Hebrews
12:1-2
Therefore, since we are surrounded
by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every
weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has
set before us. We do this by keeping our
eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured
the cross, disregarding its shame. Now
he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. NLT[i]
Hebrews
12:1-2 is a call for us to run with endurance the race God has set before
us. The Christian is to keep his or her
eyes on Jesus. This is where we get our
endurance. This thought is a
continuation of the thought expressed at the end of chapter 10 where it says, “Patient
endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has
promised.” (Hebrews 10:36, NLT) “But we are not like those who turn away from
God to their own destruction. We are the
faithful ones, whose souls will be saved.”
(Hebrews 10:39, NLT)
Between
chapter 10 and chapter 12, Hebrews 11 gives us example after example of those
who lived and conquered by faith, those who had run the race with endurance. Hebrews 11:4 speaks of Abel whose offering
gave evidence and who being dead still speaks to us by his example of
faith. Hebrews 11:5 speaks of Enoch who
was known as a person who pleased God.
Hebrews 11:2
says, “Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation.”
Then after recounting the stories of many who pleased God by their faith,
Hebrews 11:39-40 says:
All these people earned a good
reputation because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had
promised. For God had something better
in mind for us, so that they would not reach perfection without us.
Chapter 12 begins
with the word “Therefore” and it refers back to all of these examples. These people bear witness to the necessity of
endurance and the benefit of finishing well.
Therefore, an obvious and clear meaning of witnesses is that of ones who
give testimony. However, this does not give an explanation of
the analogy of the text comparing the
life of faith to a race.
A race has
observers. Hebrews 11:40 says that those
who are our examples would not reach perfection without us. Compare this to the statement of Hebrews
12:23 that says:
You have come to the assembly of
God’s firstborn children, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God himself, who is the judge
over all things. You have come to the
spirits of the righteous ones in heaven who have now been made perfect.
The author
has drawn in the testimony of those who have lived the life of faith, and also
referenced the fact that they are our observers. Jesus said, “Your father Abraham rejoiced as
he looked forward to my coming. He saw it and was glad.” (John 8:56, NLT) Apparently, those who have gone before are
aware of what is happening on earth.
Examples of this awareness are:
1) the story of the rich man and Lazarus, 2) the story of Job and the
sons of God mentioned in Job 1 and 3) The souls of the martyred dead of Revelation
6:9 who appear to have an interest in what is happening on earth.
Those who
have gone before are not only observers but they also rejoice in the work that
God is doing in us and through us. The
praise for God and the Lamb in Revelation is great as events leading to the
completion of the Age unfold.
Paul wrote
to the Philippians that they were his joy and crown (Philippians 4:1), and to
the Galatians that he was suffering labor pains a second time for them
(Galatians 4:19). If these churches were
the fruit of his labor, we are as well.
He has a vested interest in what is happening to us. I would dare to say that your grandmother has
an interest in what happens to you.
The Bible
does not tell us all that those who have gone before are doing, but they are interested
in what God is doing on earth. They are
interested in the fruits of the labor that they have done, and they are
apparently aware of what is going on.
[i] Scripture
quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living
Translation. Copyright © 1996, 2004,
2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used
by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Steam, Illinois
60188. All rights reserved.
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