A life of faith is lived by “fixing our eyes on” the object of faith, even Jesus, the one dead and raised.
What do you do with those parenthetical verses in a pericope? I always encourage their public reading, even if you will not treat the “optional” verses in a sermon. Let the Word do its work. Do not be a slave to the clock. The people can spend one more minute of their one day in the week gladly hearing and learning the Word of God. I say this even as someone who encourages brevity in the Divine Service. And skipping it this week would mean passing over gems; I have a hard time keeping my voice from cracking when I read Hebrews 11:32-40. The world was not worthy of them! The parenthetical section is also the space in which the “theology of the cross” is best confessed in the reading, second only to Jesus himself at Hebrews 12:2, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning the shame.
The balance of the pericope this week goes in two discrete directions. First (the Hebrews 11 bit), the extension of the rollcall of the saints to the stories of Abraham and Isaac, Jacob and Joseph, Moses and the Exodus, and Rahab in Jericho, before encapsulating other judges, prophets, and martyrs in the parenthetical coda. Second (the Hebrews 12:1-3 bit), the exhortation to recognize all these as the great cloud of witnesses, to run the race (the faithful sojourner-exile journey) with perseverance, and to fix our eyes on Jesus in order to do so.
Reading Genesis 22 (Abraham and Isaac) through the lens of Hebrews 11:17-19 leads to an interpretation of the Moriah narrative that focuses on death and resurrection. A narrative approach to this portion of the pericope, anticipated in our considerations last week with the first half of Hebrews 11, can bear some great fruit when presented alongside Jesus as antitype of the patriarchal figures: Jesus as obedient son, Jesus as victim, Jesus as the fulfillment of God-will-provide (Moriah), Jesus as dying and rising, Jesus as gift to be delivered and gift to be received.
The same approach can be used with Moses and the other Old Testament (OT) exemplars, of course, focusing on the ways, for example, in which Moses is a type of Christ, shadow yielding to reality. Here is no theological trickery. It is, in fact, the modus operandi[1] of the author of Hebrews (refer to Hebrews 8:5, 10.1)! At the center for the author of Hebrews is what should be at the center of your sermon craft as well. The type/antitype dynamic of the epistle writer is not an academic exercise (though notice, it does offer throughout the letter a rich panoply of images and characters from which he invites all believers to draw connections, more complex than a simple linear narrative or consequential argument). His dynamic is, rather, a tool that serves his purpose: To present Christ as superior to all. Jesus is bigger, Jesus is superior, Jesus is the fulfillment of all prophecy and the prophets, of the Sabbath (He has become our Sabbath, in fact!), of the priesthood, of the Temple, of the sacrifice for sins, of all things in Heaven and on Earth. Jesus is the one to honor, to whom all OT figures point, whom all shadows anticipate, and to whom we all direct our worship.
Jesus is the one to honor, to whom all OT figures point, whom all shadows anticipate, and to whom we all direct our worship.
No wonder, then, that the author of Hebrews concludes with, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus,” who is the “author and perfecter,” that is, alpha and omega, soup to nuts, the beginning and end, the pioneer/trailblazer for all sojourner-exiles who walk by promise in hope, and the finalizer/fulfillment for them too. Jesus is the originator of the faith which is this author’s thesis in these last two pericopes (Hebrews 11:1), and Jesus is that faith’s fulfillment and end. This is a fitting reminder for all believers that faith is not a process of perfection in human works but finds its perfection in exactly the same thing in which it began, namely, the person and work of Jesus Christ. Consider applying this notion to a verse like Philippians 1:6: He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it (similar vocabulary is juxtaposed both here in Hebrews 12:2 and there at Philippians 1:6 for “begin” and “complete”). The preacher goes right when the message points the hearer not to her own struggles, trials, attempts, striving, measurements of growth in holiness, and yardsticks to judge the neighbor, but ever and only when the eyes of faith are turned towards the cross of Christ, to consider what Jesus has done, what Jesus has accomplished. What is the Gospel in this reading? That Jesus, weighing the humiliation of the cross against the joy set before Him, endured it for you, and did not even acknowledge, in fact, ignored, despised, and scorned the shame of it, in relation to the joy of saving you, of saving the world.
I dilate on this point because of challenges I have faced in pastoral care with troubled consciences. Some folks imagine that faith is a growth category like child development. They can point to scriptures that prompt them in this direction, like the disciples asking Jesus to increase their faith and Jesus talking about faith in terms of magnitude (big and small, see Luke 17:5-6 and 2 Corinthians 10:15). And just as there are benchmarks in child development, some folks imagine benchmarks of a growing faith to include increasing disciplines. Websites aplenty devoted to “growing faith” offer advice that would no doubt sit well with those monastic predecessors of several centuries ago who imagined a ladder of divine ascent which would lead the (ascetic) believer to divine perfection.
There is nothing wrong with discipline. As we will hear next week in the Hebrews 12 pericope assigned then, discipline is the call of every Christian disciple! But we do well to be suspicious of any suggestion that we can do something to “increase our faith,” especially from a human-theological perfectionist perspective that imagines “we should sin less as we grow in faith.” Good works do not grow your faith in Jesus. In fact, works and faith are fundamentally opposed in Christian teaching for this reason! A life of faith is lived by “fixing our eyes on” the object of faith, even Jesus, the one dead and raised. You want your hearers to have big faith? Then you want to show your readers how big Jesus is. Faith is only and ever as big as its object. So, give ’em the Jesus who is bigger, the Jesus who is superior, the Jesus who is the author and perfecter of the faith! Considering Him is the only antidote to the inevitable fatigue of tentatio[2] as we battle the world, the Devil, and our own sinful flesh (Hebrews 12:3).
One final (likely familiar) illustration to consider, consistent with this point: Accomplishing straight lines over vast distances requires a focus on something external to oneself. Think of driving, or of mowing a lawn, or ploughing a field where one wants to observe lanes and maintain orderly rows. Focusing on the immediate or looking down at the ground inevitably distracts from the right direction, a fact you can see later if you have twisted up your chore (or worse, veered off course into danger!). In the same way, Hebrews encourages us in light of our fellow sojourner-exiles, living and dead, all who walk in one direction towards one destination, to throw off every hindrance and keep running straight by looking at the Jesus of the cross, the Jesus seated at the right hand of God. Looking anywhere else will trip you up! Look to Him as well, preacher, in your work to deliver God’s gifts to your people this week.
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Additional Resources:
Craft of Preaching-Check out 1517’s resources on Hebrews 11:17-31 (32-40).
Concordia Theology-Various helps from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO to assist you preaching Hebrews 11:17-31 (32-40).
Lectionary Kick-Start-Check out this fantastic podcast from Craft of Preaching authors Peter Nafzger and David Schmitt as they dig into the texts for this Sunday!
The Pastor’s Workshop-Check out all the great preaching resources from our friends at the Pastor’s Workshop!
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[1] “Modus operandi” is a Latin phrase that means “method of operation.” It refers to an individual’s habits of working, particularly in contexts such as business or criminal investigations. In essence, it describes a particular method or manner of functioning or operating.
[2] “Tentatio” is a Latin term that means “temptation.” This concept comes from Martin Luther who proposed an evangelical pattern of spirituality as reception rather than self-promotion, which involved three things: Prayer (Oratio), Meditation (Meditatio), and Temptation (Tentatio).
