Why Jesus Commands Impossible Things
Written by Alan Berthiaume | Pastor of Adult & Family Ministries
Topic Summary:
Though following the commands of the Lord can be circumstantially challenging, they are given for our benefit so that we might humble ourselves, remember what is truly important in life, and trust the Lord rather than our own wayward hearts.
Introduction:
Perhaps the least emphasized portion of the Great Commission is our duty to teach newly baptized disciples to obey all that Jesus has commanded. That’s a weighty responsibility. There are a lot of commands in Scripture, and some of them can be extremely challenging: “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” (Matthew 5:44); “Do all things without grumbling or disputing,” (Philippians 2:14); “be subject to the governing authorities” (Romans 13:1). Consider too that obedience to these commandments remains true for Christians living in England, Senegal, and North Korea alike. Depending on one’s personal circumstances, it could be even more difficult to obey the Lord in all things. So, lest we begin to envy the free-spirited pagans and atheists of the world, we need to understand why Jesus commands such things.
Article:
The simple answer is because they are what’s best for us. God, in His infinite wisdom has given us instruction in His Word that often flies in the face of what our hearts want to do, and perhaps even in direct contradiction to what our secular society says is right. But His ways are higher than our ways, which means that they’re simply better. They are given for our benefit, not for our burden. Remember that Jesus Himself invited us to come to Him, to take upon ourselves His yoke and learn from Him because His yoke is easyƒ and His burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30). That does not mean the circumstances of life will always be easy, but it does mean there is a purpose to the struggle. I’d like to suggest three reasons the difficult commands of Jesus are for our benefit.
The first reason is because they reveal our human deficiencies. Humanity is a proud race, hell-bent on proving to our maker our self-sufficiency. Yet, the commands of God are a mirror reflecting to us the harsh truth of our every flaw (James 1:23-25). It is a humbling experience, which is exactly the point. God’s power is made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). Where man’s ability fails, God’s grace is sufficient. And God gives His grace to the humble (1 Peter 5:5).
“If the commands of the Lord were simple, or second nature to all mankind, then we would not understand our great need for Christ.”
The second reason the difficult commands of Jesus benefit us is because they remind us of what is most important – God and others. There are indeed a lot of commands in the pages of Scripture, but Jesus gives us the Cliffs Notes in Matthew 22. When asked what the greatest command was, Jesus answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” Our focus in life tends to be inward, upon ourselves. Yet the commands of Christ remind us of what is most important in this life: God. That is the purpose of the human life, to glorify God. That is exactly why you are on this planet, with breath in your lungs and a heart that continues to beat in your chest. You are here for Him. And when we seek to glorify God with our lives, the second greatest command tells us how: by loving others. All of us feed ourselves, clothe ourselves, and make sure we’re happy. But how often are we doing that for others? Lest we get unfocused in life, the difficult commands of the Lord are there to bring us back to what is most important – God and others.
Lastly, the third reason the commands of Jesus are so difficult and yet beneficial is because they require us to trust the Lord’s plan rather than our own wayward hearts. The human heart has risen to idol status in our Western culture today. “Follow your heart”, “the heart wants what the heart wants”, and “do what makes your heart happy” are all popular mantras that fly in the face of God’s wisdom and instruction. The Bible describes our hearts as deceitful, desperately sick (Jeremiah 17:9), full of bitter jealousy and selfish ambition (James 3:14), and foolish (Romans 1:21). Imagine if you had a friend named Fred who could be described as deceitful, desperately sick, full of bitter jealousy and selfish ambition, and foolish. Would you follow Fred? In contrast to today’s culture, which is obsessed with following their hearts, Jesus blesses those who are pure in heart (Matthew 5:8) and He instructs us to keep our wayward hearts with all vigilance (Proverbs 4:23) while we walk in the ways of the Lord and direct our hearts to seek after Him (Psalm 119:1-2).
“It is the Word of God, the commands of our Lord, that direct us into what is best, even if those commands are hard.”
As we humble ourselves, focus our lives on God and others, and trust the direction of the Lord rather than our hearts, we can rest assured that even the seemingly impossible commands of Jesus are there for our benefit. And, as we keep these commands, our love for God is shown: “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3).