Hello Roger. Hebrews directly connects to the previous chapter, a chapter which is generally referred to as the 'Gallery of Faith Heroes'. In there, as you would know, is a lengthy description of some well known Old Testament saints, of their faith, their love for God in spite of the many troubles they faced. But all these "received a good report through faith" but did not receive the promise: "God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect." ( Hebrews 11:39,40). They might have known the promises of God & certainly knew of God's Presence & Power with them, yet those Promises did not find their fulfillment in their lifetimes. But they continued undeterred IN FAITH, knowing that God had something special that lay ahead for them.
So then chapter 12 comes into focus (for us). Seeing then that we are surrounded by such a great (eminent) group of witnesses, how are we to behave. So departing from the personal exhortation the Hebrews writer gave in chapter 10:22-25 towards holy living, he now implores us by the witness of these saints of old. Here, it is difficult to discern whether the writer believed that we have all these sages looking down upon us & our behaviour, or more likely, that we have yet another imperative to godly living because of the lives that these men & women lived, in spite of the odds against them. They didn't even consider their lives of any worth in comparison to what God had for them in the afterlife.
Hebrews 12:1,2 then reminds us that we not only have these great examples of faith, of perseverance & resilience before us, but even much more than all this, we have JESUS, Who not only is the Designer, the Forerunner & Completer of (our) Faith, but the One Who took the meaning of suffering to its fullest extent (much more than what those in chapter 11 had done), in that He willingly laid down His Life for us. "He Who knew no sin became sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him".
So then chapter 12 comes into focus (for us). Seeing then that we are surrounded by such a great (eminent) group of witnesses, how are we to behave. So departing from the personal exhortation the Hebrews writer gave in chapter 10:22-25 towards holy living, he now implores us by the witness of these saints of old. Here, it is difficult to discern whether the writer believed that we have all these sages looking down upon us & our behaviour, or more likely, that we have yet another imperative to godly living because of the lives that these men & women lived, in spite of the odds against them. They didn't even consider their lives of any worth in comparison to what God had for them in the afterlife.
Hebrews 12:1,2 then reminds us that we not only have these great examples of faith, of perseverance & resilience before us, but even much more than all this, we have JESUS, Who not only is the Designer, the Forerunner & Completer of (our) Faith, but the One Who took the meaning of suffering to its fullest extent (much more than what those in chapter 11 had done), in that He willingly laid down His Life for us. "He Who knew no sin became sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him".
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