Dec 26, 2019
By Joshua Coleman
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,
let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.
And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,
fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.
—Hebrews 12:1-2
Hebrews 12:1-2 is one of the most quoted verses in the Bible. It is a call to action for Christians throughout the world. Many times, the verse is quoted in a context to ask people to endure hardships for the glory of God. The verse invokes the image of people ripping off the shackles of sin so they can diligently run through the pain and strife of life. These people are running with their full attention on getting to the finish line—where the one who came before them and who taught them everything they know about running is waiting to meet them. Quoting this verse by itself can provide inspiration or give a fantastic image of what we should do to fully pursue Jesus.
You’d think that this would be an especially moving verse for someone like me, who loves running and racing. However, for me, this verse (and verses like it) became a source of fear. To me, this verse was a call to act correctly because of the many people (believers and nonbelievers alike) who were watching you. You had to run the race for them so they would be saved. Just like in track, the thought of having that many people watching me made me feel like I was being judged by the crowd and would be condemned by them and my team if I failed. Usually, when I let this idea invade my thoughts during a track meet, I would fail and run worse than my best.
My interpretation was lacking a full grasp of the illustration Paul was trying to create. Whether we understand what Paul means by witnesses or not, it can be easy to miss what Paul is trying to convey in this passage because people think Paul’s comparison between Christianity and running only applies in 12:1.
Actually, the illustration is better understood if you apply it at the start of Chapter 11. After all, chapter 11 is the reasoning for the actions discussed in 12:1 (hence why Paul starts the verse with “Therefore”). In chapter 11, Paul lists several “Old Testament Heroes,” and states that they were “commended for their faith” (11:39). Today we still try to emulate the faith that these people had. Like a champion runner to a novice, we look up to them and try to follow in their footsteps so we can have the great faith that they had. However, just after speaking of their great faith, Paul states “none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect” (11:39-40). While they are honored for their great faith, Paul says there is something greater that can only be attained with the help of the Christians that came after those great people.
Christians have a habit of looking at one story of great faith—one race that was won by a believer—and not the bigger picture: the track meet that all of the runners are running in. We look to these star runners and we are awestruck by their speed and skill. But what many people may not know is that a track runner has two main reasons to run. The first is to win the race. In the race of life, winning the race for Christians is having a relationship with Jesus and living out the life that He calls you to live. The second motivation is to pursue the hope that their victory in that one race will help their team win the meet as a whole. Each position in each race is worth a set amount of points, and the team with the most points at the end of the meet is the winner. In 11:39-40, Paul is saying that each individual victory of faith was in pursuit of the greater promise that one day, we will truly be able to know our God and be able to be the runners He has destined us to be.
The most important races in track meets are always the relays. Although not as many places are awarded points, the point values for the top places are higher than in the individual events. In relays the focus is on the baton; rather than running so you can cross the finish line first, the runners in a relay run because of the hope that their teammates will run their leg of the race to the best of their abilities and will move the baton towards the front of the race. The runners trust that their hope is not misplaced; if the other legs stumble or drop the baton, it is almost guaranteed that the team will lose the race. Good relay teams are essential for any track team.
It takes a lot to create a relay team. First, the relay team must be taught how to actually be good runners and good relay legs. From the start of our track careers, we were taught how to warmup, cool down, take the baton, and even how to properly run. Luckily, we were blessed with a coach who was a very successful retired runner. He was able to teach us through his personal experiences.
Another thing that a good relay team needs is to be unified and in sync; as the name suggests, the relay is a team within the team, a family within the track family. Looking back on my time in track, I was blessed with fantastic teammates, who taught me how to be a good teammate. At every practice, the older members of the relay team (and the upperclassmen of the track team) would teach the younger members how to run better. They also taught us to help the other legs of the relay, after we had run our legs, by calling out how fast they were running and reminding them of the proper form as they ran. This “discipleship” helped us to become better runners and taught us how to teach the grades that followed our grade.
Paul lists some of the runners of “Christ’s Relay Team” in 11:32. He cites several judges, a king, and a prophet, most notably Samson and David. Throughout Israel’s history, God would appoint a judge, prophet, or king to lead His people. Starting with the judges, the mantle of leadership was passed down one after the other, like a baton in a relay. Some of these leaders (though not all of the leaders in Israel’s history) ran great legs of the race, which is why we tend to look at them as heroes. However, no matter how good we think they ran, they did stumble, and in some cases, they dropped the baton. David had a man killed so he could marry his wife. Samson told Delilah that he would lose his power if his hair was cut, and, due to Delilah’s past actions, should not have been surprised when he woke up with no powers.
Luckily for them (and for us), God gave us Jesus, who was a runner that was greater than any runner before Him. He ran the greatest leg of the relay in the history of mankind, putting God’s kingdom so far ahead that He overcame every stumble and every mistake. Now, Jesus is taking the role of the upperclassman in the track team; as the “pioneer and perfecter of faith” (12:2), or in this case, the first ever and best ever runner in existence, He is calling out to us, reminding us how to run and how to live our lives. Like Him, we must take the baton that has been passed down since mankind was created to rule over the earth, run our leg of the race by following God’s calling on our lives, passing the baton when the time comes, and then coaching the people that come after us through the race of their lives.
