March 26

During the days of Jesus’ earthly life, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverence. — Heb 5:7 BSB

The phrase "in that He feared" (Hebrews 5:7) holds a mysterious yet blessed meaning. There is some difficulty in translating it, but the word in the original language does not primarily imply dread or apprehension. Rather, it signifies a holy reverence and a tender cautiousness—a carefulness in handling something precious, as one might handle brittle vessels. In the New Testament, it refers to a reverential fear of God. For example, it is used of Noah, who was "moved with fear" (Hebrews 11:7), and in the phrase "godly fear" in the verse, "let us serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear" (Hebrews 12:28).

Thus, this fear is not a servile dread of the Almighty, such as reprobates or those without God’s grace experience. Rather, our Lord, as the perfect exemplar of every grace of the Spirit, possessed this holy reverence and godly fear in its fullest measure. As the depth of grace in Him was immeasurable, so was the measure of reverence and godly fear that dwelt in His sacred humanity.

As He contemplated the greatness of His redemptive work—foreseeing not just the physical sufferings of the cross but the mental agony, the conflict with the law and its curse, the wrath of God against sin, and the withdrawal of His Father’s face—His holy soul was filled with a profound reverence for the majesty of God. This is the fear spoken of in the text. The margin reads "His piety," but reverence, godly fear, and tender awe convey the meaning of the word far better.

It was prophesied that "the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord, and shall make Him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord" (Isaiah 11:1-2). Thus, Christ's prayers, cries, and supplications were heard because they arose from a heart filled with reverence and godly fear, prompted by the Holy Spirit, who worked in Him every grace. Through the Spirit, He offered Himself without blemish to God, and His prayers rose with sweet acceptance into the ears of His Father.