There are many faithful Christians that have gone before us, yet the work in the earth is not finished. We have our race to run, and in Hebrews 12:1 “Therefore, since we also have such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us”, the host of heaven, God the Father and Jesus Christ, we are to put “aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us” and we are to fix in Hebrews 12:2 “our eyes on Jesus the originator and perfecter of faith”. We are to strengthen ourselves and in Hebrews 13:15 “Therefore through him let us offer up a sacrifice of praise continually to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name”.
A Great Cloud of Witnesses
Hebrews 12:1–4
Did you ever wonder if anyone notices you? As a Christian, everyone is looking at you. Certainly, God sees and knows everything we do, but he isn’t the only one. People around us are watching, but that isn’t his meaning here in
Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we also have such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us,
This is talking about the host of heaven, yes, angelic beings looking on, but even more than that, the heroes of faith, those that have gone on before us are looking on. Here, “The image is from a “race,” an image common even in Palestine from the time of the Greco-Macedonian empire, which introduced such Greek usages as national games. The “witnesses” answer to the spectators pressing round to see the competitors in their contest for the prize (Php 3:14).”1
But this isn’t about them, the witnesses, it is about us laying aside every hindrance in
Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we also have such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us, putting aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us, let us run with patient endurance the race that has been set before us,
Even more, though, we are to j=keep our eyes on our coach, the one that has set us on this course in
Hebrews 12:2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the originator and perfecter of faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
God is Dealing With You as Sons
Make Straight Paths
Hebrews 12:12–21
There is a life that the Lord has for us to live, it is to in
Hebrews 12:14 Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.
and to do this, it takes strength. We are saved, as it says in
Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God;
yet, living in this world we must overcome, as Jesus did, in the power of the Holy Spirit, so when our flesh is weak, we are told to in
Hebrews 12:12–13 Therefore strengthen your slackened hands and your weakened knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame will not be dislocated, but rather be healed.
The City of the Living God
Hebrews 12:22–29
The Lord is My Helper
Offer Up A Sacrifice Of Praise
Hebrews 13:10–19
There was an altar established through the Law of Moses, with the Holy of Holies behind the veil. This was the place of the mercy seat where none but the high priest could go. But now, Jesus Christ has opened the way, the veil of the temple, to the heavenly altar, was opened. Now, in
Hebrews 13:10 We have an altar from which those who serve in the tabernacle do not have the right to eat.
and just as Jesus “suffered outside the gate” in Hebrews 13:11, “So we must go out to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach” in Hebrews 13:13. In Christ, we are no longer of this world in
Hebrews 13:14 For here we do not have a permanent city, but we seek the city that is to come.
Though we look forward to that city, to the return of Jesus Christ and our final redemption, we have in us, this new life, this overflow of the love that is now in us, in
Hebrews 13:15 Therefore through him let us offer up a sacrifice of praise continually to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name.
The Eternal Covenant
Hebrews 13:20–25
Study Verses
- Hebrews 12:1–4 A Great Cloud of Witnesses
- Hebrews 12:12–21 Make Straight Paths
- Hebrews 13:10–19 Offer Up A Sacrifice Of Praise
Today’s Reading
- Hebrews 12:1–29
- Hebrews 13:1–25
References
- 1. Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 2, p. 475). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.