Surrounded by a Cloud of Witnesses

 

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).

 

We’ve looked extensively at the heroes of our faith in the use of the previous chapter (cf. Hebrews 11). It should remind us that the old covenant saints, in their lifetimes, never received what was promised. This was because God was not willing to perfect them apart from new covenant believers. Nevertheless, they died in faith, trusting that God would bring all His promises to final fulfillment (vv. 39–40). Remember, Jesus is the one who brings all of God’s promises to final fulfillment. He brings the new covenant through the perfect sacrifice of Himself (cf. Hebrews 8:1–10:18). He is the one who will perfect God’s people.

 

However, though we live in a better era after Christ than those who lived before His sacrifice, our positions are not wholly dissimilar. We still must wait for the return of Christ to bring His kingdom to consummation (cf. Hebrews 8:13; 9:28). As such, we still must persevere in faith until Jesus comes back. We must press on just as the saints of old did.

 

This is the point that the author of Hebrews makes in today’s reading. We are called to “run with endurance the race that is set before us” (v. 1). This is an image of an athletic competition, of Olympic footraces familiar to the original audience of this book. We see then that the life of faith is like a race that must be run with endurance so that the finish line may be crossed and the prize received.

 

One motivation to run this race is the great “cloud of witnesses” surrounding us. In a race, the stadium is filled with great throngs of people in the bleachers cheering on the contestants to victory. In the race that is the Christian life, the old covenant saints are our cheerleaders. They cheer us on through the example of their faithful endurance, waiting for the promises of God to come. They encourage us to run with endurance. Yet we will only run with endurance if we throw off all hindrances. The things that hinder us, today’s passage tells us, are the sins that cling so closely. They will weigh us down like heavy clothing, preventing us from running with freedom and endurance. We must therefore “lay aside” these sins. We must turn away from them and look instead to Jesus.