Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Hebrews 12:2

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.

2. looking unto Jesus ] It is not possible to express in English the thought suggested by the Greek verb aphorntes, which implies that we must “look away (from other things) unto Jesus.” It implies “the concentration of the wandering gaze into a single direction.”

the author ] The word is the same ( ) as that used in Heb 2:10. In Act 3:15; Act 5:31 it is rendered “a Prince,” as in Isa 30:4 (LXX.). By His faithfulness (Heb 3:2) he became our captain and standard-bearer on the path of faith.

and finisher ] He leads us to “the end of our faith,” which is the salvation of our souls (1Pe 1:9).

of our faith ] Rather, “of faith.”

endured the cross, despising the shame ] Lit., “endured a cross, despising shame.”

is set down ] Rather, “hath sat down” (Heb 1:3, Heb 8:1, Heb 10:12).

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Looking unto Jesus – As a further inducement to do this, the apostle exhorts us to look to the Saviour. We are to look to his holy life; to his patience and perseverance in trials; to what he endured in order to obtain the crown, and to his final success and triumph.

The author and finisher of our faith – The word our is not in the original here, and obscures the sense. The meaning is, he is the first and the last as an example of faith or of confidence in God – occupying in this, as in all other things, the pre-eminence, and being the most complete model that can be placed before us. The apostle had not enumerated him among those who had been distinguished for their faith, but he now refers to him as above them all; as a case that deserved to stand by itself. It is probable that there is a continuance here of the allusion to the Grecian games which the apostle had commenced in the previous verse. The word author – archegon – (marg. beginner) – means properly the source, or cause of anything; or one who makes a beginning. It is rendered in Act 3:15; Act 5:31, Prince; in Heb 2:10, Captain; and in the place before us, Author.

It does not occur elsewhere in the New Testament. The phrase the beginner of faith, or the leader on of faith, would express the idea. He is at the head of all those who have furnished an example of confidence in God, for he was himself the most illustrious instance of it. The expression, then, does not mean properly that he produces faith in us, or that we believe because he causes us to believe – whatever may be the truth about that – but that he stands at the head as the most eminent example that can be referred to on the subject of faith. We are exhorted to look to him, as if at the Grecian games there was one who stood before the racer who had previously carried away every palm of victory; who had always been triumphant, and with whom there was no one who could be compared. The word finisher – teleioten – corresponds in meaning with the word author. It means that he is the completer as well as the beginner; the last as well as the first.

As there has been no one hitherto who could be compared with him, so there will be no one hereafter; compare Rev 1:8, Rev 1:11. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, the first and the last. The word does not mean that he was the finisher of faith in the sense that he makes our faith complete or perfects it – whatever may be true about that – but that he occupies this elevated position of being beyond comparison above all others. Alike in the commencement and the close, in the beginning of faith, and in its ending, he stands pre-eminent. To this illustrious model we should look – as a racer would on one who had been always so successful that he surpassed all competitors and rivals. If this be the meaning, then it is not properly explained, as it is commonly (see Bloomfield and Stuart in loc.), by saying that the word here is synonymous with rewarder, and refers to the brabeutes – or the distributor of the prize; compare notes on Col 3:15, There is no instance where the word is used in this sense in the New Testament (compare Passow), nor would such an interpretation present so beautiful and appropriate a thought as the one suggested above.

Who for the joy that was set before him – That is, who in view of all the honor which he would have at the right hand of God, and the happiness which he would experience from the consciousness that he had redeemed a world, was willing to bear the sorrows connected with the atonement.

Endured the cross – Endured patiently the ignominy and pain connected with the suffering of death on the cross.

Despising the shame – Disregarding the ignominy of such a mode of death. It is difficult for us now to realize the force of the expression, enduring the shame of the cross, as it was understood in the time of the Saviour and the apostles. The views of the world have changed, and it is now difficult to divest the cross of the associations of honor and glory which the word suggests, so as to appreciate the ideas which encompassed it then. There is a degree of dishonor which we attach to the guillotine, but the ignominy of a death on the cross was greater than that; there is disgrace attached to the block, but the ignominy of the cross was greater than that; there is a much deeper infamy attached to the gallows, but the ignominy of the cross was greater than that. And that word – the cross – which when now proclaimed in the ears of the refined, the intelligent, and even the frivolous, excites an idea of honor, in the ears of the people of Athens, of Corinth, and of Rome, excited deeper disgust than the word gallows does with us – for it was regarded as the appropriate punishment of the most infamous of mankind.

We can now scarcely appreciate these feelings, and of course the declaration that Jesus endured the cross, despising the shame, does not make the impression on our minds in regard to the nature of his sufferings, and the value of his example, which it should do. When we now think of the cross, it is not of the multitude of slaves, and robbers, and thieves, and rebels, who have died on it, but of the one great Victim, whose death has ennobled even this instrument of torture, and encircled it with a halo of glory. We have been accustomed to read of it as an imperial standard in war in the days of Constantine, and as the banner under which armies have marched to conquest; it is intermingled with the sweetest poetry; it is a sacred thing in the most magnificent cathedrals; it adorns the altar, and is even an object of adoration; it is in the most elegant engravings; it is worn by beauty and piety as an ornament near the heart; it is associated with all that is pure in love, great in self-sacrifice, and holy in religion. To see the true force of the expression here, therefore, it is necessary to divest ourselves of these ideas of glory which encircle the cross, and to place ourselves in the times and lands in which, when the most infamous of mankind were stretched upon it, it was regarded for such people as an appropriate mode of punishment. That infamy Jesus was willing to bear, and the strength of his confidence in God, his love for man, and the depth of his humiliation, was shown in the readiness and firmness with which he went forward to such a death.

And is set down at the right hand of the throne of God – Exalted to the highest place of dignity and honor in the universe; Mar 16:19 note; Eph 1:20-22 notes. The sentiment here is, Imitate the example of the great Author of our religion. He, in view of the honor and joy before him, endured the most severe sufferings to which the human frame can be subjected, and the form of death which is regarded as the most shameful. So amidst all the severe trials to which you are exposed on account of religion, patiently endure all – for the glorious rewards, the happiness and the triumph of heaven, are before you.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Verse 2. Looking unto Jesus] . Looking off and on, or from and to; looking off or from the world and all secular concerns to Jesus and all the spiritual and heavenly things connected with him. This is still an allusion to the Grecian games: those who ran were to keep their eyes fixed on the mark of the prize; they must keep the goal in view. The exhortation implies, 1. That they should place all their hope and confidence in Christ, as their sole helper in this race of faith. 2. That they should consider him their leader in this contest and imitate his example.

The author and finisher of – faith] , translated here author, signifies, in general, captain or leader, or the first inventor of a thing; see Heb 2:10. But the reference seems to be here to the , or judge in the games, whose business it was to admit the contenders, and to give the prize to the conqueror. Jesus is here represented as this officer; every Christian is a contender in this race of life, and for eternal life. The heavenly course is begun under Jesus; and under him it is completed. He is the finisher, by awarding the prize to them that are faithful unto death. Thus he is the author or the judge under whom, and by whose permission and direction, according to the rules of the heavenly race, they are permitted to enter the lists, and commence the race, and he is the finisher, , the perfecter, by awarding and giving the prize which consummates the combatants at the end of the race.

Who, for the joy that was set before him] The joy of fulfilling the will of the Father, Ps 40:6-8, c., in tasting death for every man and having endured the cross and despised the shame of this ignominious death, He is set down at the right hand of God, ever appearing in the presence of God for us, and continuing his exhibition of himself as our Sacrifice, and his intercession as our Mediator. See the notes on “Heb 10:5“, c. There are different other explanations given of this clause, but I think that here offered is the most natural. It never can, in any sense, be said of Jesus that he endured the cross, c., in the prospect of gaining an everlasting glory when he had the fulness of that glory with the Father before the world began Joh 17:5.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith: as if all the former witnesses were not enough, he adds a more excellent one than them all, even our Lord Jesus Christ, who is not only a pattern to them in their race and running of it, but a help, and for which end they were looking to him: the word is only here used in all the New Testament, and signifieth a looking off from whatever would distract us from earnestly looking on the proposed object alone; and though a word of sense, yet here noteth an act of the mind. It is borrowed from racers, the similitude of whom the apostle further improves: they fixedly eye their guides or leaders, to help them on in their course; so must a Christian in his race look off from all things else, and singly and intently look on Jesus to help him through it; see Heb 2:10; here it denotes Jesus to be the great institutor of, and chief leader in, the Christian race, and perfecter of them in running it. The disposition, grace, ability, and success which they have for running, it is all from him; from the beginning of the work of faith unto the end of it, to the finishing of the course, he doth infuse, assist, strengthen, and accomplish the work of it to the last, Joh 6:29,30; Php 4:13; 2Ti 4:7; 1Jo 5:4,5.

Who for the joy that was set before him; who for that joyful and glorious state which was clearly represented and faithfully promised to him by his Father to succeed his sufferings, that he should immediately attain himself, and successively communicate to all who believe in him, Luk 24:26; Joh 17:1,5,24; 1Pe 1:11. This did so cheer and strengthen him, that with unexpressible patience he cheerfully

endured the cross, with all the concomitants of it, the sorrows in his soul, the torturing pains in his body, of buffetings, smitings, piercings of thorns, tearing his flesh with scourges, boring of his hands and feet with nails, with all the evils that either the malice or rage of devils or men could inflict on him; he was neither weary of his burden, nor shrinking from nor fainting under it. With what invincible meekness and passive fortitude did he undergo all that was foretold of him! Isa 53:1-12.

Despising the shame; as the same time slighting and casting out of his thoughts all the disgrace poured on him by his enemies, both in his mind and action, contemning all the blasphemies, taunts, reproaches, and shameful carriages of sinners to him, suffering without any emotion all their indignities, even in the most shameful death itself, Phi 2:6-8, though he were the most innocent as well as excellent person in all the world.

And is set down at the right hand of the throne of God; the issue of all which was, his exaltation by God for his abasement by man; he riseth from the dead, ascendeth to heaven, sets himself down as a triumphing conqueror over sin, the prince of the powers in the air, death, and hell, at the right hand of the throne of God; and thence discovers himself in his state and glory, as the great Ruler of the world, King of kings, and Lord of lords, Phi 2:9,10, (see Heb 8:1) and the glorious rewarder of those who serve him, and suffer for him.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

2. Looking untoliterally,”Looking from afar” (see on Heb11:26); fixing the eyes upon Jesus seated on the throne of God.

author“Prince-leader.”The same Greek is translated, “Captain (of salvation),”Heb 2:10; “Prince (oflife),” Ac 3:15. Goingbefore us as the Originator of our faith, and the Leader whosematchless example we are to follow always. In this He isdistinguished from all those examples of faith in Heb11:2-40. (Compare 1Co 11:1).On His “faith” compare Heb 2:13;Heb 3:12. Believers have everlooked to Him (Heb 11:26;Heb 13:8).

finisherGreek,“Perfecter,” referring to Heb11:40.

of our faithrather asGreek, “of the faith,” including both Hisfaith (as exhibited in what follows) and our faith. He fulfilled theideal of faith Himself, and so, both as a vicarious offering and anexample, He is the object of our faith.

for the joy . . . set beforehimnamely, of presently after sitting down at the righthand of the throne of God; including besides His own personaljoy, the joy of sitting there as a Prince and Saviour, to giverepentance and remission of sins. The coming joy disarmed of itssting the present pain.

cross . . . shamethegreat stumbling-block to the Hebrews. “Despised,” that is,disregarded.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith,…. Not with bodily eyes, for at present he is not to be looked upon in this manner, but with the eye of the understanding, or with the eye of faith; for faith is a seeing of the Son; it is a spiritual sight of Christ, which is at first but glimmering, afterwards it increases, and is of a soul humbling nature; it is marvellous and surprising; it transforms into the image of Christ, and fills with joy unspeakable, and full of glory: a believer should be always looking to Christ, and off of every object, as the word here used signifies. Christ is to be looked unto as “Jesus”, a Saviour, who being appointed and sent by God to be a Saviour, came, and is become the author of eternal salvation; and to him only should we look for it: he is able and willing to save; he is a suitable, complete, and only Saviour; and whoever look to him by faith shall be saved; and he is to be considered, and looked unto, as “the author and finisher of faith”: he is the author or efficient cause of it; all men are by nature without it; it is not in the power of man to believe of himself; it is a work of omnipotence; it is an instance of the exceeding greatness of the power of God; and it is the operation of Christ, by his Spirit; and the increase of it is from him, Lu 17:5 and he is the finisher of it; he gives himself, and the blessings of his grace, to his people, to maintain and strengthen it; he prays for it, that it fail not; he carries on the work of faith, and will perform it with power; and brings to, and gives that which is the end of it, eternal life, or the salvation of the soul.

Who for the joy that was set before him; the word , rendered “for”; sometimes signifies, in the room, or stead of, as in Mt 2:22 and is so rendered here in the Syriac and Arabic versions; and then the sense is, that Christ instead of being in the bosom of the Father, came into this world; instead of being in the form of God, he appeared in the form of a servant; instead of the glory which he had with his Father from eternity, he suffered shame and disgrace; instead of living a joyful and comfortable life on earth, he suffered a shameful and an accursed death; and instead of the temporal joy and glory the Jews proposed to him, he endured the shame and pain of the cross: sometimes it signifies the end for which a thing is, as in Eph 5:31 and may intend that, for the sake of which Christ underwent so much disgrace, and such sufferings; namely, for the sake of having a spiritual seed, a numerous offspring with him in heaven, who are his joy, and crown of rejoicing; for the sake of the salvation of all the elect, on which his heart was set; and for the glorifying of the divine perfections, which was no small delight and pleasure to him. And to this agrees the Chaldee paraphrase of Ps 21:1.

“O Lord, in thy power shall the King Messiah , “rejoice”, and in thy redemption how greatly will he exult!”

And also because of his own glory as Mediator, which was to follow his sufferings, and which includes his resurrection from the dead, his exaltation at the right hand of God, and the whole honour and glory Christ has in his human nature; see Ps 16:8 and with a view to all this, he endured the cross; which is to be taken not properly for that frame of wood, on which he was crucified; but, improperly, for all his sufferings, from his cradle to his cross; and particularly the tortures of the cross, being extended on it, and nailed unto it; and especially the death of the cross, which kind of death he endured to verify the predictions of it,

Ps 22:16 and to show that he was made a curse for his people; and this being a Roman punishment, shows that the sceptre was taken from Judah, and therefore the Messiah must be come; and that Christ suffered for the Gentiles, as well as Jews: and this death he endured with great courage and intrepidity, with much patience and constancy, and in obedience to the will of his Father: despising the shame; of the cross; for it was an ignominious death, as well as a painful one; and as he endured the pain of it with patience, he treated the shame of it with contempt; throughout the whole of his life, he despised the shame and reproach that was cast upon him; and so he did at the time of his apprehension, and when upon his trial, and at his death, under all the ignominious circumstances that attended it; which should teach us not to be ashamed of the reproach of Christ, but count it an honour to be worthy to suffer shame for his name.

And is set down at the right hand of the throne of God; Which is in heaven; and is expressive of the majesty and glory of God; and of the honour done to Christ in human nature, which is not granted to any of the angels: here Christ sits as God’s fellow, as equal to him, as God, and as having done his work as man, and Mediator; and this may assure us, that when we have run out our race, we shall sit down too, with Christ upon his throne, and be at rest.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

Looking unto ( ). Present active participle of , old verb to look away, “looking away to Jesus.” In N.T. only here and Php 2:23. Fix your eyes on Jesus, after a glance at “the cloud of witnesses,” for he is the goal. Cf. Moses in 11:26 ().

The author ( ). See 2:10 for this word. “The pioneer of personal faith” (Moffatt).

Perfecter (). A word apparently coined by the writer from as it has been found nowhere else. Vulgate has consummator.

For the joy ( ). Answering to, in exchange for (verse 16), at the end of the race lay the joy “set before him” ( ), while here was the Cross () at this end (the beginning of the race) which he endured (, aorist active indicative of ),

despising shame ( ). The cross at his time brought only shame (most shameful of deaths, “yea, the death of the cross” Php 2:8). But Jesus despised that, in spite of the momentary shrinking from it, and did his Father’s will by submitting to it.

Hath sat down (). Perfect active indicative of , and still is there (1:3).

Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament

Looking [] . Only here and Phi 2:28. In LXX see 4 Macc. 17 10. Looking away from everything which may distract. Comp. Phi 3:13, 14, and ajpeblepen he had respect, lit. looked away, Heb 11:26. Wetstein cites Arrian, Epictet. 2 19, 29 eijv ton Qeon ajforwntev ejn panti mikrw kai megalw looking away unto God in everything small and great.

Jesus. Having presented a long catalogue of witnesses under the old covenant, he now presents Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant, and the supreme witness. See Rev 1:5; Rev 3:14; 1Ti 6:13. The author and finisher of our faith [ ] . The A. V. is misleading, and narrows the scope of the passage. For author, rend. leader or captain, and see on ch. Heb 2:10. For finisher, rend. perfecter. For our faith, rend. faith or the faith. Not our Christian faith, but faith absolutely, as exhibited in the whole range of believers from Abel to Christ. Christ cannot be called the author or originator of faith, since the faith here treated existed and worked before Christ. Christ is the leader or captain of faith, in that he is the perfecter of faith. In himself he furnished the perfect development, the supreme example of faith, and in virtue of this he is the leader of the whole believing host in all time. Notice the recurrence of the favorite idea of perfecting. Comp. ch. Heb 2:10; Heb 5:9; Heb 6:1; Heb 7:11, 19, 28; Heb 9:9; Heb 10:1, 14; Heb 11:40. Teleiwthv perfecter, N. T. o, ?LXX, o Class.

For the joy that was set before him [ ] . Anti in its usual sense, in exchange for. Prokeimenhv lying before, present. The joy was the full, divine beatitude of his preincarnate life in the bosom of the Father; the glory which he had with God before the world was. In exchange for this he accepted the cross and the blame. The contrast is designed between the struggle which, for the present, is alone set before the readers (ver. 1), and the joy which was already present to Christ. The heroic character of his faith appears in his renouncing a joy already in possession in exchange for shame and death. The passage thus falls in with Phi 2:6 – 8.

The cross [] . Comp. Phi 2:8. o LXX Originally an upright stake or pale. Stauroun to drive down a stake; to crucify. Comp. the use of xulon wood or tree for the cross, Act 5:30; Act 10:39; 1Pe 2:24. See on Luk 23:31.

The shame [] . Attendant upon a malefactor ‘s death.

Is set down, etc. See ch : Heb 1:3, 13; Heb 8:1; Heb 10:12. Notice the tenses : endured, aorist, completed : hath sat down, perfect, he remains seated and reigning.

Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament

1) “Looking unto Jesus,” (aphorontes eis ton iesous) “Looking away to, toward, or unto Jesus,” for instruction, motivation, fixing our gaze on him for motivation in faith and service; Even Moses endured by faith, “seeing him who is invisible,” Heb 11:27. He is the Blessed Hope, Tit 2:13.

2) “The author and finisher of our faith,” (tes pisteos archigon kai teleioten) “The author (originator), forerunner, and the finisher (terminator) of the faith of us,” given by him, Eph 2:8-9, the one most worthy of following in salvation and as an example of perseverance in the will of God till death. To finish the race of life faithfully ones gaze must be on him, Act 4:12.

3) “Who for the joy that was set before him,” (hos anti tes prokeimenes auto charas) “Who (against) instead of the joy placed before him; In consideration of the joy set before Jesus, he was nerved to endure, for the purchase of man’s redemption, Joh 17:5; 2Co 8:9.

4) “Endured the cross,” (hupemeinen stauron) “Endured (underwent) the cross,” where he bore our sins in his body, 1Pe 2:24; Col 1:20-22; Isa 53:4-6.

5) “Despising the shame,” (aischunes kataphronesas) “While despising (taking lightly) the shame,” in comparison with the shame of human sin and the joy for all in salvation, Gal 3:13.

6) “And is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (en deksia te tou thronou tou theou kekathiken) “And has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God; The highest place of honor. From there he now intercedes and advocates for his own, Heb 1:3; Heb 7:25; Heb 9:24-26; 1Jn 2:1-2.

HINDRANCES TO PROGRESS

Akaba was the captain of a robber clan. His treasuries were filled with the countless stores which he had stolen. His mind, however, was ill at ease. He came to Ben-Achmet, a dervish renowned for his sanctity, living on the borders of a wilderness in Arabia, and thus addressed him: – “Five hundred swords obey my nod, innumerable slaves bow to my control, my storehouses are filled with silver and gold; tell me, how can I add to all these the hope of eternal life? The dervish led him to a rugged mountain track, pointed to three immense stones, bade him take them and follow him to the top of the hill. Akaba took them up, but with such a weight he could scarcely move. One by one he was obliged to leave them, and then easily climbed the hill. “My son,” said the hermit, when they had sat on the top, “you have a three-fold burden to hinder you on the road to a better state. Dismiss the robber band, set your slaves free, give back your ill-gotten gain. Sooner would Akaba reach the mountain top, bearing those heavy stones, than find real happiness in power, lust, and wealth.” Akaba obeyed the hermit.

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

2. Who for the joy that was set before him, etc. Though the expression in Latin is somewhat ambiguous, yet according to the words in Greek the Apostle’s meaning is quite clear; for he intimates, that though it was free to Christ to exempt himself from all trouble and to lead a happy life, abounding in all good things, he yet underwent a death that was bitter, and in every way ignominious. For the expression, for joy, is the same as, instead of joy; and joy includes every kind of enjoyment. And he says, set before him, because the power of availing himself of this joy was possessed by Christ, had it so pleased him. At the same time if any one thinks that the preposition ἀντὶ denotes the final cause, I do not much object; then the meaning would be, that Christ refused not the death of the cross, because he saw its blessed issue. I still prefer the former exposition. (244)

But he commends to us the patience of Christ on two accounts, because he endured a most bitter death, and because he despised shame. He then mentions the glorious end of his death, that the faithful might know that all the evils which they may endure will end in their salvation and glory, provided they follow Christ. So also says James, “Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and ye know the end.” (Jas 5:11.) Then the Apostle means that the end of our sufferings will be the same with those of Christ, according to what is said by Paul, “If we suffer with him, we shall also reign together.” (Rom 8:17.)

(244) See Appendix Q 2.

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

(2) Looking unto Jesus.As in Heb. 2:9, the description precedes the mention of the name, Looking unto the Author and Perfecter of (our) faith, Jesus. The first word is very similar to that of Heb. 11:26; the runner looks away from all other objects and fixes his gaze on One. Jesus is not directly spoken of as the Judge (2Ti. 4:8); but, as the next words show, He has Himself reached the goal, and His presence marks the point at which the race will close. As the last verse spoke of our patient endurance, this speaks of our faith, and of this Jesus is the Author and the Perfecter. The former word has occurred before, in Heb. 2:10; and here, as there, origination is the principal thought. There the idea of leading the way was also present; but here Author stands in contrast with Perfecter, and the example of our Lord is the subject of the clause which follows. Because it is He who begins and brings to perfection our faith, we must run the race with our eye fixed upon Him: in Him is the beginning, in Him the completion of the promises (2Co. 1:20); and in the steady and trustful dependence upon Him which this figure describes consists our faith.

Who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross.The literal meaning is very forcible, endured a cross, despising shame; the shame of such a death being set over against the joy that lay before Him. Here again we have the thought of Heb. 2:9 (Php. 2:9-10); the joy of His accomplished purpose (Isa. 53:11; Mat. 25:21; Luk. 10:21-22) and the glory with which He was crowned (Joh. 17:1; 1Pe. 1:11) being the reward for His obedience even unto death. The whole form of the expression (comp. especially Heb. 6:18, the hope set before us) shows that Jesus is presented to us as an example not of endurance only, but also of faith (Heb. 2:12). On the last words of the verse see Heb. 1:3; Heb. 1:13; Heb. 8:1; Heb. 10:12-13; there is here a slight change in the Greek, which requires the rendering, and hath sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

2. Looking unto Mainly as our example, as the next verse shows. Jesus ran the most arduous race of all, and attained the loftiest final seat of all. So that, while we are looking unto him, he is looking down upon us, a most divine witness and spectator of our race. The heroes of chap. xi, we, and Jesus, are all in the same inclusion, Jesus being supreme exemplar and real founder of the whole.

Author finisher our faith The word our, as is indicated by the italics, is not in the Greek, but the article the the faith. Hence the meaning is, not that Jesus is the author or inspirer of faith in us; but that he is the beginner and founder of the faith of all the roll, by being their great suffering and conquering example, as described in words following.

Finisher He finished the faith by his own triumphant example, whereby he ascended to heaven and made like faith and like triumph possible to us.

The joy set before him Of being triumphant and glorified head of a glorified body of saints in heaven. Compare Rom 8:29.

Set before him By the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Endured the (or, rather, a) cross The meaning is, not that he endured the, that is, some specially appointed cross, but that he endured such a thing as a cross.

Despising (omit the, which is not in the Greek) shame That is, not simply the one shame of crucifixion, but every thing in the nature of ignominy that could be heaped upon him.

Is set Rather, actively, has taken his seat. From endurance on earth he passes to the throne of heaven, and there now sits. Herein he is the deepest of all sufferers and the most triumphant of all victors; a perfect and supreme example of which we are the little imitators.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

‘Looking off to Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy which was set before him endured the cross, despising shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.’

But although we may heed the crowd and learn from their witness, we must remember that there is One especially to Whom we should look off in the course of the race, both as our great example and as the One Who can actively aid us in the race, which none of the others can do (compare Heb 2:3; Heb 2:9; Heb 3:1). For He has not only already run the race, but also runs along with us now. We must consider the One Who is the Greatest of all, Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith in all who truly believe, as He brings us to glory and triumph (Heb 2:10-11; Heb 5:9). For He is our perfect pacemaker from start to finish, our perfect coach, our perfect encourager, our perfect companion, the One who runs alongside us and within us, Who having called us through faith, and led us off in faith, will now perfect that faith, and present us perfect in faith before God (Eph 4:12-13; Php 3:12; 1Pe 5:10).

‘The author and perfecter of faith.’ In the context of the race He is the One Who brought us to the starting line and implanted faith within us, and Who runs with us in order constantly to maintain our faith until it reaches full perfection. The whole context demands that ‘faith’ is referred back to the faith of the men and women of faith in chapter 11 and to the faith of all who follow Him. He was then its source and its sustainer, and He is still. But it also includes within it the thought that He revealed faith in all its perfection. As the One Who was the source and exemplar of a perfect faith, He is able to establish that faith in others.

And let us consider His qualifications. He too set His eye on the prize, on the joy and triumph that was set before Him, and He thus endured as no other had endured, enduring the cross (see Heb 2:9), with its burdens beyond the understanding of mortal men, and despising the shame that was heaped on Him as a result, in order to finally receive that joy to the full, and having taken the victor’s crown He took His place and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God, having accomplished all that He had been sent to do. He had run well and received the prize.

‘Endured the cross, despising shame.’ All who heard these words knew and had witnessed the awfulness and tearing pain of the cross, for it was a regularly used instrument of death, and they had watched the slow, agonising death of those who had undergone it, with death as a sweet relief. And to add to it all, to a Jew, one who hung on a cross was cursed by God. So it was not only a most distressing form of execution but it bore a stigma all its own that tore its way to a man’s heart and made him bow his head in deepest shame. Outwardly it meant that He was on display as rejected by God. But this was in terms of what men could understand. And while that was terrible enough, what none could see was the dreadful burden of the sin of the world and of the ages, the horror of the divine in being made sin for us, and the darkness and blackness that engulfed His soul which came on Him as its result. None could see the awesome and terrible battle with the forces of darkness as He fought them inch by inch through that terrible day until their ultimate defeat when He finally bowed His head and cried, ‘It is finished’. Thus did Jesus take suffering and shame to the full in order to fulfil His work of salvation. He endured the cross once for all (Aorist tense). And he won, and gained the prize.

So having such a One, with such qualifications and such abilities, One Who has endured so much for us, and Who through it has achieved such a victory, we should look constantly off to Him, so that He might provide us with all that we need so as to successfully complete the race. We must allow Him to work in us to will and to do of His good pleasure (Php 2:13), and to sustain us along the way (Heb 2:10-11), and heed His constant urgings and comfort (Luk 22:31-32). And if we do that we will never fail or be afraid.

‘For the joy that was set before Him.’ Some see this as referring to the glory and authority that He was to receive on His exaltation as glorified Man, as Messiah and as King (Act 2:36; Php 2:9-11; Eph 1:20-23; Col 3:1), and as High Priest (Heb 4:14; Heb 6:20; Heb 7:24; Heb 7:28; Heb 10:12-13), as He was restored to His former glory (Heb 1:3; Joh 17:5). Others consider that it refers to His joy in being able to save sinners, to save those whom He had chosen as His own. Both are surely included, for both are part of the same whole. As He ‘ran the race’ He joyed in the thought of being able to fulfil all that the Godhead required of Him, in being the restorer of lost Manhood, and in the glory that had been His and would be so again. He joyed in His own restoration and glorification (Joh 17:5) and in being able to be the Restorer for all Who are His, their Kinsman Redeemer.

‘Has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.’ He has taken His seat and is there to this day (perfect tense). His work accomplished He shares His Father’s throne. And from there He acts on our behalf on the basis of His perfect work.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Heb 12:2. Looking unto Jesus As an example of patience under sufferings, which ought to be imitated by his disciples; as one gloriously recompensed in his human nature for the sufferings that hesustained in it; and as one who will give to his faithful people the same happy repose after their sufferings; He having, as the Author of their faith promised, and being able, as the Finisher of their faith, to confer, that glorious recompence, ch. Heb 10:35-36. It is not said of our faith, but only , of the faith, or faith in general. The word , looking, properly signifies, our taking off our regard to other things, that we may fix them upon Christ. Some have thought that Christ is called the author and finisher of our faith, in allusion to the judges of the games, Heb 12:1 who set laws before the contenders, whereby they were to govern themselves, and then adjudged the crowns to the conquerors. Thus Christ eases his faithful people of their burdens, animates their faintness, retards the progress of their enemies, and will at length set upon their heads that beautiful diadem which he hath purchased with his own blood. Dr. Heylin, and several others, render the next clause, Who, instead of the joy that lay before him,meaning the honour and happiness that he might have enjoyed in the present world; but the word has so evident a reference to the first verse, that it renders this interpretation very unlikely: besides, the word may well signify set against that joy; and then the meaning will be, that he despised the shame of the cross, in comparison of the joy set before him. Nor can we imagine any love more disinterested than that, which should make his recovering sinners to God and happiness the great joy of his heart; and, in subserviency to the divine glory, the great motive of his actions and sufferings.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

Heb 12:2 . Second factor in the encouragement. Not only the example of the O. T. witnesses for the faith, but also the example of the Beginner and Perfecter of the faith, Christ Himself, must animate us to a persevering .

] in that we look forth (for our encouragement and for our ardent imitation). (as, immediately after, ) only here in the N. T.

] to the Beginner and Perfecter of the faith, Jesus, i.e. to Jesus, who has begun or awakened in us the Christian faith, and carries it on in us to perfection, or to the close (Chrysostom, Oecumenius, Theophylact, Erasmus, and the majority), which last particular then naturally includes the attaining of salvation. But it is going too far when one finds as Grotius, Bloomfield, and many others in the figure of the , the judge or umpire of the games, who, on the completion of the contest, awards the prize of victory; for the expression itself does not warrant this special application. According to Bengel, Baumgarten, Schulz, Bleek, de Wette, Ebrard, Bisping, Grimm ( Theol. Literaturbl. z. Darmst. Ally. Kirch.-Zeit . 1857, No. 29, p. 667), Nickel (Reuter’s Repertor . March 1858, p. 208 f.), Riehm ( Lehrbeyr. des Hebrerbr . p. 326), Maier, Moll, Kurtz, comp. also Theodoret: ,

has the sense: Jesus, who in manifestation of the faith has preceded us by His example, and in the manifestation of this faith has carried on the work unto perfection . [114] But the virtue of faith the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews could not possibly predicate of Christ in like manner as he does of the Christians. From the lofty conception he had of the person of the Redeemer, he must, like the Apostle Paul, regard Him by whom the divine decrees of salvation were to be realized, as object of the . More than this, can be used only transitively , not also intransitively . stands, therefore, in a sense quite analogous to that of the , Heb 2:10 ; and the exemplary characteristic in Jesus, to which the author directs his readers, is not already expressed by His being designated as , which, on the contrary, is only designed to make us aware of the assistance which Christ affords the Christians in the , but first is expressed by means of the following relative clause.

] who for the (heavenly) joy lying ready for Him , the obtaining of which should be the reward of His sufferings. So Primasius, Piscator, Schlichting, Grotius, Bengel, Whitby, Schulz, Bhme, Stuart, Bleek, de Wette, Tholuck, Ebrard, Delitzsch, Riehm ( Lehrbegr. des Hebrerbr . p. 357), Alford, Maier, Moll, Kurtz, Hofmann, Woerner, and the majority. , as Heb 12:16 . For , however, comp. Mat 25:21 . Comprehended under the is also the joy over the completed work of redemption, with its blessings for mankind; yet it is erroneous, with Theodoret ( ), to limit it thereto. The sense is not: instead of the heavenly glory which He already had as the premundane Logos, and which He might have retained, but which He gave up by His incarnation (Peshito, Gregory Nazianz. in Oecum.: , , . . .; Beza, Nemethus, Heinrichs, Ewald). Nor is it: instead of the earthly freedom from suffering, which, as the sinless One, He could have procured for Himself (Chrysostom, Oecumenius, Theophylact, Zeger, Jac. Cappellus, Calov, al .); or: instead of the joys of the world, which Jesus, had He willed it, could have partaken of (Calvin, Wolf, Carpzov, Stein, Bisping, al .). For the immediate concern of the author must evidently be to point to the prize which Christ was to receive in return for His sufferings, in order thereupon further to indicate that to the readers likewise, upon their persevering in the conflict, the palm of victory will not be wanting. A further consideration is, that also the closing member of the verse, which is closely attached by means of to that which precedes, has for its subject-matter still the thought of the reward conferred upon Christ.

, ] endured the cross, in that He contemned the infamy . For the death of the cross was crudelissimum teterrimumque supplicium (Cic. Verr . 5. 64).

] and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God . Comp. Heb 1:3 , Heb 8:1 , Heb 10:12 .

[114] Inconsistently does Delitzsch adhere to this explanation (and similarly Alford and Kluge), in reference, indeed, to the notion , but rejects it in reference to the notion, necessarily combining in homogeneity therewith, . The sense is supposed to be: “Jesus is the Prince of faith: for upon the path on which faith has to run, He has gone first to open the way; He is faith’s Completer: for upon this path He leads us to the goal.” That Jesus Himself reached the goal upon this path, is then supposed to be an unuttered intermediate thought (!).

Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary

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.

Ver. 2. Looking unto Jesus ] Gr. , looking off those things that may either divert or discourage, and looking unto Jesus with loving and longing looks. A Persian lady being at the marriage of Cyrus, and asked how she liked the bridegroom? How? said she; I know not. I saw nobody but mine own husband. Saints have a single eye, an eye of adamant, which will turn only to one point, to Christ alone.

The author and finisher ] The Alpha and Omega, the beginner and ender. In all other things and arts, non est eiusdem invenire et perficere, the same man cannot begin and finish. But Christ doth both, Phi 1:5 .

Endured the cross ] Ran with courage, though he ran with the cross upon his back all the way.

Despising the shame ] Whereof man’s nature is most impatient. Christ shamed shame (saith an interpreter), as unworthy to be taken notice of in comparison of his design. So, according to his measure, did that nobleman, who when he came into jeering company of great ones, would begin and own himself for one of those they called Puritans. This was much better than that scholar in Queen’s college, mentioned by Mr Burroughs, who professed he had rather suffer the torments of hell than endure the contempt and scorn of the Puritans.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

2 .] looking unto (so E. V. very exactly. , or , is an ordinary word for to direct the gaze upon any thing. So, of the outward eye, Jos. Antt. iv. 4. 7, , : of the inward eye, Arrian, Epictet. iv. 1, : Jos. B. J. 2:17.2, : Arrian, Epict. ii. 19, . See many more examples in Bleek. There does not appear to be in the preposition – , any intimation of looking off from every thing else unto , as sometimes asserted. It merely implies direction from the person acting, or the place from which he acts, as in the similar compounds , (ch. Heb 11:26 ), ( ), , &c.) the Leader (one who precedes others by his example, they following him: [or rather Author :] see the note on ch. Heb 2:10 , where the meanings of are classified) and Perfecter ( , only found here, is variously interpreted. Chrys. says, . ; , ( Joh 15:16 ). , . And so c. and Thl., Primas., Erasm.(par., “quod cpit in nobis consummabit”), Jac. Cappell., Wittich, Braun. Another view is that He perfects the faith by bringing it to an end in the capacity of , giving it its final reward: so Schlichting, Grot., Limborch, Calmet, al. Again Bl., De Wette, Ebrard would understand merely that He exhibited faith in perfection in his own example. And so nearly Bengel (“fidei princeps et consummator dicitur, quia ipse fidem Patri ab initio ad exitum prstitit”): and Thdrt., when he says, . And doubtless this meaning must not be excluded; but neither must it be held exclusively. He ( ) , inasmuch as He perfected faith in his own person and example: but He also, inasmuch as He became the Author of perfect salvation to them that obey Him. His going before us in faith has made faith possible for us: His perfecting faith in his own person and example, has made faith effectual for us) of the faith (viz. that faith of which we have been speaking through ch. 11: and thus rather ‘ the faith ’ than “ our faith ,” which latter is liable to the mistake so often made in English, viz. to being taken as if it = faith in us , so that Jesus should be said to be “author and finisher” of each individual Christian’s faith which he has within him. We may render merely ‘faith’ without the art.; but seeing that has been anarthrous before (ch. Heb 11:1 ) when it was abstract, it would seem most probable that the art. here is intended to have a definite force. Besides which, the ascription of faith to our Lord is so plain in our Epistle (cf. ch. Heb 2:13 ; Heb 3:2 ) that we must not seem to exclude this sense in our rendering, which we certainly do by “ our faith :” whereas ‘ the faith ’ includes both, and satisfies that which follows, in which His own example of endurance in prospect of triumph is set before us), (even) Jesus, who for the joy set before Him ( has been otherwise interpreted both by ancients and moderns. The Syr., Nazianz. in c., Beza, al. take it to mean, “ instead of the joy which He had before His incarnation .” , , . Naz. But this, though more according to the common meaning of , seems to me doubly objectionable. First, which many have noticed, which He already had could not well be designated as : and then, which I have not seen noticed, can hardly be used of a state of bliss in which one already is, a quiescent or pr-existent joy, but more naturally applies to joy prompted by some cause of active rejoicing. Then another modification of this same view is found in Chrys., , , . , , . , , , , , . And so c., Thl., Luther ( da er wohl hatte mgen freude haben, duldete er u.s.w. ), Calvin (“Significat enim, quum integrum esset Christo se eximere omni molestia, vitamque felicem et bonis omnibus affluentem degere, ipsum tamen ultro subiisse mortem acerbam et plenam ignominia”), al. But this again, though it might satisfy , falls short of the above sense maintained for . Another kindred meaning is found in Erasm.(paraphr., “contemtis hujus vit gaudiis, subit mortem”), Wolf, Raphel, Carpzov, Wetst., Paulus, Bretschn. This makes = , besides giving a low and unworthy sense to , in making it to mean the pleasures of this life. The sense given above, ‘for the joy set before Him,’ i. e. as in comparison with, as in exchange for, the joy which was to come after, in the day of His triumph, is adopted by Thdrt. (but interpreting the of the salvation of men, ), Primasius, Corn. a-Lap., Justiniani, Schlichting, Grot., Hammond, Seb. Schmidt, Braun, Limborch, Bengel, Winer, Bhme, De Wette, Kuinoel, Bleek, Tholuck, Ebrard, Lnem., Delitzsch, al. And it is fully borne out both by usage, and the context. For thus we have in reff., and in Xen. Hell. iv. 8. 6, : Aristoph. Plut. 434, . See Winer, 47. a) endured crucifixion ( , anarthrous and put after the verb; and thus representing rather in the abstract, the kind of death, than in the concrete, “the cross” on which He was crucified), despising shame (or, “ the shame :” when an anarthrous noun comes before a verb in the place of emphasis, it is not so easily determined whether it is definite or indefinite. But from the analogy of before, it is most probable that this is indefinite also, every kind of shame, even to that of the shameful death which He died), and ( is used as a copula, apart from , once by St. Matt. ( Mat 28:12 ), once by St. Mark ( Mar 15:36 ), twice by St. John (Joh 4:42 ; Joh 6:18 ), four times by St. Paul (Rom 2:19 ; Rom 16:26 ; 1Co 4:21 ; Eph 3:19 ): but seventy-nine times by St. Luke: and in this Epistle four times (Heb 1:3 ; Heb 6:5 ; Heb 9:1 ; Heb 12:2 ) is set down (so E. V. rightly, reading the perfect as in text. The aor. would express the fact, as it happened: the perf. gives it as it now endures, having happened. So that the latter is more real and graphic as concerns the readers) on the right hand of the throne of God (i. e. on the throne of God, at His right hand: see on ch. Heb 8:1 , and cf. Rev 3:21 ).

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

Hebrews

THE CLOUD OF WITNESSES AND THEIR LEADER

Heb 12:1-2

WHAT an awful sight the rows above rows of spectators must have been to the wrestler who looked up at them from the arena, and saw a mist of white faces and pitiless eyes all directed on himself! How many a poor gladiator turned in his despair from them to the place where purple curtains and flashing axes proclaimed the presence of the emperor, on whose word hung his life, whose will could crown him with a rich reward! That is the picture which this text brings before our eyes, as the likeness of the Christian life. We are in the arena; the race has to be run, the battle to be fought, All round and high above us, a mist, as it were, of fixed gazers beholds us, and on the throne is the Lord of life, the judge of the strife, whose smile is better than all crowns, whose downward-pointing finger seals our fate. We are compassed with a cloud of witnesses, and we may see Jesus the author and finisher of faith. Both of these facts are alleged here as encouragements to persevering, brave struggle in the Christian life. Hence we have here mainly two subjects for consideration, namely the relation between the saints who are gone and ourselves, and the encouragement derived from it; and the contrasted relation between Jesus and ourselves, and the encouragement derived from it. I. The metaphor of the ‘cloud of witnesses’ is perhaps intended to express multitude, and also elevation.

It may have been naturally suggested by the thought of the saints of the Old Testament of whom the previous chapter has been so nobly speaking as exalted to heaven, and hovering far above and far away like the pure whitenesses that tower there. Raphael’s great Sistine Madonna has for background just such a light mist of angel faces and adoring eyes all turned to the gentle majesty of the Virgin. There may also be blending in the writer’s mind such a reference to the amphitheatre as we have already noticed, which certainly exists in the later portion of the context. But we must remember that tempting as it is to a hasty reader to deduce from the words the idea that the saints whose ‘warfare is accomplished’ look down on our struggles here, there is, at all events, no support to that idea in the word ‘witnesses.’ It is not used, as often in our speech, as equivalent to spectators, but means here exactly what it does in the previous chapter, namely, attesters or testifiers. They are not witnesses of us, but to us, as we shall see presently. It may, indeed, be that the thought of the heavenly spectators of our Christian course is implied in the whole strain of the passage, and of the imagery borrowed from the arena, which would certainly be incomplete if there were nothing to answer to the spectators, who, whether at Corinth or Rome, made so important a part in the scene. We shall be going too far, I think, if we dogmatically assert, on the strength of a figure, that this context teaches a positive communion between earth and heaven of such a sort as that they who have ‘overcome by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of His testimony,’ know about the struggles of us down here in the arena. Still, one feels that such an idea is almost needed to give full force either to the figure or exhortation. It does seem somewhat lame to say, You are like racers, surrounded with a crowd of witnesses, therefore run, only do not suppose that they really see you. If this be so, the glowing imagery certainly seems to receive a violent chill, and the flow of the exhortation to be much choked. Still we can go no further than a modest ‘perhaps.’

But even as a ‘may be,’ the thought of such a knowledge stimulates. As all the thousand eyes of assembled Greece looked on at the runners, and all the dialects of its states swelled the tumult of acclaim which surged round the victor, so here the general assembly and Church of the firstborn, the festal gathering on Mount Zion, into relations with which this very chapter says we have come, may be conceived of as sitting, solemn and still, on the thrones around the central throne, and bending not unloving looks of earnest pity on the arena below where they too once toiled and suffered. It may be that, before their eyes, who have been made wise by death, and who, standing within the ‘sanctuary of God, understand the end’ of life and life’s sorrows, are manifest our struggles, as with Weary feet and drooping limbs we blunder on in the race. Surely there is love in heaven, and it may be there is knowledge, and it may be there is care for us. It may be that, standing on the serene shore beside the Lord, who has already prepared a meal for us with His own hands, they discern, tossing on the darkened sea, the poor little boats of us downhearted, unsuccessful toilers, who cannot yet descry the Lord, or the welcome which waits on the beach.

At all events the thought may come with cheer to our hearts, that, whether conscious of one another’s mode of being or no, they in their triumph and we in our toils are bound together with real bonds The thought, if not the knowledge, of their blessedness may be wafted down to us, just as the thought, if not the knowledge, of our labour may be in their restful souls. The hope of their tranquil shore may strengthen us that are far off upon the sea, though we cannot see more of it than the dim lights moving about, and catch an occasional fragrance in the air that tells of land, just as the memory of their stormy voyage mingles in their experience with their gladness because the waves be quiet, and God has brought them to their desired haven. Such thoughts may come with encouragement for the conflict, even if we hesitate to assert that the cloud of witnesses is a cloud of spectators. What, then, is the sense in which these heroes of the faith which the previous chapter has marshalled in a glorious bede-roll, are ‘witnesses’? The answer will be found by observing the frequent occurrence of the word, and its cognate words, in that chapter. We read there, for instance, that the elders ‘had witness borne to them’ verse 2, Revised Version; that Abel by the acceptance of his sacrifice, ‘had witness borne to him that he was righteous,’ ‘God bearing witness in respect of his gifts’ verse 4, Revised Version; that Enoch ‘had witness borne to him that he had been well pleasing unto God’ verse 5, Revised Version, and that the whole illustrious succession ‘had witness borne to them through their faith’ verse 39, Revised Version. This witness borne to them by God is, of course, His giving to them the blessings which belong to a genuine faith, whether of conscious acceptance with God, or of inward peace and power, or of outward victory over sorrows and foes. But they become witnesses to us for God by the very same facts by which He makes Himself the witness of their faith, for they therein become proofs of the blessedness of true religion, visible evidences of God’s faithfulness, and their histories shine out across the centuries testifying to us in our toils how good it is to trust in the Lord, and how small and transient are the troubles and hindrances that a life of faith meets. The calm stars declare the glory of God, and witness from age to age of His power, which keeps them every one from failing; and these bright names that shine in the heaven of His word proclaim His tender pity, and His rewarding love to all who, like them, fight the good fight. Like the innumerable suns that make up the Milky Way, they melt into one bright cloud that lies still and eternal above our heads and sheds a radiance on our dim struggles. So we have here brought out the stimulus to our Christian race from the faith and blessedness of these saints. We have their history before us: we know what they were, and we have the ‘end of their conversation’ – that is, the issue or outcome of their manner of life – as the next chapter says. It was a hard fight, but it ended in victory. They had more than their share of sorrows and troubles, but ‘the glory dies not, and the grief is past.’ From their thrones they call to us words of cheer, and point us to their tears turned into diamonds, to their struggles stilled in depths of repose, to their wounded brows crowned with light and glory. They witness to us how mighty and divine a thing is a life of faith. Their human weakness was filled with the power of God. Tremblings and self- distrust and all the ills that flesh is heir to dwelt in them. Black doubts and sore conflicts were their portion. They, too, knew what we know, how hard it is to live and do the right. But they fought through, because a mightier hand was upon them, and God’s grace was breathed into their weakness – and there they stand, victorious witnesses to us, that whosoever will put his trust in the Lord shall have strength according to his need inbreathed into his uttermost weakness, and have One by his side in every furnace, like unto the Son of Man. They witness to us of companions in suffering, and the thought of them may come to a lonely heart wading in dark, deep waters, with the assurance that there is a ford, and that others have known the icy cold, and the downward rush of the stream, and have not been carried away by it. It is not a selfish thought that sometimes brings encouragement to a solitary sufferer, ‘the same afflictions have been accomplished in your brethren.’ It helps us to remember the great multitude who before us have come through the great tribulation and are before the throne. The cloud of witnesses testify how impotent is sorrow to harm, how strong to bless those who put their trust in God. They witness to us of the faithfulness of God, who has led them, and upheld them, through all their conflicts, and has brought them to His side at last. That wondrous power avails for us, fresh and young, as when it helped the world’s grey fathers. God refers us to their experiences, and summons them as His witnesses, for they will speak good of His name, and each of them, as they bend down from their seats around the arena, calls to us, ‘O love the Lord, all ye His saints. I was brought low and He helped me.’ So that we, taking heart by their example, can set ourselves to our struggles with the peaceful confidence, ‘This God is our God for ever and ever.’ The word rendered ‘witnesses’ has a narrower meaning in later usage, according to which it comes to signify those who have sealed their testimony with their blood, in which sense it is transferred, untranslated, into English, in ‘martyr.’ What an eloquent epitome of the early history of the Church lies in that one fact! So ordinarily had the faithful confessor to die for his testimony that the very name had the thought of a bloody death inextricably associated with it. And if we for a moment think of that meaning, and look back to the long series of martyrs from the days of Stephen to the last Malagasy Christian or missionary, what solemn scorn of soft delights, and noble contempt of life itself may be kindled in our souls. Easy paths are appointed to us. We ‘have not yet resisted unto blood.’ Let us run our smoother race with patience, as we think of those who ran theirs with bleeding feet, and through the smoke of Smithfield or the dust of the arena beheld the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing ready to help, and so went to their death with the light from His face changing theirs into the same image. But let us not forget that all these witnesses for God were imperfect men, whose imperfections are full of encouragement for us. Look at the names in that great muster-roll – Noah with his drunkenness, Jacob with his craft, Samson with his giant strength and giant passion, Jephtha with his savage faithfulness to a savage vow, David with his too well-known sins, and in them all not one name to which some great evil did not cling. There are quickly reached limits to the veneration with which we are to regard the noblest heroes and saints, and none of them are to be to us patterns, however we may draw encouragement from their lives, and in some respects follow their faith. Thank God for the shameful stories told of so many of them in the unmoved narrative of Scripture! They were men of common clay. The saints’ halo is round the head of men and women like ourselves. We look at our own sins and shortcomings, and are ready to despair. But we may lift our eyes to the cloud of witnesses and for every evil of ours find a counterpart in the earthly lives of these radiant saints. Thinking of our own evil we may hopefully say, as we gaze on them, ‘Such were some of ye, but ye are washed, and ye are sanctified.’ Therefore I will not doubt but that He is able to keep me, even me, ‘from falling, and to present me faultless before the presence of His glory.’ II. But we are not left to draw encouragement from the remembrance of men of like passions with ourselves only.

The second of these clauses turns our thoughts to the contrasted relations between Christ and us, and the stimulus derived from it. ‘Looking unto Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.’ Our Lord is hero very emphatically set in a place by Himself apart from all that cloud of witnesses, who in their measure are held forth as noble examples of faith. All these, the greatest names of old, are in one class, and He stands above them in a class of which He is the only member. There we see no other man save Jesus only. Whatever be the inference from that fact, the fact itself is plain. He is something to all the fighters in the lists which none of these are. Our eyes may profitably dwell on them, but we have to look higher than their serene seats, even to His throne, and the relation between us and Him is altogether unlike that which binds us to the holiest of these.

The names He bears in this context are noteworthy, ‘the author and finisher of faith,’ the former being the same word which, in Act 3:15 , is rendered ‘prince’ of life, and in this Epistle Heb 2:10, ‘captain’ of salvation. Its meaning may perhaps be best given as ‘leader.’ All these others are the long files of the great army, but Christ is the Commander of the whole array. ‘As Captain of the Lord’s host am I come up, said the man with the drawn sword, who stood before Joshua as he brooded outside the walls of Jericho over his task, and that armed angel of the Lord was He who, in the fulness of time, took our humanity that He might lead the many sons to glory. Not in order of time, but by the precedence of nature, is He the Leader and Lord of all who live by faith. He is also the finisher, or more properly the perfecter of faith, inasmuch as He in His own life has shown it in its perfect form and power; inasmuch also as He gives to each of us, if we will have it, grace to perfect it in our lives; and inasmuch as, finally, He crowns and rewards it at last. One more remark as to the force of the language here may be allowed. The word rendered ‘looking’ is an emphatic compound, and if full force be given to both its elements, we might read it ‘looking away,’ that is, turning our eyes from all other, even the grandest of these grand witnesses, to gaze on Christ alone.

All these details serve to bring out the unique position which our Lord holds, and the attitude in which we should stand to Him. Christ is the one perfect example of faith. We are familiar with the rest of His perfect example in regard to other graces of the Christian character, but we dwell less frequently than we ought on Him as having Himself lived a life of faith. Many orthodox believers so believe in Christ’s divinity as to weaken their sense of the reality of His manhood, just as, on the other hand, a vivid apprehension of His manhood obscures to many the rays of His divinity. We lose much by not making very real to our minds that Jesus lived His earthly life by faith, that for Him as for us dependence on God, and humble confidence in Him, were the secret of peace, and the spring of power. This very Epistle, in another place, quotes the words of the psalm, ‘I will put my trust in Him,’ as the very inmost expression of Christ’s life, and as one of the ways in which He proves His brotherhood with us. He, too, knows what it is to hang on God; and is not only in His divine nature the object, but in His true manhood the pattern of our faith. And His pattern is perfect. In all others, even the loveliest of saints and most heroic of martyrs, the gem is marred by many a streak of baser material, but in Him is the one ‘entire and perfect chrysolite.’ That faith never faltered, never turned its gaze from the things not seen, never slackened its grasp of the things hoped, nor degenerated into self-pleasing, nor changed its attitude of meek submission. We may look to others for examples, but they will all be sometimes warnings as well, only to Jesus we may look continually and find uusullied purity and perfect faith. He is more than example. He gives us power to copy His fair pattern. The influence of heroic, saintly lives may be depressing as well as encouraging. Despondency often creeps over us when we think of them. It is not models that we want, for we all know well enough what we ought to be, and an example of supreme excellence in morals or religion may be as hurtful as the unapproachable superiority of Shake-spears or Raphael may to a young aspirant. Perfect patterns will not save the world. They do not get themselves copied. What we want is not the knowledge of what we ought to be, but the will and the power to be it. And that we get from Christ, and from Him alone. He stretches out His hand to hold us up in our poor struggles. His grace and His peace come into our hearts, Looking to Him, His Spirit enters our spirits, and we live, yet not we, but Christ liveth in us. Models will help us little. They stand there like statues on their pedestals, pure marble loveliness; but in Christ the marble becomes flesh, and the lovely perfection has a heart to pity and a strong hand stretched out to help. So let us look away from all others, who can only give us example, to Him who can give us strength. Turn from the circling thrones to the imperial throne in the centre. We are more closely bound to Him who sits on it than to them. Look away from the cloud of witnesses to the sun of uls, from whom, gazing, we receive warmth and light and life. They may teach us to fight, but He fights in us. They are patterns of faith. So is He, but He is also its object and its giver. Christ is the imperial Rewarder of faith. At the last He will give the full possession of all which it has looked and hoped for, and will lift it into the nobler form in which, even in heaven, we shall live by faith. In that region where struggles cease, and sense and sight no longer lead astray, and we behold Him as He is, faith still abides, as conscious dependence and happy trust. It is perfected in manner, measure, and reward. And Christ is the giver of all that perfects it. Let us, then, turn away our eyes from all beside, and look to Christ. He is the Reward as well as the Rewarder of our faith. As we look to Him we shall gain power for the fight, and victory and the crown. The gladiators in the arena lowered their swords to the emperor, before they fought, with the grim greeting ‘Hail, Caesar! the dying salute thee.’ So, in happier fashion, our Lord, who has Himself fought in the lists where we now strive. Then we shall have strength for the conflict, and when the conflict is drawing to its end and all else swims before our sight, and the din grows faint in our ears, we shall close our eyes in peace; and when we open them again, lo! the bloody field, and the broken sword, and the battered helm, have all disappeared, and we sit, crowned, and palm-bearing, at His side, hailed as victors, and lapped in sweetest rest for ever more!

Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren

Hebrews

THE PERFECTER OF FAITH

Heb 12:2

ST. LUKE gives us two accounts of the Ascension, one at the end of his Gospel and one at the beginning of the Acts. The difference of position suggests delicate shades of colouring and of distinction in the two narratives, the one is the ending of the sweet intercourse on earth, the other is the beginning of a new era and a different type of companionship. So in that which closes the Gospel, emphasis is put upon our Lord’s ascension as being parted from; and all that is told us is of the final benediction befitting a farewell, and of the uplifted hands, which left upon their minds the last sweet impression of the departing friend. But if we turn to the Acts of the Apostles, where the incident is the same, the whole spirit of the narrative is altered. We see there the beginning of a new era, and so we read nothing about parting, but, instead of the indefinite expression, He blessed them, we hear of their promised investiture with a new power, and of there being laid upon them a new obligation – ‘Ye shall be clothed with the Spirit: ye shall be My witnesses.’ And the two men who stand by them, and are only mentioned in the Book of Acts, announce the great thought, that the departing Christ will return, ‘He shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go.’ All in that account has a forward aspect. It is a beginning with a new power, strengthened by a new duty, and having a far- off hope. Thus equipped, these eleven no more feel that their Lord is parted from them, nor that they are abandoned and forlorn; but they cast themselves into their new circumstances, and joyfully take up their new work. So the Ascension of Christ is represented in that second account as being the transition from the earthly to the heavenly life and type of communion with Him, and as the preparation for that great fact which my text enshrines in highly figurative language, as being the sitting at the right hand of the throne of God. The Ascension is no transient fact, it is the beginning of the permanent condition of the Church, and of the permanent present relations between Jesus Christ, God, the Church, and the world. So I desire to turn now to the various characteristics of the present and permanent relationship of Jesus Christ to these three – God, the Church, the world.

And first of all I wish to notice’ we have here the thought of the Enthroned Christ. The attitude of sitting indicates repose. The position at the right hand of the throne of God indicates participation in the divine energies and in the administration of the divine providences. But the point to observe is that the Ascension is declared to be the prerogative of the Man Christ Jesus. And so with great emphasis and significance, in the verse with a part of which I am now dealing, we have brought together the name of the humanity, the name that was borne by many another Jew in the same era as Jesus bore it, we have brought together the name of the humanity and the affirmation of the divine dignity, ‘We see Jesus… set down at the right hand of the throne of God.’ And over and over again, not only in this Epistle, But in other parts of Scripture, we have the same intentional, emphatic juxtaposition of the two ideas which shallow thinkers regard as in some sense incompatible – the humanity and the divinity. Remember, for instance, ‘this same Jesus shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go.’ And remember the rapturous and wonderful exclamation which broke from the lips of the proto-martyr. ‘Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.’ So then that exaltation and ascension is – according to New Testament teaching, which is not contradicted by the deepest thought of the affinities and resemblances of the divine and the human – the lifting up of the Man into the glory which the Incarnate Word had with the Father before the world was. And just as the earthly life of that Incarnate Word has shown how divine a thing a human life here may be, so the heavenly life of the still Incarnate Word shows us what our approximation to, and union with, the divine nature may be, when we are purged and perfected in the Kingdom of God, whither the Forerunner is for us entered. But further, in addition to this thought, there comes another which is constantly associated with the teaching of this session of the Son of Man at the right hand Of God, namely, that it is intercessory. That is a word the history of which will take us far, and I dare not enter upon it now. But one thing I wish to make very emphatic, and that is that the ordinary notion of intercession is not the New Testament notion. We limit it, or tend to limit it, to prayer for others. There is no such idea in the New Testament use of the phrase. It is a great deal wider than any verbal expression of sympathy and desire. It has to deal with realities and not with words. It is not a synonym for asking for another that some blessing may come upon him; but the intercession of the great High Priest who has gone into the holiest of all for us covers the whole ground of the acts by which, by reason of our deep and true union with Jesus Christ through faith, He communicates to His children whatsoever of blessing and power and sweet tokens of ineffable love He has received from the Father. Whatsoever He draws in filial dependence from the Divine Father He in brotherly unity imparts to us; and the real communication of real blessing, and not the verbal petitions for forgiveness, is what He is doing there within the veil. ‘He is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them.’ But still further in this great figure of my text, the Enthroned Christ, there lies a wondrous thought which He Himself has given us, ‘I go to prepare a place for you.’ What activities are involved in that wondrous idea it boots us not to inquire, nor would it become us to say. We know that never could we tread those pure pavements except our robes and our feet had been washed By Him. But that is the consequence of His earthly work, and not of His heavenly and present energy. Perhaps in our ignorance of all that lies behind the veil, we can get little further than to see that the very fact of His presence is the preparation of the place. For that awful thought, that crushing thought, of eternal life under conditions bewilderingly different from anything we experience here, would be no joy unless we could say we shall see Him and be with Him. I know not how it may be with you, but I think that the nearer we come to the end of the earthly life, and the more the realities beyond begin to press upon our thoughts and our imaginations as those with which we shall soon make acquaintance, we feel more and more how unquestionable the misery the thought of eternal life would bring if it were not for the fact that the world beyond is lighted up and made familiar by the thought of Christ’s presence there. Can you fancy some poor clod-hopping rustic brought up from a remote village and set down all in a moment in the midst of some brilliant court? How out of place he would feel, how unhomelike it would appear, how ill at ease he would be; ay, and what an unburdening there would be in his heart, if amongst the strange splendour he detected beneath the crown and above the robes, sitting on the throne, one whom he had known in the far-off hamlet, and who there had taken part with him in all the ignoble toils and narrow interests of that rustic scene. Jesus said, ‘I go to prepare a place for you,’ and when I lift up my eyes to those far-off realities which overwhelm me when I try to think about them, I say, I am not dazzled by the splendour, I am not oppressed by the perpetuity of it, I do not faint at the thought of unlike conditions, for I shall be the same and He will be with me.

‘It is enough that Christ knows all, And I shall be with Him.’

And so the Enthroned Christ is preparing a place for us. Ay, brethren, and He is not preparing it for us only when we die, but He is preparing it for us whilst we live; for it is only by faith in Him that we have boldness of access and confidence. And neither for the prayers and desires of Christian men on earth nor for the spirits of just men made perfect hereafter will the eternal golden gates swing open except His hand is on the bolt, and by His power the way into the Holiest is made manifest. And so set your minds as well as your affections on the things above, where Christ is sitting on the right hand of God. Now, secondly, we have here the Present Christ. Matthew, in his Gospel, does not tell of the Ascension, but he preserves the promise, ‘Lo, I am with you alway, even to the end of the world,’ and that promise is not contradicted, but is realised by the fact of Christ’s ascension. He does tell us of the remarkable utterance to Mary on the morning of the Resurrection. ‘Touch Me not, for I am not yet ascended to My Father.’ The implication that we have plainly is, when I am ascended you may touch. And the contact of even her nervous and clutching hand round His feet is less than the touch and the presence for which that departure makes the way. ‘He was parted from them’ is the thought that ends the Gospel. He was parted for a season that thou mightest receive Him for ever, is the thought that begins the Acts and the history of the Church. And it is true of Him and His relation to us,, and because it is true about Him and about His relation to us, it is also true about all those who sleep in Jesus. Their relation towards the earthly form ceases, and there is an empty place where they once stood. But there is a presence more real and capable of yielding finer influences, strengthening and sanctifying, than ever came from the earthly presence. It is blessed to clasp hands, it is blessed to link arms, it is blessed to press together the lips; but there is a higher touch than these, and sight is a less clear vision than faith; and they who can pass across the abyss of the centuries and the yet broader and deeper and blacker abyss between earth and heaven, and lay the hand of faith on the hand of Christ, have passed through the veil, that is to say His flesh, and have clasped His real presence. Yes, and the thing that calls itself such, is but a part of the general retrogression of Catholicism to heathenism and materialism. We have the real presence if we have the Christ in our heart by faith. He is present with us; enthroned on high above all heavens, He yet is near the humblest heart, the companion of the lonely, the solace of all that trust Him. ‘He trod the winepress alone,’ in order that none of us need ever live alone or die alone. And there is another side to this presence. As I have said, He is present with us here, and you and I may be present with Him yonder; for one of the Epistles tells us that, ‘we die with Him that we may live with Him, and that God has quickened us if we are Christian people together with Him and made us sit together with Him in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.’ Your life, Christian men and women, is in its roots and sources, and ought to be in its flow and course, ‘hid with Christ in God,’ and you should not only seek to realise the presence of the Master with you, but to climb to Himself, being present with Him. Thirdly, this great figure of my text sets before us the working Christ. The attitude of sitting at the right hand of God suggests repose; but that is a repose which is consistent with, and is accompanied by, the greatest energy for continuous operation. You remember, no doubt although, perhaps, not in its full significance, the great words with which the close of St. Mark’s Gospel points on to the future, ‘So then, after the Lord had spoken unto them, He was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. And they went everywhere preaching the word.’ The Master gone, the servants left; the Master resting, the servants journeying and toiling. It is like the two halves of Raphael’s great transfiguration picture. The Lord and the three are up there in the amber light, the demoniac boy writhing in his convulsions, and the disciples by him helpless, down here. The gap is great. Yes. ‘They went everywhere preaching the Word, the Lord also working with them, and confirming the Word with signs following.’ There is the true notion of the repose of Christ resting indeed at the right hand of God, yet working with His servants scattered over the face of the earth. And so in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles, the keynote is struck when St. Luke says, ‘The former treatise have I made of all that Jesus began both to do and to teach until the day on which He was taken up’; and this treatise, O Theophilus, is the second volume of the one story, the history of all that Jesus Continued both to do and to teach after the day on which He was taken up. Acts of the Apostles? No; Acts of the Ascended Christ – that is the name of the book. Never mind about the apostles. They do come into the foreground; but the writer has little care about them. It is the Christ who is moving; and so we find it all through the book, the Lord did this, the Lord did that, the Lord did the other thing; and the apostles are, I was going to say, the pawns on the chess-board. And so you remember, too, that dying Stephen saw the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. He sprang to his feet, not breaking the eternal repose, to look down and to send down help and sustenance and blessing and good cheer to the man there at the foot of the old wall ready to die for Him. And that is. the type of the whole history of the Church, I have said that Christ’s Ascension is the transition from the lower to the higher form of presence; and it is the transition to the wider form of work. He works for us, on us, in us, and with us, and as the apostle Peter said in expounding the significance of the Day of Pentecost, ‘Being to the right hand of God exalted He hath shed forth this,’ so the Christ is no longer tired, but is still working, working in us, with us, and for us. And lastly, the metaphor of my text brings before us the returning Christ, It was not only the angel’s message that declared that departure and ascension were not the last that the worker was going to see of. Jesus. The necessities of the case, if I may say so, tell us the same message. The Incarnation necessarily involves the Crucifixion; the Crucifixion if it is what we believe it to be as necessarily involves the Resurrection, ‘for it was not possible that He should be holden of it,’ the grim death. The Resurrection and the Ascension are but as it were the initial point, which is produced into the line of His heavenly session. It cannot be that Ascension is the last word to be said The path of the King does not run into a cul de sac like that. The world has not done with Jesus Christ. He is coming, was the great thought around which all the past clustered. He will come, is the great hope around which all the future hopes for the Church and the world are piled and built, ‘He shall so come in like manner as ye havre seen Him go,’ corporeally, visibly, locally, in His manhood, in His divinity. ‘As He was once offered to bear the sin of many, so shall He come the second time without sin unto salvation.’ Brethren, that is the hope of the Church, discredited by many unworthy representations and mixed up with a great deal that does not commend it by the folly of those who believe in it; but standing out so distinct and so required by all that is gone before, that no Christian man can afford to relegate the expectation into the region of dimness, or to waver in his faith in it, without much imperilling his conception of his Master, and the blessedness of union with Him. You do not understand the Cross unless you believe in the throne; and you do not understand the throne unless you believe in the judgment-seat. The returning Christ shall judge the world. Brethren! Jesus is enthroned. Do you bow to His command? Do you trust His power? Do you see in Him the pattern of what you may be, and the pledge that you will be it if you put your confidence in your Lord? The enthroned Christ is present. Do you walk in blessed and continuous communion with Him? The enthroned and present Christ is working. Do you trust in His operation, peacefully, for yourself, for the Church, for the world? Do you open your heart to the abundant energies with which He is flooding His Church, and which His Church is so sadly and so much allowing to run to waste? The enthroned, present, working Christ is coming back, and you and I have to choose whether we shall be of ‘the servants whom the Lord, when He cometh, shall find watching,’ and obeying His command with girt loins and lit lamps, and so will sweep with Him into the festal hall, and sit down with Him, on His throne; or whether we shall wail because of Him, and shrink abashed from the judgment-seat of Christ.

Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren

Looking = Looking away from (these witnesses). Greek. aphorao. App-133. Compare Php 1:2, Php 1:23.

Jesus. App-98.

Author. See Heb 2:10 and Act 3:15.

Finisher = Perfecter. Greek. teleiotes. Only here. Compare App-125Heb 1:2.

faith. Greek. pistis. App-150. He stands at the head of the train of faith’s heroes, and alone brought faith to perfection. Omit our.

endured = patiently endured. See Heb 10:32.

the = a.

the shame = shame.

is set. All the texts read, “hath sat”.

at = on. Greek. en. App-104.

God. App-98. The charge is to look away from the witnesses of the past to Him Who is the faithful and true Witness (Rev 3:14).

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

2.] looking unto (so E. V. very exactly. , or , is an ordinary word for to direct the gaze upon any thing. So, of the outward eye, Jos. Antt. iv. 4. 7, , : of the inward eye, Arrian, Epictet. iv. 1, : Jos. B. J. 2:17.2, : Arrian, Epict. ii. 19, . See many more examples in Bleek. There does not appear to be in the preposition -, any intimation of looking off from every thing else unto, as sometimes asserted. It merely implies direction from the person acting, or the place from which he acts, as in the similar compounds , (ch. Heb 11:26), (), , &c.) the Leader (one who precedes others by his example, they following him: [or rather Author:] see the note on ch. Heb 2:10, where the meanings of are classified) and Perfecter (, only found here, is variously interpreted. Chrys. says, . ; , (Joh 15:16). , . And so c. and Thl., Primas., Erasm.(par., quod cpit in nobis consummabit), Jac. Cappell., Wittich, Braun. Another view is that He perfects the faith by bringing it to an end in the capacity of , giving it its final reward: so Schlichting, Grot., Limborch, Calmet, al. Again Bl., De Wette, Ebrard would understand merely that He exhibited faith in perfection in his own example. And so nearly Bengel (fidei princeps et consummator dicitur, quia ipse fidem Patri ab initio ad exitum prstitit): and Thdrt., when he says, . And doubtless this meaning must not be excluded; but neither must it be held exclusively. He () , inasmuch as He perfected faith in his own person and example: but He also, inasmuch as He became the Author of perfect salvation to them that obey Him. His going before us in faith has made faith possible for us: His perfecting faith in his own person and example, has made faith effectual for us) of the faith (viz. that faith of which we have been speaking through ch. 11: and thus rather the faith than our faith, which latter is liable to the mistake so often made in English, viz. to being taken as if it = faith in us, so that Jesus should be said to be author and finisher of each individual Christians faith which he has within him. We may render merely faith without the art.; but seeing that has been anarthrous before (ch. Heb 11:1) when it was abstract, it would seem most probable that the art. here is intended to have a definite force. Besides which, the ascription of faith to our Lord is so plain in our Epistle (cf. ch. Heb 2:13; Heb 3:2) that we must not seem to exclude this sense in our rendering, which we certainly do by our faith: whereas the faith includes both, and satisfies that which follows, in which His own example of endurance in prospect of triumph is set before us), (even) Jesus, who for the joy set before Him ( has been otherwise interpreted both by ancients and moderns. The Syr., Nazianz. in c., Beza, al. take it to mean, instead of the joy which He had before His incarnation. , , . Naz. But this, though more according to the common meaning of , seems to me doubly objectionable. First, which many have noticed, which He already had could not well be designated as : and then, which I have not seen noticed, can hardly be used of a state of bliss in which one already is, a quiescent or pr-existent joy, but more naturally applies to joy prompted by some cause of active rejoicing. Then another modification of this same view is found in Chrys., , , . , , . , , , , , . And so c., Thl., Luther (da er wohl hatte mgen freude haben, duldete er u.s.w.), Calvin (Significat enim, quum integrum esset Christo se eximere omni molestia, vitamque felicem et bonis omnibus affluentem degere, ipsum tamen ultro subiisse mortem acerbam et plenam ignominia), al. But this again, though it might satisfy , falls short of the above sense maintained for . Another kindred meaning is found in Erasm.(paraphr., contemtis hujus vit gaudiis, subit mortem), Wolf, Raphel, Carpzov, Wetst., Paulus, Bretschn. This makes = , besides giving a low and unworthy sense to , in making it to mean the pleasures of this life. The sense given above, for the joy set before Him, i. e. as in comparison with, as in exchange for, the joy which was to come after, in the day of His triumph, is adopted by Thdrt. (but interpreting the of the salvation of men,- ), Primasius, Corn. a-Lap., Justiniani, Schlichting, Grot., Hammond, Seb. Schmidt, Braun, Limborch, Bengel, Winer, Bhme, De Wette, Kuinoel, Bleek, Tholuck, Ebrard, Lnem., Delitzsch, al. And it is fully borne out both by usage, and the context. For thus we have in reff., and in Xen. Hell. iv. 8. 6, : Aristoph. Plut. 434, . See Winer, 47. a) endured crucifixion (, anarthrous and put after the verb; and thus representing rather in the abstract, the kind of death, than in the concrete, the cross on which He was crucified), despising shame (or, the shame: when an anarthrous noun comes before a verb in the place of emphasis, it is not so easily determined whether it is definite or indefinite. But from the analogy of before, it is most probable that this is indefinite also,-every kind of shame, even to that of the shameful death which He died), and ( is used as a copula, apart from , once by St. Matt. (Mat 28:12), once by St. Mark (Mar 15:36), twice by St. John (Joh 4:42; Joh 6:18), four times by St. Paul (Rom 2:19; Rom 16:26; 1Co 4:21; Eph 3:19): but seventy-nine times by St. Luke: and in this Epistle four times (Heb 1:3; Heb 6:5; Heb 9:1; Heb 12:2) is set down (so E. V. rightly, reading the perfect as in text. The aor. would express the fact, as it happened: the perf. gives it as it now endures, having happened. So that the latter is more real and graphic as concerns the readers) on the right hand of the throne of God (i. e. on the throne of God, at His right hand: see on ch. Heb 8:1, and cf. Rev 3:21).

Fuente: The Greek Testament

Heb 12:2. ) denotes afar, as in , ch. Heb 11:26. He, says the apostle, sits at the right hand of the throne of GOD.- , to the prince and finisher of our faith) By this appellation Jesus is distinguished from all those who are enumerated in ch. 11. He Himself is the only matchless example, the only rule and standard of our faith. He is called the Prince and Finisher of faith, because He Himself showed faith in the Father from the beginning to the end: ch. Heb 2:13. Our faith, first and last, has respect to Him: it is drawn from Him to its necessary consequence (following Him), and is confirmed: believers, from the first to the last, have looked and still look to Him: ch. Heb 11:26, Heb 13:8.-, for) The faith of Jesus is hereby denoted. For the joy set before Him, namely, that joy which He was presently to experience, Act 2:28. With equal willingness, He meanwhile endured the cross. [– For the joy, i.e. that He might obtain the joy.-V. g.] Christ had not such a mind as that the cross should not seem to be a matter of joy; comp. Heb 12:11. Thus and correspond to one another.-, the cross) Now at last, Paul, after he had strengthened the faith of those to whom he is writing, expresses the name of the cross, which was hateful to many.-, the shame) which was very great in connection with the cross. Comp. Heb 13:13; 1Pe 2:24, note; Mat 27:35.-, despising) although it was a source of pain and grief: Psa 69:20-21.- , and at the right hand) after He was made perfect. At that Right hand there is joy, Psa 16:11, and glory. Joy and the cross are opposed to each other, and so also are ignominy (the shame) and sitting at the right hand of the throne of GOD.

Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament

The apostle here riseth unto the highest direction, encouragement, and example, with respect unto the same duty, whereof we are capable. Hitherto he hath proposed unto us their example who had and professed the same faith with ourselves; now, he proposeth Him who is the author and finisher of that faith in us all. And therefore their faith is only proposed unto us for our imitation; his person is proposed unto us as a ground also of hope and expectation.

Heb 12:2. , , , .

. Vulg. Lat., aspicientes; Eras., respicientes; Bez., intuentes; Syr., , et respiciamus; looking: we want a word to express that act of intuition which is intended.

, in, ad; on, unto; looking on; or as we better, unto. . Vulg. Lat., auctorem, the author; ducem, the captain, the leader. Syr., who was, or who was made, the beginning or the prince.

, consummatorem, perfectorem. Syr., , the completer or perfecter. Rhem., the consummator, the finisher. The word is commonly used in this epistle for that which is complete or perfect in its kind.

is omitted by the Vulg.; and the sentence is rendered by the Rhem. who, joy being proposed unto him. Pro, it may be for . The meaning of it must be considered.

. Syr., ,which he had, which was unto him, proposed unto him. . Vulg. Lat., confusione contempta. Rhem,, contemning confusion Syr., , and exposed himself unto confusion. He despised the shame. Ignominid contempta, scornful shame.

Heb 12:2. Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of the 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.

Herein, as I said, the apostle issues his encouraging exhortation unto perseverance in the faith and obedience of the gospel. He had before gathered up particular instances for our example, from the beginning of the world. And he chose out those persons which were most eminent, and those things wherein their faith was most eminent, wherein they have witnessed unto the truth which he confirms. Some did it by doing, and some by suffering; some one way, some another. But he ascends now unto Him who had all in himself, and gave a universal example of faith and obedience in every kind. From our companions in believing he leads us unto the author and finisher of our faith. And therefore he doth not propose him unto us in the same manner as he did the best of them, as mere examples, and that in this or that particular act of duty; but he proposeth his person in the first place, as the object of our faith, from whom we might expect aid and assistance for conformity unto himself, in that wherein he is proposed as our example. And I shall first open the words, and then show wherein the force of the apostles argument and exhortation doth consist.

1. There is a peculiar way or manner of our respect unto him prescribed; which is not so with respect unto the witnesses before called out. This is looking to him. And being put in the present tense, a continued act is intended. In all that we do, in our profession and obedience, we are constantly to be looking unto Christ.

Looking, in the Scripture, when it respects God or Christ, denotes an act of faith or trust, with hope and expectation. It is not a mere act of the understanding, or consideration of what we look on; but it is an act of the whole soul in faith and trust. See Psa 34:4-6. Isa 45:22, Look unto him, and be saved, all the ends of the earth; that is, by faith and trust in him. Such is the look of believers on Christ as pierced, Zec 12:10. See Heb 11:10, Mic 7:7, I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.

Wherefore the Lord Jesus is not proposed here unto us as a mere example to be considered of by us; but as him also in whom we place our faith, trust, and confidence, with all our expectation of success in our Christian course. Without this faith and trust in him, we shall have no benefit or advantage by his example.

And the word here used so expresseth a looking unto him, as to include a looking off from all other things which might be discouragements unto us. Such are the cross, oppositions, persecutions, mockings, evil examples of apostates, contempt of all these things by the most. Nothing will divert and draw off our minds from discouraging views of these things but faith and trust in Christ. Look not unto these things in times of suffering, but look unto Christ. Wherefore,

Obs. 1. The foundation of our stability in faith and profession of the gospel, in times of trial and suffering, is a constant looking unto Christ, with expectation of aid and assistance; he having encouraged us unto our duty by his example, as in the following words. Nor shall we endure any longer than whilst the eye of our faith is fixed on him. From him alone do we derive our refreshments in all our trials.

2. The object of this act or duty is proposed unto us:

(1.) By his name, Jesus.

(2.) By his office or work; the author and finisher of our faith.

(1.) He is here proposed unto us by the name of Jesus. I have before observed more than once, that the apostle in this epistle makes mention of him by all the names and titles whereby he is called in the Scripture, sometimes by one, and sometimes by another; and in every place there is some peculiar reason for the name which he makes use of. The name Jesus minds us of him as a Savior and a sufferer: the first, by the signification of Mat 1:21; the latter, in that it was that name alone whereby he was known and called in all his sufferings in life and death, that is, in that nature signified in that name. As such, under this blessed consideration of his being a Savior and a sufferer, are we here commanded to look unto him: and this very name is full of all encouragements unto the duty exhorted unto. Look unto him as he was Jesus; that is, both the only Savior and the greatest sufferer.

(2.) He is proposed by his office or work: The author and finisher of our faith. He is so, and he alone is so; and he may be said so to be on various accounts.

[1.] Of procurement and real efficiency. He by his obedience and death procured this grace for us. It is given unto us on his account, Php 1:29. And he prays that we may receive it, Joh 17:19-20. And he works it in us, or bestows it on us, by his Spirit, in the beginning and all the increases of it from first to last. Hence his disciples prayed unto him, Lord, increase our faith, Luk 17:5. See Gal 2:20. So he is the author or beginner of our faith, in the efficacious working of it in our hearts by his Spirit; and the finisher of it in all its effects, in liberty, peace, and joy, and all the fruits of it in obedience: for without him we can do nothing.

[2.] He may be said to be so with respect unto the revelation of the object of our faith, that which under the gospel we are bound to believe. So grace and truth came by him, in that no man hath seen God at any time, the only-begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him, Joh 1:17-18. So he affirms of himself, I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world, Joh 17:6. And in distinction from all revelations made by the prophets of old, it is said, that: in these last days God hath spoken unto us by his Son, Heb 1:1-2. Hence he is called The apostle of our profession, Heb 3:1. See the exposition. So he began it, or was the author of that faith which is peculiarly evangelical, in his prophetical office, the word which began to be spoken by the Lord, Heb 2:3; and which he hath so finished and completed that nothing can be added thereunto. But this alone is not sufficient to answer these titles. For if it were, Moses might be called the author, if not the finisher also, of the faith of the old testament.

[3.] Some think that respect may be had unto the example which he set us in the obedience of faith, in all that we are called to do or suffer by it or on the account of it. And it was so, a full and complete example unto us; but this seems not to be intended in these expressions, especially considering that his example is immediately by itself proposed unto us.

[4.] He is so by guidance, assistance, and direction. And this is certainly intended; but it is included in that which was in the first place insisted on. It is true, that in all these senses our faith from first to last is from Jesus Christ. But that [mentioned] in the first place is the proper meaning of the words; for they both of them express an efficiency, a real power and efficacy, with respect unto our faith. Nor is it faith objectively that the apostle treats of, the faith that is revealed, but that which is in the hearts of believers. And he is said to be the author and finisher of the faith; that is, of the faith treated on in the foregoing chapter, in them that believed under the old testament, as well as in themselves. And,

Obs. 2. It is a mighty encouragement unto constancy and perseverance in believing, that He in whom we do believe is the author and finisher of our faith. He both begins it in us, and carries it on unto perfection. For although the apostle designs peculiarly to propose his sufferings unto us for this end, yet he also shows from whence his example in them is so effectual, namely, from what he is and doth with respect unto faith itself.

Obs. 3. The exercise of faith on Christ, to enable us unto perseverance under difficulties and persecutions, respects him as a Savior and a sufferer, as the author and finisher of faith itself.

3. The next thing in the words, is the ground or reason whereon Jesus did and suffered the things wherein he is proposed as our example unto our encouragement; and this was, for the joy that was set before him.

The ambiguous signification of the preposition hath given occasion unto a peculiar interpretation of the words. For most commonly it signifies, in the stead of, one thing for another. Thereon this sense of the words is conceived, Whereas all glory and joy therein did belong unto him, yet he parted with it, laid it aside; and instead thereof chose to suffer with ignominy and shame.So it is the same with Php 2:5-8. But there is no reason to bind up ourselves unto the ordinary use of the word, when the contexture wherein it is placed requires another sense not contrary thereunto. Wherefore it denotes here the final moving cause in the mind of Jesus Christ for the doing what he did. He did it on the account of the joy that was set before him. And we are to inquire,

(1.) What this joy was; and,

(2.) How it was set before him.

(1.) Joy is taken for the things wherein he did rejoice; which he so esteemed and valued as on the account of them to endure the cross and despise the shame; that is, say some, his own glorious exaltation. But this is rather a consequent of what he did, than the motive to the doing of it; and as such is expressed in the close of the verse. But this joy which was set before him, was the glory of God in the salvation of the church. The accomplishment of all the counsels of divine wisdom and grace, unto the eternal glory of God, was set before him; so was the salvation of all the elect. These were the two things that the mind of Christ valued above life, honor, reputation, all that was dear unto him. For the glory of God herein was and is the soul and center of all glory, so far as it consists in the manifestation of the infinite excellencies of the divine nature, in their utmost exercise limited by infinite wisdom. This the Lord Christ preferred before, above, and beyond all things. And that the exaltation of it was committed unto him, was a matter of transcendent joy unto him. And so his love unto the elect, with his desire of their eternal salvation, was inexpressible. These things were the matter of his joy. And they are contained both of them in the promise, Isa 53:10-12, When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand, etc. See how he expresseth his joy herein, Heb 10:5-9, with the exposition.

(2.) Our second inquiry is, How was joy set before him? It is an act, or acts of God the Father, the sovereign Lord of this whole affair, that is intended. And respect may be had unto three things herein:

[1.] The eternal constitution of God, that his suffering and obedience should be the cause and means of these things; namely, the eternal glory of God, and the salvation of the church. In this eternal decree, in this counsel of the divine will, perfectly known unto Jesus Christ, was this joy set before him, as unto the absolute assurance of its accomplishment.

[2.] Unto the covenant of redemption between the Father and the Son, wherein these things were transacted and agreed, as we have at large elsewhere declared.

[3.] To all the promises, prophecies and predictions, that were given out by divine revelation, from the beginning of the world. In them was this joy set before Christ. Whence he makes it the ground of his undertaking, that in the volume, or head of the Book of God, it was written of him, that he should do his will, Hebrews 10. Yea, these things were the principal subject and substance of all divine revelations, 1Pe 1:11-12. And the respect of Christ unto these promises and prophecies, with his doing things so as that they might be all fulfilled, is frequently mentioned in the evangelists. So was the joy set before him, or proposed unto him. And his faith of its accomplishment, against oppositions, and under all his sufferings, is illustriously expressed, Isa 50:6-9.

Obs. 4. Herein is the Lord Christ our great example, in that he was influenced and acted, in all that he did and suffered, by a continual respect unto the glory of God and the salvation of the church. And,

Obs. 5. If we duly propose these things unto ourselves, in all our sufferings, as they are set before us in the Scripture, we shall not faint under them, nor be weary of them.

4. The things themselves wherein the Lord Jesus is proposed as bur example are expressed: He endured the cross, and despised the shame. Pain and shame are the two constituent parts of all outward sufferings. And they were both eminent in the death of the cross. No death more lingering, painful, and cruel; none so shameful in common reputation, nor in the thing itself, wherein he that suffered was in his dying hours exposed publicly unto the scorn and contempt with insultation of the worst of men. It were easy to manifest how extreme they were both in the death of Christ, on all considerations, of his person, his nature, his relations, disciples, doctrine, and reputation in them all And the Scripture doth insist more on the latter than on the former. The reproaches, taunts, cruel mockings, and contempt, that were cast upon him, are frequently mentioned, Psalms 22, 69. But we must not here enlarge on these things. It is sufficient that under these heads a confluence of all outward evils is contained, the substance of all that can befall any of us on the account of the profession of the gospel. Neither Paganism nor Popery can go farther than painful death, shameful hanging, and the like effects of bloody cruelty.

With respect unto the first of these, it is said he endured it. He patiently endured it, as the word signifies. The invincible patience of our Lord Jesus Christ, enduring the cross, was manifested, not only in the holy composure of his soul in all his sufferings to the last breath, expressed by the prophet, Isa 53:7; but in this also, that during his torments, being so unjustly, so ungratefully, so villanously dealt withal by the Jews, he neither reviled, reproached, nor threatened them with that vengeance and destruction which it was in his power to bring upon them every moment; but he pitied them, and prayed for them to the last, that if it were possible their sin might be forgiven, Luk 23:34; 1Pe 2:21-23. Never was any such example of patient enduring given in the world, before nor since; nor can any equal to it be given in human nature.

Obs. 6. This manner of Christs enduring the cross ought to be continually before us, that we may glorify God in conformity thereunto, according to the measure of our attainments, when we are called unto sufferings. If we can see the beauty and glory of it, we are safe.

As unto the second, or shame, he despised it. Unto invincible patience he added heroic magnanimity. is ignominy, contempt, shame, from reproach and scorn; such as the Lord Jesus in his death was exposed unto. An ignominy that the world, both Jews and Gentiles, long made use of, to countenance themselves in their unbelief. This he despised; that is, he did not succumb under it; he did not faint because of it; he valued it not, in comparison of the blessed and glorious effect of his sufferings, which was always in his eye.

Obs. 7. This blessed frame of mind in our Lord Jesus in all his sufferings, is that which the apostle proposeth for our encouragement, and unto our imitation. And it is that which contains the exercise of all grace, in faith, love, submission to the will of God, zeal for his glory, and compassion for the souls of men, in their highest degree. And,

Obs. 8. If he went so through his suffering, and was victorious in the issue, we also may do so in ours, through his assistance, who is the author and finisher of our faith. And,

Obs. 9. We have the highest instance that faith can conquer both pain and shame. Wherefore,

Obs. 10. We should neither think strange of them nor fear them, on the account of our profession of the gospel, seeing the Lord Jesus hath gone before, in the conflict with them and conquest of them; especially considering what is added in the last place, as unto the fruit and event of his sufferings, namely, that he is set down at the right hand of the throne of God; in equal authority, glory, and power with God, in the rule and government of all. For the meaning of the words, see the exposition on Heb 1:3; Heb 8:1. In the whole, we have an exact delineation of our Christian course in a time of persecution:

1. In the blessed example of it, which is the sufferings of Christ.

2. In the assured consequent of it, which is eternal glory: If we suffer with him, we shall also reign with him.

3. In a direction for the right successful discharge of our duty: which is the exercise of faith on Christ himself for assistance,

(1.) As a sufferer and a Savior;

(2.) As the author and finisher of our faith.

4. An intimation of the great encouragement, which we ought to fix upon under all our sufferings; namely, the .joy and glory that are set before us, as the issue of them.

Fuente: An Exposition of the Epistle to the Hebrews

The Finisher of Our Faith

Looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith. Heb 12:2)

Let us ever look away to the Lord Jesus Christ as the Finisher of our faith. The word here translated finisher seems to have been coined by Paul himself. It is found nowhere else. Christ is the Object of faith. Christ gives faith. Christ sustains faith. And Christ consummates, completes, and finishes faith. Paul explains what he means by the word finisher, or consummator, in the rest of the verse.

The Joy Before Him

The Lord Jesus has finished faith, that is to say he has finished that whole work that makes him the Object of faith, has finished that for which faith looks to him, and has finished his own life and example of faith, because he is that One 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.

With those words, the Holy Spirit here tells us how Christ finished faith. The word for could be properly translated in two ways. Both translations are accurate. The word could be translated instead of. And it could be translated because of. An accurate explanation of this text requires that we interpret the word both ways. This is how the Lord Jesus Christ finished that great work of redemption by which he has become both the Object of our faith and the Example of it.

Instead of the joy set before him, our blessed Savior endured the cross. “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich” (2Co 8:9).

And because of the joy set before him, the Lord Jesus Christ endured the cross. The joy set before him, the joy that sustained him in all his souls trouble, sorrow, and agony was the joy of saving his people (Isa 53:10-11), magnifying the law of God and making it honorable (Isa 42:21), glorifying his Father (Joh 12:28), and the joy of attaining the glory he had with the Father as our Mediator and Surety from eternity (Psa 2:8; Joh 17:5; Heb 10:10-14; Psa 21:1-6).

The Cross Endured

In order to save us the Son of God, the Lord of Glory, the Darling of Heaven, voluntarily endured the cross, despising the shame.

O what shall I do my Savior to praise, so faithful and true, so plenteous in grace;

So strong to deliver, so good to redeem, the weakest believer that hangs upon Him?

With what words can such a Savior be praised? He who endured the ignominy of the cross, despising the shame, because of his hearts love for and his souls determination to ransom our souls deserves infinitely greater praise than we can give him to all eternity! Because of his great love for us, the Lord Jesus Christ endured the cross. He would not go back. He would not give up. He would not quit until he had poured out his lifes blood unto death for us! Yes, he endured all the wrath and justice of God and endured to the end.

The Shame Despised

Because he loved us, the Lord Jesus despised the shame of the cross. What can be more difficult for a man to bear than shame? Yet, as Moses despised the riches of Egypt, counting them nothing, so the Lord Jesus despised the shame of the cross, that he might have us freed from sin and forever glorified with him. He counted all the shame of the cross to be nothing: all the shame heaped upon him by men all the shame of all of our sin being made to be his all the shame of our guilt imputed to him all the shame of being made a curse for us all the shame of One abandoned by God. Our Savior despised it all, counted it all as nothing, for the joy of having his elect with him in glory forever!

But now shame is all gone! He who endured the cross, despising the shame for us, even unto the end, is (now) set down at the right hand of the throne of God! His work is finished. He has entered into his rest. His glory is full. His soul is satisfied.

The Goal Of Our Faith

Let us therefore encourage our hearts, ever looking away to Christ as the Goal of our faith. As he overcame and has been seated in his Fathers throne, so too, as we follow him, persevering to the end, enduring whatever trial he sends us, despising whatever shame he has ordained, we shall soon be seated with Christ in his throne. Soon our work will be finished. Our rest will begin. Our glory will be full. Our souls will be satisfied!

Fuente: Discovering Christ In Selected Books of the Bible

author

leader, or, originator. See margin ref., Heb 2:10. (See Scofield “Heb 2:10”).

Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes

Looking: Heb 12:3, Heb 9:28, Isa 8:17, Isa 31:1, Isa 45:22, Mic 7:7, Zec 12:10, Joh 1:29, Joh 6:40, Joh 8:56, Phi 3:20, 2Ti 4:8, Tit 2:13, 1Jo 1:1-3, Jud 1:21

the author: or, the beginner, Heb 2:10, Mar 9:24, Luk 17:5, Act 5:31,*Gr: Rev 1:8, Rev 1:11, Rev 1:17, Rev 2:8

finisher: Heb 7:19, Heb 10:14,*Gr: Psa 138:8, 1Co 1:7, 1Co 1:8, Phi 1:6

for: Heb 2:7-9, Heb 5:9, Psa 16:9-11, Isa 49:6, Isa 53:10-12, Luk 24:26, Joh 12:24, Joh 12:32, Joh 13:3, Joh 13:31, Joh 13:32, Joh 17:1-4, Act 2:25, Act 2:26, Act 2:36, Phi 2:8-11, 1Pe 1:11

endured: Heb 10:5-12, Mat 16:21, Mat 20:18, Mat 20:19, Mat 20:20, Mat 20:28, Mat 27:31-50, Mar 14:36, Joh 12:27, Joh 12:28, Eph 2:16, Eph 5:2, Tit 2:14, 1Pe 2:24, 1Pe 3:18

despising: Heb 10:33, Heb 11:36, Psa 22:6-8, Psa 69:19, Psa 69:20, Isa 49:7, Isa 50:6, Isa 50:7, Isa 53:3, Mat 26:67, Mat 26:68, Mat 27:27-31, Mat 27:38-44, Mar 9:12, Luk 23:11, Luk 23:35-39, Act 5:41, 1Pe 2:23, 1Pe 4:14-16

and is: Heb 1:3, Heb 1:13, Heb 8:1, Psa 110:1, 1Pe 3:22

Reciprocal: Num 21:9 – when he 2Sa 6:22 – more vile 2Sa 11:11 – my lord 1Ch 28:8 – in the sight Psa 16:6 – in pleasant Psa 19:5 – rejoiceth Psa 21:1 – in thy Psa 34:5 – They Psa 45:8 – whereby Psa 69:7 – shame Psa 85:13 – shall set Psa 87:5 – of Zion Psa 109:25 – a reproach Psa 109:28 – but let Son 2:3 – my beloved Son 5:7 – took Isa 42:4 – shall not Isa 49:4 – yet Isa 53:11 – see Isa 53:12 – poured Isa 62:5 – as the bridegroom rejoiceth Jer 17:12 – General Jer 20:18 – with Eze 1:26 – the likeness of a Zec 4:9 – his hands Mat 10:24 – General Mat 22:44 – The Lord Mat 25:21 – enter Mat 26:29 – until Mat 26:64 – the right Mat 27:29 – platted Mar 8:38 – ashamed Mar 14:62 – the Son Mar 14:65 – General Mar 15:19 – they smote Mar 15:28 – General Mar 16:19 – he was Luk 1:42 – blessed is Luk 9:44 – these Luk 9:51 – that Luk 15:5 – rejoicing Luk 16:14 – derided Luk 19:28 – he went Luk 22:63 – mocked Luk 22:69 – on Luk 23:32 – General Joh 1:36 – Behold Joh 4:34 – and Joh 6:65 – that no Joh 10:4 – he goeth Joh 12:16 – when Joh 13:14 – I then Joh 14:31 – that the Joh 15:18 – General Joh 16:5 – I Joh 16:16 – because Joh 17:13 – come Joh 18:11 – the cup Joh 19:5 – Behold Joh 19:18 – General Joh 19:30 – It is Act 2:28 – make Rom 8:34 – It is Christ Rom 14:9 – Christ 2Co 4:18 – we Gal 3:23 – faith came Phi 2:7 – made Phi 2:9 – God Phi 3:13 – and reaching Col 1:11 – unto Col 2:12 – the faith Col 3:1 – where 1Th 2:2 – shamefully 2Th 1:11 – the work 2Th 3:5 – the patient waiting for Christ 1Ti 3:16 – received 2Ti 1:12 – I am 2Ti 2:3 – endure 2Ti 2:8 – Remember 2Ti 4:7 – I have finished Heb 4:14 – that is Heb 6:6 – an open Heb 6:18 – set Heb 6:20 – for Heb 7:26 – made Heb 9:24 – but Heb 11:27 – seeing Heb 12:4 – General Heb 13:22 – suffer 1Pe 4:16 – let him not 1Jo 4:17 – as Rev 1:18 – was Rev 7:15 – are

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

JOY IN GRIEF

Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame.

Heb 12:2

What made the joy of the grief of our great Intercessor? Plainly it arose from three thingslove, service, heaven.

I. It was love that brought Him to this earth, and laid Him upon that cross; love that could not be satisfied without the presence and the fellowship of those that He died to save.

II. And serviceservice to sinners; service to His Church; service to God.

III. And heavena heaven fuller than before; a heaven peopled with His friends; His own loved ones at His side; and a God glorified.

This made Christs joythe joy which rose superior to all His troubles, and which enabled Him to endure the cross and despise the shame. So, like Him, bring into your cross, or shame, these three elementslove, service, heavenand, and your cross will be your life, and your shame your glory!

Rev. James Vaughan.

Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary

Heb 12:2. A runner would forget the things behind him and be looking toward the goal and what it would mean to reach it. Likewise the Christian should have his eyes on Jesus who has set the goal at the end of a faithful life. Author means one who sets an example for others to follow, and finisher is one who carries out that example by a faithful life unto the end. The pronoun our is not in the original and is not necessary to the thought in the mind of the apostle. The sentence denotes the faith of the Gospel as it is demonstrated by the life of Christ. The joy that was set before Jesus was that of being the Saviour of the world, even though it required Him to die on the cross. Despising means to belittle or count as nothing the shame of such a death. It was bad enough to die at all, the just for the unjust, but it was more humiliating to die by crucifixion because only the worst of criminals were usually executed by that means. That is why Paul makes the remark that Jesus obeyed his Father unto death, “even the death on the cross” (Php 2:8). Christ was rewarded for his humble service by being seated at the right hand of God, and those who fashion their lives after the pattern set by Jesus will be permitted to live with him and God.

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary

Heb 12:2. Even more important than the contemplation of these martyr witnesses for maintaining the athlete spirit is the continuous looking unto Jesus, the originator and finisher of our faith (or of faith). Our faith favours the interpretation that Jesus begins and completes the faith which forms the principle of the Christian life. But though this is true of Christ, as it is true of God (Joh 15:16), it seems hardly the truth taught here. The faith spoken of is the faith of chap. 11, and the Lord Jesus Christ Himself is quoted as the noblest example; He realized a glorious future in the midst of a troubled present, even as we must do. He is the originator of faith because He has trod the way of faith before us, and the finisher of it because having completed our salvation, which is the end of our faith (1Pe 1:9), He leads all who trust Him to the same goal. This application of faith to Christ is not common in Scripture, but it is found in this Epistle (chap. Heb 2:13), and it is involved in His human nature and conflicts.

Who, for the joy set before him, endured the cross, despising shame. This part of the sentence describes the life of faith, as the second describes its reward and completion.

And hath sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. These two things we are to fix our gaze upon; they are closely connected in the Greek, as they are in the argument. Faith, as the realization of the unseen, was as much the principle of our Lords life as it is the principle of the life of His followers.

Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament

Heb 12:2. Looking , literally, looking off, from all other things; unto Jesus As the wounded Israelites looked to the brazen serpent. Our crucified Lord was prefigured by the lifting up of this; our guilt by the stings of the fiery serpents; and our faith by their looking up to the miraculous remedy; the author and finisher of our faith Who called us out to this strenuous yet glorious enterprise, who animates us by his example, and supports us by his grace, till the season comes in which he shall bestow upon us the promised crown; or who begins it in us, carries it on, and perfects it. Who for the joy that was set before him Namely, that of bringing many sons unto glory; or, who, in consideration of that glory and dignity his human nature should be advanced to, as a reward of his labours and sufferings, and of that satisfaction and pleasure he should take in the happiness of his members, procured for them by his incarnation, life, and death; patiently and willingly endured the cross The ignominious and painful death of crucifixion, with all the torture and misery connected therewith; despising the shame Not accounting the disgrace which attended his sufferings so great an evil as for fear thereof to neglect the prosecution of his great and glorious design. He did not faint because of it; he regarded it not, in comparison of the blessed and glorious effect of his sufferings, which was always in his eye. And is set down, &c. Where there is fulness of joy for evermore. See on Heb 1:3; Heb 8:1.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Verse 2

Despising the shame; disregarding the shame.

Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament

12:2 {2} {b} Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of [our] faith; who for the {c} 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.

(2) He sets before us, as the mark of this race, Jesus himself our captain, who willingly overcame all the roughness of the same way.

(b) As it were upon the mark of our faith.

(c) While he had every type of blessedness in his hand and power, yet suffered willingly the shame of the cross.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes

As a runner keeps looking toward his or her goal, so we should keep looking to Jesus, not primarily to the other witnesses (Heb 12:1). When we take our eyes of faith off Jesus, we begin to sink, like Peter did (Mat 14:22-33). Jesus should be our primary model when it comes to persevering. The writer used the simple personal name "Jesus" to accent our Lord’s humanity, especially His endurance of pain, humiliation, and the disgrace of the cross.

"The writer now returns to the duty of hupomone [endurance] as the immediate exercise of pistis [faith] (10^36f.), as the great Believer, who shows us what true pistis means, from beginning to end, in its heroic course (ton prokeimenon hemin agona) [the race that is set before us]." [Note: Moffatt, p. 192.]

He is our "author" (lit. file leader, captain, pioneer; Heb 2:10). It was by looking to Him in faith that we were saved. Jesus set the example of living by faith for us, one evidence of His faith being His prayers. Jesus perfected faith in the sense that He finished His course of living by faith successfully (cf. Heb 2:13).

"As the ’perfecter of faith’ Jesus is the one in whom faith has reached its perfection." [Note: D. G. Peterson, "An Examination of the Concept of ’Perfection’ in the ’Epistle to the Hebrews’" (Ph.D. dissertation, University of Manchester, 1978), p. 298.]

"He alone is the source of hope and help in their time of need. Looking to Him in faith and devotion is the central theological and practical message of Hebrews." [Note: Fanning, p. 415.]

The joy of the prospect of His reward, namely, His victory over death, glorification, inheritance, and reign motivated Him, too (Heb 1:9; Heb 1:13-14; Heb 8:1; Heb 10:12). This is the only occurrence of "cross" outside the Gospels and the Pauline Epistles, and its presence here stresses the shame associated with Jesus’ crucifixion. What we look forward to is very similar to what Jesus anticipated. Such a prospect will help us endure suffering and despise the shame involved in living faithful to God before unbelieving critics.

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)