Hebrews 11:29-12:2 (p. 274 NT)By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as if it were dry land, but when the Egyptians attempted to do so they were drowned. By faith the walls of Jericho fell after they had been encircled for seven days. By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had received the spies in peace. And what more should I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets - who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, won strength out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.
Women received their dead by resurrection. Others were tortured, refusing to accept release, in order to obtain a better resurrection. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned to death, they were sawn in two, they were killed by the sword; they went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, persecuted, tormented - of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.
Yet all these, though they were commended for their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better so that they would not, apart from us, be made perfect. Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, 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.
Meditation
Brothers and Sisters there is NO quick shortcut to raising children or to learning our Christian faith.
The writer of Hebrews reminds us that real human change usually isn't fast, nor does it happen in a straight line.
Real transformation usually requires a slower, meandering path that is rocky and difficult at times
The path of faith, says the writer, requires patience and perseverance.
I have had church folks tell me they don’t like studying the OT— to which I remind them that 60% of our brief NT is a retelling of OT Stories—this rings true in our passage from Hebrews today.
Hebrews 11 is often called the "faith chapter" because the writer uses the history of Israel as an example of the kind of slow-moving progress that many followers of Jesus make in striving for Christlike holiness.
These “super heroes" of the faith have their flaws, to be sure, and their mistakes and missteps may be as familiar to us as their triumphs.
All of them were on the way to somewhere, but never fully reached their destination.
Take the people of Israel and their journey from Egypt, for example.
After the miracle at the Red Sea, it took 40 years of wandering in the desert before finally reaching the promised land (v. 29).
It was only "by faith" that they kept following God and Moses, and that faith was not immune to difficulty.
The journey came with storms of hardship and deprivation.
When they finally reached the land promised by God, they had to practice patience in marching around Jericho for seven days, waiting for God to act on their behalf (v. 30).
Even then, their intel came from Rahab, a lady of the evening, who had enough faith to trust a God she had never known, despite the risk to her own life (v. 31).
The list of those who took the long journey of faith reveals that the ride is never smooth.
There was Gideon, who had to trust that God wasn't setting him up when God told him to send home an army and, instead, defeat the enemy with 300 guys carrying some clay pots and torches.
Barak didn't move on a similar enemy without partnering with Deborah, a woman called by God.
Samson was a lunk-headed playboy who got in trouble over a haircut and yet trusted God to do the right thing through him in the end.
Jephthah made a unnecessary and rash vow that lead to the needless death of his daughter by his own hand.
David defeated Goliath with a sling and stone, but then blew it with Bathsheba.
Samuel was a good leader, except in his own household.
Despite all this dysfunction, fear and bad decision-making, God was able to use each of these flawed super heroes to preserve God’s people.
It was their faith and perseverance, and not their innate ability, that enabled them to be used by God.
It was "through faith" that they "conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, won strength out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight" (vv. 32-34).
The writer goes on to a long list of the hardships endured by people who took the journey of faith.
- They suffered death, torture and imprisonment.
- They suffered extreme poverty and persecution.
- They wandered through deserts and mountains, sleeping in caves and holes in the ground (vv. 36-38).
Their character and faith development was neither fast nor easy.
The end of the journey wasn't completely clear (v. 39), and yet God was setting them up for a destination even better than they could imagine (v. 40).
Given the faithful example of this "great cloud of witnesses," the writer of Hebrews urges us to let go of our desire for the quick fix and the weight of sin that tends to slow us down.
We are urged instead, to "run with perseverance the race that is set before us" (12:1).
The life of faith is a process of being nudged along by God, who walks with us every step of the way.
The ultimate example of this, says the writer, is Jesus.
Jesus is the spiritual leader who pioneers and perfects the way of faith, having tested it in his own life on earth as the fully human incarnation of the fully divine God (v. 2).
Jesus understood the destination of life to be a place of "joy" —
In Jesus, heaven and earth come closer to each other.
To bring that about, however, he endured the cross and its accompanying stigma of shame and failure.
But we know that while Jesus' journey toward Calvary was about as slow and painful as a journey gets, it actually led to our redemption and his enthronement at the right hand of God, from where he will come to unite heaven and earth once and for all (v. 2).
And so, the writer says, consider the difficulty of Jesus' journey of faith on our behalf, "so that you may not grow weary or lose heart" (v. 3).
Jesus endured the hostility of sinners, the pain of crucifixion, the hurt of betrayal, and the weight of the world's sin all the way to the cross.
If Jesus could do that for us, suggests the writer, then we, too, can endure faithful suffering on behalf of Christ.
In a world that always looks for the path of least resistance, the path of faith looks dangerous and difficult.
Jesus rids us of that notion, reminding us that following him requires the mindset of a marathon runner with all the accompanying pain and sweat, rather than that of a sprinter.
The Christian life is best sustained slowly and steadily through faith in the midst of challenges.
It's about patience and about the winding way of the cross rather than the straight line of desire for human progress.
Whatever you are going through today, know that you can endure it in faith because Jesus walks through it with you.
Christ is able to "sympathize with our weaknesses," so let us approach his throne of grace with boldness, "so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (4:15). Amen
Resources: http://www.homileticsonline.com/subscriber/btl_display.asp?installment_id=93040980
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