And it says in Hebrews 12:1-2
“1 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, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” – NIV
For years, I knew verse 2 of the above scripture. It was etched in my memory in Sunday school as a little child – in fact, we even had a melody for it. Something the Sunday school teachers thought would help memory retention as little children. And I sing it out loud now as I write, very beautiful to sing, but the meaning was lost to me – for a long time. When the bible talks about a seed being planted but not having any root – this was it!
Oh well, I may give an excuse that the deeper meaning was lost to me when it failed to add verse 1 into context, but it will be baseless. As a child, we can probably excuse it. But as an adult, what’s really my excuse? And I’m saying this because we should not just rely on our spiritual leaders, pastors, priests, etc. to read and explain the Bible for us. We should also be responsible for our spiritual growth and development; and we achieve this by studying the bible for ourselves. When we do, we come to a deeper understanding, knowledge, and revelation. I have also observed that sometimes a verse may be taken out of context and lose its true meaning when it doesn’t take into cognizance the preceding and following verses, so I encourage you to read the Bible for yourselves.
Moving on…
However, the first time I read this scripture for what it is, taking into context the entirety of verse 1 and 2, something stirred within me and I know that was the Holy Spirit giving me a deeper insight into the scripture.
Before we unpack the scripture, it is important to recall or note this
Since the fall of the first man and woman – Adam & Eve, sin entered the world and became our inherent nature. When we are born, the flesh we are born in desires to fulfil its own pleasures and rebel against God or obedience to Him. That’s why the bible says we’re born sinners – Psalm 51:5
God being a righteous and holy God, He cannot associate with sin. Therefore, sin distances us away from God and the consequences of sin according to Him is death. But because of the depth of love, He has for us, He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on our behalf and bridge the gap sin created, so that through Jesus we are saved. Now, He is not just near but lives within us through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Now, remember that God is still Holy, and sin repulses Him. Also recall that in the old testament, when the Israelites continued to sin against God, His Glory left the temple and they no longer enjoyed God’s presence Ezekiel 10:18-19. Your body is now called the temple of the Holy Spirit and the Spirit comes to dwell in you once you receive Christ as your Lord and Savior. But if continue to sin even after receiving Christ, you will no longer enjoy the presence of the Holy Spirit in you. He is called HOLY for a reason. That is why some Christians are not enjoying the fruits of the Spirit or sensitive to the leading of the Spirit. And ultimately the wages for sin is death. God sent forth His word already.
This where the subject scripture comes in – Now, let us unpack it verse by verse
Verse 1” 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”
The verse is urging us to turn away from our sins despite our sinful nature; especially as we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses – that is those who have gone on this journey before us and made it to the right side (the side of God). These witnesses are our biblical forefathers such as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, anointed prophets and other faithful Christians who have died in the Lord. They have been through the same trials, temptations and tribulations we face in the world, but remained faithful to God and walked with Him throughout their lifetime on earth.
In fact, I imagine them cheering us on as we journey through life and praying for the best for us at the end of our race.
Our lifetime on earth, from the time we are born to the appointed time we’ll die is the race marked out for us, and in this time, though we’ll face trials and temptations as a result of the sinful world we live in, we must run our race with perseverance – (read verse 2 out loud)
Verse 2” fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God”.
Jesus Christ is the only person who has passed through this world without blemish or sin. He is the pioneer and perfecter of faith. He brought the message of salvation to the world and told us how God expects us to think and act as children of God. He also perfected it by being a living example and we’re encouraged to look up to Him. That is why the verse says, we should fix our eyes on Him as we run this race marked out for us. We may not achieve perfection like Christ, but by fixing our eyes on Him, we can be as close as possible. Just by looking up to Him as an example of how we are to live our lives daily, we will be encouraged to model His behavior and to carry our cross daily by dying to self – that is to die to our sinful nature and fleshly desires.
The second sentence in the verse encourages us further, giving us more reasons why we should persevere and run the race marked out for us. It says that for the joy that was set before Christ – that is the grace to sit at the right hand of the throne of God – He was willing to complete His race and endure the cross, that is the physical pain and suffering, and also scorned its shame, that is despising the sins of the world that was placed on the cross, and He so yearned to cleanse.
For us, we are to look at the promises of God to those who persevere in faith and obedience to Him. We’ll be granted eternal life to reign with Him in a new heaven and earth. Therefore, just like Jesus looked at the joy set before Him and persevered to the end, we must also take this example and persevere in our own individual races for the joy also set before us as children of God.
