Wronged

Have you ever been wronged? Have you been falsely accused? Have you been unfairly treated? Well, welcome to the club.

Now that is an unhelpful response, isn't it? "Haven't we all?" may be true, but it doesn't make you feel any better. Being wrongfully treated is not a pleasant thing. It's not fair, it's not right, and no one likes it. "Welcome to the club" is not a suitable answer. We can do better than that!

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to 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 seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured from sinners such hostility against Himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted (Heb 12:1-3).

"Consider Him who endured from sinners such hostility ..." Now there's a better answer.

The text begins with a "therefore" and refers to "so great a cloud of witnesses." Do you know who the great cloud of witnesses is? It refers to those who went before (Heb 11). Of these it says, "And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect" (Heb 11:39-40). "Did not receive what was promised." Oh, there is more. They are also described as those "of whom the world was not worthy" (Heb 11:38). These are our "cloud of witnesses." These enable us to "lay aside every weight and sin". These stand by us while we "run with endurance the race set before us."

Have you ever thought about that phrase -- "the race set before us"? What do we know about these races? Well, we know that entry was voluntary ... and that's it. The racers don't set the course. The racers don't set the goal. The racers don't make the rules. The racers simply run the course that was set for them in advance. That's the race we're running.

If the "cloud of witnesses" are an assistance to us, what is the ultimate motivator? "Looking unto Jesus." That's how you race, you know. You set aside encumbrances and concerns and problems and pains and you look toward the finish line. Jesus is "the author and finisher of our faith." He started it. He finished it. He will perfect it in us. And how does He operate as our ultimate motivator? Not only does He motivate us to run because He both started and finishes our faith, but because He "endured the cross, despising the shame." "Despising the shame." What does that mean? I mean, don't we all hate shame? Well, that's not quite the intent here. The word means "to think against" or to "disesteem". It is not so much to hate as it is to discount. It is not to "dislike intensely" as much as "to consider of no value." That's the idea. "Shame? Who cares?! That doesn't matter." And how did Jesus, our example and motivator, do that? He kept His eye on "the joy that was set before Him."

Jesus is our example. "Consider Him." Jesus endured hatred, hostility, shame. He didn't run from it. Like a lamb to a slaughter, He remained silent. He didn't protest. He didn't raise His hand and say, "Not fair!!" What else do we know about what Jesus endured? Among other things, we know this:

For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your plan had predestined to take place (Acts 4:27-28).

Whatever Jesus endured, it was by God's plan. He predestined it. It was by His hand. Isaiah said, "It pleased the LORD to crush Him; He has put Him to grief" (Isa 53:10).

Have you ever been wronged? Have you ever been unfairly treated? Consider Him, Jesus, the Author and Finisher of your faith. He endured much more. He endured it for the joy set before Him. He endured it not merely at the hands of evil men, but from the hand of His Father. And while that may sound a bit unsettling, it turns out it can be the most comforting thing in the world. If we know that our Father is operating as a refiner, turning up the heat just enough to refine and not enough to harm, then it's not merely painful; it's profitable. We, too, can endure for the sake of the joy set before us. We, too, "may not grow weary or fainthearted." It is much better to be crushed in the hands of the loving Father than comfortable in the company of Satan.