Hebrews 12:1-2 Meaning
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, 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.
What does Hebrews 12:1–2 mean?
Hebrews 12:1-2 pictures the Christian life as a long-distance race, run in a stadium surrounded by witnesses. It tells us how to run, and — most importantly — where to look.
“Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us.” A runner strips off anything that slows them. There is sin to put off, but also mere “weights” — things not wrong in themselves but that hinder our pace. The race calls for travelling light.
“Let us run with patience the race that is set before us.” It is a race of endurance, not a sprint. Patience — steady perseverance — is the pace that finishes. The route is “set before us,” marked out by God for each of us specifically.
“Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.” This is the secret. A runner fixes their eyes on the goal; we fix ours on Jesus, who both began our faith and will complete it. He ran his own race “for the joy that was set before him” — and we follow his gaze.
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