What does Jesus get out of all of this? I don’t know how many of us have considered that question but we see something of the importance of this issue in Hebrews. After showcasing the heroes of the faith and their sacrifices the writer of Hebrews encourages us to follow their example and then transitions to why Jesus endured the cross.
1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1–2 (NKJV)
Jesus endured the cross because He saw joy beyond it. In Ephesians we get a glimpse of that joy in something Paul wrote about and prayed that we would each have enough revelation to grasp.
17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. 22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. Ephesians 1:17–23 (NKJV)
Here in our western Christianity the passage above is frequently turned into a present-day prayer, the general theme being our seeking a spirit of wisdom and revelation. We want to grow in our Christian experience, which is a good thing. Yet there is more here. The passage is really about having a spirit of wisdom and revelation from the Father so we would grasp,
- the riches of the glory of Jesus inheritance in the saints,
- the exceeding greatness of His power toward us, the power that resurrected Jesus, and
- Jesus’ authority over all the spiritual opposition in the heavenly places, now and forever.
The aspect we are going to focus on is “the glory of His inheritance in the saints.” What Jesus receives. To understand this, we need to look at a related scripture passage.
28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. Romans 8:28–30 (NKJV)
What Jesus gets out of this, His inheritance, is believers conformed to Himself and ultimately glorified. Next time we will dig a little deeper into what that means and our role and responsibility in the process. For now, please pray for a spirit of wisdom and revelation to understand what Jesus receives.
