Often, those who write rules for an institution they create consider themselves exempt from those restrictions.  The believe they wrote them for everyone else.  Not Jesus.
    He was God, and because He was God, He had dictated the Jewish laws and customs, including the feasts, down to the last detail.  He had given them to Moses.  In spite of that, as the Son of Man, he obeyed the Jewish customs down to the letter.  He was humble and did not flaunt His deity.  Even though He was perfect, He never took the liberties He could have enjoyed.  He modeled commitment and unwavering obedience so that we who follow Him had footsteps to follow.  He is not one to say, "Do as I say, not as I do."
    One of the hallmarks of a great leader is one who is willing to work alongside those he leads; doing what they do, putting in the long hours they sustain.  It earns him respect and trust, though that is not why he does it.  He makes the choice to live that way because it characterizes the life of integrity. 
    Jesus is a high priest who has felt our every weakness and the allure of every temptation.  He knows how strong the desire is to take shortcuts, to take a break from the disciplines that appear burdensome when other pressures are afflicting us.  Instead of running away from God, He ran toward God when the fires were hot.  Every time Jesus faced exhaustion, He went off alone to pray.  While a vacation from duty would have lured most, He pressed in closer.



Christine Wyrtzen
Daughters of Promise
www.daughtersofpromise.org