Hebrews 12:1-2; Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost; August 21, 2022;

Life in Christ Lutheran Church, Grand Marais, MN;

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, 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, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1-2, ESV)

Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ

Endurance… athletes have it, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”

“No Pain / No Gain”

“He’s such a great player, when the team really needed him, he played even though he had a broken leg!”

That’s endurance. We admire it so, in athletes. I think it’s those water polo guys who’ve got my vote for endurance. They play 8 min quarters treading water, they’re not allowed to touch the bottom, even when the clock stops! The average is 12 min. And it is a full contact sport.

Endurance. We know what it is, it’s reaching down to something that’s really deep inside of us, maybe a survival instinct or something, something that gets us through a really tough spot, that normally would send us down for the count.

So, St. Paul tells the Hebrew readers of his letter, “Persevere! Hold on! Dig deep and get the job done!” Since what he says applies to us, he’s telling us that when stuff gets hard to take turn your attention to yourself, if you dig deep enough you can get a hold of that unique human quality called faith and win the race! Right! After all that’s endurance, right?

Wait a second! I don’t think that that’s what he’s saying at all. To really get what he’s talking about we’ve got to back up a few verses. We could take it that way except for one troublesome little word right there at the beginning of the text. “Therefore” In other words he’s saying, because of all that I just said, do what I’m about to say. So, what is he talking about that sets the stage for this endurance we’re suppose to have.

Well, it’s the great faith chapter of scripture. It’s St. Paul’s description of faith in action. It’s endurance on steroids! And it starts with that wonderful, yet confusing phrase,

Now faith is the assurance of thing hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Heb 11,1)

Then he goes through a long list, Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Sarah. And the first section turns on these words.

These all died in faith, not having received the things promised. (v 13)

then it goes to Moses who chose

to be to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin (v 25).

And the children of Israel who wandered in the dessert for 40 years before they received the Promised Land. These were all real people who did real things in a real world. They are Paul’s example of endurance. But wait! He’s not quite done yet. This sounds pretty good. Starting at verse 32:

And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life.

Ah that sound’s pretty good doesn’t it! Sounds like running a winning race. But Paul doesn’t stop there listen to this:

And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, (Hebrews 11:32-39, ESV)

And now, after all that Paul says “therefore” run with endurance. I think it’s that last part that Paul is really emphasizes, you know the being imprisoned part; the living destitute part; the being sawed in two part.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, 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, (Hebrews 12:1, ESV)

Notice how even though some of the folks he mentioned seemed to have a great victory while others only suffered, not one of them received the promise… yet. And yet they are the example of endurance, a great cloud of witnesses that’s before us. They all believed. They all had faith. But let me tell you, St. Paul isn’t talking about some deep-down human quality here. He’s not saying, “they toughed it out so you can too.” He’s pointing to something even better even stronger than something human beings can dredge up in time of need. And it’s all right here in these few words that he says to us.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, 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, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1-2, ESV)

Let us also lay aside the weight, the sin, just like they did. Then Paul tells us exactly how to do that; he says, “looking to Jesus the found and perfecter of our faith.” That’s what they did, that cloud of witnesses. They faithfully set aside the sin that could have entangled them. They ran the race that was given them, even if it meant getting sawed in two. They put their eyes on Jesus and ran to Him.

You see, their faith wasn’t some abstract quality, their faith had an object. It was Jesus. It was what He does to get rid of the burden and weight of sin. They could run whatever race they were given to run because of Jesus.

Now the amazing thing is that they didn’t see Jesus as clearly as you and I do. They didn’t have the picture of Jesus hanging on the cross carrying our sin, so that we can lay it aside. St. Paul mentions that too.

They did not receive what was promised, since God has provided something better for us.

I like having a cross with Christ’s body here in the sanctuary. Well, St. Paul says that clearly too:

we preach Christ crucified. (1 Corinthians 1:23a, ESV)

That’s what he means when he says, looking to Jesus. Jesus Christ crucified dead and buried! That’s where He gave our faith a foundation. That’s where He perfected it. That’s the object of our faith, so says Paul.

looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2, ESV)

And that’s why the endurance. Everything around you would have you look somewhere else.

“What good is Jesus if He doesn’t make your life easy?”

“Jesus can be your financial advisor if you just follow these ten easy steps, you’ll be financially secure.”

“Jesus is one way to heaven; I’ve got another way to get there.”

“Look deep inside yourself to find real strength.”

That’s taking our eyes off of Jesus… on the cross.

I told you when I first came here, that Jesus Christ and Him crucified would be the focus of everything we do. And it is so easy to get sidetracked. Satan’s got to mix us up into thinking that other things are more important (and right now he’s got his fingers in just about everything we’re trying to do) He doesn’t want us to be focusing on the cross. He wants us focusing on our sin. He doesn’t want us looking to Jesus; he wants us worrying about the weight. Because he knows what Paul is really saying. And so do you, it is the object of our faith.

It’s simple. Jesus Christ carried your sins, the weight that so easily tangles, to the cross. There He bled and died and buried them in the grave. You don’t have to carry the burden. You don’t have to work to remove them. You don’t have to do anything but drop them at the foot of the cross, where He picks them up and does away with them forever. So that you can run… without the weight that side tracks; without the sin that would have us at each other’s throats; without the load of worrying about how others have hurt us; with endurance… right to the cross. Amen.

The peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.