Summary
The Joy Set Before Him
Hebrews 12:2 gives us a striking phrase: Jesus, "for the sake of 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." What was that joy? Understanding it opens up not only the heart of Christ's mission but the shape of the Christian life itself.
The chapter begins with a "therefore" that points back to Hebrews 11, the so-called Hall of Faith. Strikingly, this is not a roster of the morally pristine. Noah got drunk, Abraham lied about his wife, Moses committed murder, Rahab was a prostitute. They are listed as witnesses—better, testifiers—not because their lives were spotless, but because God's faithfulness was. The slate has been wiped clean by the blood of Christ, and their testimony stands as evidence of God's reliability toward sinners.
On the basis of that great cloud of witnesses, the Letter to the Hebrews gives the Church three exhortations. First, lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely. The text carefully distinguishes "weight" from "sin." A weight is something not necessarily sinful in itself—hard work, for example—but which can entangle the believer when it crowds out family, worship, or faith. "The sin," with its definite article, set against the backdrop of the Hall of Faith, is unbelief itself, the great opposite of faith. Second, run with perseverance the race that is set before us. This race is no sprint but a marathon, the kind St. Paul describes when he speaks of finishing his course Acts 20:24 and pressing on toward the goal Philippians 3:13-14. Third, look to Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. He gives us something to believe—sin atoned for, the tomb empty, Christ reigning and returning—and He Himself births faith in us and carries it to completion Philippians 1:6.
The image behind "the race" comes alive against the ancient Greek agon games—from which we get the word agony. These were not pleasure jogs; they were grueling marathons run with eyes fixed on the pedestal at the finish, where a wreath waited as the prize. That is the picture Hebrews paints of Christ's own course. He ran in agony toward a prize that lay beyond the cross.
What was that prize, that joy set before Him? Jesus Himself names it in His high priestly prayer: "I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed" John 17:4-5. The joy set before Christ was the finishing of His work—the cry "It is finished" from the cross where the world's sin was atoned for—and His exaltation, His elevation back to the Father's right hand. Faithful to why He came, He endured the shame because that joy lay ahead.
Paul echoes the same pattern at the end of his life: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness" 2 Timothy 4:7-8. The joy that sustained Paul was the same joy promised to all who long for Christ's appearing—elevation into heaven itself.
This is crucial: the three exhortations of Hebrews 12 are not the means by which we earn heaven. Baptized child of God, the wreath has already been placed upon you. Heaven is already yours by grace, given in the waters of Baptism, where God called you His own and gave you faith. The exhortations are not a ladder to climb but the shape of a life lived by those for whom the prize is already secured. So run, Church—persevere by the grace of God, lay aside what entangles, fix your eyes on Jesus—and run knowing the joy set before you: the joy of your own exaltation on the day Christ takes you home. Jesus' joy is our joy.
Video citations
- "The Joy Set Before Him" — Let's open our Bibles, please, to the Book of Hebrews this morning. Hebrews the 12th chapter for our study. This is sermon number three in a series that we have simply entitled Joy. And during this…