Let’s take our Bibles together and turn to the Book of Hebrews. We are continuing our series today, “Christ Supreme in All Things.” And to use the racing metaphor, we are on the final leg of this great book, coming down the homestretch in the last two chapters of the Book of Hebrews. And that leads us today to Hebrews 12:1-3. And as you are turning there, let me just recount for you one of the formative sports memories I have from my childhood.  

In the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, the women competed in the famous marathon for the first time. And, as you know, the marathon is an ancient and punishing race that tests the limits of human endurance. It’s twenty-six plus miles of torture on the human body.  

Well in 1984, there was a Swiss Marathoner named Gabriela Andersen-Schiess who was approaching the finish line after running approximately 26 miles. And, as is common with marathon runners, by the end of the race, her body was depleted of all resources. She had hit what runners call “the wall.” And after hitting the wall, she was barely able to stand and walk let alone run and finish the race. She was depleted of all energy. She was dehydrated. One side of her body had actually shut down. She was listing hard to the right. And she was weaving back and forth on the track. And the judges of the event were very concerned about her because they thought she literally might die right there on the track. But you can’t touch a marathoner, or they’re disqualified. So they came to her and began to call to her, and she waved them off.  

And she continued to limp and weave and struggle and fight all the way to the end of that race while all the other runners passed her by. And eventually, after an extended amount of time, she awkwardly hobbled to the finish line collapsing into the hands of the medics. And when she finally crossed the finish line that Los Angeles audience roared with delight. And what’s amazing about that event is that they had all but forgotten who actually won the race. They were mesmerized by this Swiss woman, Gabriella, and her battle with the race.1  

Now why do I tell you that story? Because I believe that this picture more accurately summarizes the Christian life than a fast race like the 100-meter dash. Life for the Christian is not a sprint. It’s a marathon.2 We don’t finish at full speed with a victory lap around the track.3 No, we collapse into the hands of God.4 That’s what finishing the race of life looks like.5 

1 See the recent Eurosport interview of Gabriela Andersen-Schiess with video of the original race here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTLBejleWiI. I was reminded of this athletic event by a sermon on 2 Timothy 4:7-8 preached by Tommy Nelson entitled “Finishing: The Last Virtue of God's Elect,” 10-09-94: https://dentonbible.org/sermon/finishing-the-last virtue-of-gods-elect/. 

2 Keener, IVPBBCNT, Heb 12:3: “The call to endurance in 12:1 reflects the language of long-distance races.” 3 Hughes, Hebrews, vol. 2, 161: “The race is not for sprinters who flame out after 100 or 200 or 400 meters. It is for faithful plodders like you and me.” 

4JEROME: “God has entered us as contestants in a racecourse where it is our lot to be always striving. This place, then, a valley of tears, is not a condition of peace, not a state of security, but an arena of struggle and of endurance.” Quoted in Heen and Krey, eds., Hebrews, ACCS, 210. 

5 Hughes, Hebrews, vol. 2, 160 gives a helpful clarification: “We each have a specific course mapped out for us, and the course for each runner is unique. Some are relatively straight, some are all turns, some seem all uphill, some are a flat hiking path. All are long, but some are longer. But the glory is, each of us (no exceptions!) can finish the race “marked out for us.” I may not be able to run your course, and you may find mine impossible, but I can finish my race and you yours. Both of us can finish well if we choose and if we rely on him who is our strength and our guide!”

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The title of the message today is “Finish the Race.” And finishing the race means exhausting our human resources for Christ and for his kingdom and then collapsing into the hands of God. Finishing the race means fighting and struggling and limping in faith, if we have to, all the way to the finish line depleting all our strength in service to the Lord.6 The Apostle Paul says in 2 Timothy 4:7-8, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.”7 

And here’s another thing too—we don’t compete against one another. That woman, Gabriella, at the end of the race… it wasn’t about competition with the other runners. It was her against the race. We as Christians don’t compete with one another. We compete against the race. We compete against life. Thankfully we have this cloud of witnesses cheering us on along the way.8 

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Here’s your outline for today. Go ahead and write this down. The author of Hebrews in Hebrews 12 is piggybacking on the great chapter of Hebrews 11, the so-called “Hall of Faith.” And he’s saying here,  

1) In light of the examples of OT believers, finish the race of life in faith (12:1) 

The author of Hebrews says in verse 1, 

1 Therefore,9since we are surrounded by so great a cloud10 of witnesses,  

You might say, “what cloud of witnesses?” Well, Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Rahab, etc. All the sixteen plus men and women of Hebrews 11.11 Some named and some unnamed. let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance12 the race13 that is set before us, 

You know this very much has the feel of the ancient Olympic games. And that’s not surprising, because he is probably writing to a group of Jewish Christians in an urban setting (Rome?), who were very familiar with those games. And those games were held in coliseums. And those coliseums would be filled with spectators  

6Johnson, “Hebrews,” in Hebrews–Revelation, ESVEC, 183: “The exhortation to enduring faith, grounded in Habakkuk 2:3–4 (Heb. 10:35–39) and illustrated in the lives of OT saints (11:1–40), is now repeated and elaborated.” 

7 Hughes, A Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews, NICNT, 519: The analogy [of running a race] clearly had a strong appeal to the apostle Paul, who frequently depicts the Christian as an athlete, self-disciplined and concentrated, as he strives to gain a glorious and unfading crown (see 1 Cor. 9:24–27; Gal. 2:2; Phil. 1:29f.; 2:16; Col. 1:29; 2:1; 1 Tim. 6:12; 2:5; Acts 20:24; cf. 2 Cor. 10:13ff.).” 8JOHN CALVIN: “This conclusion [Heb 12:1] is, as it were, an epilogue to the former chapter, by which he shows the end for which he gave a catalog of the saints who excelled in faith under the law, even that every one should be prepared to imitate them; and he calls a large multitude metaphorically a cloud, for he sets what is dense in opposition to that is thinly scattered.… Now the metaphor of a race is often to be found in Scripture, but here it means not any kind of race, but a running contest, which is wont to call forth the greatest exertions. The import of what is said then is that we are engaged in a contest, even in a race of the most celebrated, that many witnesses stand around us, that the Son of God is the umpire who invites and exhorts us to secure the prize, and that therefore it would be most disgraceful for us to grow weary or inactive in the midst of our course. And at the same time the holy people whom he mentioned are not only witnesses but also have been associates in the same race, who have beforehand shown the way to us; and yet he preferred calling them witnesses rather than runners, in order to intimate that they are not rivals, seeking to snatch from us the prize, but approvers to applaud and hail our victory; and Christ also not only is the umpire but also extends his hand to us, and supplies us with strength and energy; in short, he prepares and fits us to enter on our course, and by his power leads us on to the end of the race.” Quoted in Rittgers and George, eds., Hebrews, James, RCS,172-3. 

9 ESV’s “Therefore” is the rare Greek conjunction τοιγαροῦν. It is only used twice in the NT (1 Thes 4:8; Heb 12:1). Fee, Thessalonians, NICNT, 153 calls τοιγαροῦν a “very strong inferential conjunction.” 

10 Guthrie, Hebrews, NIVAC, 397: “Authors of classical literature used the image of a ‘cloud’ to describe a large group of people, and our writer employs this metaphor with an added emphasis, pointing back to the multitude of persons listed or alluded to in chapter 11 as ‘such a great cloud.’” 

11 Keener, IVPBBCNT, Heb 12:1: “The image could be that of a heavenly court made up of faith heroes of the past, who would judge those now vying for the same honors; the image of the heavenly court appears elsewhere in ancient Jewish sources.” 12 ESV’s “endurance” is the Greek ὑπομονή meaning, “the capacity to hold out or bear up in the face of difficulty, patience, endurance, fortitude, steadfastness, perseverance” (BDAG, ὑπομονή ①, 1039). 

13 Allen, Hebrews, NAC, 573-4: “The noun agōn, ‘race,’ may refer to any kind of athletic contest, but the context points to a footrace—not a short sprint, where speed is important, but a lengthy race where endurance is essential to passing the finish line.”

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who would watch and cheer on the competitors. And in this analogy, we are the runners who are being watched and cheered on. 

But also in this analogy, the audience isn’t filled with just spectators. These are witnesses. The Greek word is μάρτυς.14 These are people who have experienced God’s goodness and put their faith in God.15 And they died in faith: Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Rahab, etc.16 Some died gruesome deaths in faith. 

I remember a story once about Bud Wilkinson, the famous Oklahoma football coach. He was asked what football has done for the physical health of everyday Americans. And he said football has done nothing for the physical health of “everyday Americans.” Because football is 50,000 people in a stadium, desperately in need of exercise, watching twenty-two boys on a field, desperately in need of rest. 

But that’s not what this author is describing here. He’s describing us as runners… he’s describing us as people who are being watched and cheered on and testified to by a cloud of witnesses who have already run and finished the race.17 You know, we shouldn’t just be mesmerized by the “hall of famers” in Hebrews 11. Their example and their witness should spur us on to faithfully finish the race. 

And the author says two things here in light of that recognition. And he tells us to do two things. Write these down as 1a and 1b. 

a) Lay aside any hindrance 

b) Press on with endurance 

Let’s take these one at a time. First “lay aside any hindrance.” 

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside18 every weight, and19 sin20 which clings21 so closely, 

In athletic competition, you want to get rid of any unnecessary hindrances. You train with ankle weights and with resistance, but you don’t compete with that.22 You want to remove any excess clothing 

14 Hughes, A Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews, NICNT, 519: “Though the term martyr does not in the New Testament have the particular meaning of one who has sealed his witness with his blood that it later came to have, many of those in this cloud of witnesses were, as we have noticed above, martyrs in this later sense.” 

15 Guthrie, Hebrews, NIVAC, 397: “God has given witness to them (‘commended’ in 11:2, 39 is from a related word, the verb martyreo), and they, as examples, bear witness to him before succeeding generations.” Hughes, Hebrews, vol. 2, 158: “The cloud of witnesses that fills the stadium are the great spiritual athletes of the past, Hall of Faith members—every one a Gold Medal winner. They are not live witnesses of the event, but ‘witnesses’ by the fact that their past lives bear witness to monumental, persevering faith that, like Abel’s faith, ‘still speaks, even though he is dead.’” 

16 Hughes, Hebrews, vol. 2, 163: “If we are believers, we are in the race, and we are surrounded by a great cloud of lives whose examples call for our best—the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob), the prophets (Moses, Elijah, Samuel, Daniel, Jeremiah), the apostles (Peter, John, Paul), the martyrs (Stephen, Polycarp, Cranmer, Elliott, Saint), the preachers (Luther, Calvin, Wesley, Spurgeon), the missionaries (Carey, Taylor, Carmichael), our departed family members, and on and on.” 17 O’Brien, The Letter to the Hebrews, PNTC, 451: “[T]he emphasis of the first clause falls on what Christians see in the host of witnesses rather than on what they see in Christians.” 

18 ESV’s “lay aside” is an aorist, middle, participle of the Greek verb ἀποτίθεμαι meaning “take off” and can be used literally (for clothes) or figuratively (BDAG, ἀποτίθημι ①, 123). Johnson, “Hebrews,” in Hebrews–Revelation, ESVEC, 184:” “lay aside” (apotithēmi) elsewhere refers to disrobing (Rom. 13:12; Eph. 4:22; Col. 3:8), and “trained” (gymnazō) in Hebrews 12:11 alludes to the Greek athletic practice of competing unclothed (gymnos).” 

19 O’Brien, The Letter to the Hebrews, PNTC, 452: “If the conjunction ‘and’ that links the two expressions is epexegetical, then the author is urging them to ‘put off every hindrance, namely, sin which so easily besets’. On this view, sin is the impediment. But the general nature of the language makes it difficult to identify the precise referent of either ‘the hindrance’ or ‘the sin’. Alternatively, the two objects to be thrown off may be distinct. What is a hindrance or weight to one athlete may not be a impediment to another. But each must ‘put off’ whatever is a hindrance or weight to them. By contrast, everyone must thrust aside the ‘sin which so readily ensnares.” 

20 The reference to “sin” here is singular. Some have concluded that this singular reference is a reference to “the sin of unbelief” (see MacArthur, Hebrews, MNTC, 377). I’m more inclined to see this as a collective singular that references sin in general. O’Brien, The Letter to the Hebrews, PNTC, 452: “Our author is not referring to some specific sin, such as apostasy, which would disqualify a Christian from running at all. Rather, he is speaking of sin itself (the definite article is generic), so a general meaning is probably in view. The adjective rendered that so easily entangles specifies how sin impedes one’s progress in the race.” 21 Guthrie, Hebrews, NIVAC, 397-8: “The word euperistatos possibly refers to something that clings so closely that it impedes movement, but its meaning is uncertain.”

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that might weigh you down. You know football players wear these jerseys now that are so thin and tight it looks like they’ve been painted on. And that’s because they want an advantage. They don’t want anyone to be able to grab their jersey and move them or tackle them. Swimmers in competition wear suits that are streamlined and ergonomic for minimal friction. Swimmers will shave every bit of hair on their body to reduce friction and give them an edge in competition. In the ancient world, Olympians would strip of all of their clothing before they competed.23 

And the idea here, that the author of Hebrews is trying to convey, is that Christians should remove any hindrance, any weight, and inhibitor in their Christian walk. And also, the sin, which like gum on the bottom of your shoes, clings to us.  

Now this is super helpful here. Because the author gives us two categories. He gives us a non-sin category and a sin category. Some hindrances are sinful, some aren’t.24 Let me give you some examples. Watching television or YouTube videos isn’t intrinsically sinful. But it can be a weight. It can be a distraction in our race.  

Also computer games aren’t intrinsically sinful. Timewasters on our smartphones or on our tablets aren’t intrinsically sinful. But addictions can form easily with those things. And so, we need to be careful. And if it becomes a weight that is bogging down our spiritual life, then we need to shed it and divest ourselves of those hindrances. I read a stat recently that the average twenty-something American male plays three hours of video games a day. Three hours a day! That’s 10% of your life playing video games! That’s not an innocent diversion; that’s a hindrance. 

In the first century world, there’s the possibility here that the hindrance is a commitment to Jewish legalism and the old religious ways.25 The author of Hebrews is trying to steer his congregation away from that old-school legalism, because he knows that the temple in Jerusalem is passé and will soon be destroyed. 

So there are non-sin categories of hindrances. But there are also sins that hinder us. And the problem with sin is that it easily entangles us.26 And as a runner, the last thing you want are entanglements that cause you to slip or fall or lose your footing. I’ve seen Christian lives destroyed by the sin of lust. I’ve seen Christian lives destroyed by the sin of greed. I’ve seen Christian lives destroyed by the sin of bitterness and unforgiveness. Those things are sticky.27 They stick to your soul, and they don’t come off easily.28 

22 Spurgeon, Spurgeon Commentary: Hebrews, 384: “We cannot win if we are weighted. The pace will have to be very swift, and we cannot get to it, or keep it up, if we have weights to carry. Unloaded, we shall find the race taxing all our powers; weighted, we shall be doomed to failure.” 

23 Hughes, A Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews, NICNT, 519-20: “As the athlete whose name is entered for the games strips for action, both by the removal of superfluous flesh through rigorous training and by the removal of all unnecessary garments and adornments at the time of the contest itself (the Greek custom in fact required the competitors to be stripped naked), so the Christian should discipline himself (1 Cor. 9:25, 27) and shun every excess which would hamper or incapacitate him as a participant in the greatest of all contests.” 

24 Hughes, Hebrews, vol. 2, 159 speaks of non-sinful hindrances as “something, otherwise good, that weighs you down spiritually. It could be a friendship, an association, an event, a place, a habit, a pleasure, an entertainment, an honor. But if this otherwise good thing drags you down, you must strip it away.” 

25 This is the view of MacArthur, Hebrews, MNTC, 376 who says, “Most of those ways were not wrong in themselves. Some had been prescribed by God for the time of the Old Covenant. But none of them was any value now, and in fact had become hindrances. They were sapping energy and attention from Christian living. The Temple and its ceremonies and pageantry were beautiful and appealing. And all the regulations, the dos and don’ts of Judaism, were pleasing to the flesh. They made it easier to keep score on your religious life. But these were all weights, some of them very heavy weights. They were like a ball and chain to spiritual living by faith. These Jewish believers, or would-be believers, could not possibly run the Christian race with all their excess baggage.” 26 Spurgeon, Spurgeon Commentary: Hebrews, 385: “Every kind of sin must be watched against, struggled against, and mastered. ‘Sin will not be master over you’ (Rom 6:14).” 

27 Hughes, Hebrews, vol. 2, 159: “Perhaps you have seen it yourself while lying on the grass by a sundew plant when a fly lights on one of its leaves to taste one of the glands that grow there. Instantly, three crimson-tipped, finger-like hairs bend over and touch the fly’s wings, holding it firm in a sticky grasp. The fly struggles mightily to get free, but the more it struggles, the more hopelessly it is coated with adhesive. Soon the fly relaxes, but to its fly-mind “things could be worse,” because it extends its tongue and feasts on the sundew’s sweetness while, it is held even more firmly by still more sticky tentacles. When the captive is entirely at the plant’s mercy, 

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“How do you shed them, Pastor Tony?” Here’s how. Let me give you a few Scriptures to scrape the sticky sins off of your soul. 

Psalm 119:11 says, “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” Proverbs 28:13 says this: “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.” 

1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 

James 5:16 says “Get some other believers involved.” It says, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” 

Galatians 6:1 says, “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.” 1 Corinthians 10:13 says, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” 

1 Corinthians 15:33 says, “Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company ruins good morals.’” 

1 Peter 5:8 says, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” 

James 4:7 says, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” 

Romans 12:2 says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Jesus said in 

Matthew 5:29-30, “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.”  

And not only do we lay aside any hindrance. We also press on with endurance. 

c) Lay aside any hindrance 

d) Press on with endurance 

let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,29 That “set before us” language is a reference to God’s sovereignty. God has marked the course out for you. God hasn’t given you more than you can handle. And God isn’t going to abandon you on this race called life. He’s right there with you and empowering you along the way. So press on with endurance. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Go ahead and write this down as #2 in your notes. At first the author of Hebrews mentions the great cloud of witnesses. But that great collection of individuals isn’t really the target. We aren’t ultimately imitating them. We are imitating Christ.30 

2) In light of the example of Christ, finish the race of life in faith (12:2-3) 

The author of Hebrews says in verse 2, 

the edges of the leaf fold inward, forming a closed fist. Two hours later the fly is an empty sucked skin, and the hungry fist unfolds its delectable mouth for another easy entanglement. Nature has given us a terrifying allegory.” 

28 Mohler, Exalting Jesus in Hebrews, 195: “One of the most horrifying truths about sin is that it clings to the sinner. Christians would like to say that once we have come to faith in Christ, sin assaults us no more. Unfortunately, it’s not easily shed. God’s Word never says that sin will stop assaulting or enticing us after conversion.” 

29 Lane, Hebrews 1-8, WBC, 399: “Linguistically the participle προκείμενον may be understood to define the race as ‘laid out,’ ‘prescribed,’ ‘appointed,’ or alternatively as ‘lying before,’ ‘ahead.’ For the phrase τὸν προκείμενον ἡμῖν ἀγῶνα, the former understanding is preferable in the light of numerous parallels for a course being set or assigned.” 

30 Mohler, Exalting Jesus in Hebrews, 194: “But the point of this passage is not to look to our earthly fathers but to look to Jesus, our ultimate source for finding strength and for obtaining a proper understanding of the heavenly Father’s discipline. Believers look to Christ because he endured suffering for the church’s salvation. The hostility he bore was the hostility his people deserved. None of the Old Testament figures suffered or acted for the elect in the way Christ did by substituting himself. Christ, therefore, is the key focus.”

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2looking31 to Jesus,  

Notice there’s no sentence break in verse 2. And that’s correct. The main verb here is still “run.”32 We’re laying aside every weight as we run. We are running with endurance the race set before us. And we are running with our eyes not on our sin or on our suffering or on our circumstances… we are running with our gaze transfixed on Jesus Christ.33 

Why? Why are we focused on Christ? Because Jesus is… 

the founder and perfecter34 of our35 faith,  

Can I just state the obvious here? Nobody in Hebrews 11 is called “the founder and perfecter of our faith.” Moses isn’t called that. Abraham isn’t called that. King David is called that. Even the great Enoch who escaped death isn’t called that. All those men and women are great exemplars of faith—They displayed great faith! But they aren’t Hebrews 12:2! There’s only one “founder and perfecter of our faith.”36 There’s only one Jesus. 

The word “founder” in Greek is the word ἀρχηγός which means “initiator” “originator” “founder” or “pioneer.”37 We look to Christ because he is the reason that we have faith in the first place. He’s the originator of our salvation. He’s the one who made all this possible.  

And not only is he the founder of our faith, he’s also the “perfecter” of our faith.38 In addition to being the author of our salvation by his sacrificial death, Jesus is the model for us in the way he lived a perfect life. We look to Jesus because Jesus showed us how to defy sin. Jesus showed us how to shed encumbrances. Jesus showed us how to deal with anger and with disappointment and with temptation and with Satanic opposition. Jesus showed us how to obey the Father and submit to the Father and live a life of faithfulness.39 

31 Lane, Hebrews 1-8, WBC, 399: “The present participle ἀφορῶντες is temporally concomitant with the main verb τρέχωμεν, i.e., while running let us fix our eyes upon Jesus. The present tense of the participle expresses duration.” 

32 O’Brien, The Letter to the Hebrews, PNTC, 452: “The key verb of the exhortation in vv. 1-2 is let us run: it is expressed by a hortatory subjunctive rather than an imperative, as our author adopts a pastoral tone and identifies himself with his listeners.” 33 Spurgeon, Spurgeon Commentary: Hebrews, 386: “Do not fix your gaze on the cloud of witnesses; they will hinder you if they take away your eye from Jesus. Do not look at the weights and the besetting sin—these you have laid aside; look away from them. Do not even look at the racecourse, or the competitors, but look to Jesus and so start in the race.” 

34 Lane, Hebrews 1-8, WBC, 399: “The dense expression τὸν τῆς πίστεως ἀρχηγὸν καὶ τελειωτήν is extraordinarily concise and resists facile translation. It must be given precision in the light of the larger development in Hebrews.” Lane translates this expression verbosely as follows: “fixing our eyes upon Jesus, the champion in the exercise of faith and the one who brought faith to complete expression.” 

35 O’Brien, The Letter to the Hebrews, PNTC, 454n39: “The original τῆς πίστεως should be rendered ‘of faith’ (TNIV), not ‘of our faith’ (NIV, ESV). Although the definite article in Greek can sometimes be rendered by a personal pronoun (e.g., Rom. 5:3, ἐν ταῖς θλίψεσιν, [lit.] ‘in the afflictions’, refers to ‘our afflictions’), here the article is one of renewed mention, referring to ‘faith’ in Hebrews 11.” 

36 Johnson, “Hebrews,” in Hebrews–Revelation, ESVEC, 185: “Jesus is not only faith’s preeminent exemplar, overshadowing the OT people of faith, but also the originator and object of our faith. He initiates our faith, runs faith’s race ahead of us, and brings our faith to its goal.” 

37 DBL Greek #795. The word is used twice in Hebrews and twice in the book of Acts (Acts 3:15; 5:31; Heb 2:10; 12:2). Allen, Hebrews, NAC, 574: “The use of archēgos ‘perfecter’ has the sense of ‘originator,’ ‘founder’ or ‘author.’ It can also have the meaning of ‘champion,’ as reflected in Lane’s translation of the phrase ‘the champion in the exercise of faith and the one who brought faith to complete expression.’ The title should be read with Heb 6:20 in mind, where Jesus is said to be our ‘forerunner,’ indicating that others would follow later on the trail he blazed.” 

38 ESV’s “perfecter” is the hapax legomenon τελειωτής. It’s a word that means one who brings something to a successful conclusion (BDAG, τελειωτής, 997). 

39 Hughes, Hebrews, vol. 2, 161: “His entire earthly life was the very embodiment of trust in God (2:13). He perfected living by faith. He lived in total dependence upon the Father (10:7–10).” Hughes, A Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews, NICNT, 522: “the incarnate Son is himself the man of faith par excellence, and this seems to be the primary sense intended by the Greek original of the expression, which reads literally, ‘the pioneer and perfecter of faith,’ faith, that is, absolutely and without qualification. His whole earthly life is the very embodiment of trust in God (Heb. 2:13). It is marked from start to finish by total dependence on the Father and complete attunement to his will (10:7–10).”

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It’s not for nothing that we have this great word in the English language—this word “Christlikeness”— to describe how we should live our lives. Don’t model your life after the hall of famers in Hebrews 11.40 Those men and women were riddled with failures.41 Model your lives after the founder and perfecter of the faith, Jesus Christ.42 Be Christ-like. Because comparing Christ to the OT saints of Hebrews 11 is like comparing the Pacific Ocean to some muddy creek in your backyard. He’s so much more awesome than the faith-filled followers of God in Hebrews 11. 

And let’s talk some more about how awesome Jesus is.  

2looking to Jesus,43 the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for44 the joy45 that was set before him46 endured47 the cross, despising48 the shame,49 and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.50 

40 EPHREM THE SYRIAN: “Let us look not toward human beings for the perfection of our faith... Rather let us look into ‘Jesus Christ, the pioneer of faith,’ who was made our leader and ‘the perfecter’ of our faith, because he began from the Jordan the fight against the enemy, then continued it in the desert, and finished it in Jerusalem through the cross, which was erected by the persecutors on Golgotha.” Quoted in Heen and Krey, eds., Hebrews, ACCS, 210-1. 

41 JOHANNES OECOLAMPADIUS: “He is not content to exhort them to endurance and constancy of faith by the examples of the holy fathers, but he also ventures to summon them by the example of Christ… Supposing that there may be someone who is too weak to follow the fathers, still they should not lose heart—we have the mightiest captain of faith in Jesus, who longs to lead us by the hand, and he does this so delightfully because he is our way, our forerunner, and our shepherd, the one most ready to help us. For we fix our eyes on him who goes before us and completes us, for he perfectly suffered and endured both pains and insults all at once.” Quoted in Rittgers and George, eds., Hebrews, James, RCS, 174. 

42 CHRYSOSTOM: “As in all arts and games, we impress the art upon our mind by looking to our masters, receiving certain rules through our sight, so here also, if we wish to run and to learn to run well, let us look to Christ, even to Jesus, ‘the author and finisher of our faith.’ … He has put the faith within us. For he said to his disciples, ‘You did not choose me, but I chose you’; and Paul too says, ‘But then shall I understand, even as I have been fully understood.’ He put the beginning into us; he will also put on the end.” Quoted in Heen and Krey, eds., Hebrews, ACCS, 210. 

43 Hughes, Hebrews, vol. 2, 161: “By insisting that we focus on Jesus, instead of the name Christ, the writer is calling us to focus on Jesus’ humanity as we saw it here on earth.” In Greek, “Jesus” is at the end of the clause. More woodenly it reads, “Looking to our faith’s founder and perfecter, Jesus.” Allen, Hebrews, NAC, 574-5 adds, “The author placed the name ‘Jesus’ at the very end of the  

clause for emphasis.” He agrees with Hughes that the human name “Jesus” emphasizes his humanity in the context. 44 The ESV’s preposition “for” is a translation of the Greek ἀντί which has been the subject of much scrutiny. The preposition is flexible and could be translated “for this reason” or “instead of” (See DBL Greek #506 and BDAG, ἀντί, 87-8). Some commentators (e.g. Calvin, Chrysostom, Delitzsch, Lane), have suggested that Jesus forsook his “joy” as the Son of God in order to suffer in the incarnation and then the crucifixion of the cross. This is inline with the “kenosis passage” of Philippians 2:5-11. But that is an attempt to harmonize the two passages. Jesus didn’t set aside joy in Hebrews 12:2. He took it up as part of his obedience to the Father. See Hughes, A Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews, NICNT, 523n117. See also O’Brien, The Letter to the Hebrews, PNTC, 455-6 and his five reasons for translating ἀντί with “for” and not “instead of.” 

45 Spurgeon, Spurgeon Commentary: Hebrews, 387-8: “The joy that was set before Jesus was principally the joy of saving you and me. I know it was the joy of fulfilling His Father’s will, of sitting down on His Father’s throne, of being made perfect through suffering— but still I know that this is the grand, great motive of the Savior’s suffering: the joy of saving us… It was this joy that made Christ strong to endure in the day of His sorrow, and joy must make you also strong to endure unto the end… So let us live in the joy of heaven, let us live in the joy of ultimate victory, and this will enable us to bear all the toils and trials of our present life.” 46 Hughes, A Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews, NICNT, 523n116: “Ἡ προκειμένη αὐτῷ χαρά [ESV: “the joy set before him”]: this is still the terminology of the athletic contests. In verse 1 ὁ προκείμενος ἡμῖν ἀγών is the race itself that lies before us, while here it is the conclusion of the race with its joy of victory and achievement that lies before Jesus, as the finish line and crowning ceremony lie ahead of the athlete.” 

47 This is the verbal form ὑπομένω (“to maintain a belief or course of action in the face of opposition, stand one’s ground, hold out, endure” [BDAG, ὑπομένω ②, 1039]) of the cognate noun ὑπομονή in verse 1. The verb ὑπομένω is used again in verse 3 “Consider him who endured…” 

48 ESV’s “despising” is an aorist, active, participle of the verb καταφρονέω meaning “despise, look down on, scorn, show contempt” (DBL Greek #2969). O’Brien, The Letter to the Hebrews, PNTC, 457: “The irony of our author’s language is palpable: only here in the New Testament is Christ (or God) the subject of the verb, and this is the only occasion when it appears in a positive sense.” 49 Guthrie, Hebrews, NIVAC, 399: “On the cross Jesus was treated as valueless, being mocked and ridiculed—in short, being ‘scorned’ or ‘shamed.’ He, however, turned the experience inside out, ‘scorning the scorn,’ or in the author’s words here, ‘scorning the shame’; the cross was insignificant compared to the joy set before our Lord. The end result of its shame was his exaltation to the right hand of God (Ps. 110:1). Thus, Christians are encouraged to look beyond their present difficulties to God’s promised rewards.” 50 Guthrie, “Hebrews,” in CNTUOT, 985: “The movement of Christ from heaven to earth, to death and resurrection, to exaltation has been called the “Way of the Son” and is used variously by Hebrews. Here, the culmination in his exaltation provides strong 

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Christ Jesus endured shame for thirty-three years on this planet. He voluntarily set aside his divine attributes and humbled himself by becoming a man. Paul says it this way. “Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Phil 2:5-8). 

Paul says at the beginning of that passage, “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus” (2:5). Paul says, “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others” (2:4). In other words, “Be like Jesus; Be Christ-like.” The ideas in Philippians 2 are very similar to Hebrews 12. 

And now, Jesus, who has finished his race, has this amazing vantage point from which to look at us and encourage us. He’s at the right hand of the throne of God.51 Thirty-three years of humiliation and sacrifice. But this was not drudgery for him; this was a joy. This was the joy set before him.52 

And now he’s at the right hand of God the Father interceding on our behalf.53 We’ve looked at that already in the book of Hebrews. No need to rehearse that now. 

And here’s what the author of Hebrews is saying here. He’s saying, “Run you race with your eyes fixed on Jesus.” Because Jesus did two amazing things that we need to imitate. Jesus showed us two essential ways to live our lives and run our races. He showed us how to: 

a) Prevail through hostility 

b) Battle against despondency 

Let’s look at these one at a time. First “prevail through hostility.” We see that first in verse 2. Jesus “endured the cross.” Jesus was innocent, and he was holy. And yet people hated him. I would even say that it was because Jesus was innocent and holy that people hated him. And the Jews and the Gentiles together conspired to put him to death. And they didn’t choose just a garden-variety execution for Jesus. They chose the most ignominious form of execution available in the ancient world.54 They pressed to have him crucified, that means nailing him naked to two chunks of wood with his arms stretched out until he died in agony of asphyxiation. Jesus endured that. He “endured the cross.” 

I think sometimes the shame and the despicable reputation of crucifixion is often lost on us in the twenty-first century world. The Roman statesman and writer Cicero actually excoriated the governor of Sicily, a man named Gaius Verres, for crucifying a man who claimed to be a Roman citizen. That Roman citizen begged for his life to no avail. And Cicero was incensed that something so accursed as crucifixion, “this most brutal and horrifying torture” was used so indiscriminately.55 

But that “brutal and horrifying torture” was used to execute the Son of God. And Jesus “despised its shame.”56 Jesus didn’t call for angels to come down and rescue him on that cross Jesus didn’t call for angels to come down and eradicated all his accusers and mockers and adversaries. And Jesus didn’t rise from the grave  

encouragement for those who are suffering under persecution by demonstrating the outcome of Christ’s perseverance. Immediately following this allusion, 12:3–4 makes somewhat an argument from a greater situation to a lesser: if Christ endured, shedding his blood, then the hearers, who have not yet resisted to the point of martyrdom, likewise can endure.” 

51 Hughes, Hebrews, vol. 2, 162 calls this Jesus’s “super-exaltation.” 

52 THEODORET OF CYR: “He could have avoided suffering, he is saying, had he so chosen; but he put up with the suffering for the benefit of all. The Savior’s joy is the salvation of human beings; for it he endured the suffering, and after the suffering he is seated with the Father who begot him.” Quoted in Heen and Krey, eds., Hebrews, ACCS, 209-10. 

53 Allen, Hebrews, NAC, 576: “Unlike the heroes and heroines of faith mentioned in Hebrews 11, Jesus is able to strengthen his followers to endure because he is the one who sits at the right hand of the throne of God and awaits their cry for help.” 54 Johnson, “Hebrews,” in Hebrews–Revelation, ESVEC, 185: “The shame of execution on a cross was well known across the Greco Roman world among both pagans and Jews, for whom it bore the added stigma of God’s curse (Deut. 21:22–23; 1 Cor. 1:18–25; Gal. 3:13; cf. Acts 5:30; 10:39; 13:29). Jesus’ suffering on the cross, however, transformed its shame and reproach (Heb. 13:12–13) into an occasion for Christian boasting (Gal. 6:14).” 

55 Taken from Hughes, A Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews, NICNT, 524. 

56 Hughes, A Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews, NICNT, 525: “It is important to recognize that the shame of the cross, where Christ bore the sins of the world, is something infinitely more intense than the pain of the cross. Others have suffered the pain of crucifixion, but he alone has endured the shame of human depravity in all its foulness and degradation.”

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looking for vengeance against all his adversaries.57 He rose from the dead and offered eternal life even to his enemies. That’s remarkable. And forty days after his resurrection he ascended into heaven, and now he sits at God’s right hand waiting until it’s time to return.  

Look at verse 3. Here’s the applicational thrust of what the author is saying here.  

3 Consider him [Jesus] who endured from sinners such hostility58 against himself,  

Why did Jesus endure that? Why did he bother? He did it so that we might be saved. He did it because he loved us and because he was obedient to God the Father. That propelled him forward even as people were scourging him and mocking him and spitting upon him and pulling out his beard.59 

Remember now, the author of Hebrews is writing to a group of Jewish Christians who are suffering. They have had their property confiscated. They have been intimidated and insulted and injured and incarcerated.60 They haven’t yet suffered to the point of shedding blood, according to verse 4. But you get the sense that that day is coming and the author of Hebrews is trying to prepare them for that.61 

How are they going to endure all that suffering? How are they going to survive with their faith intact? How are they going to finish the race? Here’s how. They are going to look to the author and finisher of their faith, Jesus Christ. They are going to “consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself.” 

The word “consider” here is the Greek ἀναλογίζομαι and it means “to reason with careful deliberation.”62 We, in a sense, meditate on what Jesus did for us, and that gives us strength to press on through the difficulties of life.  

It looks like this. “People at work think I’m crazy because I actually believe what the Bible says about heaven and hell. But so what? Jesus endured the cross and endured from sinners such hostility against himself.” 

It looks like this. “I’m going through a really painful relational conflict. My parents don’t trust me. My friends are distancing themselves from me. My children don’t want anything to do with me. But so what? Jesus endured the cross and endured from sinners such hostility against himself.” 

It looks like this. “Pastor Tony, Satan is after me. He is getting the best of me. He’s attacking my thought life. He’s tempting me with sin. He’s trying to get me hooked on addictions.” Yeah, I get it. I’m right there with you, fighting alongside you. There’s a reason that the author of Hebrews calls sin something that “clings so closely” to us. But we can prevail. Let’s look to Jesus who endured the cross and “endured from sinners such hostility against himself.” 

Look nobody ever promised you that the Christian life was a gravy train leading to eternity. In fact, the NT promised you the exact opposite. Paul tells us to pick up a weapon and make war. This isn’t a walk in the park or a joyride around town. This is a dogfight. This is a marathon. This is a fight to the finish. John Calvin said once, “There is no reason for us to seek our discharge from the Lord, whatever  

57 Spurgeon, Spurgeon Commentary: Hebrews, 389: “Beggared princes and despised monarchs are among the most miserable of men, but here was our glorious Redeemer, in whose face was the nobility of Godhead itself, despised and spit upon and mocked.” 58 There may be a play on words in this statement between the Greek verb ἀναλογίζομαι (ESV’s “consider”) and the Greek noun ἀντιλογία (ESV’s “hostility”). The author is saying “ἀναλογίζομαι … the ἀντιλογία” (i.e. “consider… the hostility”). 59 HEINRICH BULLINGER: “Disgrace and the libels of slanderous people did not turn Christ away from his purpose; for that reason, he was also received into glory. Hence if, with our face set firm from the beginning we go forward on our journey, however the world may rage and malign us, we will come at last with Christ into glory.” Quoted in Rittgers and George, eds., Hebrews, James, RCS, 174. 60 Hughes, A Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews, NICNT, 520-1: “One of the chief problems with the Hebrew Christians to whom this letter is addressed is that they have set out on the race but, after a good start (10:32–34), are now slackening in the will to persevere: their effort is decreasing (2:1), sin is holding them back (3:17–4:1), they need to recover their intensity of purpose (4:11), to shake off the sluggish mood into which they have fallen (6:11f.), to regain their confidence (10:35, 39) and their competitive spirit (12:12).” 

61 Hughes, A Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews, NICNT, 526: “Some are even tempted to give up the struggle altogether (cf. 2:1; 3:12, 14; 4:1, 11, 16; 6:4–6, 11; 10:23, 26ff., 35f., 39); but to do so would demonstrate that they are not of the true line of those who by faith surmount every opposition and victoriously endure to the end (ch. 11).” 

62 BDAG, ἀναλογίζομαι, 67. This is another hapax legomenon in Hebrews. It’s an intensive form of the more common λογίζομαι meaning “to think about something in a detailed and logical manner—'to think about, to reason about, to ponder, reasoning’” (Louw and Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains, 350).

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service we have performed… because Christ does not have any discharged soldiers except those who have conquered death itself.”63 So listen, church of Jesus Christ. Pick up a weapon and get in the fight! It’s an insult the believers who have died and gone before us to think that we can just coast on into eternity without discharging our spiritual weapons. It’s an insult to our Savior to think that. And following Christ’s example, we will … 

a) Prevail through hostility 

b) Battle against despondency 

Look at the end of verse 3. 

3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself,64 so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.65 Martin Luther said once, “When I think of what Christ suffered, I am ashamed to call anything that I have endured suffering for his sake.”66 Some of the people whom the author of Hebrews is writing to wanted to give up. They wanted to quit the race. And to be fair, they were going through things that you and I haven’t really experienced. For the record, I don’t think it’s easy to be a Christian in 2023.67 But it’s not as hard for us as it was for them. And they had grown weary. And they had become fainthearted. Literally the Greek of verse 3 says, “so that your exhausted souls do not become sick.”68 Their exhausted souls had become sick and discouraged.  

And how do we battle soul weariness? How do we fight against discouragement? Well this is not a “pull yourself up by your own bootstrap” message. This is not a “power of positive thinking” message. That kind of pop-psychology reasoning only has short-term effects. This is a “Jesus is awesome, and we need him,” message. Consider him, church. Consider him. Consider Jesus. 

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I’ll close with this. It’s been a little while since I’ve quoted the great Charles Spurgeon. I think it’s time to bring him back. Consider this, church. Spurgeon writes, “We are helped to run to the end, not only by what Jesus has done for us, but by what Jesus is doing in us. Beloved, you who are in the middle of the race, remember that Jesus sustains you. Every atom of your strength for running comes from your Lord. Look to Him for it. Do not take a step in creature strength, nor seek after any virtue, or growth, or progress apart from His life and grace.”69 

Spurgeon says, “We are not only sustained by looking unto Jesus, but we are inspirited thereby. If we win a glance from His eye, our feeble knees are confirmed. We take breath as we behold Him on the throne, and dash forward again. Those dear eyes of His are to us as stars are to the mariner. Jesus says to us, ‘Come on—I am victorious, and so shall you be.’ A sight of the exalted Leader fires the zeal of each