Hebrew 5:7-14
7During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. 8Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered 9and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him 10and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.
Warning Against Falling Away
11We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. 12In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! 13Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
During Jesus' life on earth, He is our example...He offered up prayers, petitions, cries and tears to the One who could save Him from death...After His prayers, He was heard in His reverent submission, by His Father...Jesus knew obedience, even though He knew that He was going to suffer and die for us...He had on His mind and in His mind the plan of God, and that He would suffer affliction, and finally His death for us...He knew the exact time and hour He would die...But even knowing this, He would live by and do God's will, even though He carried this knowledge of His exact time of death around with Him...He lived everyday in faith, even His last days...We should learn from Him...
Many of us are slow to learn the gospel...Plus the new is hard to embrace...Jesus changed the dietary laws, as well as the sacrificial laws...He teaches us that it is not what we eat and put in our mouths that makes us unclean, but it is what comes out of our mouths that make us unclean (Matthew 15:11)...What we eat does not make us unclean, it is what we think and say that makes us unclean...Jesus also quotes the prophet Hosea and tells the unbelieving Pharisees that they (as well as us) should go and learn what God means when He says I want mercy, not sacrifice (Matthew 12:7)...Jesus knew that God gives mercy to sinners...It is hard to embrace His new teachings, while it is easy to hold on to the past and the past ideas...
He is our Example of how we are to be both in this world and the next...He died for our sins...He is the One who provides us eternal salvation...He prayed and His prayers were answered...He is the Author of grace and truth...He is our salvation...He is our past, present, and future...
We must seek and learn all we can about the gospel...If we keep our learning in the baby stage, it is not enough...As we must grow from milk to solid food, we must grown from learning the faith into a mature stronger faith...We must change for the better...Our faith must grow...We must grow in Him...Our souls must grow in Him...Our faith must grown in Him...