Please turn with me in your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 12. Hebrews chapter 12. On Wednesday evening, we considered a portion of Hebrews 12, specifically where the apostle tells us to let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. That's the overarching encouragement or exhortation in this particular section.
And to the end of compliance, the apostle gives us three incentives. Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. First of all, because we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. Secondly, we have the example of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And then thirdly, we have the purpose of the Father in our lives. So this morning we're going to take up the example of Christ specifically in verses 2 to 4 in Hebrews chapter 12. But I do want to begin by reading in chapter 11 at verse 30. We'll read chapter 11, 30 to 12, 11.
By faith, the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days. By faith, the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe when she had received the spies with peace. And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Beric and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.
Women received their dead raised to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned.
They were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented, of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains and dens and caves of the earth. And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.
Therefore, we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him who endured such hostility from sinners against himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. You have not yet resisted the bloodshed, striving against sin, and you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons. My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by him.
For whom the Lord loves, he chastens and scourges every son whom he receives. If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons. For what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.
Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but he for our profit that we may be partakers of his holiness. Now, no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful.
Nevertheless, afterward, it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Amen. Well, let us pray.
Opening Prayer
Father in heaven, we thank you for the holy scripture. We pray now for the ministry of your spirit. We pray that he would guide and lead us and instruct us in this passage, that you would encourage our hearts and that you would spur us on to run with endurance the race that is set before us. And may we always look unto Jesus, our great savior.
We pray now that you would forgive us for all of our sins and all of its darkening influence in our minds. We pray that you would grant us the grace to take every thought captive to the obedience of Jesus Christ. And may your word truly function as the balm of Gilead this morning. May you find each and every one of us out.
May you give us that which we stand in need of. And may you strengthen us with might in the inner man so that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith. And we pray in Jesus' name, amen.
Scripture Reading: Hebrews 11:30–12:11
Well, in the particular context, the Apostle has introduced what we call the Great Hall of Faith in Hebrews chapter 11. He gives us all of these particular men and women in the Old Testament who by God's grace, by faith in Him, did these amazing and glorious things. Now he comes to get real practical for the saints of Christ in Hebrews chapter 12. As I said, the exhortation is found in verse 1.
Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. This is a recurring theme in the book of Hebrews. The issue was the people of God are being tempted, they are being tested, they are being stressed, and they are being pressed, and the idea is that the author does not want them to turn from Christ and go back to the old covenant system. Predominantly, that is the context in the book of Hebrews.
It was written prior to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. There was still a temple, there was still a high priest in terms of the religious system of Israel, there was still sacrifice and all those things. So the Apostle Paul, in my estimation, writes to these Hebrew Christians telling them not to succumb to the pressure, not to go back to the old covenant types and shadows. He says, rather, that Christ is superior.
Christ is supreme over prophets and over angels and over the Levitical priesthood. Christ is supreme over Moses himself. In fact, it is Christ who is the surety of a better covenant. Do not turn back.
Do not relinquish, do not recant, but rather, press on. In other words, in the language of verse 1, let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.
Recurring Theme: Press On
As I've mentioned, this is a recurring theme in the book of Hebrews, just to get us in that mind frame. Turn to chapter 2 for just a moment, and verse 1. I want you to see this emphasis in the book of Hebrews. I hope it will help you appreciate the exhortation there in chapter 12.
Notice in 2.1, therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard less. Here it is, we drift away. He doesn't want them to drift away. It's the worst thing that can happen.
We make a profession of faith and then we drift away. We make a profession of faith and then we turn away. In chapter 3, verse 14, he says, for we have become partakers of Christ. Notice, if we hold the beginning of our confidence, Steadfast to the end.
And then again in chapter 4 verse 1, therefore, since a promise remains of entering his rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. And then in chapter 4 verse 14, let us hold fast our confession. You see, the recurring emphasis, the recurring theme is that you press on, you persevere, you don't stop. In other words, you go forward in the fear of God, seeking to grab, seeking to receive that prize that the Lord holds out at the very end.
In other words, there's no place in the Christian life for stagnation. There's no place in the Christian life for this sort of approach where it's just ho-hum. Rather, we need to actively pursue those things that God has called us on to. And in chapter 12, verse 1, He states the specific duty.
He tells us we are to run with endurance the race that is set before us. The obstacles. We are to lay aside every weight. Anything that would be unnecessary or would be a hindrance on this particular running race.
Things that in themselves aren't necessarily a sin, but may keep you from running effectively the race that is set before you. Of course we are to lay aside sin. That will certainly hinder any approach to this running race. Philip Hughes says, one of the chief problems with the Hebrew Christians, to who this letter is addressed, is that they have set out on the race, but after a good start, are now slackening in the will to persevere.
This is the stepping stone to apostasy. Usually people don't wake up on a given morning and say, you know, I'm done being a Christian, I'm done professing faith in Jesus, I'm gonna go smoke crack, I'm gonna go purchase prostitutes, I'm gonna abandon everything. Full-blown apostasy usually is the result of several previous steps. I'm not going to read my Bible, not going to pray, not going to go to church, I'm not going to do the things that God calls me to do in terms of running with endurance this race that is set before us.
All of those steps precede that one morning when the person says, forget it, I want nothing to do with this system. So Hughes says, they are now slackening in the will to persevere. Their effort is decreasing. Sin is holding them back.
They need to recover their intensity of purpose to shake off the sluggish mood into which they have fallen, to regain their confidence and their competitive spirit. We are to run with endurance the race that is set before us. And we need to understand this reality. Christian life for most of us.
Now, I realize you're unsaved. Right now, God could save you. You could go out on Wellington and get hit by a truck. But generally speaking, that's not the experience of most of God's people.
We get saved and then we have some time. Wouldn't it be nice if we got saved and were ushered into the presence of the Lord Jesus immediately? Some of us are nodding. Yeah, that'd be great.
That's not God's way. You see, those whom he foreknew, he predestined to be conformed to the image of his son. And if his son learns obedience through suffering, his adopted sons learn obedience through suffering, through trial, through tribulation, through difficulty. For the most of us, brethren, the race that is set before us is not the hundred-yard dash or the hundred-meter dash.
It is a marathon. It is a long haul. It is year in and year out. It is a whole life experience.
And this is the emphasis of the passage. O'Brien says the race is not a sprint, but a long distance race requiring resolute determination. See, you train differently, and you function differently, and you live differently if your particular task are hundred meter dashes. If you're a marathon runner, your life looks different.
You have to prepare differently, you have to eat differently, you have to deny yourself in a different manner. And for the Christian, we must run the race in the manner that God has specified. And not only has God told us But he's given us, as I said, these incentives. The first, we looked at this on Wednesday night, therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses.
All these people in Hebrews 11. All these men and women of faith that he's already discussed in chapter 11. With Abel, and Enoch, and Noah, and Abraham, and Sarah, and the judges, and the kings, and the godly men and women of Israel. The prophets, all of them, are this cloud of witnesses that surround us.
And the idea, or the picture, is one of an amphitheater. When we look up, we see Abraham over there, and we see Enoch over there, and we see David over there, and we see Barak over there, and we see Jephthah over there. The idea is not simply that they're rooting us on. They're not just saying, go Jimmy, or go Billy, or go Johnny, or go whoever.
That's not their function. They are witnesses. Witnesses don't get called into the courtroom simply to watch the proceedings. The witnesses come into the courtroom to testify.
So when you see Father Abraham up there, you see Brother Enoch, or you see Brother Jephthah, what are they testifying? Yes, in a certain sense they are testifying that by God's grace, through faith in the living Christ, they managed to persevere. But I think the underlying testimony, the underlying statement that each of these men and women highlight, is that God is faithful. God is faithful.
If you ever doubt that, or you ever grow discouraged, look at Brother Abel. You think you got a tough family life? You think you have challenges on the horizontal level? You have a brother who despises you and one day takes you out and bashes your head with a stone and kills you?
You think that your life is long and arduous and trying? How long did Enoch live? 365 years and he bore sons and daughters. You know what we're to find in an Enoch? the ordinary humdrum, long-haul approach to the Christian life. For 365 years, he had children breaking his heart.
He had the discouragements and the trials of life. But by faith, he persevered. If you think it's hard to be godly in a society like ours that promotes homosexuality, that promotes the murder of the unborn, think about Noah's day. God says the earth is corrupt.
It is filled with violence such that the Lord sends this rain upon earth to destroy every living creature save Noah and his family and the animals in the ark. So you see, we have this cloud of witnesses that are testifying as we run this race with endurance that God is indeed faithful. But when we run with endurance this race that is set before us, it's not Father Abraham that we're to look to. It's not Brother Enoch that we're to look to.
It's not Barak or Jephthah or Rahab the harlot. We are to hear their testimony and we are to use them as examples insofar as they are helpful. But we are to have a single-eyed focus upon Jesus. That's the second incentive.
Notice, verse 1, "...let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him who endured such hostility from sinners against himself..." Notice, just by way of foreshadowing, "...lest You become weary and discouraged in your souls. May I suggest that this or these are the primary cripplers in our Christianity? You know, when I talk with people, I say, how you doing?
Oh, I'm weary. I'm discouraged. That's what hurts us on this running race. For the most of us, and I'm supposing here in this room, it's not the crack dealers who are troubling us in our Christian lives.
It isn't the abortion clinics that are troubling us in our Christian lives. They may trouble us in terms of prayer and our outpouring of our hearts to God when we see the sorts of things going on. But in terms of our running race, it's the weariness and the discouragement, isn't it? Is it?
Do most of you wake up and say, I'm going to apostatize? Or do you wake up and say, I don't know if I can go another day. I don't know if I can press on. I'm discouraged.
I'm weary. This is tough. It's hard. It's difficult.
It is a running race. It is agony. I'm sure when you look at that guy on the 23rd mile of his marathon, he's not saying, man, I feel great. I'm happy as can be.
No. This is what is going on. Lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls, you have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. As we look at verses two to four, I want to consider three things this morning.
First, the specific activity. Secondly, the particular focus. And thirdly, the necessary consideration.
First Point: The Specific Activity
Note, first, the specific activity. Looking, he says. The verb means not only look to someone else, but to get your eyes off of yourself. Look away from self, look away from circumstances, look away from challenges, look away from trials, look away from your difficulties, and look unto Jesus.
That's the emphasis. John Owen reminds us that looking in the scripture when it respects God or Christ denotes an act of faith or trust with hope and expectation. Owen also reminds us of something very important. You see, Jesus is not one example among others.
Oh, there's Abraham, there's Enoch, there's Rahab, there's Ruth, there's Sarah, there's Joshua, and there's Jesus. Jesus is an example and He's being used as such in this particular passage, but there's more to it. This looking unto Jesus means believing in Him, trusting in Him. Without looking unto Jesus, there's no Christian race for you to run.
Owen says it this way, "'Wherefore, the Lord Jesus is not proposed here unto us as a mere example to be considered by us, but as Him also in whom we place our faith.'" He's not an example like Paul is an example. He's not an example like David's an example. He is Christ. He is the object of saving faith.
You cannot run the believer's race without believing in the Christ. Owen goes on to say, in whom we place our faith, trust, and confidence with all our expectation of success in our Christian course. He says, without this faith and trust in Him, we shall have no benefit and no advantage by His example. You see, the idea isn't just slug it out the way Jesus did.
No, it's look to Christ, trust in Christ, believe on Christ, and in so doing, run this particular race that is set before us. That's the specific focus. Isn't that beautiful? Looking unto Jesus.
The gospel. The truth of Christ and Him crucified and risen. It's the primary thing you need in terms of your sanctification. Yes, you need the Holy Spirit.
Yes, you need the holy law of God to set the parameters and define what holiness looks like. But you need gospel. You need to look unto Jesus. You need to be focused upon Him.
You don't run the Christian race without the Christ. You don't run the believer's race without belief. You don't run this race without the Lord of Glory. And that is what is next highlighted in the particular focus, looking unto Jesus.
Second Point: The Particular Focus
And then the Apostle says at least five things here concerning Jesus that ought to grip our attention. The first thing we need to observe is the person of Christ. When he mentions Jesus, as he does in chapter 2, as he does in chapter 4, as he does in chapter 9, the focus seems to be upon the humanity of Christ. One who is sympathetic.
One who is a sufferer. One who has gone it before us. The idea here is the use of this name emphasizes Christ's humanity, particularly his endurance of pain, humiliation, and the disgrace of the cross. You see, when he says, looking unto Jesus, that word, that name is associated with many wonderful things.
Secondly, it points out the work of Christ. Remember in the biblical era, names weren't given because they made it in the top 10 famous name book. I've shared before when we were stationed in England, we thought we were clever when we named Brittany, Brittany, because we lived in England, only to find out all of our counterparts in America named their daughters Brittany as well. For us, it had a bit of significance.
For the most part, though, we pick a name because it's pleasing to us for some reason or other. Jesus is the name that signifies his work. When the apostle says, looking unto Jesus, yes, consider his humanity, but consider that primary function that he was given in the covenant of redemption. Remember, this name is stipulated in Matthew 1.21.
The angel tells Joseph, and you shall call his name, what? Jesus. For he will save his people from their sins. So in other words, as you're running with endurance the race that is set before us, you're looking unto Jesus, and you're thinking in terms of His saving work, you're thinking in terms of His gospel, you're thinking in terms of His power, you're thinking in terms of His efficacy, you're thinking in terms of the reality that He lived, He died, and He rose again to save you from your sins.
And particularly highlighted here is that he is the author and finisher of faith. Some commentators say that that means he's the exemplar. He's the supreme example of faithfulness. We want to know what faithfulness is, we look at Jesus and he serves that example.
And I believe certainly that's part of it. But I think the referent to him being the author, the originator, the giver of our faith, and the perfecter of it, is something that will hopefully put more wind in our sails when we're running with endurance this race. Yes, we see him in his example of faithfulness, but we see him in his power as giving us faith. as giving us this grace, as bringing us into this place of salvation, of redeeming us, of calling us out of darkness into marvelous light. In other words, we're running this race, not in order that we may obtain faith, but we're running this race because Jesus has procured this faith.
He has given it to us, and He has testified that He will finish it. He will complete it. So that when you're running that race with endurance that is set before us, and you're having trials, and you're having difficulties, and you're having struggles, and you actually fall down, by the grace of God you get up because this much you know, that He not only gave me this faith, but He's going to perfect it. He's going to finish it.
He's going to bring me home to the Father. That is great impetus for the runner. When He knows what lays at the end, when He knows that the victory wreath is coming. Run with endurance because Jesus is not only author, but He is perfecting your faith.
So that when you fall, when you trip, when you stumble, when you run and you bash into that tree, even in that instance, Christ has His ever good end in conforming you more unto His image.
Christ's Person, Work, and Resolve
Run, looking at his person. Run, looking at his work. Run, looking thirdly at his resolve. Now, remember the emphasis of the passage.
Let us run with endurance. Notice, Jesus endured the cross. Notice verse three, Jesus endured hostility from sinners against himself. Jesus was resolved.
How many times do we as Christians not live the Christian life in a resolute manner? We're passive. We just want to float. Like we just sang in 481, am I supposed to be wafted into heaven on flowery beds of ease?
While others fought? While others strove? While others battled? While others bled?
While others lost everything, are we just supposed to sing zippity-doo-dah and be wafted into heaven by the blue birds of holiness? How dare us? I wonder at times if we have it too good. I wonder at times if we are being hurt by the many blessings that we have.
That wartime mentality seems to be absent when everything goes our way. That wartime mentality seems to be wanting when we have plenty. But notice the resoluteness of our Christ. There's an interesting statement in Luke 9.
There's a shift in the gospel narrative there. He's going to leave the northern regions of Galilee and He's going to head down to Jerusalem. And you know what it says about our Christ? He set His face like a flint.
Or as the new King James renders it, he was steadfast. Jesus doesn't say, you know, it might be a good idea if I go down to Jerusalem. It might be a good idea if I'm delivered up by godless men. It might be a good idea if I'm tried and then I'm crucified on the third day.
He was steadfast, He was determined, and our passage holds that out. When you're running with endurance the race that is set before us, and you're looking unto Jesus, look at His resoluteness in terms of His life. It says, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross. Now there's two views on this, who for the joy set before him.
The first view says, instead of joy, instead of heavenly bliss, instead of earthly comfort, rather he endured the cross. I don't think that's the view. I think the view is, who for the joy set before him, namely the glory of God and the salvation of his people, he endured the cross. You see the difference?
It's similar to what we find in chapter 11, verses 24 to 26. Why did Moses rather suffer reproach with the people of God than enjoy the passing pleasures of sin? He looked to the reward. In other words, Moses was no fool.
Why would I enjoy all the bounty of Egypt and sacrifice the glory of heaven? I'd rather have the glory of heaven and suffer reproach with the people of Christ right now. The same is true with Jesus. Who for the joy set before Him.
Again, the glory of God and the salvation of His people. He endured the cross. The emphasis is clear in the passage. If you miss this, you're going to miss a lot.
In the Christian life, my dear brothers and sisters, the cross precedes the crown. Let me just say that again. In the Christian life, the cross precedes the crown. Remember those two sons of Zebedee who come to Jesus and they say, Lord grant that when you come into your kingdom, you may let me sit on the right and him sit on the left.
Jesus says, you don't know what you're asking. I have a baptism to undergo that you know nothing of. You see, we want the crown first. I already alluded to that.
I already affirmed that. Wouldn't it be nice if we died and went to heaven? Or I mean, wouldn't it be nice if we believed, died, and went to heaven? It'd be nice.
I'm not going to lie to you. So this guy's got a death wish. No, he doesn't. He really doesn't.
Do you see what we find in Jesus? Who for the joy set before him endured the cross? How do we translate that into our running race? Who for the joy of heaven endure the cross that we have in this earth?
Who for the joy of eternal bliss endure these trials and challenges and difficulties? Who for this crown will certainly carry this cross? John Owen says, herein is the Lord Christ, our great example, in that He was influenced and acted in all that He did and suffered by a continual respect unto the glory of God and the salvation of the Church. who for the joy set before him endured the cross." Brethren, in your running race, look to the prize. In your running race, look to the crown.
In your running race, let that move you. Let that incentivize you. Again, look back for just a moment at chapter 11 at verse 24. By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin." If you had seen Moses make this decision, you would have said, are you nuts?
Are you crazy? Moses, you could be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. That means you live in Pharaoh's palace. That means you drink Pharaoh's wine.
That means you eat Pharaoh's food. That means you get to be entertained by Pharaoh's entertainers. What would you rather have, Moses? I'd rather suffer affliction with the people of God." You'd say, are you nuts?
Are you mad? Are you out of your mind? If you pressed him further, he would say, no, what I am looking forward to far exceeds Pharaoh's court. What I am looking forward to far exceeds Pharaoh's riches.
What I am looking forward to far exceeds anything that this world has to offer, and that's the emphasis that follows in verse 26. Notice, esteeming the reproach of Christ, greater riches. You see, for Moses it was a simple transaction. Greater riches are to be had in identifying with Jesus.
You wouldn't call him a fool at that point, would you? You'd say, oh, there's greater riches to be found in Jesus Christ. Certainly what you're doing is wise. The reproach of Christ, greater riches than the treasures in Egypt, for he looked to the reward.
You see, with Moses and with Jesus, that emphasis is true. They looked to the reward. Who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross? Christian in your running race, don't obsess on the trials.
Don't obsess in the difficulties. Don't obsess in the fact that you fell. Don't obsess in the fact that you ran into that tree. Obsess in the fact that Jesus is at the end of the line.
You see, there's an emphasis here. You ask a Christian, how are you doing? Oh, I've had nothing but trials and difficulties and problems and issues. That's good.
We want to pray for you, but you need to look unto Jesus. You see, the Christian life isn't just about your trials and about your issues and about your difficulties. You know what happens, too, when we obsess on those things? We become obnoxious to everyone around us.
Somebody comes up to us and says, you know, I've had some bad news this week. Well, let me tell you about me. Let me tell you about me. Me, me, me, me, me, me.
Me, me, me, me, me. Okay, I want to hear about you. I want to pray for you. That's great.
But may I direct you unto Jesus? The Christian life isn't your trials. The Christian life isn't your troubles. The Christian life isn't your difficulties and your issues.
The Christian life is Jesus. That's the emphasis of our passage. Run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus. Not looking unto your trials, not looking unto your difficulties, not looking unto your remaining corruption, but looking unto Jesus.
What does weariness and discouragement settle in in the Christian life? I submit it settles in most of all when we look at ourselves. Are you happy when you look inside? I'm not.
Looks like garbage. Need to look at Jesus. Are you happy when you read the books of well-meaning Christians who tell you how much holier you ought to be? There's well-meaning brethren out there and I bless God for them and I want them to be happy and holy in Jesus.
But when men write books and they put burdens upon you that they themselves cannot bear, it becomes difficult. Have you ever read a book and said, man, I'm so far from the kingdom. I'm terrible. It's because the author has given you a great big dose of law and how you need to be more like him or whoever wrote the book or whatever coalition says that you need to be this way.
You see, for Paul, when you run with endurance the race that is set before us, your focus is not on the latest book. It's on Jesus. It's the gospel. It's the cross.
It's substitutionary curse bearing. It's propitiation. It's he laid on him the iniquity of us all. That's what motivates Christian runners.
It's the cross of our Lord Jesus. Spurgeon speaks to this clause, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, and he explains it this way. This is why Spurgeon is Spurgeon. This is beautiful.
This is great. Now, this is the joy which Christ felt. It was the joy of feeding us with the bread of heaven, the joy of clothing poor, naked sinners in his own righteousness, the joy of finding mansions in heaven for homeless souls, of delivering us from the prison of hell and giving us the eternal enjoyments of heaven. who for the joy set before him, first the glory of God, carrying out that covenant of redemption, obeying the will of the Father, doing the will of the Father, and then gathering unto himself all the elect the Father had given him, who for the joy that was set before him he endured the You see, runner, you've got to look to the crown. You've got to realize that the crown comes after the cross, but the crown comes most assuredly.
I love that statement of Paul in his eleventh hour when he's about to check out, when he tells Timothy that he knows his time is at hand. He says, I'm already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race.
I have kept the faith. Then he makes this statement in verse 8, that we ought to focus upon more often. He says, finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day, and not to me only, but also to all who have loved his appearing. You see, for the apostle, this lower world was not the end.
He knew he was going to pass into the presence of his Redeemer, and that Redeemer was going to set a crown on his head. Run that way. Run with endurance the race that is set before us, focusing on the person of Christ, on the work of Christ, on the resoluteness of Christ, and fourthly, on the suffering of Christ.
Christ's Suffering and Exaltation
You see, I think what he's doing here in verses two to four as well is showing us in a gracious and kind and gentle way that we really don't have a lot to complain about. It really isn't as bad as we often make it sound. See, when we talk about enduring a cross, we usually do not mean Roman crucifixion in the first century. When we talk about enduring the cross, we do not mean being stripped naked and hung in public and being mocked spit on, abused, scourged, and ultimately asphyxiated.
That's generally not what we mean when we talk about bearing our cross. We have a difficult son, a difficult daughter, a difficult husband, a difficult wife. We have difficult circumstances. We have difficult trials at work.
We have people who make fun of us. We have a culture that is increasingly hostile to Christianity, and we see that as bearing our cross. You know, when Paul tells us that he, for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, you need to remember in the first century, the cross didn't decorate churches. People didn't wear crosses around their necks.
People didn't have beautifully bound Bibles from Thomas Nelson Incorporated with a cross emblazoned on it. There's a romantic appeal to the cross in the 21st century. There's a romantic appeal about the cross throughout the history of the church. You've heard of Constantine, his conversion and battling, looked up into the sky and there he saw a cross.
You hear about the armies and the soldiers who were Christians going out to battle, waving the cross as their banner. You see, we've come to associate the cross with finery. We've come to associate the cross with simply a symbol. We've come to associate the cross with jewelry.
It's a charm. If you're wearing one, I'm not suggesting you take it off and throw it away. But I am suggesting that you consider what cross meant in the first century. It meant specifically what we find in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
It meant brutality. What's the emphasis here? When you run with endurance, the race that is set before us, most of the time, most of the time, crucifixion is not going to be your lot. Most of the time, you're not going to be stripped, you're not going to be beaten by Roman soldiers, you're not going to be spat upon, you're not going to be mocked and abused and had insults hurled at you, and you're not ultimately going to be enthroned.
Not upon a throne, but upon a cross. More than likely, that's not going to happen to you. You see, for the Lord Jesus, He endured the cross, despising the shame. You see, here the Apostle illustrates the shame associated with the cross.
This is why in 1 Corinthians 1, he says to the Jews, a stumbling block, and to the Greeks, foolishness. But we preach Christ and Him crucified. Why was it a stumbling block? The Greek word is scandal.
Why was it a scandal to the Jewish mind? You think about a scandal today. You think about the White House. You think about Ottawa.
You think about something happening that's scandalous. You hear stories and you say, wow, that's just terrible. You hear stories and you say, wow, that's just offensive. You hear stories and you say, man, that just is too much to handle.
That's what it was in the first century. To the Jews, a stumbling block, a scandal. Why? Because the idea of a crucified messiah?
The idea of a crucified victor, the idea of a beaten, bloodied, brutalized savior was just not something they thought in those categories. You see, for Christ, he endured the cross, he despised the shame. The Lord Jesus endured these things for the glory of his father and the salvation of his people, but the apostle doesn't want us to stop there. He doesn't want us to be Roman Catholic and leave Jesus on the cross in the crucifixion, but he directs our attention to the exaltation of Christ.
And again, consider the context. You're going to suffer crosses. You're going to have hardship. You don't run with endurance the race that is set before you in this life in relative ease.
But you need to focus. You need to consider. You need to look. Yes, Jesus endured the cross.
Yes, Jesus despised the shame. But notice, He has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. You see, there is an end in these things. There is victory.
There is triumph. There is heaven. There is glory. There is reward, there is blessing from God Most High, and we see it here in the person and the work of the Lord Jesus.
He endures the cross, He despises the shame, and now He is sat down at the right hand of the throne of God Almighty. Run with endurance the race that is set before us.
Third Point: The Necessary Consideration
Notice, thirdly and finally, the necessary consideration. He doesn't stop there. Verses 3 and 4, he says, for consider him who endured such hostility from sinners against himself." The believers are being exhorted to consider Jesus. That's what we've been talking about, if you're just following, just waking up.
That's what they're being told. Consider Jesus who endured, same word we are to use, we're to run with endurance, the race that is set before us. Well, Jesus endured such hostility against himself. What's the point?
If you live godly in Christ Jesus in this world, you're going to suffer. There will be hostility targeted towards you. There will be difficulty. There will be trial.
You need to consider Jesus. He managed. He cast himself fully and wholly upon God the Father. He found his blessing in the Spirit of God.
He found all of the resources necessary for his life of humiliation in God Most High. He endured this hostility from sinners against himself. Now when we consider the analogy, we most of the time deserve it. He never deserved it.
And then notice the reasons given. To promote spiritual stamina. Lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. Everybody with me now?
You see what he's saying? You're gonna run with endurance this race. You're gonna get tired. You're gonna get weary.
There's going to be a discouragement. What do you need to do? Buy the new book on how to run the Christian race. That might help.
Talk to your pastor and say, I'm becoming weary and discouraged. That might help. Listen to 15 sermons on sermonaudio.com on Hebrews 12, 1-4. That might help.
Look to Jesus. It's so simple, isn't it? This is one of the discouraging things about being a pastor. I suppose if I was a lifeguard, I would like the fact that if somebody was drowning, I get to punch them in the head, so that I can bring them in.
I don't know if they actually do that, but I grew up thinking that. If you started to drown out in Huntington Beach, when the lifeguard came, and you were flailing about, he might just deliver one swift blow to your head, so that it would render you unconscious, and then he could bring you up to shore. Makes sense. Again, I've never had the experience of such a convention, but there's probably something pleasing in that scenario for the lifeguard.
He doesn't want to have to fight somebody who doesn't want to go to shore. I'm trying to help you. Or consider the doctor. The patient says, I don't want to get on that table.
I don't want to go through this surgery. I don't want you to remove my spleen. Give him a shot, knock him out, let's take the spleen. It's kind of a nice arrangement.
You see, for weary and discouraged souls, when they hear a pastor say, you need to look unto Jesus, he can't take their heads and do that. Any pastor worth his weight in terms of spiritual counsel with reference to sanctification is going to tell you this, look to Jesus. You don't need self-help. You don't need all the maxims and the proverbs and how to be a better you.
You need to look unto Jesus. Lest you grow weary and discouraged in your souls. May I suggest that if this morning you are weary and discouraged in soul, look to Jesus. looking away from self, looking away from circumstance, looking away from trial, looking away from difficulty, onto Jesus. And it also serves this consideration of Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself.
It ought to promote spiritual stamina, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. It also ought to help promote sober assessment.
Sober Assessment of Suffering
Sober assessment, verse four. You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. As bad as your situation may be, as difficult as the row may be to hoe, as trialed as you may have it, you've not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood. You haven't had a crown of thorns put into your brow.
You haven't felt the Roman scourge on your back. You haven't heard people say, away with him, away with him, crucify him. You haven't bled. So consider him who endured such hostility from sinners against himself to promote spiritual stamina, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls, but as well to promote a sober assessment.
Maybe it isn't as bad as you think. Maybe it's not as miserable as you think. I think Voice of the Martyrs or other magazines or other media or vehicles to instruct us about what's going on in the rest of the world is quite helpful to promote a sober assessment. When you think of Pastor Saeed Abedini, an American citizen currently suffering in an Iranian prison with an eight-year prison sentence, I gotta say, brethren, that will hopefully promote a bit of sober assessment to call us back to reality and to think, you know, maybe I don't have it that bad.
Maybe I haven't endured such hostility from sinners against myself the way my Lord Jesus did. Maybe I don't have it like these poor people that we read about in Hebrews chapter 11. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment.
They were stoned. They were sawn in two. They were tempted. They were slain with the sword.
They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented, of whom the world was not worthy. Now these weren't people that say, you know, I really want the Gucci shirt, or I want the whatever suit, or I want this brand of item. I don't want those jeans that are 20 bucks. I want 120.
That's not what these people suffer. It wasn't going to the mall versus Walmart. So when you start to think biblically, and you start to think Hebrews 11-ish, and you start to think Jesus Christ in his person, his work, his resolve, his suffering, and his exaltation, when you consider him who endured such hostility against himself from sinners, maybe, just maybe, you can reflect upon the fact that it's really not as bad as it could be. There's a helpful antidote in such a remedy.
Brethren, well before we get to that brethren, the SEALs, we've all become accustomed to at least Navy SEAL Team 6. They have a training maxim. It is better to sweat in training than bleed in battle. I like that maxim.
It's better to sweat in training than bleed in battle. If you've ever seen their training you'll understand what they mean. I mean, these are the guys that if they do anything out of line, they have to go in the water and then come and roll around in the sand. And then do all the rest of their day's events with all that sand all over them.
It just doesn't sound pleasant to me. You see, they'd rather sweat in battle than bleed, or sweat in training than bleed in battle. I think what verse 4 is telling us, that it's better to bleed in this life than to burn in the life that is to come. I think the implication of verse 4 is you ought to be willing and you ought to be ready to shed blood to resist these issues.
Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.
Application
Three thoughts we close that won't take long. The first, the believer is in a race. Not necessarily against other believers. not against your spouse, not against your child, not against your parents. You're in this race that is defined here for us, the Christian life.
We have this cloud of witnesses that testify God is faithful. We're to look unto Jesus, that author and finisher of faith, that one who has saved us, that one who has called us out of darkness into marvelous light, that one who has committed and promised to bring us unto his heavenly kingdom. I love Paul's statement, Philippians 1.6, I am confident of this very thing, that he who began this good work in us will complete it in the day of Christ. You know, with reference to this race, you need to run.
Nobody's going to fault the runner who falls. They're going to come and say, get up. Right? You've got to run.
You gotta go. You gotta take it seriously. The Christian life is not laying on that pew and just letting angels attend to your every need. Christian life is agony, struggle, hardship, difficulty.
Cross. You need to run. You need to consider, secondly, this blessed incentive. Could we be told anything better? than to look unto Jesus?
If you came to me and said, man, I'm struggling, I'm weary, and I'm discouraged in my soul. Well, you need to read Calvin's Institutes. Do you think that would help you? It might if you slog your way through Calvin's Institutes, because he's going to tell you to look unto Jesus.
That's what those two big volumes say. Look unto Jesus. Could there be a better tonic for the Christian? Could there be a better hope or help for the Christian?
We are to look unto Jesus. If you've been using the McShane calendar, you've recently read, my beloved is white and ruddy, chief among 10,000. His head is like the finest gold, his locks are wavy and black as a raven. His eyes are like doves by the rivers of waters, washed with milk and fitly set.
His cheeks are like a bed of spices, banks of scented herbs. His lips are lilies, dripping liquid myrrh. His hands are rods of gold set with beryl. His body is carved ivory and laid with sapphires.
His legs are pillars of marble set on bases of fine gold. His countenance is like Lebanon, excellent as the cedars. His mouth is most sweet. Yes, he is altogether lovely.
This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem." What do you think makes this Shulamite happy? Her beloved. What do you think this Shulamite thinks about? Her beloved.
What do you think this Shulamite wants to think about? Her beloved. You see, when Paul tells us to run with endurance the race that is set before us, and he directs us to Jesus, our hearts ought to go, ah. Fantastic!
Phenomenal! Glorious! Wondrous! Excellent!
Most perfect! There could be no better thing for me than to focus upon my Jesus when I run with endurance this race that is set before me. Well, how do we focus? How do we look unto Jesus?
Sometimes people mess up here. They think a mystical experience. I need to get in the zone and Jesus will zap me and He'll show Himself to me. I need to read Calvin's Institutes, or I need to read 15 books.
Now, I'm not suggesting you shouldn't read Calvin's Institutes. If everybody wants to read Calvin's Institutes, praise God Almighty. How do we look unto Jesus? Have you thought of that?
What's it mean to look unto Jesus? Guess what I'm going to say. I'm going to say, use the means that God has provided so you may look unto Jesus. Read your Bible.
How do you look unto Jesus? You read your Bible. You sit under the public ministry of the Word. You don't miss.
You don't absent yourself. You don't resist. You don't reject. You know that when you come into the Scriptures privately, or when you come into the Scriptures publicly, Jesus is there.
What about prayer? And when you go into your room, your father, who sees in secret, will reward you openly. Pray, and you see Jesus. Corporate prayer, and you see Jesus.
You see, it's not rocket science. Looking unto Jesus means, in common Reformed parlance, use the means of grace. The ordinances of the New Covenant, baptism and the Lord's Supper. You see Jesus in there, don't you?
Whenever we have a baptism, I hope that you see Jesus. Not physically, there he is, this ancient Near Eastern man with long flowing robes and the little knock on the door of hearts. But you see Jesus work. You see his conquer.
You see his triumph. You see his victory. You see when someone goes into that water and they come up again. It is a testimony that Christ the Lord is doing what he promised.
And when we gather together for the supper, we eat the bread and we drink the cup, what are we doing? We're proclaiming the Lord's death till he comes. And it's fresh and it's fond in our hearts and in our minds. Looking unto Jesus doesn't mean shimmy up Mount Sham and spend a week there and deprive yourself of food and you'll have some sort of an experience where you see Jesus.
It ain't that way in the Christian life. The Christian life is, pick up your Bible and read it. Pray to the living God and go to church. See, if you wrote books like that, they'd be very small.
How to be a successful Christian, page one. Read your Bible, pray, go to church. You're not going to sell a lot of copies of that, are you? You don't need it.
It's right here. Brethren, run. Look. Focus.
Fight. Strive. And finally,
Access to the Race by Grace Alone
access to this race. You see, this isn't the sort of race that we qualify for. There are certain sorts of races where you have to qualify. You have to have ran the mile and a half and so fast in order to qualify for this particular race.
Not this race. Some races you have to pay for. Imagine that. Paying to race.
Paying to run. It's like waiting in a line at the store. You're going to make me wait 10 minutes to pay you money? Open another checkout line.
You're going to charge me money to run 26 miles? Are you nuts? But there are races like that. Access to this race comes by God's grace alone.
The instrumentality is faith alone. The object is Christ alone. You see, in order for us to run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, we must have first, by the grace of God, looked unto Jesus for salvation. We need the gospel.
We need Christ. We need the Lord Jesus. We need salvation in Him. We need to look and live.
Do not sit here this morning saying, I need to run better this race. I do need to read my Bible more. I do need to pray more. I do need to step up my church attendance.
If you have never believed the gospel. When I say read and pray and go to church, I am speaking to Christians. I am speaking to believers. I am speaking to those who, by the grace of God, have laid hold of Christ and faith.
But if you are not a Christian, the point of my message now is to look unto Jesus for salvation. Jesus the Lord, Jesus the Savior, Jesus the One who lived in obedience to the Father's law, who died as a sacrifice at Calvary, and who rose again, such that every sinner who by God's grace looks to Him in faith will have everlasting life. Do not run the race or attempt to run the race unless you've been saved. And if you are saved, then may I say, run.
Quit playing games, quit whining, quit grumbling, quit complaining, and run. And I love it, too, looking unto Jesus. He's going to help you. I can pray for you.
I might give you Kelvin's Institutes to read. But ultimately, the power to successfully run the Christian race is from the one we are looking unto. He will never fail you. He will never leave you.
He will never forsake you. He will never turn his back upon you. So run with endurance the race that is set before us. looking on to Jesus. Let us pray.
Closing Prayer
Our Father in heaven, we thank you for your word and we thank you for its clarity and its simplicity and God I pray that your spirit would drive these truths home to our own hearts. Certainly as Christians we need to run with endurance the race And for those who are outside of Christ, we pray that you would do what is impossible with men, that you'd open their hearts and cause them to hear the truth concerning the Lord Jesus and his life, his death, and his resurrection. And may they, by your grace, believe on him and have everlasting life. And we pray through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Amen. Why don't we take our hymn books and turn to hymn number seven as we close our service off this morning.