Hebrews 12:2
in Hebrews 12Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
looking unto Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising shame, and hath sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
KJV
Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
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This verse in Hebrews 12
Commentary
26 notes on this verseLooking unto Jesus - Αφορωντες· Looking off and on, or from and to; looking off or from the world and all secular concerns to Jesus and all the spiritual and heavenly things connected with him. This is still an allusion to the Grecian games: those who ran were to keep their eyes fixed on the mark of the prize; they must keep the goal in view. The exhortation implies, 1. That they should place all their hope and confidence in Christ, as their sole helper in this race of faith.
This site's exposition
such a great cloud of witnesses
on Hebrews 12:1-2
The roll of chapter 11 becomes such a great cloud of witnesses, and the Greek word names those who have borne witness to faith. The runner is to throw off every encumbrance and look to Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.
This site's exposition
the author and perfecter of our faith
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown render author as prince leader, the same Greek word used at Hebrews 2:10 and Acts 3:15. Jesus himself fulfilled the ideal of faith, they add. John Wesley compares the look to the wounded Israelites gazing at the bronze serpent.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
Or to accept instead of the joy set before him, as Gregory says; to whom, he says, being able to remain in his own glory and divinity, he not only emptied himself to the form of a servant, but also endured the cross, despising its …
Or what is said, For the joy set before him, understand it as Gregory says. To whom, he says, when it was free for him to remain in his own glory and divinity, he not only emptied himself to the form of a servant, but …
God has entered us as contestants in a racecourse where it is our lot to be always striving. This place, then, a valley of tears, is not a condition of peace, not a state of security, but an arena of struggle and of endurance.
Our being born again by water and the Spirit is not a recompense for any merit but is freely given. And if faith has led us to the bath of regeneration, we ought not for that reason to think that we have first given something, so that our saving regeneration might be given us in return. For that one has made us believe in Christ who made for us the Christ in whom we believe. That one made in humans the beginning and the completion of their faith in Jesus who made the human Jesus "the author and finisher of the faith," for this is what he is called, as you know, in the Epistle to the Hebrews.
And as fire that lies in wood hidden below the surface is often unobserved by the senses of those who see, or even touch it, but is manifest when it blazes up, so too, at His death (which He brought about at His will, Who separated His soul from His Body, Who said to His own Father "Into Thy hands I commend My Spirit," Who, as He says, "had power to lay it down and had power to take it again"), He Who, because He is the Lord of glory, despised that which is shame among men, having concealed, as it were, the flame of His life in His bodily Nature, by the dispensation of His death, kindled and inflamed it once more by the power of His own Godhead, fostering into life that which had been brought to death, having infused with the infinity of His Divine power that humble first-fruits of our nature, made it also to be that which He Himself was—making the servile form to be Lord, and the Man born of Mary to be Christ, and Him Who was crucified through weakness to be Life and power, and making all that is piously conceived to be in God the Word to be also in that which the Word assumed, so that these attributes no longer seem to be in either Nature by way of division, but that the perishable Nature being, by its commixture with the Divine, made anew in conformity with the Nature that overwhelms it, participates in the power of the Godhead, as if one were to say that mixture makes a drop of vinegar mingled in the deep to be sea, by reason that the natural quality of this liquid does not continue in the infinity of that which overwhelms it. This is our doctrine.
18 more voices on this verse
The Church Fathers5 voices
A commentator
Ephrem the SyrianCOMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS · Written before 373.
proposed
Let us look not toward human beings for the perfection of our faith. In fact, among them one is good for something, but the other is not. Rather let us look into "Jesus Christ, the pioneer of faith," who was made our leader and "the …
He could have avoided suffering, he is saying, had he so chosen; but he put up with the suffering for the benefit of all. The Savior's joy is the salvation of human beings; for it he endured the suffering, and after the suffering he is …
In the next place as the sum and substance of his exhortation, which he puts both first and last, even Christ. "Looking" (he says) "unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our Faith"; The very thing which Christ Himself also continually said to His disciples, "If they have called the Master of the house Beelzebub, how much more them of His household?" (Matt. x. 25.) And again, "The disciple is not above his Master, nor the servant above his Lord." (Matt. x. 24.) "Looking" (he says), that is, that we may learn to run. For as in all arts and games, we impress the art upon our mind by looking to our masters, receiving certain rules through our sight, so here also, if we wish to run, and to learn to run well, let us look to Christ, even to Jesus "the author and finisher of our faith." What is this? He has put the Faith within us. For He said to His disciples, "Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you" (John xv. 16); and Paul too says, "But then shall I know, even as also I have been known." (1 Cor. xiii. 12.) He put the Beginning into us, He will also put on the End. "Who," he says, "for the joy that was set before Him, endured the Cross, despising the shame." That is, it was in His power not to suffer at all, if He so willed. For "He did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth" (1 Pet. ii. 22); as He also says in the Gospels, "The Prince of the world cometh and hath nothing in Me." (John xiv. 30.) It lay then in His power, if so He willed, not to come to the Cross. For, "I have power," He says, "to lay down My life; and I have power to take it again." (John x. 18.) If then He who was under no necessity of being crucified, was crucified for our sake, how much more is it right that we should endure all things nobly! "Who for the joy that was set before Him" (he says) "endured the cross, despising the shame." But what is, "Despising the shame"? […]
We preach not one coming of Christ but a second as well, far more glorious than the first. The first gave us a spectacle of his patience; the second will bring with it the crown of the kingdom of God. In general all things are twofold in our Lord Jesus Christ. His birth is twofold, one of God before the ages and one of a virgin in the consummation of the ages. His descent is twofold, one lowly, "like the rain upon the fleece," and a second, his manifest coming, which is yet to be. In his first coming he was wrapped in swaddling clothes in the manger; in his second he will be "robed in light as with a cloak." In his first coming he "endured the cross, despising the shame"; in his second he will come in glory, attended by a host of angels. We do not rest, therefore, in his first coming, but we look also for his second. Just as we said of his first coming, "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord," so we shall repeat the same at his second.
He did not say that danger is looming over us or that we are being raised above, but, what is greater, that we are inspired. "A cloud of witnesses." Indeed, the memory of the witnesses or martyrs stirs them to similar zeal for struggles. He …
The Medieval Church2 voices
662. – Then (v. 2) he gives the example of Christ and does two things: first, he shows why Christ's passion should be taken as an example and what should be considered in it; secondly, he shows the fruit of that consideration (v. 3). 663. …
That is, if we desire to learn the feat of endurance, let us look to Christ, just as those learning crafts look to their teachers, as He Himself also said: "Learn from Me" (Matt. 11:29), and again: "If they have called the master of the …
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
The author and finisher of our faith - Who begins it in us, carries it on, and perfects it. Who for the joy that was set before him - Patiently and willingly endured the cross, with all the pains annexed thereto. And is set down - Where there is fulness of joy.
Here observe, (1.) What our Lord Jesus is to his people: he is the author and finisher of their faith --the beginning, perfecter, and rewarder of it. [1.] He is the author of their faith; not only the object, but the author.
This was the joy that was set before him. (4.) The reward of his suffering: he has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Christ, as Mediator, is exalted to a station of the highest honour, of the greatest power and influence; he is at the right hand of the Father.
Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith,....
The Nineteenth Century6 voices
THE Apostle says, "Let us run." He has in his mind's eye the Olympic games, where all the different tribes of Greece were gathered together in general assembly to display the prowess of the race. Among the athletic exercises were footraces. The Apostle makes this footrace an illustration of the Christian life. We must run with patience along the appointed course if we would win the prize of our high calling. He stands with us at the starting block and earnestly says to us, not "Run," but, "Let us run." The Apostle himself is at our side as a runner.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
On His "faith" compare Heb 2:13; Believers have ever looked to Him (Heb 11:26; 13:8). finisher--Greek, "Perfecter," referring to Heb 11:40. of our faith--rather as Greek, "of the faith," including both His faith (as exhibited in what follows) and our faith.
THE Apostle says, "Let us run." He has in his mind's eye the Olympic games, where all the different tribes of Greece were gathered together in general assembly to display the prowess of the race. Among the athletic exercises were footraces. The Apostle makes this footrace an illustration of the Christian life. We must run with patience along the appointed course if we would win the prize of our high calling. He stands with us at the starting block and earnestly says to us, not "Run," but, "Let us run." The Apostle himself is at our side as a runner. The presence of such a comrade is most inspiriting. It is good doing good things in good company. "Let us run," says he, "with patience the race that is set before us." Who will back out of a race wherein so great a saint takes his place at our side? You who aspire to be associated with the excellent of the earth, press forward side by side with an Apostle! "Let us run," from Paul's lip, puts wings upon our heels. Before we start, with a wave of the hand the Apostle directs us to the spectators who throng the sides of the course. There were always such at those races—each city and state yielded its contingent and the assembled throng watched with eager eye the efforts of those who strove for the mastery. Those who look down upon us from yonder heavens are described as "so great a cloud of witnesses." These compass us about. Thousands upon thousands who have run this race before us and have attained their crowns, behold us from their heavenly seats and mark how we behave ourselves. This race is worth running, for the eyes of "the nations of them which are saved" are fixed upon us. This is no hole-and-corner business, this running for the great prize.
OH what shall I do, my Saviour to praise?” Where shall language be found which shall describe his matchless, his unparalleled love towards the children of men. Upon any ordinary subject one may find liberty of speech and fullness of utterance, but this subject lies out of the line of all oratory, and eloquence cannot attain unto it. This is one of the unutterable things—unutterable, because it surpasses thought, and defies the power of words. How, then, can we deal with that which is unutterable? I am conscious that all I can say concerning the sufferings of Jesus, this morning, will be but as a drop of the bucket. None of us know the half of the agony which he endured; none of us have ever fully comprehended the love of Christ which passeth knowledge. Philosophers have probed the earth to its very center, threaded the spheres, measured the skies, weighed the hills—nay, weighed the world itself; but this is one of those vast, boundless things, which to measure doth surpass all but the Infinite itself. As the swallow but skimmeth the water, and diveth not into its depths, so all the descriptions of the preacher but skim the surface, while depths immeasurable must lie far beneath our observation. Well might a poet say “O love, thou fathomless abyss!” for this love of Christ is indeed measureless and fathomless. None of us can attain unto it. In speaking thereof we feel our own weakness, we cast ourselves upon the strength of the Spirit, but, even then, we feel that we can never attain unto the majesty of this subject. Before we can ever get a right idea of the love of Jesus, we must understand his previous glory in its height of majesty, and his incarnation upon the earth in all its depths of shame.
OH what shall I do, my Saviour to praise?” Where shall language be found which shall describe his matchless, his unparalleled love towards the children of men. Upon any ordinary subject one may find liberty of speech and fullness of utterance, but this subject lies out of the line of all oratory, and eloquence cannot attain unto it. This is one of the unutterable things—unutterable, because it surpasses thought, and defies the power of words. How, then, can we deal with that which is unutterable?
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Looking unto Jesus - As a further inducement to do this, the apostle exhorts us to look to the Saviour. We are to look to his holy life; to his patience and perseverance in trials; to what he endured in order to obtain the crown, and to his final success and triumph. The author and finisher of our faith - The word “our” is not in the original here, and obscures the sense. The meaning is, he is the first and the last as an example of faith or of confidence in God - occupying in this, as in all other things, the pre-eminence, and being the most complete model that can be placed before us. The apostle had not enumerated him among those who had been distinguished for their faith, but he now refers to him as above them all; as a case that deserved to stand by itself. It is probable that there is a continuance here of the allusion to the Grecian games which the apostle had commenced in the previous verse. The word “author” - ἀρχηγὸν archēgon - (marg. beginner) - means properly the source, or cause of anything; or one who makes a beginning. It is rendered in Act 3:15; Act 5:31, “Prince”; in Heb 2:10, “Captain”; and in the place before us, “Author.” It does not occur elsewhere in the New Testament. The phrase “the beginner of faith,” or the leader on of faith, would express the idea. He is at the head of all those who have furnished an example of confidence in God, for he was himself the most illustrious instance of it. The expression, then, does not mean properly that he produces faith in us, or that we believe because he causes us to believe - whatever may be the truth about that - but that he stands at the head as the most eminent example that can be referred to on the subject of faith. […]
Modern Voices1 voice
A commentator
Mark Virkler4 Keys to Hearing God – You Can Hear God's Voice! (Elijah List article) (2015)
proposed
If I fix my eyes upon Jesus (see Hebrews 12:2), the intuitive flow comes from Jesus. But if I fix my gaze upon some desire of my heart, the intuitive flow comes out of that desire.
The words behind it
27 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἀφορῶντες | aphorontes | looking | G872 → | |
| εἰς | eis | to | G1519 → | 1755 times |
| τὸν | ton | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| τῆς | tes | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| πίστεως | pisteos | of [our] faith | G4102 → | 242 times |
| ἀρχηγὸν | archegon | founder | G747 → | |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| τελειωτὴν | teleioten | perfecter | G5051 → | |
| Ἰησοῦν, | iesoun | Jesus, | G2424 → | 908 times |
| ὃς | hos | who | G3739 → | 1405 times |
| ἀντὶ | anti | in view of | G473 → | |
| τῆς | tes | what | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| προκειμένης | prokeimenes | is lying before | G4295 → | 5 times |
| αὐτῷ | auto | Him | G846 → | 5565 times |
| χαρᾶς | charas | joy | G5479 → | 58 times |
| ὑπέμεινεν | hupemeinen | endured | G5278 → | 17 times |
| σταυρὸν | stauron | [the] cross | G4716 → | |
| αἰσχύνης | aischunes | [its] shame | G152 → | |
| καταφρονήσας, | kataphronesas | having despised, | G2706 → | |
| ἐν | en | at | G1722 → | 2738 times |
| δεξιᾷ | dexia | right hand | G1188 → | 53 times |
| τε | te | and | G5037 → | 213 times |
| τοῦ | tou | of the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| θρόνου | thronou | throne | G2362 → | 62 times |
| τοῦ | tou | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| θεοῦ | theou | of God | G2316 → | 1312 times |
| κεκάθικεν.¶ | kekathiken | has sat down. | G2523 → | 44 times |
ἀφορῶντεςlooking
aphorontesG872 →
εἰςto
eisG1519 →1755 times
τὸνthe
tonG3588 →19766 times
τῆς<the>
tesG3588 →19766 times
πίστεωςof [our] faith
pisteosG4102 →242 times
ἀρχηγὸνfounder
archegonG747 →
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
τελειωτὴνperfecter
teleiotenG5051 →
Ἰησοῦν,Jesus,
iesounG2424 →908 times
ὃςwho
hosG3739 →1405 times
ἀντὶin view of
antiG473 →
τῆςwhat
tesG3588 →19766 times
προκειμένηςis lying before
prokeimenesG4295 →5 times
αὐτῷHim
autoG846 →5565 times
χαρᾶςjoy
charasG5479 →58 times
ὑπέμεινενendured
hupemeinenG5278 →17 times
σταυρὸν[the] cross
stauronG4716 →
αἰσχύνης[its] shame
aischunesG152 →
καταφρονήσας,having despised,
kataphronesasG2706 →
ἐνat
enG1722 →2738 times
δεξιᾷright hand
dexiaG1188 →53 times
τεand
teG5037 →213 times
τοῦof the
touG3588 →19766 times
θρόνουthrone
thronouG2362 →62 times
τοῦ<the>
touG3588 →19766 times
θεοῦof God
theouG2316 →1312 times
κεκάθικεν.¶has sat down.
kekathikenG2523 →44 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Philippians 1:6being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
it leads to
- 1 Thessalonians 5:23–24
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your entire spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
- Philippians 2:13
For it is God who works in you to will and to act on behalf of His good purpose.
- Ephesians 4:12
to equip the saints for works of ministry and to build up the body of Christ,
- Hebrews 13:20–21
Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep,
- Psalms 138:8
The LORD will fulfill His purpose for me. O LORD, Your loving devotion endures forever— do not abandon the works of Your hands.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:23–24
Through
Hebrews 1:3The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His nature, upholding all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the…
it leads to
- Colossians 1:15–17
The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
- Colossians 1:15–17
Through
Micah 7:7But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.
it leads to
- Lamentations 3:25–26
The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.
- Lamentations 3:25–26
Through
1 Peter 3:18For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit,
it leads to
- Hebrews 9:28
so also Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who eagerly await Him.
- Hebrews 9:28
Where this verse is studied
By subject
Faith34 verses
Suffering35 verses
On this page
Studies41
On this verse
On this chapter
- The General Epistles
- Cain and Abel
- Edom, the nation of Esau
- Esau
- Eternal Security, and the Five Warnings of Hebrews
- The Hall of Faith
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About Hebrews
This page draws on 22 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, PREDESTINATION OF THE SAINTS 31; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2037: “The Rule of the Race” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Charles Spurgeon, The New Park Street Pulpit, Sermon No. 236: “The Shameful Sufferer” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lecture 15:1; Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS; Gregory of Nyssa, AGAINST EUNOMIUS 5.5; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, HOMILIES ON THE PSALMS 16 (PSALM 83); John Chrysostom, Homily on Hebrews 28; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Mark Virkler, 4 Keys to Hearing God – You Can Hear God's Voice! (Elijah List article); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Oecumenius, The Pseudo-Oecumenian Catena on Hebrews; Sir Robert Anderson, Types in Hebrews; Theodoret of Cyrus, INTERPRETATION OF HEBREWS 12; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Hebrews and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Hebrews.