FIX OUR EYES ON JESUS
Hebrews 12:1-13 - Sept. 7, 2003
HEBREWS 12:1-13 1Therefore, 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. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
4In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons:
"My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
6because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."
7Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. 9Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! 10Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holi-ness. 11No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
12Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13"Make level paths for your feet," so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.
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Dear Fellow-Redeemed and Saints in the Lord:
This morning we are going to talk about focus, and we are going to ask ourselves, "What have we focused on since we have been up today? What have we looked at?" The miracle of sight is a great blessing indeed. There are many things that we look at and probably don’t stop to think much about them. We focus on many different things. Is our focus today short-range or long-range? In a world like ours we can find many attractions or distractions to focus on and to look at. At times in this world and in this life our focus or attention is distracted from Christ Himself. It is easy as we sit here today in church and say, "My focus ought to be on Christ." But we also have to ask ourselves during the week what are we focusing on? What are we looking at?
The Apostle Paul realized that. When Paul was changed from a persecutor of Christians to a proclaimer of Christianity, his focus was always one thing--that was on Christ and to share the Gospel. In Philippians he reminds us: "I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus"(PHILIPPIANS 3:14). So his focus, no matter what day of the week it was or no matter where he was, was to always focus on that prize yet ahead, that goal of heaven itself realizing that God had called him there. That is to be our focus as Christians every day that we live. That focus is not always easy as we find that our text reminds us to fix our eyes on Jesus. We are going to use this as our theme, the words of our text—
Fix Our Eyes on Jesus:
I. Because He is the Author of our faith.
II. He is also the Perfecter of our faith.
I. Jesus is the Author of our faith
This letter to the Hebrews was written to the believers who were strongly with the past. At times they thought more of keeping the Law, than listening to the grace of God’s Gospel. The writer here wants them to focus not so much on the past, but on what is yet to come. He wanted them to focus on the pre-sent. In the last part of our first verse, he said: ’and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.’ He is trying to get them to focus on the fact that Christ had died for their sins, that He had set before them a race that they need to run with perseverance rather than be overly concerned about the past.
This is how our text began: ’1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of wit-nesses,’… In the chapters of Hebrews before our text the writer mentions many great men of faith. He didn’t want them to be so caught up with that great cloud of witnesses that they would forget the race marked out before them. In that same verse he says, ’but we have to run the race that is marked out for us.’ He tells them how to do that. He says, ’Throw out everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.’ So hopefully we catch the feeling of the writer here in this chapter. We can look at the wit-nesses around us, those great men of faith. Also he says we must throw out those things that entangle us: the things of the world, the sin and everything else that hinders us. We must concentrate on the race, the path that God has placed before us. In other words as he says in the next verse: ’2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.’ There was a problem with these believers in the fact that they always wanted to talk about the sons of Abraham, how they really liked Moses, Jacob and all those great men of faith; and it was still hard for them in a sense to connect with Jesus, the Son of Mary and Joseph, this carpenter’s son. Yet He was the Author of their faith. Without Jesus, they would not have any faith at all. He describes for them this Je-sus: ’2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross.’ The believers were to remember Jesus’ sufferings. They remembered the fact that Jesus died unjustly, because He had not done anything wrong. Yet, Jesus went willingly. Jesus consid-ered it a joy because He did it for His believers, ’ who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorn-ing its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.’ The writer continues to remind them that Jesus did not just die on the cross. But Jesus also came back to life and ascended into heaven and sits at God’s right hand. This is the Author of their faith. This is the one they are to focus on--Jesus, the Son of Man but also the very Son of God.
The writer to the Hebrews continues,’3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.’ Again, he reminded them of the trial Jesus faced, accused falsely, scourged with whips, and wore a crown of thorns: all these things done by unrighteous men. Yet, Jesus endured it all for the joy of the salvation of mankind. He says to believers, "Remember Him, the Author of your faith, so that you do not grow weary or lose heart. Sometimes in our day-to-day living, we might lose our focus on Jesus, don’t we? We focus on ourselves and are tempted to say, "Woe is me." We are tempted to say, "What next, Lord?" We are tempted to say, "Will it ever rain again?" We are tempted to say, "We are not blessed enough." We know that list goes on and on, whether it is material things and blessings; or sometimes we might even complain to God about spiritual things. Then we are focused on ourselves rather than fixing our eyes on Jesus. The Lord says to us today to fix our eyes on Jesus, because He is the Author of our faith. Consider all the things He went through, so that we do not grow weary or lose heart. Paul writes in Corinthians as he re-minds us this morning: "Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet in-wardly we are being renewed day by day"(2 CORINTHIANS 4:16). All of us would agree to that. Day by day we grow a little older, a few more aches and pains, a few more things that we cannot see as clearly or hear as sharply as we use to. We are wasting away in this tent that is called our body. But inwardly when we hear God’s Word and when we read it and study it, we are being renewed day by day. When we fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author of our faith, we see what joy there is in living.
When we fix our eyes on Jesus rather than on ourselves, we realize how our spirit, indeed, is re-newed because He has done everything for us. How sad it would be if getting into heaven depended on ourselves, because we sin and daily fall short of God’s glory. We can never please Him with our sinful actions. How sad it would be if we had to buy our way into heaven, because we know that the price of the soul is too costly. How sad it would be if we had to earn our way into heaven, because our good works are never enough to save us. So we fix our eyes on Jesus who is the Author of our faith who has paid the price. Galatians tells us, "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ’Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree’"(GALATIANS 3:13). Yes, our sins condemn us, but Jesus took them upon Himself on the cross because of His joy for our salvation. We are saved. He is the Author of our faith.
We know what the world around us says. Sometimes we may fall into that trap, but hopefully not too often. The world around us sometimes has very little use for God until they are in a tight spot. The world around us sometimes never has any use for God. When you might ask them why they should get into heaven, they may say that they hadn’t lived such a bad life and God is pleased with that. No, God is only pleased with the life that His Son led. God is pleased only with those who put their trust and confi-dence in Jesus who is the Author of our faith. The Apostles taught that saving fact time and again, "Sal-vation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved"(ACTS 4:12). Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. There is no other way. That is why the writer here says, "Fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author of our faith."
Jesus is not only the Author of our faith; He is the Perfecter of our faith. He makes our faith stronger and perfect.
II. Jesus is the Perfecter of our faith.
The writer goes on and talks about their struggle; he talks about the fact that the Lord loves them as children. He says, "My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."
These early believers faced much hardship. Very often the government did not give the freedom of wor-ship that you and I enjoy. Very often they were driven from their homes. Their property was confiscated, because the government did not want them worshiping Jesus. That was part of the discipline that they endured because of their Christian faith.
Today’s writer reminded them that the Lord still loved them, that He had a purpose for them, that He would not forsake them. ’7Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons.’ For the early Christians, they understood that deep meaning of being sons, of being part of a family. They realized the importance of family, and the writer is calling them "sons of God," because He loves them enough to dis-cipline them, to show His love for them.
Then he goes on to explain the example of God’s great love for them. If they were not disciplined, they would not be "true sons. Their earthly fathers disciplined them, so how much more should they en-dure the discipline of their Heavenly Father? Because He loves us. The writer sums it by saying: ’10Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.’ I’m sure that those early Christians who were driven from their homes, who had to give up their earthly possessions because of their Christian faith, may have wondered many times, why are these things happening? Yet here, the writer says "that they may share in the holiness of God."
The writer now states the obvious. He says, ’11No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but pain-ful.’ How true that is and they would all agree! But the result he says, ’Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.’ They would understand, and their faith would grow and be strengthened. They would harvest righteousness and peace. So then the writer sums it all up in the last two verses: 12Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13"Make level paths for your feet," so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.’ He is en-couraged that the Lord is there to provide for His believers’ homes.
We would agree with all these words. No discipline is pleasant, but it is good for us. We want to distinguish though the fact that discipline and punishment are quite a bit different. The Lord does not punish His believers. He could. The Lord could justly punish us for our sins with eternal condemnation in hell, but He does not do that. Instead, God punished His own Son in our place. That is why the writer says, "Fix our eyes on Jesus." Our sins rather than standing against us are forgiven. They are covered up by the blood and righteousness of Christ. Even the people of the Old Testament understood that. From the Psalm we read: "He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities"(PSALM 103:9,10). The rest of that goes on "As far as the East is from the West, so far He has removed our transgressions from us."
Our punishment is taken away, but in this life we may still face discipline. We are going to face those times which, God says, are not pleasant (at least in our eyes). We are going to face hardships and troubles and toils and tribulations and sickness and maybe at times poverty and all sorts of things we con-sider not good. That is just a part of life, because on this side of heaven we live in a world that is very sinful. We are part of that sinful problem. So we are going to face all of those consequences of sin which is heartache and sorrow and sadness, which are anger and jealousy and that list goes on and on. What does the Lord tell us? He says, "Fix our eyes on Jesus, the Perfecter of our faith. Remember Jesus’ life? He went to the cross and died with joy even though it was going to cause Him to give up His very life, to shed His blood. We celebrate this saving sacrifice once again today in the Lord’s Supper. But Jesus did it for joy knowing the outcome was going to be the salvation of mankind. So you and I face difficult times from time to time in our life. We have a hard time thinking it is for joy, but we turn to Scripture. In the book of Romans we are told: "Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, (In order to do this we fix our eyes on Jesus who endured the cross for joy) because we know that suffering produces persever-ance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us"(ROMANS 5:3-5). Hope does not disappoint us because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit whom He has given us.
Believe me this morning when I tell you there are people in this world who do not have hope. When they face trials and tribulations, they think that is the end; because they did not fix their eyes on Je-sus, the Author of their faith. They don’t have faith so they do not have that gift of the Holy Spirit. They do not have hope. We always have hope. We have hope that goes on beyond this life right into heaven itself. So yes, when we face suffering or sorrow or heartache or illness, we can do it with joy knowing that there is hope. Knowing, like Paul says, in our weakness we discover the strength of God. What does Isaiah tell us today? Isaiah tells us about those who have hope: "But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint"(ISAIAH 40:31). It would be easy for us to say that we don’t run much anymore, and there are times that we do feel faint. But what does the Lord say? He says that inwardly we are re-newed day by day. Inwardly, our hearts soar like eagles, because the Lord has provided us with forgive-ness. The Lord has provided us with eternal life. No matter what we face in this life, we fix our eyes on Jesus who perfects our Christian faith. He does it sometimes with hardship that our faith would be strengthened, so that we can harvest divine righteousness and joy.
He reminds us to fix our eyes on Jesus. That is easy to do today. This week as we wander about in this life in our pilgrimage, on this journey of life until our tent is removed and we are in eternity, we can ask ourselves, "What are we looking at?" I encourage you to do that once or twice a day this week to say, "Where is our focus right now?" We might be surprised that our focus might be on our meal. Our focus might be on the news. Our focus might be on a hundred other things. We have to remind ourselves to fix our eyes on Jesus, not just on Sunday morning, not just when we are reading Scriptures or studying it for ourselves. Constantly we will want to fix our eyes on Jesus who has created our faith; fix our eyes on Jesus who perfects our faith.
Then we will be like those believers in 1 Peter. 1 Peter was another letter written to Christians who were driven out of their homes. All of their possessions were taken away. Their houses were burned down because of their Christian faith. Peter did not write on how we should feel sorry for ourselves, but he also encouraged, “Fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author of your faith and the Perfecter of your faith.” He says in that very first chapter: "Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiv-ing the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls"(1 PETER 1:8,9). No matter what we face in this life, we can fix our eyes on Jesus; because He has created our faith and this same Jesus perfects our faith and saves us for eternity. Amen. Pastor Timm O. Meyer
