Himself as the Victim. “He was bruised
for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him.”
Isaiah 53:5
.
Treated As We Deserve
Christ was treated as we deserve, that we might be treated as He
deserves. He was condemned for our sins, in which He had no share,
that we might be justified by His righteousness, in which we had no
share. He suffered the death that was ours, that we might receive the
life that was His. “By His stripes we are healed.”
Isaiah 53:5
.