4 Examples of Obedience in the Bible - Christmas Edition (+ What We Can Learn From Them)

There are many examples of obedience in the Bible, but the story that stands out, for obvious reasons, is the account of the people whose obedience brought about the birth (and survival) of Jesus Christ, our Savior.

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What is Obedience?

Oxford Languages gives the following obedience definition: “compliance with an order, request, or law, or submission to another’s authority.”

In “How to Walk in Obedience to God,” we saw how, for Christians, this definition becomes, “compliance with God’s orders, requests, or laws, or submission to God’s authority.”

Back in the time of the birth of Jesus, obeying God was everything to the Jews. They knew His commands were for their own good, and they had faith that through their obedience they would be blessed.

“You must obey all my regulations and be careful to obey my decrees, for I am the Lord your God.”
Leviticus 18:4

Because of this, you can find many examples of obedient people in the Bible. But the Christmas story is the best of all the stories of obedience in God’s word.

The Best Story of Obedience in the Bible

Why is the Christmas story the best story of obedience out of all the examples of obedience in the Bible? Well, for starters, we get to see God use ordinary people to change the world! No, SAVE the world! Their obedience allowed them to be major players in God’s plan to save His people from their sin once and for all! And this plan was Jesus! So, then there’s THAT.

But also, the Christmas story is full of people willing to obey God despite the challenges it would present.

Today, the world does not tolerate a Biblical worldview or understand the actions that come from trusting and obeying God in all things. The Christmas story can inspire and encourage us to do what God wants no matter what.

Now let’s take a look at the people of the Christmas story and how we can apply their example to our lives today.

Examples of Obedience to God in the Christmas Story

Elizabeth and Zechariah

Elizabeth and Zechariah were the unlikely parents of John the Baptist. Their story is a little less about obedience (although obedience is there, too) than it is about faith. After decades of infertility, they were overjoyed at the prospect of a having child.

Stylized image of Zechariah and pregnant Elizabeth, 2 examples of obedience in the Bible.

Zechariah was told by an angel that they were to name their surprise baby John. When he didn’t believe the heavenly messenger, he lost his ability to talk. After their child was born, they did name him John, despite protests from friends and family.

As a result of their obedience in this matter, Zechariah got his ability to speak back!

Mary

If you want an excellent example of how to be obedient to God, look no further than Mary, the mother of Jesus. In her day, being pregnant out of wedlock meant certain defamation and isolation from family, friends, and community.

Plus, she would have to tell her future husband, Joseph, about her pregnancy, putting her marriage at risk.

Despite this depressing possible fate, Mary was more than willing to accept this calling of God on her life.

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.”
Luke 1:38 (NIV)

Ceramic statue of Mary, the mother of Jesus.

She even goes on to say that her “soul glorifies the Lord” and that “the Mighty One has done great things for” her (Luke 1:47, 49). Here is a woman who sees the big picture! She understands that God’s promises to her and her nation, Israel, are true and more important than her temporary reputation.

Mary, the mother of Jesus, could see the big picture of God's plan. She was willing and even excited to be a part of His plan despite the negative implications she must have know it would have on her life. Click To Tweet

Joseph

Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus, is another great example of an obedient servant in the Christmas story. Engaged to be married to Mary when she conceived Jesus through the Holy Spirit, he planned to break off their engagement after learning of her pregnancy.

As mentioned before, during this time in history, society was not kind to people who conceived outside of wedlock, and Joseph had a reputation to protect, too.

But after being told by an angelic messenger that the baby Mary was carrying was the Son of God and that he should marry her, he obeyed and married her. He made this decision despite her condition and the negative impact it would most likely have on his life.

“When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.”
Matthew 1:24 (NIV)

Joseph also obeyed God when He told him to flee to Egypt to keep Jesus from being discovered by Herod (Matt. 2:13-14).

The Magi

The wise men, or Magi, are not often spoken of as examples of obedient people in the Bible. However, it was partly because of their obedience to God that little Jesus escaped the wrath of King Herod and wasn’t killed along with the other toddler boys of Bethlehem.

Silhouettes of the 3 wise men riding camels against a sunset sky.

The Magi, not knowing any better, went to Herod to find out more about the new King of the Jews they had heard about. Herod, desiring to keep his authority, told the Magi to find the baby and report back to him.

Had they done this, Herod would have certainly killed Jesus.

Luckily, the wise men feared God and listened when He told them to avoid Herod on their way home.

“And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.”
Matthew 2:12 (NIV)

Here’s a great post from StudyAndObey.com on the wise men and how their example can help us grow closer to Jesus!

What Can We Learn From These Examples of Obedience?

There is always something we can learn and apply from anything we read in God’s word. So let’s take a look at what we can learn from these examples of obedience in the Bible.

We should obey even when it puts our reputation on the line.

Mary and Joseph are prime examples of this lesson. Despite the stain Mary’s pregnancy would leave on their reputation and the friends and family they likely lost because of it, they chose to be obedient.

The perceived importance of what our fellow humans think shrinks when we have an eternal perspective. What’s more important – our reputation on earth or the one we have for all eternity?

We should obey even when other people try to dissuade us.

When John was born, family and friends tried to convince them to name him after his father, Zechariah.

Even though the Bible doesn’t say it, I imagine if anyone had found out about Mary’s pregnancy, they would have tried to convince Joseph to break off their engagement.

In both cases, obedience to God was chosen over the advice of well-meaning friends and family, as we should when we find ourselves in similar situations.

We should obey even when it isn’t convenient.

The Magi had likely traveled for months to see Jesus. Add to that the time they spent with Herod, and they had probably been away from home for a long time by the time they saw Jesus.

You know how when a trip is over, you just want to be home, comfy and safe in your bed? Also consider that it is (and was even more so back then) much easier to take the same route home that you took to your destination. The wise men could very easily have chosen the easier, faster way home. Instead, they chose the path of obedience, going home a different way. This likely required more planning and possibly more time than the way there had.

Also, think about Joseph and Mary and their relocation to Egypt. Have you ever moved to another city, state, or country? If you have, you know what an undertaking it is and all about the many challenges it presents. Joseph was a business-owner and had a family to support. His obedience probably forced him to have to start over.

Image of paper that says "inconvenient" torn between "in" and "convenient."

Lastly, Mary was a teenaged peasant. A baby would mean another mouth to feed, another person to house and clothe. A baby born out of wedlock would mean that life would be even harder. Talk about inconvenient! As it was common for unwanted babies to be aborted or exposed to the elements to die at this time in history, Mary could have easily gotten out of this unexpected obligation. But, in her humble obedience, she chose this life of hardship over her own comfort and convenience.

It’s up to us to decide to make God’s “inconvenient” plans for us convenient if we want to help Him expand His kingdom here on earth.

We should obey whatever the cost.

The wise men, in refusing to cooperate with Herod, were the first people to choose Jesus over everything else. As you can imagine, refusing to cooperate with a king was a big deal. Considering Herod’s blood lust demonstrated in the killing of the innocents after Jesus’ birth, disobedience to him most likely would’ve resulted in death. And yet the Magi still chose to obey God, putting their very lives on the line.

As mentioned, Mary and Joseph sacrificed a lot to carry out God’s plan. Their reputation, their livelihood, their comfort were all seen as less than important than obedience to God.

Yes, following Jesus is costly. Satan wants us to fail, so he will do everything he can to deter us, including taking away earthly treasures. But when we consider the heavenly prize at the end of the race, no earthly cost should be too great to deter us from doing the work of God now.

We should obey God even when it doesn’t make sense.

When the angel visited Mary, she hadn’t yet gotten pregnant or even “known a man.” Despite this minor issue, Mary had faith that it would come to pass, even though the only way she had known to conceive a baby was the natural way.

And we saw what happened to Zechariah when he didn’t believe that he and Elizabeth would have a baby in their old age. I guess he learned his lesson, based on how eager he was to obey on the baby-naming issue.

God is all-knowing and His timing is perfect. When we truly take this to heart, we stop trying to understand His plans and just go with them.

We should obey with a good attitude.

It was very likely that Mary knew what her pregnancy would mean for her life, yet she still chose to glorify God and be grateful for all He had done for her. Wow! May we all be so humble and thankful that God wants us to be a part of His plan!

Woman in teal sweatshirt smiling and saluting against a coral background.

Why We Should Obey God

As you hopefully have seen from these examples of obedience in the Bible, obeying God can bring about amazing changes in the world! Just like the obedience of all of the people in the Christmas story, our obedience allows God to work through us to impact His Kingdom on earth.

The obedient people of the Christmas story were regular, flawed, and sinful just like we are, and yet God chose to use them to bring His Son, Jesus, into existence TO SAVE THE WHOLE FREAKING WORLD!

God desires to use regular people to carry out His plans! The parents of Jesus were peasants. The first people to hear about Jesus' birth were shepherds. These people were regular Joes like you and I, yet God chose them to carry out… Click To Tweet

Likewise, He chooses us, flawed and regular as we are, to establish His Kingdom on earth for when Jesus returns!

As followers of Jesus, we are to show we love Him by being obedient.

“And we can be sure that we know Him if we obey His commandments. If someone claims, ‘I know God,’ but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love Him.”
1 John 2:3-5

And guess what? Our obedience can change the world, too! Through walking in obedience to God, we can impact the people around us and start a domino effect that can reach unimaginable distances.