About nine years ago, I cam across a few verses in the book of Hebrews that radically shifted how I thought about the death of Jesus. Have you ever had that? You read a verse in the Bible that you’ve read before, but you catch something this time that you hadn’t before? This was one of those moments and it was one of the most beautiful, humbling realizations that I’ve ever had, and it made my relationship with Jesus grow much deeper than it was before. Since then, I’ve thought about these verses often and every time I read or hear them, I smile and thank God again for the profound message they hold.
I don’t know or remember why I hadn’t heard this before. I guess that I had either never read it for what it actually said or I just never realized how beautiful it was. Hebrews 12:1-3 says, “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. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.” How beautiful is that!!
In verse 2 it says that Jesus endured the cross for the joy set before Him. I don’t know that the words “cross” and “joy” are typically used in the same sentence, but here they are and that really stuck out to me. It led me to stop and consider what I had read. Why in the world Jesus would endure the cross and find any joy in that whatsoever? How could there be joy that was worth the excruciating pain of the cross? How does that relate to my race? Am I suppose to have joy that makes the pain of this earth worth it? What does this mean for me? On and on, I had so many questions because I just couldn’t fathom the words “cross” and “joy” in the same sentence.
As I read and reread these verses, I had to break it down because there was a lot for me to unpack. I thought about the importance of us running our race, and keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus the entire way. When someone runs a race and there is a finish line in sight, they run toward it even though they’re in extreme pain because they know that the joy they will experience when they cross the line is worth it. When it’s a long race — a marathon, for example — they’ve put in a lot of training and crossing that line is a really big deal. Not everyone that starts every race always make it to the end. There are also typically a lot of people cheering them on along the way, just as we have a great cloud of witnesses cheering us on. There’s an entire marathon analogy I could get into about running our spiritual race, but I don’t want to go down that route today because I want to get back to that whole “cross” and “joy” verse. While these three verses definitely do apply to the race we are running, as I continued to think about it I realized that in a sense, Jesus was also running a race while He was here on earth.
Ever since the beginning there has been a redemption plan in place. Jesus came to earth as a baby for a reason. He came to redeem us and reconcile us back to the Father. He was here with a goal and no matter what the world threw at Him, He wasn’t going to stop until He accomplished what He came here to do. Through all of the persecution, name calling, betrayal, hatred, etc. He kept going because it was all worth it. We were worth it. He kept “running” because He could see the finish line and even though He had to go through more pain than anyone can fully fathom, there was joy at the end. What was the joy that made the cross worth it? Maybe a better question would be who was the joy that made the cross worth it?
Us.
We — our redemption and reconciliation — were the joy that was set before Him, and in order to redeem us he had to “cross” the “finish line.” He had to endure the excruciating pain of the cross in order to receive us — His joy. Isn’t that incredible?! I mean, He went through more than we can fully understand — out of obedience to the Father because we were worth it! He did it for those of us who despised and rejected Him. For those of us who spat on Him and called Him names. For those of us who repeatedly do the opposite of what He says. For every single one of us. For sinners. For you. For me. WE are the JOY that was set before Jesus — WE were worth all that He had to endure! Let that sink in — YOU were worth enduring for! YOU were worth the pain of the cross.
As I continued to think of this idea of a “race” it made me think of when Jesus is on the cross and says “It is finished” — He had crossed the finish line and bridged the great divide between us and Him (Jn 19:30). We are His joy and we are worth dying for. He endured the absolute worse thing imaginable all for the joy (us) set before Him. He took the thing that people thought would be His end — dying on the cross — and turned it into the most beautiful beginnings anyone could’ve hoped for. Why? Because crossing the finish line meant forgiving our sins completely. It meant making a way for us to return to the Father. The cross wasn’t the end of the story. The tomb wasn’t the end of the story — because He didn’t stay there. Just like He said that He would, He rose after 3 days and conquered death! Now we have the opportunity to be forgiven, redeemed, and reconciled to Him. What an awesome God we serve!
Now it is our turn to endure. To endure the world — all the pain, ridicule, persecution, etc.) for the joy (Jesus eternally) set before us. He never said that it would be easy. His life here on earth and His “race” weren’t easy. He only asks that we take up our cross and follow Him (Matt 16:24). That we would run our race with perseverance and never lose sight of the joy before us. He asks us to avoid sin and not become entangled and enticed by it. He set the ultimate example and that is what we remember at this time of year. We look at His endurance and see the ultimate example of humility. We look at His perseverance and how He never gave up because of the joy that was in front of Him.
So, we get to ask ourselves, are we ready and willing to endure? Am I ready and willing to endure? Will we remember that there is joy in the journey, and that we need to run the race with humility just like Jesus showed us? As you head into Easter — or really any other time of year — remember that you are Jesus’ joy and He endured the cross because He loves you more than you could possibly imagine!
Song(s) of the week: This week I chose “Forever” by Kari Jobe. I absolutely LOVE this song and I hope that you all do too. Enjoy!
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