Consider Him

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Hebrews 12:1-3

Consider what would happen if you and two of your buddies were playing a round of golf and Jack Nicklaus asked to join your threesome on the first tee. Or perhaps you and the guys are playing a game of pick up basketball and Michael Jordan walked up and asked, “Mind if I join you?” Suddenly, every ounce of “wanna be” in our mortal bodies would be on the court. The presence of Hall of Famers is innately elevating!

On a far more exalted level, the writer of Hebrews paints an awesome picture of one’s spiritual observers in an attempt to motivate and instruct his faltering little church to persevere. The scene is a great coliseum. The occasion is a footrace, a long distance event. The contestants include the writer, members of his flock and, by mutual faith, us! The cloud of witnesses that fills the stadium are the great spiritual athletes of the past. Hall of Fame 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” [Hebrews 11:4]. Everywhere one looks in the vast arena, there is a kind face nodding encouragement, saying, “I did it, and so can you. You can do it!” Moses strokes his long beard and smiles. Rahab winks and waves. Our hearts begin to race. We want to run the race and with all our being we want to do well. What are we to do?

The call to divestment is clearly spelled out in the opening line: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles” [v. 1a]. The divestment here, the throwing off of everything, has reference to the radical Greek custom of the day of stripping off one’s clothing before a race. And the writer orders a double divestment – first, of all hindrances, and second, of sin.

The sin we are especially commanded to cast off is described as “the sin that so easily entangles,” which is an apt description of what sin repeatedly does. Consider the sundew plant that lures the fly to land on one of its leaves to taste one of its tempting glands. Instantly, three crimson-tipped, finger-like hairs bend over and trap the fly’s wings, holding it firm in its sticky grasp. The fly struggles mightily for its freedom, but the more it struggles, the more hopelessly it is coated with the plant’s adhesive. Soon enough the fly relaxes, and surprisingly its fly mind takes an “it could be worse” attitude, because it then 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 fly is entirely at the plant’s mercy, the edges of the leaf fold inward, forming a closed fist. Two hours later the fly is an empty sucked shell of its skin, and the hungry fist unfolds its delectable mouth for another easy entanglement. Nature has given us a terrifying allegory.

But the most sobering thing we see here is that “the sin which so easily entangles” us refers to the specific sin(s) each of us, individually, is most likely to commit – a “besetting sin” as the older translations render it or as an “entangling sin” as here in the NIV. We each have characteristic sins that more easily entangle us than others. Some sins that tempt and degrade others hold little appeal for us – and vice versa. Sensuality is no Achilles’ heel for many men, but not all. Another who has gained victory of such sin may still regularly drink jealousy’s deadly nectar, not realizing that it is rotting his soul. Dishonesty may never tempt some souls, for guile simply has no appeal to them, but just cross them and you will feel Satan’s temper. What sin is it that so easily entangles you or me? Covetousness? Envy? Criticism? Laziness? Hatred? Lust? Ingratitude? Pride? Whatever sin it is, it must be stripped off and left behind.

Our divestment must go even further as we “throw off everything that hinders” – literally, “the weight that hinders.” Not all hindrances or weights are sin, however. In fact, what is a hindrance to us may not be a hindrance in any way to someone else. A hindrance is something, otherwise good, that weighs us 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 us down, then we must strip it away.

I realize that this image is extreme. But if we are to finish well in our faith, we must strip our souls naked of “everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles” us. The benevolent, knowing faces of the witnesses beckon us to do so. We will never run well without doing this. Thus a conscious, systematic divestment of all sins and hindrances is required. Moreover, this divestment must be regularly performed, like a virus-scan on one’s computer.

Properly divested, there remains but one great thing to do – and that is to run: “and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us” [v. 1b]. We each have a specific course mapped out for us, and the course for each of us runners is unique. Some are relatively straight, some are all turns, some seem all uphill, some are more like a hiking path. All are long, but some are longer. But the glory is, each of us 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. We can experience the same satisfaction the Apostle Paul did as he neared the finish line: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store 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 longed for His appearing” [2 Timothy 4:7, 8].

Now stripped bare of any weights of sin and running with perseverance, we are given the focus that will ensure our finishing well – and that is, of course, Jesus: “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith” [v. 2a]. 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. We are to focus on Him first as “author” [archegos – literally, “pioneer”] of our faith. Jesus is the pioneer and author of all faith in both the Old and New Testaments. He initiates all faith and bestows it [see Ephesians 2:8-10]. But, still more, He is the “perfecter of our faith.” His entire earthly life was the very embodiment of trust in God [Hebrews 2:13]. He perfected living by faith as He lived in absolute dependence upon the Father [Hebrews 10:7-10]. It was His complete faith in God that enabled Him to go through the mocking, crucifixion, rejection and desertion – and left Him perfect in faith. As F. F. Bruce has said, “Had He come down by some gesture of supernatural power, He would never have been hailed as the ‘perfecter of faith’ nor would He have left any practical example for others to follow.” But since He did, in fact, endure everything by faith, He is uniquely qualified to be the “author and perfecter” of the faith of His followers.

Along with this we ought to focus on Jesus’ attitude – “who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame” [v. 2b]. Some people wrongly imagine that because Jesus was a divine man, the physical and spiritual sufferings of the cross were somehow “less” for Him, when in reality, the reverse was true. So we must let the full force of the Hebrews’ text “He endured the cross” – sink deeply into our souls. The physical pain He endured was absolute. But the spiritual pain was even greater because His pure soul, which knew no sin, became sin for us, inducing a heretofore unknown pain. And we must also absorb the fact that He “endured the cross, scorning its shame.” That is, He thought nothing of its shame -- He dismissed it as nothing. How and why could He do this? Because of “the joy set before Him” – which was rooted in His coming super-exaltation when He "sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” [v. 2c]. His exaltation, with all that it means for His people’s shalom and for the triumph of God’s purpose in the universe, was “the joy set before Him.” There was the joy of His reunion, as it were, with the Father. What an exalted thought -- Heaven's homecoming! Imagine the joy! David's words suggest the idea: "You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand" [Psalm 16:11]. Then there was the joy of being crowned with honor and glory and having all things put under His feet [Hebrews 2:6-8]. There was also the joy before Him of bringing many sons to glory -- making us a part of His joy [Hebrews 2:10].

Our blessed and glorious Lord lived His earthly life with the purest of faiths. He fixed His "eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal" [2 Corinthians 4:18] -- and thus, His joy was the "eternal weight of glory" [2 Corinthians 4:17]. In capping his famous challenge to finish well, the writer gives the idea of focusing on Jesus a dynamic twist by concluding: "Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart" [v. 3]. The phrase "grow weary and lose heart" was a sports term in the ancient world for a runner's exhausted collapse. Thus, the way for a Christian runner to avoid such a spiritual collapse was to "consider Him" -- that is, to carefully calculate [we derive our word logarithm from the Greek word translated "consider"] Jesus and His endurance of opposition from the likes of Caiaphas, Herod and Pilate. We are to remember His confidence and meekness and steel-like strength in meeting His enemies.

No one can miss the superb wisdom of this passage: we must be totally absorbed with Jesus. This require negation -- a turning away from those things that distract us -- and then the positive act of consciously focusing and meditating on Jesus. This is why we must read and re-read the Gospels. This is why our worship must be Christocentric. This is why He must be the measure of all things. 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, Elliott, Saint], the preachers [Luther, Calvin, Wesley, Spurgeon], the missionaries [Carey, Taylor, Carmichael], our departed family members, and on and on. Their faces spur us on to finish well.