Obedience to authority isn’t a popular concept these days. But your entire eternal welfare depends on it. If Jesus hadn’t been obedient, you couldn’t go to heaven.
In Philippians 2:8, it says that Jesus “humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
In the Garden of Gethsemene Jesus struggled with the most incredible decision of His life. He knew that it was the Father’s will that He die on a cross for the sins of mankind—to actually bear our sins as though they were His own. So three times He prayed, asking the Father if there could possibly be another way. But there wasn’t. So He simply said, “Nevertheless, not my will but yours be done.” And He obeyed the will of the Father. “He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death.”
This word “obedient” literally means “to listen attentively,” and implies the idea of heading or conforming to a command or authority. It’s the word “to hear” with the preposition “under.” It means “to hear—under authority.”
Sometimes when our kids weren’t obeying, I would say to them “Did you hear what I said? Were you listening when I told you not to do that?” Well, Jesus not only heard, He conformed to what He heard. He went to the cross and He died for our sins. He was obedient.
Say—now it’s your turn to listen. Have you received Jesus as your personal Savior?