He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
Summary: Fathers are like belly buttons: everybody has one. Today we consider what defines the ideal father.
This verse touches on many personal notes. Who does not have a father? We all do. We all have been fathered by somebody.
A few days ago I referenced an old television series called “Perry Mason.” Television, in the grand scheme of things, is a relatively new technology. Like all technology, it has the capacity to be used for good and evil.
Before television, the only people we knew were those in our personal sphere of contact. If you lived in a small town or village, the fathers in that town would be the only human fathers that you know. They would set the standard for what a father is and how a father behaves. In the next village down the road, the idea of “father” would be the same, but the expectations of what a father does would be different because the people are different.
Television and the internet today offer us the ability to know what is going on in the next village. In fact, everyone’s business has become everyone else’s business. In the early days of television, shows like “Father Knows Best” showed us what an ideal father was supposed to look and act like. Over the years, dozens more family shows modeled behavior for us. They also set us up for disappointment.
Whose real-life father can live up to the expectations of a fictitious “Hollywood” father? On television, everything always works out for the best. Real-life is rarely that neat. Most of us, if we have a father in our lives, deals with a very human person who has very human failings.
Given that human fathers suffer human failings, it is not surprising that we rarely live up to our father’s expectations. (I am speaking about men and boys, here. A father-daughter relationship is different.)
As a father, God does something no human father can do: He never makes a mistake. As a son, Jesus does something no human son can do: He never makes a mistake, either.
Jesus is absolutely devoted to his father’s will. Everything he does is done with the intention of pleasing his Father, God. There is never a moment when Jesus wants to go off on his own or “be his own man.” Jesus is the perfect son.
“Honor and glory” in this passage is what we might call “receiving praise.” Jesus did not do his will for his own honor and glory, but he desired to honor and glorify his Father. This, too, is something very different. Jesus trusts his Father implicitly. He has no concern over his own wellbeing.
I do not know how many men have heard the phrase, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased,” from their fathers. I do know that no one else had earned this praise like Jesus did.
Application: Think about how God allows us to make our own mistakes.
Food for Thought: If God is such a good father, why did he let his Son suffer so much?
It’s hard to allow your children to make mistakes. As a father, I have high expectations of my kids, but I’ve learned that they are all unique, they will succeed and they will fail. I have the opportunity to be with them through it all, or to reject them through it all. I have a choice just like they have a choice. One of my favorite ways to parent is to allow for questions and opportunity, not to just have the answers and demand they follow my exact ways or desires.
Sometimes one of the most important things we can do is just take that moment to tell our kids, that we are grateful for them and for the opportunity to be their dad.
Mr. B,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts this morning. I agree with your summation. As children get older, our opportunities to guide them diminish, and the opportunities to forgive increase. Through it all, they remain our children, and through it all, love finds a way.
As I sat and pondered the blog and the question today I thought about my own toddler. There have been occasions when I wanted him to do something so I would pretend I was doing it so he would follow my lead. But I wasn’t really doing it, it was all for show. If God is such a good father, why did he let his Son suffer so much? I believe because the God I have come to know does nothing in half-measures, and nothing for show. He is true to His Word. Sin brings death and suffering. Jesus came to conquer death and suffering for us because we cannot. There could not be any smoke and mirrors here because it didn’t matter what people thought about Jesus’s sacrifice, this is greater than human opinion or perception. To do less would have been deceptive, which neither God nor Jesus can possibly be. God’s promise of Jesus, and Jesus’s sacrifice is cosmic and eternal.
Titus 1:2 In hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began
Chris,
Thank you! You bring a very interesting perspective this morning. You are absolutely right: God’s presence on earth was not pro forma. His sacrifice was very real.
Isaiah 53: 10 tells us that it was the Father’s will to crush Jesus and cause Him to suffer. On the cross, Jesus did not hear this is my beloved Son with whom I am pleased. Instead He received the wrath of His Father for our sin (Psalm 22: 1; Mathew 27: 46; 2 Corinthians 5: 21).
This sacrifice was necessary. Jesus was willing. Because of His perfection He was the perfect sacrifice and our representative before the Father.
The marvel in all of this to me, is that the Father is also a great Father to us. He sacrificed a Son He knew He would get back to save all of His other children. Remarkable. Maybe this is why Scripture also called Jesus “Everlasting Father” (Isaiah 9: 6).
These truths are hard to analyze. Sometimes one just needs to take it in and be astounded by such a Father.
Rich,
You write, “These truths are hard to analyze,” and you are absolutely right. I think it might be correct to say that these truths are impossible to analyze. Yet there are insights to be had if we ponder them.
For example, your reference to Isaiah 9:6 points us to Jesus’ role as our father. In Colossians 1: 15, Paul refers to Jesus as the “firstborn over all creation.” This might point to Jesus being the father of all who are born after.
Another benefit of pondering God’s sacrifice for our salvation is awe. As we ponder what God has done to ensure our relationship with him survives, we can only gasp in awe and humility.
10-06-2021, 2 Peter 1:17, If God is such a good father, why did he let his Son suffer so much?
John 3:16 says because “He loved the world.” God the Father gave His only begotten Son.
John 10:17-18, Christ says “He chose to die for our sins.” The Father sent Him, but “He also voluntarily wanted to die to save us.” He was God the Son who wanted to die for us.
God’s love for mankind shows as He provides the ONLY acceptable sacrifice for our sins, pays the price and provides an opportunity for His created beings to be restored to our created status.
Ron,
Well said! God does love us. Jesus loves us. God loves the Son and Jesus loves the Father. Knowing what was required for our salvation, both Father and Son made the ultimate sacrifice.