In almost every area of music, entertainment, and sport, there’s a Hall of Fame. And those who are inducted into their respective hall of fame are honoured for their achievements and their example. So, for example, the Football Hall of Fame in Manchester includes legends such as George Best, Gary Lineker, and David Beckham. If football’s not your thing, then maybe the MTV Rock and Roll Hall of Fame might be. Recent additions include Dire Straits, Bon Jovi and Nina Simone. Heroes. Legends.
Our New Testament reading is a bit like the Bible’s Hall of Fame - although it could also be called the Hall of Faith. In Hebrews 11, the author reminds his readers of some of the famous people in the Bible. The Hall of Fame. But why do each of them stand out? It’s because of their faith. It’s because, in many difficult circumstances, time, and time, and time again, they continued to believe the promises God had made to them; they continued to trust God; they continued going on with God.
Now, we didn’t have time to read the whole chapter, but if you glance back, you’ll see some of the names you know (and maybe a few you don’t as well). People like Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses and Rahab. They all did it, as you might see, the way (almost) every paragraph begins: ‘By faith.’ They lived by faith in God. Throwing their whole weight on him and what he had promised.
And, as we picked up the reading at verse 32, the writer realises that he can’t continue to retell the whole story of the Old Testament. He has to cut it short, just the highlights, just the briefest mentions of people like Gideon, Barak (not Barak Obama, just in case you were wondering), Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets...
And he shows how those Old Testament saints lived by faith. For some, it was an amazingly positive experience, as we see in verses 33-35. (You might want to work your way through this list, and see if you can work out who is meant by each reference!). So, these people, through faith, did amazing things - ‘conquered kingdoms, administered justice, gained what was promised, who shut the mouths of lions (that’s the easy one, that must be Daniel!), quenched the fury of the flames (Daniel’s three friends), escaped the edge of the sword, whose weakness was turned to strength, and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again.’
And those are the kinds of experiences we want to have. Living by faith, and everything always going well, and living a really victorious life. It happens for some people. But, for some, living by faith in God really does take faith. We see that in the rest of the list, continuing in verse 35.
‘Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawn in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and ill-treated - the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.’
These Old Testament saints went through all these hardships and persecutions, and still continued to trust in God. They lived by faith, even when things were difficult. They were ‘commended for their faith’ - yet they’re all still waiting for what has been promised. They’re waiting for us to share in it with them.
And this is why the writer gives us the Hall of Fame, or the Hall of Faith. He wants us to also live by faith, to keep trusting even when we find it hard to keep trusting. Believing all that God has promised - forgiveness, and peace, and full salvation, and eternal life with him - where there is no more sadness or sickness or suffering or sin.
The first people who received this letter - the Hebrews, Christians from a Jewish background - they were tempted to give up on Jesus, and to go back to the Jewish temple religion. But, the writer is saying, don’t do it! Don’t give up on God, or on Jesus! And the Hall of Fame in chapter 11 is urging us to say, don’t give up!
At the start of chapter 12, the hall of fame is described as a cloud of witnesses. The image is the stadium full of supporters, cheering us on. Except, these aren’t just people who have come along to watch - these are people who have already finished the race, who have already covered the distance. Now, you might be able to tell that I haven’t run a marathon. But friends who have run a marathon or a half-marathon tell me that the cheering really does help them to continue. It spurs them on to keep putting one foot past the other.
And we are surrounded by this cloud of witnesses. They’re witnessing to God’s faithfulness; they’re witnessing to the fact that they have run the race. And they’re cheering us on to live by faith. They’re calling us to run the race of life, depending on God to get through, and finish to his glory.
But if we’re to run the race, if we’re to keep going in the marathon of faith, there are some things that we need to do. There are some things we need to get rid of - we see them in verse 1.
‘let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles...’
We need to get rid of the things that hold us back. We might instinctively think that whatever holds us back is sin - but there are two separate things here. There are things that hinder us and hold us back; and then there are sins that so easily entangle.
We need to get rid of the sins. They can trip us up. They can make it hard to make any progress. It’s as if sin ties our shoelaces together so that we trip and stumble. And getting rid of sin is obviously needed.
But there can be other things - not wrong in themselves - but they hinder us. They keep us from making as much progress as we could or should be making. The problems come when good things become God things. Good things that God gives us become things we put in God’s place. And then they hinder us. We need to get rid of both the things that hinder and the sin that entangles.
At the same time, we’re to ‘run with perseverance the race marked out for us.’ The Christian life is not a sprint, it’s a marathon. We need to run with perseverance, keeping on keeping on. Never giving up.
And our focus, the one we look to, the one we are running towards, the one we fix our eyes on, is... Jesus. We’re surrounded by the cloud of witnesses, but our focus is on Jesus. Looking to him. Focusing on him. Fixing our eyes on him. He is the author and perfecter of our faith. He’s the one who started it, wrote the book on it, and completed it. From start to finish, our faith is to be in Jesus. And how did he perfect our faith? He went to the cross, and died for us.
As verse 2 says: ‘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.’
We are called to live for Jesus, run for Jesus, because of all that he has done for us. The crowd in his hometown thought they knew all about Jesus. So when he taught with wisdom, and performed miracles, they asked, ‘Is not this the carpenter’s son?’ But, the Jesus we look to, the carpenter who made furniture in Joseph’s workshop, is the Jesus who fashioned the universe and hung the stars in place. He is the light of the world, who calls us to shine for him - so that our light is not hidden. Jesus is the Son of God, the radiance of God’s glory (as Heb 1 puts it). And yet he gave his life for you, and me.
The carpenter stretched out his arms on a wooden cross. The light of the world was extinguished. He endured the cross - the pain and agony, the weight of your sin and mine, bearing down on him, him carrying the full burden, paying the penalty in full. He scorned the shame, the shamefulness of it all - out of love for you. He endured it all because of the joy that was set before him. The joy that could only be obtained by going through the ordeal of the cross.
And what was the joy that kept Jesus going? It was the joy of fulfilling the Father’s plan of salvation. The joy of having each of his chosen children in his new heavens and new earth. The joy of sharing salvation with you, if you’ll receive it, and believe his promise.
The cloud of witnesses all encourage us to keep going, to live by faith. But it’s only possible because of what Jesus has done for us, for you. So fix your eyes on him. He’s bringing you home, giving you power for the next step, the next challenge. Get rid of all the things that hold you back, and the sins that entangle. And run. Run your race. Live your life by faith in Jesus, the Son of God who loved you and gave himself for you.
This sermon was preached at the Service of Dedication for new memorial windows for Charles & Elizabeth Rowntree and Rev David Somerville in St Matthew's Church, Richhill on Sunday morning 24th June 2018.
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