One day a man and his five-year-old son were walking through a beautiful church. The church was filled with bright light from its many colorful stained-glass windows. As the boy looked at the windows, he asked: “Who are all the people in the windows, Daddy?” “They are saints,” his father answered. “What are ‘saints’?” his son asked. The father was stuck. How was he going to explain who or what a saint was to a five-year-old boy? As the boy kept looking up at the windows and the father was still wondering how he could explain what a saint was, the young boy suddenly shouted out: “I know what a saint is, Daddy! They are the people that the light shines through!”
We normally think of saints as people who have led holy and exemplary lives ... Mother Teresa ... Augustine … Francis of Assisi … the apostles Peter and Paul. We may think of Stephen, the first martyr, and other committed Christians whose faith in God did not spare them from the perils of history.
And yet, the Apostle Paul addressed many of his letters to the “saints” … “to the saints at Ephesus” … “to the saints at Philippi.” Who were these “saints”? They were people like you and me … saints by virtue of our baptism into Christ by the Holy Spirit. We are not saints because we are without sin. Only one human being was without sin … Jesus. Martin Luther said that we are “simul justus et peccator” … “simultaneously saint and sinner.” Or, as the Apostle Paul explained it: “ … with my mind I am a slave to the Law of God, but with my flesh I am a slave to the law of sin” (Romans 7:25b).
We are pronounced “holy” by God because Jesus has taken away our sins by nailing them to His cross. Hebrews 10:14 explains how this was done: “By one sacrifice” … Jesus … “[God] has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.” Being “made holy” … a wonderful sermon for another time.
Saints can be great people like Mother Teresa or Francis of Assisi … but saints can be ordinary people. People like you and me. People who have given their hearts to Jesus. People that the light of God … the light of the Holy Spirit … shines through. The celebration of All Saints Day is an opportunity for us to reflect upon the “grace in which we stand” and to remember the saints in our lives who have given witness to the resurrection of Jesus in a fallen world.
[Read Hebrews 12:1-3]
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a could of witnesses” (v.1). Who makes up this “cloud of witnesses”? Chapter 11 tells us. It describes the cloud of witnesses as those who did marvelous works for the glory of God. It reminds us of the faith and faithfulness of heroes like Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and Moses. The writer of Hebrews reminds us of the heroes of the past … named and un-named … to prepare the heroes of the present and the heroes of the future to consider Jesus. He endured such hostility against himself from sinners so that you may not grow weary or lose heart (v. 3).
Hebrews was written to a group of Christians who were about to face great hostility and persecution. “In your struggle against sin,” he writes in verse 4, “you have not resisted to the point of shedding your blood.” Yikes! Resisting to the pointy of shedding MY blood … YOUR blood!
We tend to think of “martyrs” … people who have shed their blood. as “saints” … and rightly so, but the real meaning … the original meaning … of the word “martyr” is “witness.” The shedding of one’s blood or the giving of one’s life was and is a powerful witness to one’s faith in Jesus Christ … amen? Many Christians at the time that Hebrews was written would testify to their faith in Jesus Christ by shedding their blood and giving up their lives. Many more over the centuries and many around the world today are witnessing to their faith by the shedding of their blood and the sacrifice of their lives. The cloud of witnesses that Hebrews speaks about is huge and growing every day.
When the writer of Hebrews speaks of “so great a cloud of witnesses” (v. 1), here’s the picture he is trying to paint. Imagine that we are standing in the arena of a Roman stadium … not in the bleachers or the stands … we are not the spectators but the spectacle. We stand together in the arena and we await our fate. We have no idea what’s going to come through those gates. Gladiators? Wild animals? Chariots?
In the stands are people cheering for our deaths. In that moment, says the writer of Hebrews, we remember that there is another stadium … a Heavenly stadium … filled with millions of people who have stood where you stand … who went through what you’re about to go through … who are not cheering for your death but are cheering for your victory … you victory over death. The idea is not to look to the stands where thousand are calling for your blood, your death but to look to Heaven where millions who have run the race before you are cheering you on to the ultimate victory.
“Let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely” (v. 1). I love this image. Sin weighs us down. Sin can cost us the race. The wandering of the children of Israel in the desert is an example of how sin can weigh us down, cost us the race, keep us from reach our goal or our prize. It was their sin, their unbelief, their lack of trust, their lack of faith in God’s promises that caused them to wander and die in the wilderness.
“… and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us” (v. 1). The Greek word that the writer of Hebrew uses for “perseverance” or “endurance” should sound familiar to us. It’s “agon.” It’s where we get our English word “agony” from.
Now … when we picture a marathon, we picture a “race” … with a starting line and a finish line and one winner who crosses the finish line first … but let me tell you, anyone who can run 26.2 miles and cross the finish line is a winner in my book, amen? It takes perseverance to push through the agony. It takes endurance to keep going when you are on fire, your legs feel like spaghetti, and every cell in your body is screaming to quit!
When you run the New York Marathon or the Boston Marathon, you don’t set the course. Everybody doesn’t run in fifty different directions. Everyone runs on the same laid-out course … and it’s the same every year. And the course for the saints has been laid out for us here [Bible] ... in God’s Word. It lays out the race before us … every turn … every twist … every challenge … every obstacle … and how to overcome them.
“… looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith” (v. 2). We know that we can persevere … we know that we can endure … we know that we can finish the race because Jesus has run the race before us. And when we look at the cloud of witnesses cheering us on, we know that we can persevere, that we can endure, that we can finish the race set before us because the ones cheering us on persevered, endured, and finished the race set before them.
“… to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before Him” (v. 2) … Did you hear it? … “for the sake of the ‘joy’ that was set before Him.” Yes … it takes perseverance, it takes endurance to push through the ‘agony’ … but the joy that awaited Jesus on the other side of His agony is what motivated Him to press on and not give up. And it’s Jesus’ promise of the same joy that motivated and inspired the saints to finish their race … and it is the same reward that should motivate and inspire us to keep pressing on today.
“ … looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of God” (v.2). During Roman times there was one special seat set apart for whatever dignitary sponsored the game. Usually, but not always, it was the Roman emperor himself. Before the start of every game or contest, the athletes would stand before the emperor or the game’s sponsor and offer their victory to the dignitary on the throne … or declare their honor in dying on their behalf. Gladiators, for example, would profess: “Hail Caesar! We who are about to die salute you!”
Standing in the arena, the writer of Hebrews reminds them to look past the one has the power of life and death over the body and look to the One who has power over your eternal soul. Fix your heart, fix your gaze on the Perfecter of our faith … who not only sits at the right hand of God but who came and stood in the arena of life with us!
Jesus has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of God. Jesus endured. Jesus persevered. Jesus finished the race and received His joy sitting at the right hand of His Father wearing the crown of victory … and His joy and His victory can be ours like it has for countless others … if we persevere as He persevered … if we endure shame and trial and suffering as He did … if we are willing shed our blood as He did. His victory is our victory if we endure and persevere and finish the race set before us and when we cross the finish line, we can join the cloud of witnesses … the multitude of saints … who surround Jesus on His rightful throne. “Consider Him who endured such hostility against Himself from sinners, so that you may not grow weary or lose heart” (v. 3).
“In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood” (v. 4). “In your struggle…”. The writer of Hebrews is referring to the people he as writing to. They were beginning to experience struggle … criticism and ostracism from Jews and Greeks alike. But these were nothing compared to what was coming in their near future. The writer of Hebrews was pointing to the storm clouds gathering on the horizon. They were about to be expelled or excommunicated from the Jewish community … the Jewish religion that was protected under Rome. The Christians would then be alone and exposed to severe persecution, arrest, the confiscation of their property, torture, the shedding of their blood, and death. If they couldn’t handle their situation now, when all they were having to endure were glares, whispered slanders, and some public humiliation, how were they going to persevere, how were they going to endure if and when the time came for them to shed their blood or give up their lives?
“In OUR struggles…”. What about us? Are we prepared to face the storm clouds that seem to be building on our horizon? It is becoming more and more difficult to be a Christian these days. Our freedom to practice our faith is fading. Those who try to live the Christian life in any more than a superficial way face increasing ridicule … even from some of our fellow “Christians.” This should come as no surprise to us. The Scripture tells us that all who run this race … who try to live righteous, Godly lives … who live to witness to their faith in Christ … will suffer persecution.
Jesus was persecuted. Many of those who have gone before us have been persecuted. No need to think the race laid out for us will be any different. There are many Christians in the world today who are enduring and persevering in the face of true hardship… literally to the point of being tortured, locked away in prison, shedding blood, or losing their lives. We may never have to endure such agony, such hardship, but we must faithfully run the race set before us and be prepared to endure the road that leads to the cross if that’s the course that God has chosen for us to follow, amen?
There are some of you here this morning who are going through some mighty struggles. The tempter, Satan, may be whispering in your ear right now: “Hey! Give it up! Quit! You’ll never make it. Wouldn’t it be nice to give up this whole rat race and just find a rock or a bench to just sit on and rest?” Don’t listen. Listen to the cheering … the shouts of encouragement … coming from those who have finished the race. Look to Jesus, our Number One fan and cheerleader, amen? “You can do it,” He’s shouting. “Just keep putting one foot in front of the other … keep pushing … keep persevering …keep enduring … stay the course … let your faith sustain you … I promise you, it will be worth it.” Satan wants us to die in the wilderness of our unbelief. Jesus came to show us the way and all Heaven is encouraging us to go the whole distance … to finish the race … to reach our goal … to hear Jesus say: “Well done! Well done, you good and faithful servant. You have run the good race … you have endured … persevered … and now the race is finished and you can find rest for your soul.”
Winston Churchill was once asked to give a commencement speech. When it was time for him to speak, he got up, put on his glasses, and opened a piece of paper. The audience waited for the encouraging speech to come. What words of encouragement, what words of inspiration would this great orator share with these graduates? He looked at the audience and said: “Nevah give up!” Then, to the surprise of everyone, folded up the paper, took his spectacles off, put them in his pocket, and sat down.
Needless to say, the audience was stunned. Surely this couldn’t be it? A joke, maybe? An attempt to be dramatic, maybe? There had to be more! Churchill stood up, looked around the auditorium, and said: “Nevah give up!” … and sat down again. More stunned silence … puzzled faces. Churchill stood up a third time and said: “Nevah give up!” That was it. And I’ll bet you can tell what advice I’m going to give you now …
“Nevah give up!” … amen?
Let us pray …
