This is Part 2 of 6 parts answering the question, “Who Is The One Person Who Should Have Escaped the Suffering God Allows?” in the larger question, “Why does a loving God allow suffering?” Parts 3-6 will be posted on succeeding days.

Jesus was Perfect in the Father’s Will

Jesus was not perfect for His own sake, but for the Father’s and for the blessing of all mankind. He never did anything in His humanity that He did not see the Father doing, “Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.” (John 5:19 NKJ) This meant He was completely under the Father’s authority. Even though He was both the Son of God and God, He still submitted Himself entirely to the Father’s will for the sake of the glory of the Father. He also purposed to do the Father’s will in eternity past as the second member of the Trinity,

⁷ Then I said, `Behold, I have come– In the volume of the book it is written of Me– To do Your will, O God.'” ⁸ Previously saying, “Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the law), ⁹ then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.”  (Heb. 10:7-9 NKJ)

This made Him the perfect Author of our salvation, “..author and finisher of our faith.” (Heb. 12:2 NKJ) Jesus is both the beginning of our faith and the finisher, which made Him the perfect Mediator. Because He was on the Father’s mission, He should have escaped all suffering!

Jesus Is the Mediator on Man’s Behalf

Jesus was perfect because He was God and never sinned. He never sinned, even though He was true humanity, because He was wholly dependent on the Holy Spirit and did the Father’s will. He was designated by the Father to be the executor, or captain, of salvation. The writer to Hebrews noted that Jesus was the reason all things were created and the agency through whom all things were created. He wrote, “For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.” (Heb. 2:10 NKJ) And He proved Himself as the Captain through His submission to the Father’s plan as it was written,

⁵ So also Christ did not glorify Himself to become High Priest, but it was He who said to Him: “You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.” ⁶ As He also says in another place: “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek”; ⁷ who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, ⁸ though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. ⁹ And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him. (Heb. 5:5-9 NKJ)

The Lord Jesus did not exalt Himself to His highly glorious position. In fact, He submitted to “learn” obedience in His humanity, so that He was perfected, or made complete, as the God-man, the Author of eternal salvation for those who obey by faith.

Because of this He could be the Mediator between God and man. He was both equal with man, being made in the likeness of man, being made in his likeness (but without the sin nature, Phil. 2:6-7) and equal with God as true deity, which made Him the Mediator. Paul wrote, “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.” (1 Tim. 2:5 NKJ) This Mediator is therefore able to go between both parties and satisfy the requirements for both – the holiness of God and the weakness of the human race. Jesus was willing to mediate on man’s behalf and He should have escaped suffering.