Hebrew 10:38 states that "the just shall live by faith." Hebrews 11 presents many examples which illustrate this truth. But how does the message given by the examples of people who walked by faith apply to us? Hebrews 12 begins with the word "wherefore." It means that because of the preceding, the following is true; because of the preceding, we are to stand still and consider what God has done and what He is capable of doing.
The one theme that runs through this chapter is endurance. Note Hebrews 12:1-3, 7. Hebrews 10:32, 36: "But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye
endured a great fight of afflictions;.. ..For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the
will of God, ye might receive the promise." The words "endure", "endurance", and "patience"
come from the same Greek root word. The Jewish believers who received this letter were getting weary and wanted to give up. But the writer encouraged them to keep moving forward in their Christian lives, like runners on a track.
LOOK AT THE WITNESSES
Verse la: Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of
witnesses,
The "great cloud of witnesses" was introduced in Hebrews 11. These are the heroes of faith. It is not suggested here that these men and women, now in heaven, are watching the activity here on earth as the believers run the race. They are not presented as people seated in a stadium. The word translated "witnesses" (Greek—marturon) does not mean "spectators." Our English word "martyr"
comes from this Greek word translated "witness."
These people are not witnessing what we are doing. They are bearing witness to us that God can see us through our difficulties. God bore them witness (Hebrews 11:2, 4-5, 39). The cloud of witnesses is bearing witness to us. Note Romans 15:4: "For whatsoever things were written
aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience (endurance) and comfort of
the scriptures might have hope." "Patience" (Greek hupermone) means "endurance." "Comfort"
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(Greek paraklesis) means "encouragement."
W. W. Wiersbe wrote, "The people listed in chapter 11 are the 'cloud' that witnesses to us, 'God can be trusted! Put your faith in His Word and keep running the race!' When you read the Old Testament, your faith should grow, for the account shows what God in and through people who dared to trust His promises."
LOOK AT YOURSELF
Verse lb: "...let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset
us, and let us run with patience (endurance) the race that is set before us."
We can learn from athletes. They wore training weights to help them prepare for the events. No athlete would actually participate in a race wearing weights because they would slow him down.
The weights would also take from his endurance.
The Christian runner must rid himself of even the innocent things which might hinder or slow him down. Everything that hinders our progress must be removed, even though they may seem to be
"good things" in the eyes of others. A good athlete does not choose between the good and the bad.
He chooses between the better and the best.
The writer taught that we should also rid ourselves of the sin that does so easily beset or hinders us. He does not name the specific sin. But the writer probably was referring to the sin of unbelief.
It was unbelief that kept the children of Israel out of the Promise Land. It is unbelief that hinders us from entering into our spiritual inheritance in Jesus Christ. The expression "by faith" or "through faith" is used at least 21 times in Hebrews 11. This indicates that it is faith in Christ that enables us to endure.
LOOK AT JESUS CHRIST
Verses 2-4: 2Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for
the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set
down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3For consider him that endured
such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your
minds. 4Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.
The word "looking" comes from the Greek verb "aphorao" which means "to turn the eyes away from other things and fix them on something." The word also conveys the idea of "turning one's mind to a certain thing." When the dying Jews looked to the uplifted serpent in the wilderness, they were healed (Numbers 21:4-9). This is an illustration of our salvation through faith in Jesus Christ (John 3:14-16). "Looking unto Jesus" describes an attitude of faith, a lifestyle, and not just a single act. It describes the spiritual vision being turned away from everything else and focusing the mind upon Jesus. The minute the Greek runner took his attention away from the race course and the finish line and turned it upon the spectators, his speed was slowed. It is true with the believer today. The minute he takes his eyes off Jesus Christ and turns them upon others, his pace in the Christian race is slowed down and his onward progress is hindered.
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Numbers 21:4-9: 4And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea,
to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged
because of the way. 5And the people spake against God, and against Moses,
Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there
is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread.
6And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people;
and much people of Israel died. 7Therefore the people came to Moses, and said,
We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray
unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for
the people. 8And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set
it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he
looketh upon it, shall live. 9And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon
a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld
the serpent of brass, he lived.
John 3:14-16: 14And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so
must the Son of man be lifted up: 15That whosoever believeth in him should not
perish, but have eternal life. 16For God so loved the world, that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life.
Jesus is called the "author and finisher of the faith." "Author" is translated from the Greek
"archegon". This compound word means "the chief leader, the one who takes the lead in anything.
Vincent says it describes Jesus as the One "Who in the preeminence of His faith far surpasses the examples of faith commemorated in Hebrews 11. The word faith has the article in front of it in the Greek text and not the possessive “our.” It is the faith of which the writer is speaking as exhibited in the examples of Hebrews 11 and in our Lord Jesus. It is not the Christian faith as such, but faith absolutely. Christ is the author, the chief leader, of this faith in that He finished the perfect development, the supreme example of faith, and in virtue of this He is the leader of the whole believing host of all time."
The term "finisher" comes from the Greek "teleioo" which means "to carry through completely, to finish, to make perfect or complete." In His life of faith on earth, our Lord became the perfect or complete example of faith. Thayer spoke of our Lord as "One who has in His own person raised faith to its perfection and set before us the highest example of faith.
Kenneth Wuest wrote, The words "'.. .Who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross' are usually interpreted as meaning that the Lord Jesus endured the cross in order that He might obtain certain joy which was placed before Him as a reward for His suffering. But this interpretation is based upon an erroneous use of the preposition 'for'. The Greek proposition is 'anti'; the predominant use of which in the first century was 'instead of. It was so used in Luke 11:11, where we have 'If he ask a fish, will he for (anti—instead of) a fish give him a serpent."
Vincent wrote: "the joy was the full, divine beatitude of His pre-incarnate life in the bosom of the Father; the glory which He had with God before the world. In exchange for this, He accepted the 240
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cross and the shame. The contrast is designed between the readers (Vs l) and the joy which was already present to Christ. The heroic character of His faith appears in His renouncing a joy already in possession in exchange for shame and death. This passage thus falls in with Philippians 2:5-8."
Wuest translated Vs 2 as follows: "Looking off and away to Jesus, the preeminent leader and perfecter of this aforementioned faith, Who instead of the joy then present with Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of God." The expression "is set down" (Verse 2c) is in the perfect tense in the Greek text. The idea is that after His work of providing salvation was finished, He sat down and remains seated. He does not ever need to rise and repeat His work on the cross for sinners. It is a finished work. He is not only seated, but He occupies the position of preeminence at the right hand of God the Father.
The readers are encouraged to "consider" Jesus (Verse 3), to think about, to reflect upon Jesus and what He has done. Our Lord endured far more than did any of the heroes of faith named in Hebrews 11, and therefore He is a perfect example for us to follow. He endured the cross. He endured the shame, suffering, the contradiction (opposition) of sinners, and even the temporary rejection by His Father. On the cross He suffered for all the sins of all of the world. Yet He endured and finished the work the Father gave him to do (John 17:4). The writer sought to encourage his readers by pointing them to Jesus and what He had done and how He suffered. Although they had suffered persecution, they had not "resisted unto blood." None of them were yet martyrs. But Jesus had suffered and had shed His blood.
The writer called upon his readers to think of Jesus Christ in order that they would not grow weary and faint. Tertullian said, "You can judge the quality of their faith from the way they behave.
Discipline is an index to doctrine."
Conclusion
The Hebrew believers who received this letter were getting weary and wanted to give up. The writer called upon them to listen to the message of the "cloud of witnesses." The writer encouraged his readers to keep moving forward in the race of the Christian life.
The writer called upon his readers to look to Jesus and focus upon Him and His finished work.
They were instructed to consider, to think upon Jesus, so they would not become weary and faint.
They had not yet shed their blood in their battle against sin. Believers must follow the example of Jesus Christ. Doing so will encourage them.
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