Wednesday, February 18, 2009
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Hebrews 12:1-3).
IDEA: It makes a difference in how we picture Jesus.
PURPOSE: To help listeners think of Jesus in new ways.
Jesus is referred to as the author or the pioneer of faith in Hebrews 2:10 and 12:2. What do you think that really means?
It can mean that He is the pioneer or author of salvation because apart from Jesus there is no savior.
It also means that for Christians He provides a better example and incentive to run the race than all those who have lived in history.
But how would he be the author or pioneer of "faith" for men and women who lived before Jesus came?
I. Didn't all the people mentioned in Hebrews 11 and in the Old Testament live before Jesus lived? How can he be called the "author" or "pioneer" of their faith?
How could he blaze a trail for those who lived centuries before Him?
If we asked people in church or on the street "when did Jesus live?" what do you think they would answer?
The writer of the letter to the Hebrews and the writers of the New Testament would say that those people didn't really live "before" Him. He went before them as truly as He has gone before us.
Look at what the New Testament says:
Jude 5: Jesus saved a people out of the land of Egypt.
Hebrews 11:34-36: Moses chose the reproach of Christ over the luxurious life he had in Egypt.
1 Corinthians 10:3-4: Jesus accompanied and nourished the people in the wilderness.
John 8:57-58: Jesus made the bold statement that "before Abraham was, I AM." There may be older religions, but he is eternal.
Why do you think the New Testament writers said this? What was in their minds?
Jesus has led all the people of God from the earliest times along the path of faith, but since His appearance in our neighborhood and His death and resurrection, His personal example makes His leadership available to us in a way that was impossible before.
II. When you think of Jesus, what picture forms in your mind?
He isn't merely a Galilean peasant who was born in a stable in Bethlehem 2000 years ago and who met a tragic death as a victim of Roman injustice. He is the eternal God who sits on the right hand of the throne of God.