Looking Unto Jesus

On Christmas Day some years ago, a little boy was seen going in and out of his church several times. When asked, “What gift did you ask of the Christ child?” he replied, “I didn’t ask for anything. I was just in there loving Him for a little while.”

Jones, G. C. (1986). 1000 illustrations for preaching and teaching (p. 63). Broadman & Holman Publishers.

I suppose when you boil it all down, this is exactly what the Christian life comes down to… learning to love Jesus for a while. Salvation is not earned, it is a free gift to be accepted by faith.

2 Corinthians 5:21 KJV

For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Ephesians 2:8–9 KJV

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Anything we are able to do is because of the Grace or unmerited favor bestowed upon us. So our motivation to do anything to please God need not be fear but love.

1 John 4:19 KJV

We love him, because he first loved us.

So then the key to doing the right things with the right heart is to develop an intimate personal love relationship with Jesus. We must grow in the knowledge and experience of His unmerited favor.

2 Peter 3:18 KJV

But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.

This brings us to the theme for Evangelical Baptist Church for the coming year:

To Know Jesus More in 2024.

This was something the Apostles exhorted believers to perfect, a love relationship with Jesus.

Ephesians 3:14–19 KJV

For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

In our text this morning we find the writer of Hebrews trying to encourage persecuted and exhausted first century saints to keep going, to run the marathon of the Christian life with passion and purpose. He starts be telling them to imagine the crowd of saints who have already made it to heaven, cheering them on. Verse 2 gives us another powerful motivation. It is one that we will meditate upon this morning and continue to reflect upon all year. In order to stir up our resolve, passion and love, we must be Looking Unto Jesus.

Hebrews 12:2 (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.

The word “looking” is aphorao (ἀφοραο) “to turn the eyes away from other things and fix them on something.” The word also means “to turn one’s mind to a certain thing.” Both meanings are applicable here, the spiritual vision turned away from all else and together with the mind, concentrated on Jesus.

Wuest, K. S. (1997). Wuest’s word studies from the Greek New Testament: for the English reader (Vol. 10, p. 214). Eerdmans.

Because of Who Jesus Is

The Author Of Our Faith

Hebrews 5:9 KJV

And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;

Messiah is called the author of our faith. The word “author” is the translation of archegon (ἀρχεγον)… the scope of The word is made up of ago (ἀγο) “to lead,” and arche (ἀρχε), “the first.” The compound word means “the chief leader, one that takes the lead in anything and thus furnishes the example.” In our passage it describes Jesus as the One “who in the pre-eminence of His faith far surpasses the examples of faith commemorated in chapter 11” (Vincent).

Wuest, K. S. (1997). Wuest’s word studies from the Greek New Testament: for the English reader (Vol. 10, p. 215). Eerdmans.

The Finisher of our Faith.

Philippians 1:6 KJV

Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

He is also the finisher of the faith spoken of in these chapters. The word is teleioo (τελειοο) which means “to carry through completely, to finish, to make perfect or complete.” Our Lord in His life of faith on earth, became the perfect or complete example of the life of faith. Thayer speaks of our Lord as “one who has in his own person raised faith to its perfection and so set before us the highest example of faith.”

Wuest, K. S. (1997). Wuest’s word studies from the Greek New Testament: for the English reader (Vol. 10, p. 215). Eerdmans.

Because of What Jesus Did

Exchange His Preincarnate Joy

Hebrews 12:2 (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.

The words “who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross,” are usually interpreted as meaning that the Lord Jesus endured the cross in order that He might obtain certain joy which was placed before Him as a reward for His sufferings. But this interpretation is based upon an erroneous use of the preposition “for.” The Greek preposition is anti (ἀντι), the predominant use of which in the first century was “instead of.” It is so used in Luke 11:11 where we have, “If he asked a fish, will he for (anti (ἀντι), instead of) a fish give him a serpent?” The word “set” is the translation of prokeimenes (προκειμενες) literally “lying before.”

Wuest, K. S. (1997). Wuest’s word studies from the Greek New Testament: for the English reader (Vol. 10, pp. 215–216). Eerdmans.

Luke 11:11 (KJV)

If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?

Vincent says, “The joy was the full, divine beatitude of His preincarnate life in the bosom of the Father; the glory which He had with God before the world was. In exchange for this He accepted the Cross and the shame.

Wuest, K. S. (1997). Wuest’s word studies from the Greek New Testament: for the English reader (Vol. 10, p. 216). Eerdmans.

Endured The Cross

Philippians 2:8 KJV

And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

Hebrews 2:9 KJV

But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.

Despised The Shame

Greek word kataphroneō, rendered as “despising” by the KJV, means to treat someone or something as though he or it had little value. Jesus uses the word when he speaks to the impossibility of serving two masters (Matt. 6:24): One master will be loved and the other “scorned.” When the author of Hebrews says that Jesus “endured the cross, scorning its shame,” he uses powerful imagery to which hearers of the first century would have been attuned. Crucifixion was the lowest form of capital punishment in the ancient world, reserved for slaves and criminals and consisting of a perverse mix of humiliation and torture. As such, it was a most intense form of scorning. In crucifixion the Roman and Jewish officials treated Jesus as valueless.

Arnold, C. E. (2002). Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary: Hebrews to Revelation. (Vol. 4, p. 75). Zondervan.

Because of What Jesus Is Doing Right Now

Hebrews 12:2 (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.

He Is Interceding For Us

Hebrews 8:1 KJV

Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;

Hebrews 9:24 KJV

For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:

He Is Seated At God’s Right Hand Until His Enemies Are Made His Footstool

Psalm 110:1 KJV

The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, Until I make thine enemies thy footstool.

Hebrews 1:13 KJV

But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?

He Is Seated At The Right Hand Of God Having Won The Victory

Hebrews 1:3 KJV

Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

Hebrews 10:12 KJV

But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;

Acts 5:31 KJV

Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.

Revelation 3:21 KJV

To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.

The words “is set down” are in the perfect tense in the Greek text, the idea being that He, after His work of providing a salvation was finished, sat down, and remains seated. He need never arise and repeat His work on the Cross for sinners. It is a finished work. He is not only seated, but He occupies the position of preeminence, at the right hand of God.

Wuest, K. S. (1997). Wuest’s word studies from the Greek New Testament: for the English reader (Vol. 10, p. 216). Eerdmans.

This passage is exhilarating for Christians even without the context. But the context of the athletic games adds a further layer of depth that’s not there without it. Athletes competed in the games to win the prize at the end. In the ancient Greek and Roman games, the prize at the end generally was a laurel crown. It was not worth much itself, but earning it brought considerable fame. In the ancient world, fame was difficult to acquire. People were typically famous due to noble birth, inherited wealth, or military genius and prowess. Through athletics, people could become well-known, improve their standing, and enter a new realm of life as the champion. After those games, the winner was granted the honor of sitting with royalty. This is how the author describes Christ at the end of his race. Christ endured the cross for us, not because he was looking for monetary or societal gain or because he wanted to wear a laurel crown. Instead, he despised the shame, refusing to see it as shame, and wore the crown of thorns for our good and his Father’s glory.

Mohler, R. A., Jr. (2017). Exalting jesus in hebrews (pp. 196–197). Holman Reference.

Conclusion:

Ok… we get it, we should be looking unto Jesus, because of who He is, what He has done and what He is doing… but how can we do that exactly? I have a few suggestions that can help us build our faith and our relationship with Jesus as we do exactly that.

Commit to Reading Through The Gospels 4x in 2024 according to the Bible Reading schedule available on the table in the back.

Take notes on your daily reading. Pay attention to what you are learning about Jesus as a person every day. Be ready to share this on Wednesday nights as we discuss this together.

Take notes as we travel through the Gospel of John together on Sundays. Again record what you are learning about Jesus as a person. Do the same thing on Wednesday nights as we glean truths found in our daily devotions.

Pray to Jesus aloud conversationally about what you are learning about Him. Pray after every devotion. Pray after every message or Bible Study. The more you apply what you are learning in your relationship with Him, the deeper and more intimate your love will be for Him.

Legend has it that a wealthy merchant traveling through the Mediterranean world looking for the distinguished Pharisee, Paul, encountered Timothy, who arranged a visit. Paul was, at the time, a prisoner in Rome. Stepping inside the cell, the merchant was surprised to find a rather old man, physically frail, but whose serenity and magnetism challenged the visitor. They talked for hours. Finally the merchant left with Paul’s blessing. Outside the prison, the concerned man inquired, “What is the secret of this man’s power? I have never seen anything like it before.”

“Did you not guess?” replied Timothy. “Paul is in love.” The merchant looked bewildered. “In love?”

“Yes,” the missionary answered, “Paul is in love with Jesus Christ.”

The merchant looked even more bewildered. “Is that all?” Smiling, Timothy replied, “That is everything.”

Jones, G. C. (1986). 1000 illustrations for preaching and teaching (p. 225). Broadman & Holman Publishers.