Fix Our Eyes on Jesus: The Author and Perfecter of Our Faith
A closer look at Hebrews 12:2.
2 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 12:2 (ESV)
Introduction
Hebrews 11 is commonly referred to as the “Hall of Faith.”
This chapter starts with a definition of faith in verse 1 and verse 6 quickly reminds us that “without faith it is impossible to please” God. From there, we are given example after example of people who demonstrated faith in their lives.
This faith that is discussed is not some sort of “hope so” self-help technique that reminds us to always be positive. Instead, the faith that is discussed is the kind that leads to eternal life. It is the kind where all hope is placed in God and then actions are taken based on that faith. For example, Noah didn’t just believe God — he built a boat.
And there are many other examples in the chapter as well. These people believed God and their actions were such great examples of faith that the Holy Spirit inspired the writer of the book of Hebrews to include these people in the Bible.
At the end of chapter 11, we are reminded that these great examples of faith occurred before the promise — they occurred before the arrival of Jesus. The people mentioned in this chapter all lived before the arrival of Christ. What they did in obedience was done looking forward. And by the end of their lives, Jesus still had not arrived.
It’s different for us.
We live after Jesus came, lived a perfect life, died on the cross for us, rose from the dead and then returned to the Father in heaven. We also live with a complete Bible. And if we know the Father through His Son Jesus, we live with the Holy Spirit inside of us.
As the page turns to chapter 12, the writer of Hebrews begins to encourage us to live with this perspective. In the first verse of this chapter, he reminds us to “lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance that is set before us.”
And in the next verse, the verse we will study today, he reminds us to fix our eyes on Jesus. Let’s take a look at this verse together.
“Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith”
As the writer of Hebrews begins chapter 12, he provides the hearer of this message with a command:
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. - Romans 12:1 (ESV)
This command is given immediately following chapter 11 and is a call to action for the hearer of this message. “Therefore” — because of the message that has been given and received, we need to adjust our behavior accordingly. And, as we’ve noted above, the message is encouraging us to follow the examples of faith given in the previous chapter.
However, there is one other important thing to note. Though these great examples of faith are given in chapter 11, the reason these examples being given can be found in chapter 10. In particular Hebrews 10:32-39
32 But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, 33 sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. 34 For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. 35 Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. 36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. 37 For,
“Yet a little while,
and the coming one will come and will not delay;
38 but my righteous one shall live by faith,
and if he shrinks back,
my soul has no pleasure in him.”39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls. - Hebrews 10:32-39 (ESV)
The first audience of this letter was encountering things that would make them want to “shrink back” from faithfully following Jesus Christ. Life as a Christian was not easy during those times and persecution was always close by. Great promises were made by God to them through His Son Jesus Christ, but the day to day living could be hard.
So, in chapter 10, the writer reminds the audience to not “shrink back,” and in chapter 11 provides great examples of others who boldly lived by faith. This leads directly to today’s verse which reminds us to look to Jesus.
Why should we do this?
Because this Jesus is the “founder and perfecter of our faith,” or as the New King James Version translation for this verse notes, Jesus is “the author and finisher.”
We can follow the faithful examples given for us in chapter 11 by walking by faith. But our faith is not from our own doing. It is not something that we muster up by our own doing. Jesus is the reason for our faith. He is the beginning and end of this faith. He is the founder and author of it and He is the perfecter and finisher of it.
Ephesians 2:8 helps us to understand Jesus’s role as the founder of our faith:
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God. - Ephesians 2:8 (ESV)
We don’t save ourselves either through obedient works we do or through gathering up enough faith to carry ourselves across the eternal finish line. No, our saving faith comes from God. It comes from Jesus who is the author of our faith. And without Him bringing this gift to us, we would not have eternal life.
Jesus is also the finisher of our faith.
We can think about this grand truth in a couple of different ways. First, let’s remember that during His time on earth, Jesus did everything necessary to complete the work of our salvation. Hebrews 5:7-9 describes this for us:
7 In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. 8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. 9 And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him. - Hebrews 5:7-9 (ESV)
As Hebrews 7:25 confirms for us, because of Jesus’s work, we are saved to the uttermost. And we are saved to the uttermost because Jesus is the perfecter and finisher of our saving faith.
Matthew 24:13 helps us to understand the second aspect of Jesus as the finisher of our faith. This verse says:
13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved. - Matthew 24:13 (ESV)
This is Jesus speaking and He reminds us of an obvious fact. His followers that follow Him until the end of their lives are the ones who are truly His followers. Put another way, if someone professes to be a Christian, but walks away from their faith at any point prior to their death, then they were never His true followers.
Those who do indeed follow Jesus until the end are saved.
And in this case, those who are saved by faithfully follow Christ for all of their lives have had their faith finished, or perfected, by Jesus Christ Himself.
“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”
At the end of this verse, there is a description of the work done by Jesus Christ:
“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”
For this verse, this handful of words seem to be a long description of the work done by Christ. But, in reality, this is a very brief description of who Jesus is and what He did for all mankind.
“Who for the joy that was set before him” is a reminder that Jesus is the Son of God and prior to His arrival on earth through the virgin birth, He was in heaven with God. And in heaven, He was able to enjoy all of the benefits of heaven. This phrase reminds us of inspired words written by the Apostle Paul in Philippians 2:6:
6 Who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped. - Philippians 2:6 (ESV)
Jesus was in heaven and things were awesome there. But though Jesus is God and that means He is equal with God, He did not let that stop Him from doing the work that needed to be done. Instead of remaining in heaven, He came to earth and “endured the cross, despising the shame.” A few chapters earlier in the book of Hebrews, the writer gives this unusual, seemingly heretical, couple of verses:
8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. 9 And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him. - Hebrews 5:8-9 (ESV)
But there is nothing heretical about this. Instead, these verses give us a plain reminder of what Jesus did - and to what the writer is referring in today’s verse. Jesus gave up the glory of heaven. And though He is perfect and the standard of what perfection is, when He came to earth, He had to suffer through the process of proving that He was perfect. He came to earth and “endured the cross,” endured the suffering throughout His life, and endured the shame that came with His work.
After His work was finished — after He was crucified — He rose again three days later. His perfect work andff life made Him the perfect sacrifice for our sins and His resurrection declared victory over sin and death once and for all. After that, He returned to heaven “and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”
He did not just do His work and become a footnote in history. He didn’t become another in a long line of martyrs. Instead, He rose from the dead and returned to heaven to once again take His seat at the right hand of God.
This isn’t just a statement declaring victory (though it does declare a victory), this passage — especially the final few words — are a reminder that Jesus reigns. And because He does, His promises to us are still in effect and they can be trusted with our lives.
