Verses 1-2 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
To be “compassed” means to be surrounded. The Greek word translated as “cloud” is “nephos” and it means a cloud, a large dense multitude, or a throng. Witnesses are those who have seen and/or heard something. The Apostle Paul is saying that we Christians are surrounded by those Christians who have gone before us into Heaven and into eternity. This is an awesome reality, and therefore we need to cast off anything that is weighing us down and continue to be patient while living in this physical world, always keeping in the forethought that the goal is Heaven.
Application: Life as a Christian is a race to get to the end of life victoriously and to realize eternal life with Jesus Christ. When entering a race, people do not weigh their bodies down but do everything they can to eliminate excess weight so that they can run unencumbered and increase their speed and their distance and their endurance. Likewise, if Christians allow things into their life that weigh down spiritual growth, their relationship with Christ, or negatively affects their faith, then they can lose the race or have a difficult time getting to the end of the race. Sin of any kind, becoming involved with unsaved people, failing to read Scripture regularly, failing to pray and seek the LORD, making poor decisions that are not based on the wisdom taught in the Bible, and failing to gather with the people of God all can lead to losing the race. Losing a race in this life is inconsequential as ribbons, trophies, money, and accolades can be gotten at other races, but losing the spiritual race affects the soul and eternity and cannot be gotten again should physical death happen, and no one knows when their last breath will be.
What is “the sin which doth so easily beset us”? Some have speculated that each man or woman has a particular weakness that Satan takes advantage of and which can cause them to sin. If this was the case, then there would be a long list of sins as everyone is different and what might tempt one believer may not be a temptation to another, and the Apostle Paul specifies that there is a specific sin by the use of the word “the”. Also notice that the Apostle Paul uses the pronoun, “us”, thereby including himself as suffering from the sin that keeps causing difficulty. Therefore this writer believes that because the previous chapter was about faith, and because the original text never had chapter divisions so chapter twelve is a continuation of chapter eleven, that “the sin” is unbelief or a lack of faith. Faith has to be exercised in order for it to grow and become stronger. Every Christian believer, including the Hebrew Christians this letter was written to, has suffered unbelief and will suffer unbelief in the future. Satan puts thoughts into the Christian’s mind such as, “Sure, God can do all things, but will He answer my prayer?” or “I am not worthy for God to bother with my needs.” and so forth. The good news is that faith comes from Jesus because it is a gift, and He is the author and finisher, the originator and the perfecter of faith. Therefore the Christian can ask for more faith and receive it as the LORD takes pleasure in His children exercising faith and in growing stronger and more mature in their Christian walk.
The Apostle Paul goes on to state that Jesus endured the cross because of the joy set before Him. The Greek word translated as “set before” is “prokeimai” and it means to lie or be placed before or in front, to be placed before the eyes, or to lie in sight. What was that joy? It was all the believers that were, are, or ever will be His children. As Jesus Christ was walking to the site of His execution He was seeing all of us. Because He was/is God, He could see the time line from Adam and Eve to the last man or woman who will repent and give their heart to Him. And it was for you and me that He chose to suffer and die because His reward was the joy of providing salvation to all sinners who will come to Him. And now He is at the right hand of the throne of God waiting for all of His children to come home.
Verses 3-4 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. 4 Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.
The Greek word translated as “consider” is “analogizomai” and it means to think over, consider, or ponder. The Greek word translated as “contradiction” is “antilogia” and it means opposition or rebellion. The Apostle Paul is telling the Hebrew Christians and therefore telling us also that before we get weary from the spiritual battle and from the race we are in to think about what Jesus Christ went through and to not let our thoughts cause us to become weary and faint hearted. He points out that most believers do not fight the fight of faith and lose their physical lives as a result of their Faith and their battle against the flesh, the world, and the Devil. In other words he is telling them to “buck up” and to not surrender in defeat because any trials they are going through because of the Faith cannot compare to what the LORD Jesus Christ suffered and endured.
Application: Most of the time, the battle that Christians wage is in the mind. The enemy cannot read peoples’ minds, but can put thoughts into peoples’ minds that constantly wear them down. Just a little while ago this writer had something unexpected happen that was very distressing. Thoughts came and went and none of them were positive. It took a deliberate focusing of the mind on Jesus Christ and on His promises to take care of His children before peace returned. The situation is still there, but it will be overcome by the intervention of Jesus Christ. Nothing is too hard for Him. “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” 1 Peter 5:7 Remember that in the King James Bible an “eth” at the end of a verb means that the action is ongoing. Jesus Christ cares constantly for you and for me. Take comfort in that truth.
Verses 5-6 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: 6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
The Greek word translated as “exhortation” means a calling, summons, admonitions, encouragememt, consolation, comfort, and solace. Apparently the Hebrew Christians had forgotten that because they were children of the LORD, a certain amount of chastening and rebuking from the LORD would happen in order for them to remain walking on the right path in righteousness. If they sinned, the LORD was not going to let their sin go unpunished anymore than a good parent will let their children’s misbehavior go unpunished. Parents who love their children will correct them. Likewise, because God loves His children, He will correct them when they are in error or are being disobedient to His commandments resulting in sin in their lives.
Verses 7-10 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? 8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. 9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? 10 For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.
To be a son of the living God, one has to accept chastisement when it is warranted. Chastisement from the LORD results in making His children more and more like Him and less and less like those people in the world.
Verses 11-13 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. 12 Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; 13 And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.
When trials and tribulations come into one’s life, the LORD allows the discomfort that these bring in order to grow His people spiritually. If there was never a trial, faith would never have to be exercised and spiritual growth would not ocurr. It there was never a trial, miracles would not be experienced. The Hebrew children faced a life and death situation when they left Egypt and became trapped between the Red Sea and the following Egyptian army. Only then did they experience the miracle of the Red Sea parting so that they could cross it on dry land. And only then was their enemy, the Egyptian military, destroyed. They had what seemed to be an impossible situation which the LORD allowed to happen so that they could experience His saving power and grace.
Verses 14-15 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: 15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;
Holiness means to be set apart. Christian believers live in this sinful, fallen world and interact with the people and systems in this world, but they can keep themselves separated from the sin and evil that is part of Satan’s governance. And they can not give their heart to (worship) the various things that are in this world that the unsaved cherish and follow after. Yet at the same time, Christian believers are to, as much as possible, live peacefully among the unsaved people and systems in this world, and are to love with Christian love both those who are born again believers and those who are not. Christian believers are to be like Christ Jesus who interacted with everyone with love and respect and with compassion. Grace means giving someone that which they do not deserve. It is undeserved love. God’s grace towards people requires that Christians also have grace towards others. Christians have to forgive those who trespass against them. Christians cannot hold onto a grudge or to unforgiveness because that leads directly to a spirit of bitterness which can prevent Christians from entering into the kingdom of Heaven. Unforgiveness will defile the Christian so that he/she are no longer in the will of the LORD. His will is for His children to have peace in their lives and not to carry around emotional baggage that will weigh them down and influence all their decisions in life and all their responses to others, both in the Church and outside of the Church.
Application: Devils are adept at bringing to mind those people who have harmed, slandered, lied about, or misused you in the past and/or the present. Dwelling on these hurts and injustices will cause you to become angry and bitter. This is a normal reaction of the flesh. The only way to get rid of this negative emotional state is to purposefully and willingly forgive anyone who has caused pain in your life. Remember that Jesus Christ forgave you so that you could become His child and have the promise of eternal life in Heaven. To be Christ-like, the only response you can have to those who are unkind and hurtful to you is to forgive them and to love them with Christian love. Plain and simple.
Verses 16-17 Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. 17 For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.
The Greek word translated as “fornicator” is “pornos” from which comes the English word pornography. It means a man who prostitutes his body to another’s lust for hire, a male prostitute, or a man who indulges in unlawful sexual intercourse. The Greek word translated as “profane” is “bebelos” and it means profane, that which is not sacred or biblical, secular, unhallowed, common or ungodly. It appears that the Apostle Paul is linking the harboring of any bitterness with resultant sins such as prostitution and other behaviors that are ungodly. He then uses the example of Esau, the brother of Jacob and the son of Issac. His story can be found in Genesis chapters 25 and 27. Although Esau was the elder son and should have inherited both the birthright and the blessing of his father, his carnal life where he indulged the flesh prevented him from so doing. So the birthright and blessing went to his brother, Jacob, towards whom Esau had a hatred and, eventually, a desire to commit murder. Esau had a deep bitterness towards his brother that most likely had been developing throughout his childhood and into his adult years. This is not to say that Jacob was the perfect son and brother. He had his faults also and he deceived his brother and his father on more than one occasion. His poor treatment of Esau led to him having to flee from his brother who wanted to kill him and to live among strangers in a different location far from his home and his parents. Jacob never saw his mother alive again as she died before he was able to return home. Perhaps the lesson to learn from the lives of these two brothers is that attitudes and actions have consequences.
Application: The Apostle Paul reported in Romans 9:13, “As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.” Why did the LORD feel this way towards these two brothers? In doing research into the descendants of Esau, the Edomites or Idumeans, it appears that these people lived in the area of Jordan south of Judah and, by the time Jesus was on Earth ministering to the masses, the Edomites or Idumeans had mingled with the descendants of Judah and become part of that nation. The Herods were Idumeans and it was they who killed John the Baptist, killed the babies under two years old in an effort to destroy Jesus Christ, and who persecuted the Christians. The Edomites had bitterness towards the Hebrew people because they had become a great nation and had been blessed by the living God. From Jacob, the blessing given to Abraham and Isaac was given to Joseph and then to his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, because Jacob, who’s name was changed to Israel, adopted these two sons of Joseph before his death. So the northern country of Israel had the blessing passed to them through the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh and the southern country, Judah, did not. It was into Judah that the Idumeans infiltrated and basically became part of the culture and Talmudic religion. They became the Jews. So this writer believes that God looked down the time line and saw the evil that the Edomites had always engaged in and are still engaging in to this present day. It is the descendants of Esau that are the geographical Israel of today and who are working their plan of restoring what they falsely claim to be their nation back to the land that King Solomon ruled, and they are doing it by creating economic wars and wars of aggression, killing civilians without remorse, attacking hospitals and schools, and all the while claiming that their actions are justifiable as they are defending themselves from their enemies. This is all contrary to the will of God and perhaps that is the reason that the LORD had/has hatred towards Esau and his descendants. So the Jews of today are not the chosen people as the LORD chose Jacob, not Esau, to carry the promise down to the Hebrew people.
Verses 18-21 For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, 19 And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more: 20 (For they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart: 21 And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:)
Verses 22-24 But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, 23 To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, 24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.
Verses 25-27 See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: 26 Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. 27 And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.
Verses 28-29 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: 29 For our God is a consuming fire. (Hebrews 12)