Hebrews 12 Study Notes

12:1-2 Because Jesus Christ is the source and perfecter of the Christian faith, the author called on Christians to keep their eyes on Jesus. The Christian who has faith will lay aside every sinful weight and run toward Christ. Just as Jesus endured the cross, despising the shame, in order to attain the joy of rejoining the Father on his throne, so should Christians run their race with endurance.

12:3-29 In these verses the author encouraged his readers not to lose heart, but to consider Jesus and his example. They should struggle against sin and run toward heaven even if they must do so through intense persecution.

12:3-13 Familial language appears throughout the book of Hebrews. The First Person of the Trinity is God the Father, and the Second Person of the Trinity is his Son. The Son became a human being in order to unite himself with his believing brothers and sisters. The Son can then bring believers into the presence of the Father, who will discipline them as sons. Citing Pr 3:11-12, the author argued that because believers in Christ are sons of God, they have a superior source of comfort. They are more than mere servants; God addresses them as sons. And yet, a father displays his love for his sons by disciplining them. Just as the readers have accepted discipline from their human fathers, so too should they receive discipline from the Father of spirits. God does not discipline his sons to harm them, but to bless them. The benefit of the Father’s discipline is fellowship in his holiness and bearing the peaceful fruit of righteousness.

12:14-29 The sovereign grace of the Father displayed in discipline is the source from which the Christian finds strength to move forward. Salvation is by grace, but it demands a human response. Loving discipline is evidence of the Father’s grace, and his children should be thankful. Christians should move toward peace and holiness, and they should warn one another against falling short of God’s grace or allowing a root of bitterness to spring up within them. The church does not exist on Mount Sinai, terrifying to the Israelites in both what they heard and saw. Rather, the church is moving toward Mount Zion where it should dwell in the presence of God, Jesus, angels, and the righteous people who have been perfected by the sprinkled blood of Christ.

The author urges the readers to persevere in faith. Though God will shake heaven and earth, believers can trust they are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken.