Chapter Twelve
Heb. 12:1. Therefore we also, having around us such a cloud of witnesses,
He did not say "rising above us," but "around," that is, encompassing us from all sides. By witnesses he means not only persons of the New Testament, but also of the Old Testament, and these latter bore witness to the greatness of God, such as the three youths, and Daniel, and all the prophets. He did not say "all the multitude," but "cloud," as most fitting in the present instruction. Since those to whom the apostle was writing were engulfed by the fire of afflictions, he says that the remembrance of the witnesses, like a cloud, encompassing you from all sides, will refresh you.
Heb. 12:1. Cast off from ourselves every burden
That is, the burden of earthly occupations and the care for them. For, he says, this is nothing other than a vain burden. So why do you grieve at being freed from them?
Heb. 12:1. The sin that so easily entangles us
Either easily mastering us, or easily able to bring us into trouble. For if we so desire, we easily submit to sin. Or through sin one easily falls into trouble, for there is nothing so dangerous as sin.
Heb. 12:1. and with patience let us run the race that is set before us,
Let us run. He did not say: let us fight, or: let us struggle, but points out what was easiest in the matter of the contest; he did not say: let us intensify the contest, but: let us remain in that very contest. Some must strive through abstinence, others through mercy, others through some other virtue; but you—"with patience." For that is what you need, as was also said above.
Heb. 12:2. Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of faith,
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 house Beelzebub, how much more those of his household"; and: "A disciple is not above his teacher" (Matt. 10:24–25). What then do the words "the author and perfecter" mean? That is, He Himself implanted faith in us from the beginning: for "You did not choose Me," He says, "but I chose you" (John 15:16); and He Himself also perfects it, so that you may possess the most perfect faith.
Heb. 12:2. Who, instead of the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame,
For it was possible for Him not to suffer and not to die: being sinless, He was not subject to death, as He Himself says: "the prince of this world comes, and has nothing in Me" (John 14:30). Therefore, if He had not willed it, He would not have been crucified, as He Himself also said: "I have power to lay down (My life)" (John 10:17–18). Yet "He endured the cross," that is, not simply death, but a shameful one, and despised the disgrace of such a death. He did not say "despised sorrow," for He bore it without sorrow.
Heb. 12:2. and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Do you see the end of patience, where it leads, which he also said in another place: "therefore God also highly exalted Him" (Phil. 2:9), speaking with respect to the flesh. So then, He is able to repay you also for the afflictions endured for His sake. For the throne at the right hand shows His equality with the Father.
Heb. 12:3. Consider Him who endured such reproach against Himself from sinners,
If anyone thinks about the sufferings of fellow servants like himself and receives sufficient consolation, how much more will reflection on the sufferings of the Master, who endured such "abuse," that is, mockery, reproaches, blows to the face — things that contradicted His teaching — the cries before Pilate, and finally, the cross. It is expressively said: "such," that is, enduring unto death, and moreover — with robbers, and moreover from sinners, evidently pagans, or even the Jews themselves.
Heb. 12:3. So that you may not grow weary and faint in your souls.
Reflection on Christ will elevate your souls and restore your nerves, and will not allow you to grow weak and fall into despair under oppressions.
Heb. 12:4. You have not yet resisted unto blood,
There are two kinds of consolation, opposite to one another: one is when someone says to another, "You have suffered much, remember this"; the other is when they say, "You have not yet endured anything great." The first encourages a weary soul that has many witnesses of its suffering; the other humbles a soul that intends to exalt itself and rouses a careless one. Paul now uses both of these kinds with regard to the Hebrews. For having said above that they "endured a great struggle of sufferings" (Heb. 10:32), and having persuaded them to imitate their former selves, he now, on the contrary, shows that they have not yet accomplished anything worthy of praise, lest they become proud. And notice his wisdom. Having reminded them of the Old Testament saints who endured such great sufferings, and of the Lord Himself, he then shows that their afflictions are insignificant. For, he says, you have not yet reached the point of death; you endure persecutions and the plundering of property, but Christ went as far as death. By the word "struggled" he shows that although sin strongly resists them in some way, they remain firm and strong in the fight — one that is, admittedly, not yet favorable, but rather easy.
Heb. 12:4. Struggling against sin,
Against the devil, who is sin itself, as its inventor and instructor; or against sin itself and its shameful passions, which are hostile and destructive to us.
Heb. 12:5. and you have forgotten the exhortation,
You have sunk so low and grown so weak that you have forgotten even the words calling you to courage, though you have not yet endured anything great. For great and praiseworthy sufferings often produce forgetfulness of what is necessary.