To Please the Father

If you’re a parent, you’ve probably found yourself saying it. If you
ever had a parent, you probably heard it, and maybe more than
once. Do what you’re told. Maybe you can even recall the phrase,
because your father said so. As those contaminated with a
sinful nature, we generally are tempted to react negatively to such
edicts. As those created with a free will, it is almost instinctive to
resist letting someone else be “the boss of us.” But have you ever
thought about how such words, when spoken of/by a benevolent
authority figure, can actually bring comfort, security, even
expectancy?

The writer to the Hebrews wrote in chapter 12 that Jesus, for the joy
set before him, “endured the cross, despising its shame, and [then]
sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” What kept him
focused through all of that torment? How was he able to persevere
in the midst of such grave temptation? We often conclude it was
mainly because of His great love for us. But I would contend that
the gospels also strongly suggest another motivation: He lived to
please His Father.

Consider just the events that transpired from Palm Sunday to his
resurrection. As he made his way through the crowds, even as
he listened to their shouts of ‘Hosanna’, he was aware that these
came from people with all kind of agendas for him. Maybe you can
relate to that part of the journey—the temptation to meet every-
body else’s expectations along the way to following Jesus.
But because He lived to please His Father, it was His Father’s
agenda that held Jesus’ attention. When pressed by unbelieving
Jews as to his true identity, He answered: “I am not of this world...
He who sent me is reliable, and what I have heard from Him I tell
the world. When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will
know that I am the one I claim to be, and that I do nothing on my
own but speak just what the Father has taught me...I always do
what pleases Him.” (John 8: 23-29)

Hundreds of years before that final week, the prophet Isaiah
had already hinted at what was to come. “It was the Lord’s
[Father’s] will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and
though the Lord makes his (Jesus’) life a guilt offering, he
will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the
Lord [Father] will prosper in his hand” (Isaiah 53:10). So, what
might that final memo have looked like?

To: Jesus
From: Your Heavenly Father

Re: Things to accomplish during this week

1) Ride into town on a lowly donkey.
2) Curse a fig tree for not bearing fruit and do it within
earshot of your friends so they get the point.
3) Clear the temple of the money-changers and call the
church – approved merchants a bunch of “robbers.”
4) Continue publicly debating the chief priests, the
teachers of the law, and the church elders, while fully
aware that they are weighing every word, in order to
find some reason to arrest you.
5) Endure the same political posturing with the Phari-
sees, the Herodians, and the Sadducees.
6) Receive a PDA (public display of affection) from a
woman with a “past,” only to have its merits
questioned by none other than Judas Iscariot. His PDA
will follow.
7) Break bread with your best buds and remind them
that the next time you drink wine with them,
EVERYTHING will have changed. Oh, and even
after three years of intense ministry with them, sadly
behold their clueless expressions.
8) Visit the garden of Gethsemane, pray in agony as your
very best buds fall asleep.
9) Get arrested, falsely accused, humiliated, stripped,
beaten, convicted and nailed naked to a tree. (And the
world will call it “Good” Friday.)

But one more thing, Jesus.

10) Because You “humbled yourself and became obedient
to death – even death on a cross”, by week’s end you
will be exalted to the highest place and given “the
name that is above every name, so that at your name,
Jesus, every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth, and
every tongue will confess that you, Jesus, are Lord of
all, to the glory of God the Father.”

So fellow artists and disciples of Jesus, I ask you: With all the
different voices clamoring for your attention, what keeps you
motivated? Whose agenda keeps you focused and fulfilled?
Might each of us find more and more delight in just doing what
pleases our Father simply because He said so. As followers of
Christ, it is the only path to victory and true joy. After all, He
was just doing what He was told.

-tad