“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 founder and perfecter 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.” (Hebrews 12:1-2)
In Hebrews 11, we read of those “of whom the world was not worthy” (Hebrews 11:38). “By faith,” they conquered kingdoms, obtained promises, and put foreign armies to flight, but they also were stoned, sawn in two, and killed with the sword. Destitute, afflicted, and mistreated, these souls are that great cloud of witnesses that have gone before us.
And then I start to look a bit more closely at that list of faithful men and women, and I see Sarah, a woman who laughed with incredulity upon hearing the promise of God and then lied and denied it when the Lord asked why she laughed. And how did Rahab get into the “Hall of Faith?” She was a prostitute. David made the cut to be on the list, and he was both an adulterer and murderer.
I could continue through the list, pointing to the souls listed and pointing out what the Bible says about their flaws and faults, and it would only serve to bring the message home more sweetly: their lives witness to faith in the Promised Messiah, the Savior of needy, sinful men and women.…
