For the Joy Set Before Him

Good morning, everyone. It is wonderful to be with you all. I hope and pray that you are all growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Let's pray. Father, I trust that you have prepared our minds, our affections, our wills, our intellects. Lord, I ask that you would energize our minds to hear your word and receive it with joy and gladness, and that we would be moved by your word for your glory. And Lord, would you open our eyes to behold the wonderful things from your word, that we would behold the glory of your Son, who he is and what he has done for us. In Christ's name. Amen.

Please open your Bibles with me to Hebrews chapter 1. The book of Hebrews is a book of better things. We find ourselves roughly around 64 to 68 AD. We do not know exactly who the author is. Some think it is Paul, because Paul's theology is woven throughout the book. Others believe it is Barnabas, because the book of Acts says that Barnabas was a son of encouragement, and there is encouragement throughout the book of Hebrews. It's really just one big encouragement. Still others think it is Apollos, because of the intricacy, the complexity, the beauty of the book of Hebrews itself, and Apollos was known as a gifted preacher.

Regardless of who the author is, the author himself calls his work a word of exhortation in chapter 13, verse 22. It was an early sermon addressed to those who were being persecuted and pressured to revert back to Judaism and leave Christ. Remember, this is before the destruction of the second temple in 70 AD, so the Pharisees and the Sadducees, the Essenes, and all of those people are still at play. And believers were being pressured to leave Christ. Apart from the internal war that we wage against our own sin, they were being externally pressured by society to leave Christ.

So how was the situation to be remedied? What is the preacher to do? It is to point them to Jesus: that Jesus is better than all things, better than anything they had and everything that we have. It is to passionately remind them of who Jesus is and what he has done for sinners. From end to end, Hebrews is all about Christ.

Jesus is better than the prophets. Look at Hebrews chapter 1, verses 1 through 3. "Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He, that is Christ, is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high."

Jesus is better than angels. Look at chapter 1, verse 4. "Having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. For to which of the angels did God ever say, 'You are my Son, today I have begotten you'? Or again, 'I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son'?" He did not say that of an angel. He said that of the Son.

Christ is greater than Moses. Turn over to chapter 3, verse 3. "For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself."

Jesus' priesthood is better than the Aaronic and Melchizedekian priesthoods. Look at chapter 4, verse 15. "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

Jesus holds his priesthood permanently. The new covenant that is inaugurated by Christ [unclear in recording] the old covenant, which was made obsolete, [unclear in recording] tent, not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. "He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves, but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, [unclear in recording] perfected for all time those who are being sanctified?"

Walking with Christ is superior to not walking with Christ. He begins chapter 11 describing and explaining what faith is. Look at chapter 11, verse 1. "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible." And he goes on to list every Old Testament saint that you could think of. You have likely heard this chapter referred to as the Hall of Faith. He mentions Abraham, Abel, Enoch, Noah, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob. He goes on to say in verse 13, "These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth."

He moves on to speak of Moses in verse 24. "By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward."

Now he begins chapter 12, and this is where we will land. This is where our passage is. He begins chapter 12 by applying the doctrine that he has set forth to them. And God said this to the original audience, and God has now said this to you, my dear Christian.

Look at chapter 12, verse 1. "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us 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."

He says "therefore," after all that has been said in chapter 11. Since we have so great a cloud of witnesses, to such a high degree, of those who have come before us, who believed the promises of God, the promises of the Messiah, whose witnesses were tried and true, although they were not sinless, in the face of various trials of many kinds, who endured without ever seeing the promises of the Messiah come to fruition in their lifetime. These are examples of faith because they went about their lives trusting what God had promised without ever seeing the Messiah in their lifetime. And so our author of Hebrews is reminding them and encouraging them to look to those who have come before us. Look at all these saints. They were imperfect, but they were upheld by our perfect God.

He goes on to say, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight." He's painting an extremely vivid picture of an athlete in the first century stripping himself of anything that would hinder his race. Athletes in the first century would strip off anything and everything that was unnecessary. They would strip off any weight that hindered their race. He's laying aside and ridding himself of everything that could distract his focus and slow him down. And in our case, just in this single phrase, "let us lay aside every weight," our application doesn't even necessitate that it be something blatantly sinful. It's a weight that has come upon your shoulders that slows you down in Christ.

Picture this in your mind. You're an athlete in an arena. You are at the Olympics across the world. You are representing your country. You're a track runner. You get set in place. The race is about to start. The starter gun's about to pop. And then you look down and realize, I'm not in my track gear. I don't even have track shoes on. I'm in sweatpants and a sweatshirt, and I've got a backpack on. And you realize, I'm not going to run as well as I can. I can still run, but I'm going to be hindered in my run. I'm going to be slow. And so what I have to do is take all this weight off. I've got to take it off now.

And specifically in our context in Hebrews, remember the people being persecuted, or pressured by those in Judaism to turn back to legalism, to legalistic Judaism. This is the weight that the preacher speaks of. Why would we put the weight back on our shoulders of the old covenant, when we could not satisfy the demands of God's law? We could not follow it. Why would we put that back on ourselves?

Do you want to know how to entangle yourself and rip the joy out of your life? Just heap on legalism. Heap burdens upon yourself that Scripture does not place upon you.

And so I ask you, dear Christian, what is it in your life that weighs you down in your walk with Christ? Have you heaped legalism upon yourself, thinking that it was good, but it has actually burdened you and stolen your joy in Christ? I had to learn that the hard way this past couple of years. Or is it something different? Does it come in a different form? What is in your life that pulls you away from communing with God? Too much time on social media? Football season is here. Anything that pulls you away from your time of prayer and the study of God's word. What is it in your life, my dear Christian, that is actually hindering your walk with Christ and stealing your joy? May you be resolved, my dear Christian, to act upon this question.

He goes on to say, look at verse 1 again, "Let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely." He's saying, do away with the iniquity that distracts you and pulls your gaze away from Christ. Those certain transgressions that ensnare you, entrap you, and hook you. The sin that constricts your run. The New American Standard translates this phrase "the sin which so easily entangles us." It is the sin that clings so closely.

And sin is of such a deceitful nature that it subtly creeps back into the heart, doesn't it? And we must deal violently with it. It's like what Solomon says in Proverbs 4:23: "Keep your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life. Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you. Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil."

Jesus said in his Sermon on the Mount, Matthew chapter 5, "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell." Jesus is saying you must deal violently with your sin, because it is of such a deceitful nature.

A famous Puritan, Thomas Brooks, wrote a book called Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices. You can still buy this book on Amazon. He said one of the ways that the devil ensnares Christians and steals their joy is to present the bait, sin, but hide the hook. It's a fishing illustration, right? The more glorious this bait looks to you, the more dangerous that sin is, and its consequences. The more dangerous and glorious this sin looks to us, the more destructive it is. And when it gets its hook in your mouth, it will be ever harder to pull yourself away from it. And so we must be ever watchful of the sin which clings so closely.

He goes on to say, back to verse 1, "and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us." We must have a single aim in our lives, and that is the glory of our triune God. The phrase "let us run" means to make an effort to advance spiritually, to exert oneself to the limit of one's power in an attempt to go forward. It is to strive to advance. It is like Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9: "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified."

Brothers and sisters, if an Olympic athlete can dedicate their entire life to training for a 30-second race, can we not discipline ourselves for the sake of godliness and put off the deeds of darkness in our lives? Should we not discipline ourselves? Ought we not give ourselves over to the pursuit of holiness?

Now, we must bear in mind at this point, as careful interpreters and theologians as we are and must be, we have to recognize this important point, and it is critical. If the preacher of Hebrews had stopped after verse 1, it would lead his hearers, and us, to believe that we have the strength in and of ourselves to do what he just exhorted us to do. Now, there is wisdom in departing from evil externally, in not participating in the evil deeds of darkness. Yes, there is, like the blessed man of Psalm 1. But doing those things only goes so far. Why? Because those things are external, and the real change that we need is internal.

You can depart from the things of the world for so long, and you might have relative success, and praise God for that. But over a period of time, the deceitfulness of sin creeps back in again. And there's a war on the inside. Like I said before, sin is of such a deceitful nature that it subtly creeps back into the heart. And if its head is not severed and dealt with severely, those sins of the heart will become ever stronger over time. You try and do your best not to think of those sins, those certain entanglements of the heart, and you quickly realize you're powerless. And that continues over a period of time and leads you to a downcast soul. It will lead you into despair. Frustration leading to anger. Seemingly never-ending sorrow. You could even doubt your salvation, God's love for you, Christ's love for you, the Spirit's love for you.

So how are sins of the heart triumphed over? How is the sin that clings so closely triumphed over? How do we actually do verse 1? We know what we should be doing. How do we do that? The preacher answers our question in verse 2 with three words. Look at chapter 12, verse 2: "Looking to Jesus." That's your solution. That is our solution. Looking to Christ.

Charles Spurgeon said, "Remember therefore, take hold of Christ who saves you. It is Christ. It is not your joy in Christ that saves you. It is Christ. It is Christ's blood and merits. Look not so much to your hand which is grasping Christ, as to Christ. Not to your hope, but to Jesus, the source of your hope. Look not to your faith, but to Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith. We shall never find happiness by looking at our prayers, our doings, or our feelings. It is what Jesus is, not what we are, that gives rest to the soul." End quote.

So in our case here in Hebrews 12, we lay aside every weight and the sin which clings so closely to us, and run with endurance, by meditating on three things. Read the rest of verse 2 with me.

"Looking to Jesus." Point number one: "the founder and perfecter of our faith." Jesus is the starting point of our salvation, and the one who will bring it to a successful conclusion. There is none to come after him. He is the pinnacle. He said in John 15, "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned."

Paul goes on to say in 1 Corinthians chapter 3, "For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ." Meaning Jesus is our foundation. Apart from Christ, there is no salvation. Peter said in his sermon in Acts chapter 2, "There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."

And the preacher is telling his original audience, look at him. Look at Christ. There's nobody else. There's nothing else that we need. What is departing from Christ going to benefit? The answer is nothing. Because he is the founder and the perfecter, we need nothing else. Look at our God and behold his beauty.

He continues. Point number two: "Jesus, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame." MacArthur, in his systematic theology, said this, quoting Matthew 27: "And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him. Victims of crucifixion were usually made to wear a placard around the neck on which was written the crime for which they were condemned. It was part of the shame that was deliberately inflicted on victims of crucifixion. They were led through the streets and made to walk in a public procession in order to maximize the humiliation of the spectacle. They were also forced to carry their own cross to the place of execution. A Roman cross large enough to crucify a grown man might weigh as much as 200 pounds, an extremely heavy load to bear in any circumstance. But for someone in Jesus' severely weakened condition, it would have been virtually impossible to drag such a load from the Praetorium to the place of crucifixion outside the walls of Jerusalem. In fact, Matthew records that Jesus needed help bearing his cross. 'As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled this man to carry his cross.'" Matthew chapter 27, verse 32. End quote.

Please pay close attention to this phrase, "despising the shame." The word "despising" in the Greek means to consider something not important enough to be an object of concern when evaluated against something else. To care nothing for, to disregard, to be unafraid of. Jesus considered the shame of the crucifixion, the mocking, the whipping, the spitting, the beating, the physical torture, not important enough to be an object of concern when evaluated against the joy that was set before him.

My dear Christian, this is the pinnacle. Does that not put fire in your bones? Hearing that Christ, for the joy that was set before him, did not regard the crucifixion as something to be concerned about? Brothers, does that not put steel in your spine? Sisters, does that not put fire in your heart? Does that not inflame your zeal? Does it not provoke your affections and convict your conscience? Seeing and knowing that Jesus did not consider the shame of the crucifixion important enough to be an object of concern when evaluated against the joy that was set before him, that makes me want to lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely to me. That makes me want to do that. I mean, does that not put fuel in the tank?

What was that joy? One New Testament scholar said this: "The joy of completing the work of reconciliation he had come to perform for our eternal benefit and the glory of the Father's name, John 12:28, thus bringing the fruition of all the purposes of God's creation and all the promises of his covenant. His joy, which is indeed the fullness of joy, Psalm 16:11, is also the joy of his elect, for it is his will that his own joy should dwell in them so that their joy, like his, may be full. And it was his prayer that they might have his joy fulfilled in themselves, John 15:11 and 17:13. His joy is the joy of heaven over every sinner who repents and returns to the Father's home, over every lost sheep that is found, over every son that was dead and is alive again." End quote.

I would add to that: the joy that was set before Christ was delighting in and obeying and glorifying the Father. Him making purification for sins and sitting down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, Hebrews 1:3, and making intercession for his people, Hebrews 7:25. And that all results in joy for all three persons of the Trinity. And again, your salvation. Your reconciliation. Your justification. Your sanctification. And your future glorification. That was the joy that was set before Christ, that he did not consider the shame of the crucifixion as an object of concern. And that's the captain of our salvation. Amen.

Point number three. Look at verse 2, the last phrase: "and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." Jesus seated at the right hand of the throne of God has tremendous implications. It means that Jesus' work of redemption is complete. There is a definiteness and a finality to it. "It is finished," he said, John 19:30. There is nothing else for Christ to do. But it does not mean that Christ is now doing nothing. Christ is interceding, praying for his people. Christ intercedes for you, my dear Christian. For you. And for me.

Jesus seated at the right hand of the throne of God means that he is the supreme Lord over all. He is the sovereign Lord. He is, as Isaiah says in chapter 52, "high and lifted up," and greatly exalted. He is in the place of highest honor and worthy of all worship. Paul says in Philippians chapter 2 that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Who Jesus is and what Jesus has done is the foundation of our salvation. He is the captain of it and the completer of it.

It is only when we take our eyes off of Christ that those weights and those sins that so easily entangle us come creeping back in. Is that not true? Cares of this world distract us. Like Peter when he was walking on water: he was concerned about the waves and began to sink because he took his eyes off Christ. I think that is a fitting illustration.

Since Jesus considered the shame of the crucifixion not important enough to be an object of concern when evaluated against the joy that was set before him, by the Spirit's empowerment I want to run the best race that I can. What about you? With the Spirit's power, my dear Christian, you can run a triumphant race. You can. That's entirely possible. You can run a triumphant race.

Do you want to run the best race possible and have success in putting off the things that so easily entangle you, and run with endurance? It's only by Christ. Meditate on his person and work. And as we fix our eyes on Jesus, we all, as Paul says in 2 Corinthians chapter 3, "with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit."

Let's pray.