Picking up where we left off:
John 1:6-7a
"There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. (this is John the Baptist) The same came for a witness, (a martyras, an M-A-R-T-Y-R-A-S) to bear witness of the Light,…"
Now do you get the concept? John the Baptist wasn’t sitting there in an amphitheater watching Jesus perform His miracles. That’s not what it means. John the Baptist was confirming Who He was. His whole ministry was to announce that the Messiah had come. With Him the kingdom of promise was present or among them. In other God's activation of the promise was ready to be accepted and received within those who would so choose. For the character of God was visible within His Son as He manifests God's character through His actions and words. He witnessed of the God Heads presence within Him, as He received before John the infilling of the Holy Spirit which was already within John. He was a witness to Who He was (Luke 1:17, 41). See the difference? All right, now then let’s go back and briefly look at Hebrews 12 verse 1 again so that we get this locked into our thinking.
Hebrews 12:1a
"Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses,"
"Martyras." Like John the Baptist, who is confirming that the God of Scripture is real. That’s their purpose. That’s why we looked at Romans 15:4. All these things were written for our "learning." To prove to us that we’re not placing our trust in something or someone that is not true. He is true! The witnesses have proven it. All right, now the other term as I’ve already made mention of is "autopisis" and that is used in II Peter chapter 1. And these are witnesses we see here who are looking at something that’s being performed. This is the other meaning and is not the one used in Hebrews 12:1. Now let’s look at it here in II Peter chapter 1 verse 16, where Peter writes:
II Peter 1:16-17
"For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he (Christ) received from God the Father honor and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
Remember, Peter says, "we were eyewitnesses to all this, we saw this" for ourselves and I bear witness to this. Now verse 18.
II Peter 1:18
"And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount."
What’s he talking about? The Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-17). For Peter, James and John it was just like sitting in a theater, and they were watching all this unfold. They heard the voice from Heaven. They saw Moses and Elijah appear and then they saw Christ transfigured right in front of them, from the inside outward the light came. They saw all that. That’s the different meaning. But Hebrews chapter 12:1 isn’t talking in that vein. Hebrews is saying that these people in the Old economy are proof that our trusting in His faith, we're trusting Him to transform us from within and our faith then has been placed in something concrete and real and believable. Not that they’re sitting up there watching us perform. We're to be living stones from whom flows living water which springs to Life and are living (John 7:38) as His witness of His having come in the flesh of man, again. As the Spirit given to all who are but willing to be receptive of His activity. You see the difference?
Here’s where a lot of times, like we’ve said, and I’m not a Greek student but once in a while it behooves us to just compare words, how they’re used in the New Testament and that’s our best rule of thumb. All right now then, we come back to Hebrews chapter 12, seeing then that we have all these past people of accredited faith who prove that God is real, and faithful, now we can trust Him, and we can believe Him, we are to receive Him. All right, now that being the case, let’s read on:
Hebrews 12:1b
"…let us lay aside every weight,.…"
You know, this is another reason I think Hebrews is written by the Apostle Paul. What does Paul constantly refer to in his illustrations? The Olympics. Over and over – running the race; beating the air like a boxer, see? All right, here again, when he says lay aside every weight, what do you suppose he’s thinking about? An Olympic runner. An Olympic runner isn’t going to win the 100-yard dash if he’s got lead weights in his shoes. He’ll never make it. So what did they do? They got down to the bare minimum so that they wouldn’t have to be carrying any extra weight, many were stripped of clothing so they could run the race to victory. All hindrances were removed from them and so it is to be with us, this requires our having passed through the valley of the shadow of death and then raised in His likeness of resurrection. This also means that we're not to be tied down by religion as its Latin word religre means. Remember that Paul in almost every epistle reveals the conflict of religion verses Christianity. Religion is a weight that hinders, restrains and holds us back from God's intended activities within us. For its only through a death that the weight of sin is laid aside.
All right, that’s what we’re to do as believers. We’re to shed anything that would tend to slow us down. Now, every one of you can determine on your own, what’s the weight that is slowing you down. It’s different for all of us. Totally different. We don’t all have the same weight. But the way remains the same for all because through it His becomes our All in all. Now let’s read the next part of the verse.
Hebrews 12:1c
"…and (lay aside) the sin which doth so easily beset us,…"
I’m going to take this in two categories. I think there is one universal sin that plagues every believer, and what is it? Unbelief. You got it. Unbelief. We all tend to say, "Will did it really happen?" See? What is that? That’s human doubt. Will He really get every believer and never miss a one when He comes for us? Faith tells us what? He won’t miss a one! Unbelief says what? How can He help it? How can He help but miss a few? The scriptures tell us if by no other way than by divine illumination that the Lord knows who are His.
But see, that’s what unbelief does. Unbelief comes in and says, "Is it really the way I believe?" And I think that is something that besets all of us. But in the second category, we all have weaknesses that only we ourselves realize and we have to deal with that on a personal basis. As we allow the Spirit to direct us through each situation on and by His merit, through the taking up of our cross, as we're being filled by the Spirit. So whatever it may be that slows down your Christian running of the race (that you might win the prize), that’s between you and the Lord. We all are plagued with this constant temptation to doubt but we all again have an individual weakness that besets us and Paul says, "deal with them." Deal with these weights that tend to slow us down. Deal with unbelief. Deal with an individual weakness - and then now finish the verse.
Hebrews 12:1d
"…and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,"
How did Paul put it? Let’s go back to II Timothy chapter 4 - and I just revel in things like this. This is something that everyone of us can say along with the Apostle. And I think the Lord wants everyone of us to say this with the Apostle. Now remember this is just shortly before he’s martyred.
2Timothy 4:6-8
"For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing."
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