A Word about the Perfect Son

As we conclude our series “Family Business,” today, I want to share a word about the Perfect Son.

I think that most parents are proud of their children, and often they are too proud. Many teachers have found out that many parents of their students believe that they can do no wrong . . . at least at school. Sooner or later, however, the truth becomes apparent. In fact, my mom found this out about me.

 When I was in elementary school and even junior high school, I was a fairly compliant child. When I got into high school things started to change a little, and I was less compliant at home and much grumpier. One day, after I had sparked several arguments with both my sister and my mom, she said, “Otis! What happened to you? You used to be such a good boy!”   

In hindsight, I could give her a few answers to that question:

a.    Puberty
b.    Adolescence
c.    Testosterone
d.    Human sin nature
e.    All of the above

I think “all of the above,” is probably the correct answer.

 The truth is, all of us have sinned, and no child has ever been perfect, except one. As we finish our look at families in the Bible today, let’s look together at that unique, perfect, Son. Let’s begin by reading Hebrews 1:1-4.

Long ago God spoke to the fathers by the prophets at different times and in different ways. In these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son. God has appointed Him heir of all things and made the universe through Him. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of His nature, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. So He became higher in rank than the angels, just as the name He inherited is superior to theirs.

Jesus is the Perfect Son because of Who He Is:

In our modern, democracy-oriented world, who a person is should not be important. Officially we believe that it is what a person knows or what they can do that should count. We know this is not always true, but it should be. God’s economy is different, however.

Our God reigns over an eternal and holy kingdom. No one can vote God into or out of His office. He is Sovereign over all things, and He reigns with ultimate authority. What He says, goes, and what He does, stands. He is King, not president!

Likewise, royal lines are not established by the popular vote, but through heredity. We have recently seen such a plan of succession take effect. As soon as Queen Elizabeth II breathed her last, Prince Charles became King Charles, not necessarily because of any ability on his part, but because he was the first son of the Queen.

In a kingdom, people in leadership positions exercise delegated authority.  The kings of Israel were appointed and anointed by God. They reigned in His name for as long as they lived (if they were not overthrown by a foreign nation because of their sin). Likewise, Roman procreators were appointed by Caesar, and they ruled in his name until he promoted them, or he disposed of them. In God’s Kingdom, the one whom He has appointed and anointed to exercise His authority is His Son, Jesus.

Jesus has the rights of a king, and not only does He claim them, He also exercises them! The Bible tells us in Matthew 28:18, that Jesus has all authority. In Matthew 25:31-32, we read that Jesus will judge all the nations. In 2 Timothy 4:8, Paul said that on the Day of the Lord, Jesus will bestow honors upon His faithful subjects. These are all things that kings and emperors do, and Jesus will do these things because He is the Son of the King!

Jesus is the perfect Son because of who He is, but also because of what He is.

Jesus is the Perfect Son because of What He Is:

Jesus is perfect because He is the Son of the Perfect God of the Universe. He is omnipotent, omniscient, omnibenevolent, and omnipresent. Psalm 139:7-12 tells us,

Where can I go to escape Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I go up to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, You are there. If I live at the eastern horizon or settle at the western limits, even there Your hand will lead me; Your right hand will hold on to me. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me, and the light around me will be night”—even the darkness is not dark to You. The night shines like the day; darkness and light are alike to You.

We have come to expect a family resemblance among the children of a family. A child might favor one parent or another, but almost always elements of both parents can be found in their children. In the case of Jesus, however, we see more than just a resemblance, but we see God Himself, because,

The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of His nature, 

If we want to see God, we must look at Jesus. If we want to know what God thinks, we must look at Jesus. If we want to know what God does, we must look at Jesus. If we want to know how God loves, we must look at Jesus, for when we look at Jesus, we look at God!

Humanly, I am glad to live in a democracy where we can hold our leaders accountable. I have no desire to serve any human king, because human hearts are weak, and wicked. On the other hand, I am happy to serve the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is perfect in righteousness and holiness, and He is loving and just, and Jesus is the Heir to His throne!

Jesus was the perfect Son because of what He is, the radiance of God’s glory! Jesus was also the perfect Son because of what He does

Jesus is the Perfect Son because of What He Does:

Occupying a position is different than actually working in a job. As more than one lazy person has said, “I don’t want a job, I want a position.” Having a relationship, or an appointment, or delegated authority is useless unless you actually engage in the relationship, fulfill the requirements of the appointment, or exercise your authority.

Not many years ago, former Alabama Secretary of State Nancy Worley was criticized during her tenure for excessive absenteeism from her office. She was detached from day-to-day operations and unresponsive to both her constituents and her staff in one of the most important constitutional offices of the state. The fact that she was away from her duties so much caused her to be defeated for reelection.  Who you are, and what you are is not important if you don’t do what is required of you, if you don’t do what is necessary.

Jesus is the perfect Son, because He did everything that the Father asked Him to do. In John 17:4, Jesus prayed to God and reported that,

I have glorified You on the earth by completing the work You gave Me to do.

Later in that prayer Jesus revealed some of the tasks He had completed.

I have revealed Your name to the men You gave Me from the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. Now they know that all things You have given to Me are from You, because the words that You gave Me, I have given them. They have received them and have known for certain that I came from You. They have believed that You sent Me. John 17:6-8

Jesus went on to report that, 

While I was with them, I was protecting them by Your name that You have given Me. I guarded them and not one of them is lost, except the son of destruction, so that the Scripture may be fulfilled. John 17:12 

Jesus also noted,

I have given them the glory You have given Me. May they be one as We are one. John 17:22 

In addition, Jesus said that,

 I made Your name known to them and will make it known, so the love You have loved Me with may be in them and I may be in them. John 17:26

Later, on the Cross Jesus told the world that He had completed His assignment.

When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” Then bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. John 19:30

Hebrews Chapter 1 proclaims Jesus as the Creator, Sustainer, and Redeemer of our world. Again, this demonstrates His perfection, because this passage describes a complete work.

Some believe in a Creator who made the world but left it to spin on its own. This is not enough, however. A spinning top that is set in motion will eventually slow and fall unless its momentum is sustained, as would the Creation in which we live. Jesus, however, is also our Sustainer, present in the world and engaged with it and with us. He didn’t start up the world and leave it to its own devices. No! As the Creator, He owns everything, and He takes responsibility for it. Hebrews 1:10-12 tells us,

In the beginning, Lord, You established the earth, and the heavens are the works of Your hands; they will perish, but You remain. They will all wear out like clothing; You will roll them up like a cloak, and they will be changed like a robe. But You are the same, and Your years will never end.

Even sustaining this world is not enough, because human sin has spoiled it. God’s perfection cannot abide with an imperfect world, and so it must be redeemed. The only one capable of restoring a broken world to perfection is the perfect Son, and He has done so by offering Himself up to redeem it, and to send the Holy Spirit to transform it.

Jesus is the Perfect Son because of what He does: He does a complete job of all His Father asks Him to do. He is also perfect because of where He is.

Jesus is the Perfect Son because of Where He Is:

At this moment, as we consider Hebrews 1, Jesus has sat down at the right hand of the Father. This is a place of power and righteousness, befitting the perfect Son of God.

The fact that Jesus is at the right hand of God means that He is in the place of honor, the place of preferred treatment. It is also a sign and symbol that Jesus is righteous and strong and also that He acts with God’s authority.

The fact that He is with the Father is important too, because this shows the unity of the Godhead. We have seen many instances in the Word in which family members have been in conflict with one another. We have recently seen two instances of sons refusing to obey their father, but this is not the case here. In fact, Jesus said that “I and the Father are One.” There is no distance and no conflict between God the Father and God the Son.

Because Jesus sits at the right hand of God, He has access to God the Father. This is vital to us, because Jesus is our High Priest, and through Him and only through Him do we have access to the Father.

We also must note that Jesus is sitting. When a king holds court, it would be rare that anyone else would be sitting, and when we see Jesus sitting, it shows us the special place of honor given to Him. Sitting is also the posture that Jewish Rabbis would take when teaching the Word, and so we see that Jesus continues to disciple His people, even as He sits at rest during His sabbath between His First Coming and His Second, which is yet to be.

We also must recognize that Jesus is not just sitting next to His Father. Hebrews 1:13 says,

Now to which of the angels has He ever said: Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies Your footstool?

Jesus is sitting above, over, and on top of His enemies in a way that no one else has. Who but the Perfect Son could be worthy of that.

Jesus is the Perfect Son because of How He has Blessed Us:

Finally, Jesus is the perfect Son because of how He blesses us. He is exactly who and what we need. First, Jesus is perfect for us, because He has provided a way to be forgiven of our sins. Only Jesus was the perfect sacrifice for us, and only Jesus was willing to die in our place.

I have had the experience of needing help with a project or an issue, and I have reached out to others for help. I have also had the frustrating experience of finding someone with the right expertise who was unwilling to help or who was unavailable to help. Conversely, I have had people willingly offer help, but they could not do what was needed. These two polar opposites can, and do, happen in our spiritual lives as well. Jesus is perfect for us because He can help us, and He is also willing to help us. Not only that, but also He has also helped us with our most critical need without cost to us. Jesus is our perfect antidote for sin.

Jesus is also the perfect Son, because He helps us in our daily lives. He is the Word of God that we can access to find guidance, warning, and encouragement to know how to walk closely with God. More than that, Jesus sent us the Holy Spirit to interpret the Word, and to live in our lives and empower us to overcome troubles while growing closer and closer each day to God. In addition to these things, Jesus has also sent us leaders in the church to help us as well. Ephesian 4:11-15 says,

And He personally gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, for the training of the saints in the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into a mature man with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness. Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching, by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit. But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into Him who is the head—Christ.

Jesus is the perfect Son for our past by offering forgiveness of our sin. He is the perfect Son for our present, by equipping us and edifying us as we walk with God here on earth. He is also the perfect Son for our future, because, though He is by his Father’s side today, soon He will be coming back for us, His joint-heirs with God, to take us to be with Him in our heavenly home.

In 1^st Corinthians 13, Paul explained to us that in our present world, “For now we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully as I am known." Jesus is the perfect Son that will make it possible to see our Father face to face.

Jesus is the perfect Son Who blesses us perfectly and with perfect timing also!

Conclusion:

From the very beginning, as we learned from when Mary and Joseph made the trip with Jesus to the Temple, Jesus has been about His Father’s business. The really good news for us is that we are the Father’s business, and Jesus is the perfect Son to handle His affairs with us. We are blessed beyond measure by what they have done for us, and what they continue to do for us, and the love that they pour down on us, perfectly, together!

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt