This short passage speaks of Jesus as the pioneer and perfecter of faith. It is part of a longer section, 10:19-12:29, where the writer calls on his readers to persevere through faith.

v1. In chapter 11 the writer to the Hebrews lists some great ones of the past who persevered in difficult times by holding onto the promises of God; they were men and women of faith; they trusted God, though their circumstances seemed to deny what they believed. From the witness of these great ones the writer draws an application. Given that we have before us such a great number of godly men and women who persevered through faith, let us do likewise. We must run the race set before us with patient endurance. The Christian life is like a long distance foot race, it is a race where the prize is assured for all who compete, cf. 1Cor.9:24. To run the race, our author gives us some negative and positive advice.

First, we should discard any hindrance that may affect performance. There are two elements which can "easily entangle" the runner. The word here means something like "easily distract." The Christian athlete is hampered, diverted, by:

i] "Everything that hinders" - every weight that slows us down. These we must "throw off."

ii] "The sin that so easily entangles" - sins which drag on us, hold us back and finally trip us up. RSV, "sin which clings closely."

v2. The second piece of advice is that we focus on the performance of a classic athlete. Jesus is the supreme example of the Christian athlete who has run the race and reached the goal. He is the only athlete to have actually reached the goal, having now "sat down at the right hand of the throne of God". That is why he is the "pioneer" (trail-blazer, or pathfinder, is better than the NIV "author") of the life of faith. All the great ones lived a life of faith, but none have reached the goal (yet). Jesus is the only one to have finished the race, so he is the example to look too.

In the running of the race, Jesus has faced the full weight of suffering which comes upon those who choose to submit to the living God rather than the powers of this age; he "endured the cross". Jesus endured the cross, "scorning its shame", for he had his eye upon the "joy" that would be his when he crossed the finish line. This is why he is the "perfecter of faith" ("our" is not in the Gk.). Jesus sets the perfect example. Against all odds, Jesus trusted the will of God, living it out day-by-day.

v3. Therefore, "let us fix our eyes on Jesus." The Christian athlete needs to focus on the outstanding performance of Jesus. Jesus' life shows us how we can run the race of faith; he is the supreme inspirer of faith. "Consider him", therefore, the one who "endured such opposition from sinful men" and did so trusting God. We must let the example of Jesus' life inspire us in our life of faith, so that we "will not grow weary and lose heart" in the day-to-day grind of living for God in a world falling apart.

The Christian life is like a race. Living the "Way" can be described as a race to be run. Our passage for study gives us some clues about the type of race we are in and how to run it.

The race is like a long distance foot race with a finish line completely out of sight. It's a marathon. The goal is but a hope, an anticipation. We run to share in a dream, a "joy", as the writer to the Hebrews puts it. Many have run before us. Of all who have run the race, only one has yet crossed the finish line and received the prize. He is the one who is our trail-blazer. So, this is a faith-race. We run hoping that there is a stadium filled with the angelic host and a wreath of glory at the end of the run. We run in faith.

Yet, unlike most long distance runs, all who run this race receive the prize. It's a noncompetitive sport, a community game. All who compete win. All win, all get to sit in God's throne-room.

There is a downside. The race is painful. The pain barrier endured by Jesus was the "cross" and its "shame". We will find much of our time, energy, talents, tinkle.... is channeled into the service of Christ, rather than used for our own pleasure. So, the race is a wearing one. We can easily lose heart. Let us therefore "run with perseverance the race marked out for" us.

The writer to the Hebrews gives us three pieces of advice, two negative and one positive.

The first negative piece of advice is that to run the race we need to get rid of "everything that hinders" us. There are many things which hinder us in the Christian life, often things which are not evil in themselves, but which hold us back in our run with Jesus. They are the things of this world, the clutter of life.

The second negative piece of advice is that to run the race we need to negotiate "sin that so easily entangles", drags on us and trips us up.

The piece of positive advice, given by the writer to the Hebrews, is simple in the extreme, we must "fix our eyes on Jesus". A good athlete needs a brilliant example to follow. Jesus is that example. "Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

Discuss how fixing our gaze on Jesus might help us in the Christian life.