Question: What did Jesus teach about the Law of God?

Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. Hebrews 5.8

We said Jesus fulfilled the Law of God in two ways. First, as He explained, He actively and entirely obeyed all the Father commanded Him. We might refer to this as Jesus’ active obedience. This should be our aim as well, actively, gladly, and entirely to obey the Law of God.

But because this can only ever be our aim, and not anything we can realize, the sanctions of the Law, which are included as expressions of God’s hatred for sin, loom over us. Unless these are taken away, we will not be able to know any benefit from the righteousness Jesus has achieved for us.

Therefore, second, it was necessary for Jesus to bear all the wrath of the God, threatened in His Law against sinners, so that by absorbing, so to speak, all the sanctions of the Law, they might be redirected from us, being nailed to the cross of Jesus (Col. 2.13, 14). Jesus Himself taught that this suffering was necessary in order for Him to enter into His glory (Lk. 24.26). Thus Jesus submitted to the judgments of God against sinners, though He was without sin, so that those judgments might be removed from us who believe in Christ (Rom. 8.1, 2).

Theologians refer to this aspect of Jesus’ fulfilling the Law of God as His passive obedience, whereby He allowed Himself to suffer and die at the hands of sinners, so that sinners might be set free from the wrath of God through Him.

Now we also learn obedience through suffering, as the Lord disciplines us in order to redirect our wayward steps into the path of righteousness again (Heb. 12.3-11). But this discipline is but for a time, and not forever, to all who truly believe. If we are without such discipline – which is never pleasant – then we are not children of the Lord. Instead, the wrath of God against unrepentant sinners yet abides upon us, as it does upon all those who, ungrateful to God for His loving kindness, turn from Him to the service of idols (Rom. 1.18-32).

When we experience discipline from the Lord because of our sins, then we rejoice in the hope of glory, as Jesus did (Heb. 12.1; Rom. 5.1-5), and we press on through our suffering, like Jesus, in order to be restored to the righteousness He has achieved for us.

T. M. Moore

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