Hebrews 12:18-29

“Let Us have Grace”

 

This passage of scripture, rich with past, present and future imagery, beautifully correlates OT and NT themes into a simple and profound message, “let us have Grace”.   Under the Old Covenant man could not see or touch God.  When they arrived at Mount Sinai they found God to be untouchable.  We now understand that because of their sin they could not look steadfastly on God but looked on shadows and behind veils.  Now, as we look to Jesus this veil is taken away from our eyes and hearts and we are drawn into His Presence.

 

The untouchable ness of God on Mount Sinai:

After being delivered from Egypt, sanctified in the Red Sea, and eating of the bread from heaven and water from the rock, Israel arrives at Mt Sinai àEx 19:10-25; 20:18-21; Deut 4:9-12,24; 5:22-29; They find that their God is not altogether like them (Ps 50:21); God is Holy.  Not only is there none like Him, but none can stand before Him or beside Him apart from His Grace.    

1 Timothy 6:15-16  … He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords,  (16)  who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.

The Law was their Tutor (Gal 3:24) to lead them to Christ.  But sadly, “they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, did not submit themselves to the righteousness of God.  For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes” (Rom 10:3-4).  In the figure, they presumed that they themselves could approach God on Sinai. 

So it is today for anyone who asserts their own righteousness.  So it is today for anyone who presumes that they can work their way to Heaven.  In the OT even with types and shadows they needed a mediator; today we too need a mediator, and there is One Mediator between God and men, The Man, Our Lord, Jesus Christ (1 Tim 2:5).  “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation…” Zechariah 9:9. 

Let us be very clear, we cannot talk about Zion without talking about Jesus.  He is her King, and this kingdom exists of Him, through Him and to Him.  Now we hear His call with our own ears, “Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand” (Matt 4:17).  So now we pray, “Father not my will, but Your will be done, but by all means, ‘Let us have Grace’”. 

 

1. 21 is a quote we don’t exactly have: “Moses said, ‘I am exceedingly afraid and trembling”. Moses was a great mediator, a friend whom God met with face to face. But even Moses was afraid.  Yes, even Moses could not see the Lord and live without being first placed in the cleft of the Rock.  “Rock of Ages, cleft for me, let me hid myself in Thee”.  Lord “You are my hiding place” (Song and Ps 119:114). 

Psalms 73:25  Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.

 

Hiding place?  Why do I need a hiding place?  Where have you been, haven’t you heard?  “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God” (Heb 10:31). 

When a human being is confronted with an overwhelmingly terrifying stimulus—whether a predator in the wild, the prospect of mortal danger, or (in Moses’s experience) the awesome, unmediated presence of the divine—the body’s autonomic nervous system can deploy three (or four) broad defensive modes often called “fight,” “flight,” “freeze” and in extreme cases, the vasovagal “faint”.

We are generally more familiar with fight or flight: a critical survival mechanism that allows humans and animals to react swiftly to perceived threats, triggering physiological changes that prepare the body for action.  We may be less familiar with the other 2:

The “Freeze” Response

• Neural trigger
  • Sensory inputs (sight, sound, etc.) of something overwhelmingly threatening ascend into the brainstem and midbrain—particularly the periaqueductal gray (PAG).
  • If escape (flight) or resistance (fight) appear futile, the PAG shifts the organism into a state of tonic immobility (“freeze”).
• Physiological hallmarks
  • Muscle rigidity interspersed with tremors or quaking
  • Bradycardia (slowed heart rate) or a sudden spike followed by drop
  • Diminished breathing rate
  • Heightened sensory intake (“hypervigilance”) even as the body appears motionless

The Fainting Response (Vasovagal Reflex)

• Mechanism
  1. Extreme emotional distress can cause an abrupt surge in parasympathetic (vagal) outflow.
  2. The vagus nerve slows the heart (bradycardia) and dilates peripheral blood vessels (vasodilation).
  3. Blood pressure plummets, reducing cerebral perfusion.
  4. If perfusion falls below the threshold needed to sustain consciousness, fainting (syncope) ensues.
• Why it happens
  • In the face of an “inescapable threat,” fainting may have been adaptive (playing dead to a predator) or simply an unavoidable consequence of the body’s protective overshoot.             (Google)

Moses’s quaking is entirely consistent with what modern physiology tells us about the body confronted by something that transcends its capacity to cope.  Moses is not alone…

Isaiah 6:3-5  And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”  (4)  And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.  (5)  And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”

After seeing a vision of the Lord, even righteous Daniel said, “My radiant appearance was fearfully changed, and I retained no strength...   How can my lord's servant talk with my lord? For now no strength remains in me, and no breath is left in me” Daniel 10:8,17. 

Then the beloved John the Revelator, the one who leaned on the Lord, after seeing Him deified, wrote “when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as one dead” (Rev 1:17).

On the one hand, our God is altogether dreadfully awesome. 

Awesome: causing or inducing awe; inspiring an overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration, or fear (Dictionary.com).

Deuteronomy 10:17  For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe.

Psa_68:35  (ESV)  Awesome is God from his sanctuary; the God of Israel—he is the one who gives power and strength to his people. Blessed be God!

Psa_89:7  (ESV)  a God greatly to be feared in the council of the holy ones, and awesome above all who are around him?

We serve the same fiery God and there remains every reason to be afraid (Deut 4:24), and more so because to us has been committed more (Luke 12:47-48).  Instead of Moses speaking and interceding we have Jesus (Heb 10:28-31).  So instead of drawing back to perdition (Heb 10:39), sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of sin (10:26), trampling underfoot the Son of God (10:29), not entering in because of unbelief (3:19) or neglecting so great a salvation (2:3)…Let us…

 

(Heb 4:1)  Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.

(Heb 4:11)  Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

(Heb 4:14)  Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.

(Heb 4:16)  Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

 

(Heb 6:1)  Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,

 

(Heb 10:22)  Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

(Heb 10:23)  Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)

(Heb 10:24)  And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:

(Heb 12:1)  Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about wit 

 

h so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

(Heb 12:28)  Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:

 

(Heb 13:13)  Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach.

(Heb 13:15)  By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.  And believe to the saving of our souls (Heb 10:39).

 

Similar Allegory, another place: Gal 4:21-26 presents a dichotomy between the flesh and the Spirit expressed through a contrast of Sinai/Zion and Hagar/Sarah.  Paul’s point is to drive us towards this same “let us have Grace” means and end (12:28); “by Grace Alone, through Faith Alone, in Christ Alone”.   

In Christ, in the New Covenant, we have arrived at Mount Zion where “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven”.  We have been like the woman at the well, but now we have heard the Voice of the Messiah saying, “ …the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth” (John 4:23).  Now True worship is happening not from a mountain in Samaria, or even a mountain in Jerusalem, but from a stone that was cut without hands and has become a great Mountain that has crushed every kingdom and has filled the whole earth (Dan 2:35).  “We have come to Mount Zion…”

Psalms 48:1-2  Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised in the city of our God! His holy mountain,  (2)  beautiful in elevation, is the joy of all the earth, Mount Zion, in the far north, the city of the great King. 132:13-14;  Ps 68:16-20; 

Joel 2:32  And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance.  “God, Let us have Grace”. 

Revelation 21:2-3  And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.  (3)  And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.

 

Similar Allegory, another another place:  2 Corinthians 3:3-6, 13-18 and 4:1

Here is further allegorical imagery, contrasting the Letter and the Spirit once again on the canvas of Mount Sinai.  Now we see Moses, blazing with Heaven's Glory, but sadly we also see Israel insistent on the Veil.  We do not have to surmise why they chose to blunt the reflection of God’s Beauty; they did so out of too much fear and not enough love.  In their failing flesh they feared the wrong things and loved the wrong things thus leaving too little room for Spirit-led Fear and Love. 

Cautiously, we will extend ourselves to comment broadly on the OT and NT emphases.  The OT certainly speaks of love but clearly emphasizes fear.  On the other hand, in the NT we certainly hear of Fear, but it would be hard to miss Love.   “Fear” OT = 312 times and NT = 84 while “Love” in the OT = 131 and NT = 180.  Alternately, OT fear to love ratio = 312/131 and NT = 84/180.  These are just facts and numbers but our general familiarity with the Bible as a whole agrees: while God does not change, from Earth’s perspective, there was certainly a change in Heaven’s tone and focus with the first Advent of Jesus Christ (and the writing of the NT).

These things are consistent with what we understand to be true of life and our incentives to morality.  The movement of humanity has long been motivated by either fear or love.  Like a whip at the donkey’s back, fear provides negative feedback to drive us forward.  Like a carrot at the donkey’s front, love positively drives us towards our hopes and desires.  While they sound like polar opposites, they often work in concert to greater and lesser degrees.  We understand that “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear”; brethren, I am on my way, but I am not there yet.  We are growing and learning.  As children, our obedience is heavily influenced by fear, but when that which is perfect as come, “I put away childish things” (1 Cor 13).  As adults, love should be more heavily influencing our obedience.  Similarly, these two factors have influenced humanity from our beginning but are progressively more and more about Love.  Again, God does not change, but thankfully, graciously, we are changing. 

As we turn to Jesus we see the image of God and the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus; now, “looking unto Jesus the Author and Perfector” we are being “made in His image”, “transformed…from glory to Glory…by the Spirit of the Lord”. 

 

Lastly, in Vs 26 lies a quote from Haggai 2:6-9 à coincidentally this passage contains another comparison, this time comparing the Earthly Temples with the Heavenly Temple.  Earthly temples can be destroyed when Earth shakes.  Earth has shaken, and it will shake again.  Far more importantly though, God has promised a future shaking so great that even the Heavens will reel.  We need a Temple and a Kingdom which cannot be shaken. 

“Lord, we cast off all earthly sufficiency; we forsake all of our righteousness and confess them to be filthy rags.  Lord, we look away from ourselves and instead fix our eyes upon the manger, the cross, the empty tomb and the One who is now at Your Right Hand.   Lord, Let us have Grace”. 

 

In times like these, you need a Savior
In times like these, you need an Anchor
Be very sure, be very sure
Your anchor holds and grips the solid Rock

This Rock is Jesus, yes He's the one
This Rock is Jesus, the only One
Be very sure, be very sure
Your anchor holds and grips the solid Rock.

 

Hebrews 12:12-17

“Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet…” These words in Hebrews 12 are both a call to personal renewal and a challenge to responsibility in the Lord’s Church.  We do not walk alone when we walk in the Way of Christ. In verse 14, the author calls us to “strive for peace with everyone, and for holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” This is not a passive suggestion; it’s an active command: pursue peace and holiness, because this is what it means to follow Jesus. He is not just a Savior who shows us the way—He is the Way. And to walk in the Way is to walk as He walked, to speak as He spoke, to live as He lived, and to love as He loved.

The language of Hebrews 12:12–13 echoes Isaiah 35:3–4: “Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those with an anxious heart, ‘Be strong; fear not!’” This is not merely emotional encouragement—it’s prophetic preparation for the way of Messiah. When John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness, he used this same language from Isaiah: “Make straight the paths of the Lord…” (Luke 3:4–6). He wasn’t talking about road construction—he was calling people to repentance, to clear away sin and pride and to prepare their hearts to receive the Messiah.

This idea of helping others echoes throughout Scripture. In Job 4, Eliphaz reminds Job of the kind of man he had been: “Your words have upheld him who was stumbling, and you have made firm the feeble knees” (v. 4). Unfortunately, Job’s friends struggled to care for Job in the same way.  It’s easy to instruct others when we’re strong—but what about when we ourselves are weak or when things don’t turn out like we thought they would?  Job’s friends did well to silently stay by his side for a week, but when everyone started talking they allowed to focus to shift away from God and onto man.  This was not helpful.     

Remember the one who was secretly buried at the age of 120 when his eye was undimmed, and his vigor unabated, even he got tired when standing on the mountain.  Aaron and Hur came beside him.  They gave him a place to sit, and with their own hands, they lifted his arms.  There support was not just for a man in a moment, but more importantly, their support was for an eternal kingdom.  Helping others was the best thing they could do to help themselves.  In the same way, when we strengthen others, we are participating in the eternal purposes of God. Helping others is not a detour from our spiritual walk—it is the very path Christ has laid before us.

Romans 15 tells us that “we who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves.” This echoes what Paul says in Galatians 6: “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” And what is that law? It is the law of reconciling love—the same love that caused Christ to leave heaven and walk among us. The same love that led Him to the cross so that we could be led to Heaven. When we walk in the Way of Jesus, we do not walk a path of pride or isolation. We walk the Way of humility, gentleness, and service.  "The real test of being in the presence of God is that you either forget about yourself altogether or see yourself as a small, dirty object." – Mere Christianity

"The load, or weight, or burden of my neighbor’s glory should be laid daily on my back, a load so heavy that only humility can carry it..." – C.S. Lewis (The Weight of Glory)

This call to holiness in Hebrews 12 is deeply connected to the peace we pursue. “Strive for peace with everyone, and for holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” The peace of Christ is not a momentary calm or truce—it is a lasting, eternal peace that begins in the heart and overflows into our relationships. As James writes, “A harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” Peacemakers, Jesus said, are the ones who will be called sons of God. But make no mistake—true peace is not the avoidance of conflict, nor is it silence in the face of injustice. It is the presence of Christ reigning in our hearts and reflected in our lives.

Yet the passage also offers a warning. Verse 15 urges us to “see to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no ‘root of bitterness’ springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled.” This is a sobering thought. Bitterness doesn’t stay buried—it grows. And when it grows, it spreads. Satan has long planted seeds of bitterness where blossoms of love and forgiveness should have taken root.

In the flesh, we take advantage of the weak: The way of the flesh and of mankind is to capitalize on the weakness of others; is there a blind man, he will not see who took his money; is there one deaf, freely speak behind his back;  is there an orphan, widow or stranger in town, do whatever you want to them because they have no defense… other than the Almighty God of Heaven and Earth. 

We have not so learned Jesus.  Jesus does not teach us to climb to heaven on the heads and backs of those in our way.  He teaches us by His Word and Actions how to lift up those who are fallen.  He resists the proud but gives Grace to the Humble.  Now we follow in his footsteps.

The path we walk is the “Highway of Holiness” described in Isaiah 35:8. It is a path not made by human ambition, but by divine mercy. And Jesus walked it first. “Righteousness will go before him,” the psalmist says, “and make his footsteps a way” (Psalm 85:13). We are walking in the footprints of Jesus. This is why we strive for holiness—not to earn His love, but because He already loves us and has made a way for us.

Hebrews 12:16–17 also gives a sobering reminder through the story of Esau. He traded his inheritance for a moment of fleshly satisfaction. When he sought to reverse his decision, it was too late. The path of peace and holiness is not something to walk casually. It demands diligence, watchfulness, and intentionality. We must not exchange eternal treasure for temporary relief. Instead, we must fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of faith (Hebrews 12:2), and follow Him down this narrow road that leads to life.

Jesus is not a way for us to get what we want—He is The Way so that we get what the Father wants.  To walk in His Way means to love like Him, serve like Him, speak truth like Him, forgive like Him, and carry the burdens of others like He carried ours. We do not walk in circles. We walk in steps—His steps. “Footprints of Jesus that make the pathway glow; we will follow the steps of Jesus where’er they go.”

So then, strengthen the hands that hang down. Make firm the feeble knees.

"The footsteps of Jesus are often red with blood and wet with tears, but they are always safe to follow." (Spurgeon)

Leading by Faith: Noah

Main Text:  Hebrews 11:7     “By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.”

One of the most powerful things a father can do is lead his family into the will of God—not through fear of the world, but through faith in the unseen promises of God.

A Faith that Listens: Fathers Lead by Trusting God's Leadership.

“By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen…”

• Noah didn’t act on what he could see—he acted on what God said.
• A father’s leadership begins with listening to our Leader.  His head of household status means nothing apart from Him who is the Head of all things.  He cannot protect and provide without the providence of the Almighty. 

 

Romans 10:17 – “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”

“Believe nothing you hear, and only one half that you see.”  (Edgar Allan Poe)  Is this true?  Nowadays, as it relates to our modern world, even Poe is too generous.  Due to the deception of man and the ingenuity of A.I, today we question everything we see. But it is not so with our God. 

“The sum of Your word is truth,  And every one of Your righteous ordinances is everlasting”.  Psalm 119:160 

Psalms 19:7-10  The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;  (8)  the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes;  (9)  the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether.  (10)  More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.

 

Are you leading your family by what you find on the news or by what you read in your Bible?  Our children need fathers who are less reactive to the world and more responsive to God.  Dad’s this means we need to spend time in God’s Word.  Mothers and children, be supportive of dad’s reading and sharing God’s Word.

 

The Tension: How Can Faith and Fear Coexist?

At first glance, “by faith… in fear” seems contradictory. After all, doesn't faith cast out fear?

But this is not fear vs. faith — this is a picture of faith expressed through reverent fear. In Scripture, the word “fear” often carries dual meanings:  

• Dread (terror or panic)
• Reverence (holy awe and respect)

The fear in Hebrews 11:7 is the latter — reverent fear, which flows out of deep faith, not in opposition to it.

 

C.S. Lewis:
“Perfect love, we know, casts out fear. But so do several other things — ignorance, alcohol, passion, presumption — and the question is, which kind of fear is being cast out?”
(Lewis reminds us there is a fear worth keeping — the kind that honors God.)

“A scared world needs a fearless church.”  Tozer

Noah believed God. That belief produced fear, not of judgment falling on himself, but of the gravity of God's word, and the weight of being responsible for his family.
“Noah had never seen a drop of rain, but he feared the flood because he trusted the God who spoke of it.” Charles Spurgeon

 

Proverbs 9:10 – “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”

This kind of fear is not panicked, but purposeful — an intense respect for God's holiness and justice.  Noah’s faith didn’t cancel out fear — it clarified what to fear rightly: not cultural rejection, but God’s judgment and holiness.

“The greatness of God rouses fear within us, but not the kind that paralyzes, rather the kind that awakens us to action.”   A.W. Tozer

 

A Faith that Builds: Fathers Lead by Taking Action on God’s Promises

“…in reverent fear constructed an ark…”

Noah’s name and life has become forever tied to the Ark that consumed so much of his time and resources.  While Christians may debate on how long it took to construct the Ark, no one questions the magnitude of the endeavor.  As we consider this ancient mariner we can imagine the modern call ringing out “all hands on deck!”  Noah had to get his hands dirty and no doubt had to pull a few splinters.  He was a preacher of righteousness who warned the ancient world but clearly his most common audience was his own family.  There would be plenty of sweat but there must also have been plenty of prayer and plenty of preaching with his own family. 

• "Reverent fear" is not dread, but awe-filled alignment with God’s will.  Alignment is not just for the tire in the one moment it is in the repair shop.  No alignment of the tire is for the whole car and everyone in it; alignment is for the journey and all of the miles that lie ahead. 

• Faith is not a conclusion we reach; it’s a journey we begin.” W. Tozer

James 2:17 – “Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”

Genesis 6:22 – “Noah did everything just as God commanded him.”

Noah’s primary mission was not to personally save the world, but rather to lead his household into God’s salvation. Yet through the goodness of God, Noah’s personal care for his own household led to the general salvation of the entire World. 

 Joshua 24:15 – “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” 

You and your house, Serve the Lord; and watch God Save the World.
We may not be building a literal ark, but every choice we make is shaping the spiritual shelter our family lives in. Are you constructing a life that draws you and them closer to Christ?

Your quiet faithfulness (and sometimes not so quiet faithfulness) may be the loudest sermon your children ever hear. Don’t underestimate the impact of daily, steadfast obedience.

Faith and reverent fear are not enemies — they are companions. Faith believes God, and reverent fear takes Him seriously enough to act.

Dads, let your children see you:  Seek God before headlines -- Choose prayer over pressure -- Build on Scripture, not sand and Live a life that our children want to imitate and inherit.

Hebrews 12:2-11

"Fix Your Eyes "

V.2  looking (G872) unto Jesus the Author (G747) and Perfecter (G5051) of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising shame, and hath sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

“We must have the object of our faith ever before us, and that object is Christ Himself, not merely the doctrine about Christ.” Charles Spurgeon                 Good for Jesus  =  Good for us.

G872 ἀφοράω af-or-ah'-o

1) to turn the eyes away from other things and fix them on something

2) to consider attentively:

G747  ἀρχηγός  ar-khay-gos' (Used 4X in NT)

1) the chief leader, prince 1a) of Christ

2) one that takes the lead in any thing and thus affords an example, a predecessor in a matter, pioneer

3) the author

Acts 3:15  and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses.

Acts 5:31  Him did God exalt with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance to Israel, and remission of sins.

Hebrews 2:10  For it became him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Author of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

G5051 τελειωτής tel-i-o-tace’  1. a completer,  2. consummater, 3.finisher.

Revelation 1:8  I am the Alpha and the Omega, saith the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.

Revelation 1:17  And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as one dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying, Fear not; I am the first and the last,

From Start to Finish our eyes must be on Jesus because He is the very Beginning and Ending.  He is where we come from and He is where we are going.  It is by His own faith that we are able to see Him and it is by His own faithfulness that we will be able to be with Him.  As we behold Him, what do we see?  We see a Son, a Prince, suffering for us.  Do you recall the 1986 Sid Fleischman children’s story, The Whipping Boy?  There a servant was whipped for the bad deeds of the prince; but here in truth, the Prince was whipped for us, His servants.

 As we continue to look steadfastly at our suffering Savior, the Son, we also get a glimpse of the Loving hand of our Father.  Vss 3-11 will now develop more than just an analogy, but reveal a reality of how God deals with His children. 

You can tell a lot about a man by observing how he deals with his children.  Love is an invisible emotion that is nearly impossible to hide; our actions reveal our hearts.  So, how does a father talk to his children?  Is he patient and merciful to them?  Does he tell them the truth; and, what does he do when they don’t tell the truth? Does he love them enough to sacrifice on their behalf?   

 

Hebrews 5:8-9 

Luke 2:52  And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.

As a Son Jesus learned obedience to His Father’s will.  In my mind I think how could He learn obedience if He never knew disobedience (John 8:29).  Yet we trust the scriptures that he was taught, as a son is taught, to be submissive to the will of His Father (Heb 12:1-6; Phil 2:8).  This again shows the humanity of Christ and His common ground with us in that He had to grow and learn (Luke 2:40,52).  Although there was no iniquity in Him (2 Cor 5:21; 1 Pet 2:21-24), He still endured the furnace of affliction (Deut 4:20; Pro 17:3; Isa 48:9-11; Mal 3:2-3; 1 Pet 1:7; 4:12-13), just as we must. He was tested and found true and pure (Luke 4:13; John 8:46; Luke 23:3-4, 13-24, 39-41, 44-47). 

Even Jesus “learned obedience” through suffering. Not that He was disobedient before—but in His humanity, He entered into our experience fully, submitting Himself to the Father’s will through real, lived obedience.  In the difficult times of life, do not fall prey to this Western World’s modern victim theology.  We are not victims, we are children of the King.  We are not subjects of chance but rather His creatures in His Hands, watching Him work all things together for good (according to His Purpose). 

The writer knows that when we suffer, our vision narrows to the pain itself.  So we must lift our eyes to Jesus, the Pioneer and Perfecter of our faith. He faced rejection, betrayal, and the cross—not as a victim, but as an obedient Son.

 

Isaiah 52:14  As many were astonished at you— his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind—

Comparative suffering is when someone attempts to comfort (or sometimes minimize) another person's pain by pointing out that someone else has it worse—for example, saying, “At least you're not going through what they are.”   In a way it is like saying, “let me help your hand pain by stomping on your foot”.  Sure, Jesus wins the loss and suffering challenge, but this admonition is about far more than Comparative Suffering.  Again, you can teach your children to eat all their dinner by shaming them with the reality that they have more than most other children in the world; or you could take the time to explain the benefit of good food and cultivate gratitude not always because of the gift but more so because of the Giver. 

When we endure hardship, we are not just comforted by the reality that things can almost always be worse, but far more so by the fact that God has a plan for our lives and He is in control.  So we trade comparative suffering for constructive suffering. 

“To know that nothing happens in God’s world apart from God’s will may frighten the godless, but it stabilizes the saints.” J.I. Packer

Paul shares this fatherly love for the children of God when he says, “(8) For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.  (9)  And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment,  (10)  so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,  (11)  filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. Philippians 1:8-11 

 

Proverbs 3:11-12; 13:24; 23:13-14; Rev 3:19.  Clearly there is more to love than words.  This is the way that our Heavenly Father is teaching us.

Chastening and trials don’t always indicate that we have done something bad; sometimes it is just time for pruning (John 15:1-2).  Sometimes the Lord cuts off the bad and diseased parts of us, but other times because we are doing well He must trim us. Job 5:17-18  “Behold, blessed is the one whom God reproves; therefore despise not the discipline of the Almighty.  (18)  For he wounds, but he binds up; he shatters, but his hands heal.

When you're suffering, don’t immediately ask, “What did I do wrong?” Instead, ask, “What is God forming in me?”

“God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pain: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” C.S. Lewis

 “The Lord's mercy often rides to the door of our heart upon the black horse of affliction.” Charles Spurgeon

No chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; yet wisdom leads us to appreciate training because we look to the peaceable fruit of righteousness.  We are not instructed to fix our eyes on chastening, on valleys, on sickness or sorrow, no, we are encouraged to fix our eyes on Jesus.  We do not trust or even enjoy the Rod and the Staff, but we do trust the Shepherd.  Hopefully we will recognize when we are being chastened by God, be thankful and respond appropriately. 

“Are you weary from the pain, the trials, the affliction? Don't look inward, don’t look outward in comparison. Look upward—to the One who endured the cross for the joy of having you with Him. Trust the hand that wounds to heal, prunes to bear fruit, and disciplines to make you more like His Son.”