The Christian Calling: Have Faith like Jesus

According to Hebrews, chapter 11, Moses chose to associate himself with the Hebrews, God’s chosen people, rather than the Egyptians. He embraced ill-treatment over the pleasures of being a prince. He understood that “the reproach of Christ [is] greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward” of eternal life in Jesus Christ (Heb. 11.26 NASB). Moses’ love for his people demonstrated Christ like faith, Jesus Christ himself being the model of faith. Jesus demonstrated his faith, his commitment to the will of God the Father, at the Garden of Gethsemane. He suffered pain and was ultimately glorified as a result of fulfilling the Father’s will. Jesus himself shares in the love of the Father that led him to the cross to die.

Jesus knew while he was on earth that his ultimate purpose was to die on the cross. In the garden at Gethsemane he prayed to God, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” (Matt 26.39 NIV). This prayer expressed the depth of the faith that Jesus was about to demonstrate; that he was willing to humble himself and die on the cross for crimes he did not commit so that the will of the Father would be done. According to MacArthur, “[Jesus’] statement implies no conflict between the persons of the Godhead. Rather, it reveals graphically how Christ, in His humanity, voluntarily surrenders His will to the will of the Father in all things” (2005).

There were two major consequences of Jesus’ demonstration of faith. First, since he led a perfect life, he was the perfect sacrifice. Jesus’ sacrifice was the blood sacrifice that was required in order for sins to be forgiven. “We have now been justified by his blood” (Rom. 5.9 NIV). Second, where Jesus was humiliated on earth, he was then raised to life and “exalted to the right hand of God” (Acts 2.33 NIV). “Christ was glorified in that he received a glorious body and returned to heaven” (Demarest, 1997).

It was the will of the Father that Jesus be sacrificed in order to atone for sins because of His love for mankind. Since “all…fall short of the glory of God,” it is only God that can save man and out of His love, He did so (Rom. 3.23 NASB). According to Demarest, “Without God’s unmerited favor we would all be lost” (1997). “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes [walks in faith] in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3.16 NIV). Because of His love, those who choose to follow Jesus will be saved.

Jesus demonstrated his faith by going to the cross, fulfilling the will of the Father. Moses also embraced this kind of faith when he led God’s people out of Egypt. To have faith like Jesus is to humble ourselves and to do the will of the Father which he has laid out for our lives. “Anyone who suffers because of genuine faith in God and for the redemptive gospel [as Moses did] suffers for the sake of Christ” (MacArthur, 2005). To suffer for the sake of Christ is to demonstrate faith in God just as Jesus Christ did in suffering for our sins.

References
Demarest, B. (1997). The Cross and Salvation. Illinois: Crossway Books
MacArthur, J. (2005). The MacArthur Bible commentary. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Inc.