Rev Dr Quek Suan Yew

Looking Unto Jesus – Hebrews 12:1-2

Hebrews 12:1-2 (KJV), "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God."

Some have said, "Do not look at me, I am not perfect, but look at Christ for He is perfect!" This sounds like a noble and biblical dictum until it is investigated closely. Perfect is not the basis for looking unto Jesus and not to look at believers. Hebrews 12:2 states clearly that perfection is not the reason for believers to "look unto Jesus." The believer is charged by God to keep on looking unto Jesus because He is the author and finisher of our faith. He is to keep on looking at Jesus because of what He had to endure to gain salvation for mankind. It was His suffering and the shame that He bore for every believer that all believers are to keep looking at. The reason is that the believer remains on earth after salvation in Christ for the purpose of witnessing for Christ. He is surrounded by a cloud of witnesses, i.e. a myriad number of witnesses as far back as Abel who obeyed the teaching of God’s Word to offer a blood sacrifice by faith and was killed by his own brother because of it. All the faithful witnesses of God in the OT as well as in the NT and throughout church history paid a heavy price for their obedient and holy witness for Christ. They were persecuted for it. Some had to endure what is described in Hebrews 11.

Hebrews 11:32-38 (KJV), "And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: 33 Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. 35 Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: 36 And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: 37 They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; 38 (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth." [Emphasis added] Therefore, believers on earth need to look unto Jesus in order not to fail in their witness for Christ.

The above title was the camp theme of Truth BPC. There were a total of seven messages. The sub-themes of the messages included, "The Need to Look" (Heb 12:1); The Standard of Looking" (Heb 12:2); The Reason for Looking" (Heb 12:3-4); The Consequence for not Looking" (Heb 12:5-10); "The Consequence of Looking" (Heb 12:11-13); "The Danger to Looking" (Heb 12:14-17); and "The Result of Looking" (Heb 12:18-29).

* "The Need to Look" (12:1) – The believer needs to keep looking at Jesus because there have been many witnesses in the past who did and were victorious to the end of their lives. They remained faithful to Christ unto death. They might have suffered the loss of possessions, loved ones, freedom and health but for the sake of Christ they endured them all and did not bring shame to the name of Christ. They shone brightly for Christ in the face of the darkest hour. So can all the believers today. To succeed they must lay aside every weight and sin that can easily beset, i.e. weigh down, the believer. It is easier to set aside the sin than the weight of daily cares and responsibilities. When it comes to sin, the believer can recognize sin for what it is, unless he is deliberately disobedient to God’s Word or wants to fool himself by playing mind games and refuses to see sin for what it is. Drinking of alcohol, gambling and smoking are sinful deeds that must be gotten rid of immediately. They are addictive and will surely weigh the believer down. His testimony for Christ will be endangered if he does not get rid of them. The weights in his life need not be sinful in nature. They might appear harmless such as the cares of family life, jobs, recreation and services. But these "harmless" responsibilities have been the snare of many unsuspecting and undiscerning believers. Children and jobs which are meant to be blessings from God if cared for biblically have been turned into curses. Many have stumbled and become lovers of the world because of them. Believers have turned them into idols by loving them more than Christ. They have to be set aside immediately.

The believer is in a race that God has set for him. He is born in this period of Christendom to fight the battles that are found in this period. He cannot fight the battle that Noah fought or the battle that Martin Luther fought even if he wanted to. God did not set him in those periods of time. We have been placed in these last days today. We must face the trials and the battles that are present today. If the Lord tarries, the next generation will face battles that this present generation is not expected to fight. To finish this race, the believer has to run light. Any excess weight must be shed. Any sinful habits must be stopped and discipline must be exercised to train the whole person to finish the race victoriously. God has equipped all believers with all that they need to be victorious. We do not have to fail in our witness for Christ unless we deliberately choose to fail! But the price for failure is very high. Sinners who are our loved ones and friends may die in their sins and find themselves in hell forever. However, a godly and holy witness can make a difference, for they will see Christ by our good works and glorify our Father who art in heaven by becoming believers.

* "The Standard of Looking" (12:2) – The believer must look at Christ only and no one else. The word "look" is a hapax legomena, i.e. an only occurrence. It means to turn the eyes away from other things and fix them on something else. This means that before every believer was born again in Christ, his eyes were focussed on someone or something else as his "god" to emulate as his motivation for living. Now that he has become a believer, he has to turn his eyes away from his previous "god" and look only at Christ. The reason is that Christ is the author, i.e. starter, and finisher, i.e. completer, of his faith. His faith began with Christ and must continue in Christ and finish with Christ. This is the standard from heaven, i.e. for his salvation, that becomes his basis for looking at Christ. The standard is not that Christ is perfect (and we know that He is) but it is one that every believer can and must follow. The Bible says "for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame." The joy of seeing sinners become saints or holy ones in Christ caused Christ to endure the cross and despising (not to think of) the shame that He had to bear. This is an example of Christ that all believers can follow and must always bear in mind. The believer’s holy witness can bring about much joy when a sinner sees Christ in his life and accepts Christ. The believer shares the gospel of Christ with sinners, and this is backed by a life of holiness, and the Holy Spirit takes his witness and the gospel message and brings conviction to the sinner’s heart. This is the standard God accepts because He accepted what Christ did on the cross by raising Him from the dead and now Christ is seated at God’s right hand. To be seated at God's right hand is very significant to the Jews. The priests always stood and were not allowed to sit when they served in both the Tabernacle and the Temple. To be seated in the presence of God means that Christ’s work is not only completed but also accepted by God. God accepted Christ’s work on earth! Christ will also accept the believer’s work on earth if he keeps on looking at Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.

* "The Reason for Looking" (12:3-4) – Believers must keep looking at Christ because Christ endured (same word as "patience" in verse 1) faithfully to the very end. Christ was the example par excellence! Christ bravely bore the contradiction of sinners, i.e. the gainsayings of sinners against Him. They mocked His kingship, they denied His deity, spoke against His Sonship, derided His office as a prophet, showed utter contempt against His priestly office, said that He obtained His power from the devil and they made Him into a common criminal when they crucified Him. Despite these attacks and insults received from sinners, Christ patiently endured them all as He went to the cross according to His heavenly Father's will.

Another reason for looking at Christ is that believers are weak. They are easily wearied and faint in the mind. A tired mind is a mind that will not persevere. The believer will give up on Christ and cease to walk faithfully for the sake of Christ. Before the body gives up, the mind gives up first. The tired mind is also a weak mind. It faints or surrenders easily to the trials and persecution of life. It has no staying power. It will not endure patiently to the very end. Looking at Christ will help to strengthen the mind. The way to look at Christ is not to stare into heaven but to diligently study God's Word with a heart of obedience. To know Christ and be like Him is to obey the Word of God. A third reason for looking at Christ is that believers have yet to resist unto blood in striving against sin. The suffering that many believers face today stops at shedding of blood. Running and avoiding are common approaches to suffering today. Believers need to look to Christ so that when it is time for them to shed blood they will not flinch!

* "The Consequence for Not Looking" (12:5-10) – When the believer who calls himself a Christian does not bear a godly witness for Christ, he brings shame to the name of Christ. He would cause many sinners to be stumbled because he portrays a false Christ by his bad testimony. God will not accept such sinful behaviour and stumbling of sinners that might cause them to reject salvation. God will chastise. The believer is reminded to not forget the teaching of not despising the chastening of the Lord whenever he falls into sin and refuses to repent. The believers who were being chastised by God had started despising it. God told them to stop despising His chastening and to accept it because it was for their spiritual good. They were also told to stop fainting. Some had literally given up in their testimony for Christ by becoming lovers of the world and sin. God rebuked them and chastened them by way of a sickness, or the rebuke of a preacher or an elder, or even church discipline.

God chastises because He loves the believer. God will even inflict pain upon the wayward believer in order to stop him from sinning and being a bad witness for Christ. If the believer endures the chastening of God patiently, then it is evidence that he is God’s son. In other words, that the disobedient believer returns to the Lord and accepts His discipline is evidence he is a child of God. He stops sinning and restores his testimony for Christ. If he is not chastised when he sins, it is evidence that he is not a child of God. God desires His children to walk in righteousness and not in sin. God will stop His children from sinning any further. If earthly fathers know when to discipline their children when they sin, how much more will God do so His children! The earthly father disciplines with benefits that lasts only a few days, i.e. only good for their time on earth and for their own pleasure; but God’s chastisement is for the believer’s profit so that he might be a partaker of God's holiness. To be a partaker is to be a recipient. He wants to be holy. To be holy means to get rid of sin by genuine repentance.

* "The Consequence of Looking" (12:11-13) – When the believer keeps on looking unto Jesus, his life will automatically be transformed to be more Christ-like. This is the supernatural act of God through the Holy Spirit who indwells every believer. Once the believer comes back to the Lord, he experiences again the peaceable fruit of righteousness. It is called peaceable fruit because when he is walking right with God, he has peace in his soul. He knows that his life is pleasing to God and brings glory to Him. People will see Christ in him. The lethargy that once resided in his heart because of the sin in his life will be taken away immediately. There is new life and strength coursing through his body and living for Christ becomes a joy once more. His hung down hands are now lifted up. His weakened knees are also strengthened. He does not stay away from worship and service. His relationship and fellowship with His heavenly Father is restored. He has much to thank God for and his service will be received with joy by God once more. He can now make straight paths for his feet, which means that his witness and testimony for Christ has returned. It is important that every believer realize the importance of truthfulness and of possessing a sincere faith. He is not perfect and does not pretend to be so. Holiness is not perfection whereby he cannot sin. Holiness is to repent of sin when he sins. Holiness is what must characterize the believer. Acceptance of the Lord’s discipline will restore holiness in his life of witness.

* The Danger to Looking" (12:14-17) – To desire to be holy and remain a godly witness for Christ is right and very commendable. However, the believer must realize that Satan and his minions will be very displeased with him and therefore try his utmost to hinder and destroy his witness if possible. The believer must try his utmost to follow peace with all men. This does not mean that he sins against God by disobeying the Bible just to have peace with all men. What it means is that the believer must not sin or even hold on to his personal "rights"; he must die to self and be a servant to all so that the gospel of Christ will not be hindered by him. He will obey the Bible at all costs and be at peace with all men and not be cantankerous. When he has done wrong he repents so that holiness will return to his testimony. If he does not do this he cannot be said to be born again! The phrase "he will not see God" refers to no salvation! The injunction is to look diligently, i.e. to scope thoroughly, at Jesus Christ only and not be distracted or diverted to scope something else. When a person who uses the telescope zooms to a particular sight, it is the sight alone that he sees and nothing else. It must only be Christ that the believer sees and nothing else. Otherwise, he will surely fail, i.e. fall short of the grace of God. This means that he is not born again.

What happens in his soul would be bitterness which will arise to trouble the false believer. This will result in defilement in the lives of many. His witness for Christ will be severely marred, perhaps even permanently. A man who stumbled many and who later repents of his sin will be hard-pressed to find and restore them. He had better watch out because he will be rejected at the end of his life just as Esau was. There are transgressions which will result in the hardening of hearts and there will be no softening where salvation can ever be possible ever again! Once Esau sold and lost his birthright, it was lost forever. There was no reserving of what he had despised and sold for a morsel of meat! To remain in sin and refuse to repent of our sins can have a similar result. Esau’s repentance and realization of what he had sold for a morsel of meat did not alter the consequence of his loss one bit. The loss was permanent and eternally unchangeable even after his repentance. It is like a father who realizes his failure to bring his children up in the fear and nurture of the Lord when they have already grown up to be carnal and rebellious. He repents of his sins and realizes his failure as a father. However, it does not mean that his children will then become saints overnight. There is no way he can turn the clock back and be given a second chance to bring his children up all over again.

* The Result of Looking" (12:18-29) – When the believer keeps on looking unto the Lord he will receive "a kingdom which cannot be moved" (12:28). Not only that, he will meet many heavenly citizens. "But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel." (12:22-24) This promise awaits all believers who continue to keep their eyes on Jesus and not allow the seductions and threats of the evil one to sway them. May we who are born again believers always look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, as we run the race set before us till the Lord returns. Amen.