Walking the Road of Faithfulness

It’s Palm Sunday. We are getting close to the end of our journey through the book of Hebrews. In fact, if you have been following our reading plan through Hebrews, this was the week when we read through all the heroes of faith listed in chapter 11. One of the most curious I find on that list of faith heroes is Enoch. We have probably heard of just about everyone else on that list of people in Hebrews 11. By faith Noah…by faith Abraham…by faith Joseph…by faith Moses, and on down the line. But who is Enoch and why does he get a spot on the faith-heroes list? Here is what it says about Enoch in Hebrews 11.

Hebrews 11:5–6 NIV

5 By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

How is it that Enoch is commended for pleasing God? The only thing we really know about Enoch is that he shows up in one of those genealogy passages that just lists a family tree. Genesis 5 traces the lineage from Adam to Noah; the entire chapter is basically only a list of names. Here is what it says in Genesis 5 about Enoch.

Genesis 5:21–24 NIV

21 When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. 22 After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked faithfully with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. 23 Altogether, Enoch lived a total of 365 years. 24 Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.

Enoch embraced faith as not just something to believe, but as a way to live—a way to walk with God

Twice in that passage it says that Enoch walked faithfully with God. That was the thing which God commended in Enoch and that is the reason why he shows up as a hero in Hebrews 11. He walked with God. Faith is a walk; faith is a journey that moves. I think it is more accurate to say that life as a whole moves. As our days turn into months and our months turn into years, you and I get older—our lives move on a journey. The heroes of faith we encounter in Hebrews 11 are people who journeyed through life, but did so in such a way that faith was woven into that journey. What strikes me about Enoch is that there are no specific examples of amazing or extraordinary things that he did which set him apart. For all we know, Enoch was just an ordinary person who lived an ordinary life filled with ordinary activity. But the walk of Enoch’s ordinary life was woven together with faith. Enoch walked with God. Day in and day out, it seems that Enoch embraced faith as not just something to believe, but as a way to live—a way to walk with God.

witnesses in the sense that they have given witness; they have shown the way; they have demonstrated what a faith that walks with God looks like

And so, Enoch joins this pantheon of heroes in the faith hall of fame. And after the author of Hebrews lists them all out for us in chapter 11, we turn the corner in chapter 12 to see what this collection of faith heroes has to do with us, and with our walk of faith. It is these heroes of faith which Hebrews 12 refers to as a ‘great cloud of witnesses.’ Not witnesses in the sense that they are watching us. Witnesses in the sense that they have given witness; they have shown the way; they have demonstrated what a faith that walks with God looks like. And now in chapter 12 that walk becomes a run—a race.

Hebrews 12:1–3 NIV

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

passage as a bridge — transition from looking back to looking ahead

This is a bridge passage in Hebrews. It is connecting two sections together. As we come close to the end of Hebrews, the author is trying to tie together all that has been said about Jesus in a way that brings some personal application to the readers—to us. All this business we looked at in the past weeks about Jesus being the high priest who makes atonement for sin once and for all, it makes a difference for how we walk with God in faith. Let’s consider how these verses work as a bridge. It is a transition from looking back to looking ahead.

Looking back – the great cloud of witnesses

Let’s pay some attention to what this great cloud of witnesses means in Hebrews. What is it about the walk of faith to which these heroes of faith are bearing witness? Keeping in mind everything that Hebrews has had to say about Jesus the high priest, what are we supposed to take away from these witnesses of faith?

heroes of faith faced unexpected events

I’ve already talked about Enoch; but what about the others? I think the remarkable thing to notice in the stories of faith which show up in Hebrews 11 is how unexpected these events came in the lives of those who faced it. I don’t think Noah expected that there would have to be a time in his life when walking with God in faith would mean building a giant boat. I don’t think Abraham expected that there would be a time in his life when walking with God in faith would mean leaving everything behind and moving to a place he had never seen. I don’t think Joseph expected that there would be a time in his life when walking with God in faith would mean being sold as a slave to Egypt and thrown in prison. I don’t think Moses expected that there would be a time in his life when walking with God in faith would mean wandering around in the wilderness for the last two-thirds of his life.

walking with God in faith continually confronts us with the unexpected

What is it that this great cloud of witnesses shows us about walking with God in faith? If anything, it shows us that walking with God in faith continually confronts us with the unexpected. We need to spend a little time with that. We need to spend time there because we all need to admit that we most often do not like unexpected turns in life. Can we admit that? I love it when my walk of faith with God turns out exactly the way I expect. We all love that. We live in a country where health-and-wealth prosperity gospel teachers write books about living your best life now to achieve the realization of a faith which meets all your expectations. That’s a lie. Not one of these heroes of faith in Hebrews 11 lived the life they expected. We need to stop making faith about chasing after and trying to achieve all our expectations.

first Christians living among the Jewish people would come to face some intense persecution from the Jewish rulers

Don’t misunderstand me. There is nothing wrong with setting goals and reaching for achievements. In fact, these verses from Hebrews 12 do exactly that—sets before us a goal and an achievement. Yet it seems that the most noteworthy features of a faith that walks with God show up when life takes a turn for the unexpected. Can you keep the goal and the achievement in front of you when the unexpected comes along? Let’s put a little historical context around the writing of Hebrews. This was a letter written to the first generation of Jewish Christians. Those first Christians living among the Jewish people would come to face some intense persecution from the Jewish rulers. Even as the letter of Hebrews is filled with all this teaching about Jesus being the high priest who makes atonement for sin, it is a message written to a group of people facing some rather severe hardship.

week that began with Jesus the king to be exalted ends with Jesus the villain to be executed

Let’s catch up to this present moment. We are here today on Palm Sunday. This is the day when we remember Jesus riding into Jerusalem amid a crowd of people cheering him on and shouting hosanna. What were they expecting? A good number of them were looking for a political savior who would overthrow the Roman occupiers in the land and return Israel to its glory days of prominence like the times of David and Solomon. When it turns out that Jesus did not meet the expectations of those who gathered that day, those shouts of hosanna turned into shouts of crucify later that same week. How on earth did that all turn around so quickly? A week that began with Jesus the king to be exalted ends with Jesus the villain to be executed. How quickly a faith that walks with God turns when the unexpected happens.

discipleship fatigue — frustration and tiredness of a spiritual life which does not meet our expectations

Let me give this a name. Let’s call it discipleship fatigue. The past few years has shown us something about fatigue, and we have attached the term to a few of our experiences. Our society in the past two years has coined the term pandemic fatigue, or maybe you have heard of Zoom fatigue. Zoom fatigue is a tiredness of having too many online video-conference meetings. Pandemic fatigue is a tiredness of having to deal with pandemic. I heard one person put it this way: I am tired of having people say we are living in unprecedented times; can’t we just go back to precedented times now? Precedented—in other words, expected—a pattern of life which meets our expectations. Frustration, tiredness, fatigue. Have you found those to be the kinds of words that describe certain parts of life in the past few years? There is certainly something in these verses from Hebrews for us today as well.

Looking ahead – the race marked out for us

what is the command for us in verses 1-3?

let us throw off everything that hinders…let us run with perseverance…fix our eyes on Jesus…consider him who endured opposition

This is where this passage from Hebrews 12 takes us from looking back to looking ahead. If you have known moments of fatigue in your walk of life, then there is something here for you. I only chose three verses for us to read today, so I think we can give this a pretty close look. And it kind of appears in our English translation that there are a number of commands in these three verses. Let us throw off everything that hinders…let us run with perseverance…fix our eyes on Jesus…consider him who endured opposition. There seems to be this barrage of things we ought to do in these verses.

walking with God is a race that requires perseverance

how do we walk with God when discipleship fatigue sets in? by throwing off things that hinder, by fixing our eyes on Jesus, and by considering him who endured opposition

In the original Greek, though, these verses are constructed around only one main clause. There is really only one command here, and everything else is subordinate to that one main thing. In Greek verses 1-2 are all one sentence. Our English Bibles break that apart into three sentences. The main action comes in the opening of that second sentence in verse 1. “Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” That phrase is the center point of these three verses. Walking with God is a journey that requires perseverance. Everything else in these three verses are descriptions of how to do that, how to persevere in your walk with God. How do we walk with God when discipleship fatigue sets in? By throwing off things that hinder, by fixing our eyes on Jesus, and by considering (pondering/meditating upon/fill your thoughts) him who endured opposition.

“so that you will not grow weary and lose heart”

Jesus—the one who is the pioneer and perfecter of our faith | Jesus—the one who endured the cross | Jesus—the one who sat down at the right hand of the Father (meaning, the work is complete) | Jesus—the one who endures opposition from sinners

The passage ends with this: “so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Because what happens when you fix your eyes on Jesus? What happens when you fill your thoughts with the gospel of Jesus? There are clues tucked in these words. Jesus—the one who is the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. Jesus—the one who endured the cross. Jesus—the one who sat down at the right hand of the Father (meaning, the work is complete). Jesus—the one who endures opposition from sinners.

whatever you and I lack in our walk with God, Jesus makes up for it

Here is what the writer of Hebrews is after. Whatever you and I lack in our walk with God, Jesus makes up for it. On those days of discipleship fatigue when it feels like you just cannot keep up this walk of faith with God, this is where Jesus steps in and says, I’ll bring the walk to you. Every time you face one of those unexpected turns in life which leaves you thinking to yourself, I just don’t have it in me to take another step closer to God, this is where Jesus steps in and says, I’ll take a step closer to you.

our walk of faith centers on the faithfulness of Jesus

Those steps that bring Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday are steps that Jesus takes closer to you. The steps Jesus takes during that week which bring him to the cross on Good Friday are steps that Jesus takes closer to you. How do we run that race with perseverance? We do it by always living in a way which acknowledges that—no matter how many unexpected turns life takes—Jesus is always faithful to step towards you in those moments. Our walk of faith centers on the faithfulness of Jesus.