Look to Jesus, the Risen King

Hebrews 12:1 points back to the “cloud of witnesses” in Hebrews 11. How does reflecting on the faith of others (see Hebrews 11:32–40) encourage you in your current struggles? Who are specific believers (past or present) that strengthen your faith to keep going?

What “hindrances” (weights) are slowing down your walk with Christ right now? Read 1 Corinthians 10:23 and 2 Peter 1:5–8. Are there good things in your life that have become distractions from growing in your walk with Christ? How will you lay them aside this week?

Hebrews 12:1 calls us to lay aside “the sin that so easily ensnares.” Which sins tend to entangle you most (e.g., selfishness, love of money, lust or other), and how do passages like Romans 6:12–14 and Colossians 3:5–10 instruct you to deal with them?

What does it practically look like for you to “run with endurance” in this season of life? How do Galatians 6:9 and James 1:2–4 shape your understanding of perseverance through trials? William Barclay describes “endurance”: “That determination, unhasting and unresting, unhurrying and yet undelaying, which goes steadily on, and which refuses to be deflected. Obstacles will not daunt it; delays will not depress it; discouragements will not take its hope away. It will halt neither for discouragement from within nor for opposition from without.”

Hebrews 12:2 says to keep your eyes on Jesus. What are some specific ways you tend to take your eyes off Christ, and how can you intentionally refocus on Him?

Jesus is called the “pioneer and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). How does His perfect life and sacrificial death (see Hebrews 4:15–16; 10:14) give you confidence when you feel weak or discouraged?

How does meditating on the cross—Jesus enduring suffering “for the joy set before Him” (Hebrews 12:2; cf. Romans 5:8; Galatians 3:13)—reshape the way you view your own suffering and sacrifices for Christ?

Dennis E. Johnson: “The shame of execution on a cross was well known across the Greco-Roman world among both pagans and Jews, for whom it bore the added stigma of God’s curse (Deut. 21:22–23; 1 Cor. 1:18–25; Gal. 3:13; cf. Acts 5:30; 10:39; 13:29). Jesus’ suffering on the cross, however, transformed its shame and reproach (Heb. 13:12–13) into an occasion for Christian boasting (Gal. 6:14).” 

Jesus is now risen and seated at the right hand of God, interceding for believers (Romans 8:34). How does His resurrection and ongoing work give you hope and motivation to keep running the race (see 1 Corinthians 15:54–58)?