Fix your eyes on Jesus as you run your race.

 

Sermon for Palm Sunday, March 24, 2024

Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Hebrews 12:1-3  Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us get rid of every burden and the sin that so easily ensnares us, and let us run with patient endurance the race that is laid out for us.  ²Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, who is the author of our faith and the one who brings it to its goal.  In view of the joy set before him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of God’s throne.  ³Carefully consider him who endured such hostility against himself from sinful people, so that you do not grow weary and lose heart. (EHV)

Fix your eyes on Jesus as you run your race.

Dear friends in the lifetime contest,

            The subject of running doesn’t usually interest me all that much.  In fact, I have told many people that if you see me running, you better look for bears, because that’s about what it would take to make me run.  Rather than being a running enthusiast, however, this writer compares our lives here on earth to a race much like a modern triathlon or perhaps an ultramarathon.  It’s not just one lap around a track, or even one day of strenuous exercise to win a ribbon or medal.  It is hard training to build up endurance for a run that goes on day after day, up and down hills through all kinds of terrain with good or foul weather, and the only way to win is to get to the end still on the one way that leads to the prize which is heaven.  Thus, his encouragement to Fix your eyes on Jesus as you run your race.

Our text comes immediately after the writer to the Hebrews reminded them of the great heroes of faith that fill the Old Testament.  Those men and women had the lifelong challenge of running their race to meet the Messiah without ever seeing the outcome until they left this world in death.  They kept their eyes focused on the promise of a Savior, trusting that God would never let them down, and they were right in their hope and blessed eternally for their faith.

You and I must necessarily run the race of our lives by faith.  The writer explains, “Faith is being sure about what we hope for, being convinced about things we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1)  The ancient believers were blessed with eternal life because they never let go of God’s promise to send a Redeemer.  As the writer explains, you and I have the advantage of even more witnesses.  Possessing not just the testimony of those who looked forward to the fulfillment of the promise, we have the promise fulfilled in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Man, and our Savior. 

Furthermore, we have the reliable testimony of numerous eyewitnesses who saw Jesus alive and walk this earth, who experienced His miracles firsthand, or were able to interview the recipients of God’s grace through Jesus and see the change in their lives.  We have the testimony of the martyrs who, throughout the centuries, willingly laid down their lives rather than back down one smidgeon from the faith they believed in.

The disciples who had once hoped to serve Jesus in an earthly kingdom faced all kinds of opposition from neighbors and government, yet after finally understanding the victory Jesus had won, they boldly proclaimed what they had seen and experienced.  Even some of those who had opposed Jesus, and nailed His hands and feet to the cross, observed the events surrounding His death and confirmed the truth; “When the centurion and those who were guarding Jesus with him saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they were terrified and said, “Truly this was the Son of God.” (Matthew 27:54)  Still, that was nothing when compared to the events of Easter morning when the guards posted to keep the disciples from stealing the body had to go to the chief priests with the news that Jesus had risen from the dead and angels rolled the stone away.

The writer to the Hebrews said, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us get rid of every burden and the sin that so easily ensnares us, and let us run with patient endurance the race that is laid out for us.”  Imagine running a marathon on a muddy path with a bag of rocks on your back.  Why would anyone carry such a burden with no use for the weight?  That is the equivalent of us trying to slog through life with our guilt weighing us down. 

What should we do?  Whatever sins or guilt might trouble us, let us return daily to our baptisms where our Savior has washed away our sins and our guilt.  Let go of the burdens of misplaced efforts, accidental stumbles against the Commandments, mistakes that hurt others, and any intentional sins.  Take them all back to the cross where Jesus gathered all that heavy load on His own shoulders and paid the penalty of death for them all.

You can imagine how hard it would be to run through a forest with slippery stones underneath and vines and brambles running every which direction, each armed with thorns ready to grab at our ankles.  That is life in this world.  There are so many distractions that seek to pull our eyes off Jesus.  Maybe it’s the pull of wealth, or seeing an attractive person, the temptations that society puts before us, or even the ordinary duties of faithful vocations that, if taken too far, can lead us away from the path that leads to Jesus.  The Holy Spirit is warning us to beware of those things that may cause us to stumble or turn aside.  We also need to beware of the serpent, and other predators, that will tempt us to see every trouble or loss as God being unfaithful to His promises.  Yet, God showed His everlasting faithfulness by putting His own dear Son on the cross.

Therefore, the Word says, “Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, who is the author of our faith and the one who brings it to its goal.”  Jesus accomplished everything need to give us eternal life.  Here, the writer uses a rare word to say Jesus has finished our faith—He has accomplished what we seek to gain and the goal of our hope.  Jesus told His disciples, “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life.  No one comes to the Father, except through me.” (John 14:6)  As we run our race through the tangled distractions of life, we need to keep our eyes focused on the Way Jesus has cleared for us.  Not only that, but He is also the Light for our path so that as long as we go with Him, we can never get lost, so Fix your eyes on Jesus as you run your race.

The Holy Spirit gives us another intriguing detail about Jesus—”In view of the joy set before him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of God’s throne.”  We might wonder what kept Jesus going as He faced such a horrible death, made worse by the punishment of hell He knew He would have to undergo for us.  Yet, the Holy Spirit assures us it was the joy of knowing that He was accomplishing God’s love for you and me. 

We tend to think of love as someone handing out gifts and treats and speaking nice things to us.  Yet, ultimate love is doing exactly what is needed to bring a person into God’s everlasting grace.  Because sin had divided us from God, Jesus did everything needed to restore peace between God and mankind.  That means Jesus lived perfectly in harmony with God’s commands and with His will for mankind.  Without ever once stumbling or getting distracted on His mission, Jesus ran the perfect race through life so that His Father proudly testified, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (Matthew 17:5)  Then, through faith in Jesus, the righteousness He lived on our behalf is credited to all those who believe and walk in His ways.

Still, the work of reconciling us with God wouldn’t be complete without the shedding of blood for our sin.  Jesus spent His whole earthly life on a mission to save, even to the point of carrying the burden of our guilt to that cross then dying the death we deserved in our place.  In honor of the holiness Jesus lived, and the sacrifice He made, God raised Him from the dead and placed Him in authority over everything in heaven and on earth, until the day comes when He will judge all things.

Again, we are encouraged for our run, “Carefully consider him who endured such hostility against himself from sinful people, so that you do not grow weary and lose heart.”  Always keep in mind what Jesus did so that you have been relieved of every burden that would keep you from God.  Remember the sacrifice of blood that streamed from Jesus’ whipped back and sides, from the thorn crowned brow, from the nails in His hands and feet, and finally pouring from His side after He gave up His life.  That was real pain Jesus endured for you.  That was His true lifeblood that seeped down the cross and splattered on the ground.  That was Jesus’ love for sinners like me and you being demonstrated in the most awful way, so that no one could ever doubt how much Jesus loved you.

Of course, Jesus doesn’t abandon you to run this race alone.  He promises to be with you to the end. (Matthew 28:20)  Furthermore, after ascending to His Father’s side, Jesus sent His Spirit to be our Counselor, to convict us of the guilt that afflicted us, and to release us from that guilt by bringing us to believe in Jesus.  The Counselor continues to strengthen us daily through His gospel which keeps us trusting all that Jesus accomplished to reconcile us with our Creator.

Likewise, Jesus continues to strengthen us for the race with His own precious body and blood, which you will again receive this morning as medicine for your life and energizing sustenance for your soul.  In the bread and wine which He has blessed, Jesus promises that you receive His very body that was nailed to the cross, and the blood that He shed as He died to set you free from sin.

Dear friends, I have to admit that it is rather unlikely that you will see me running around town anytime soon.  You may see me walking, but if I am running, something’s gone wrong.  Yet, in regards to our spiritual life, I pray that we keep on running our race together with Jesus as our Leader and Friend, our Light and our Path.  With Jesus having cleared the way to heaven for us and guiding us on His path, we can’t lose, for He has finished the race with eternal victory for us all.  Therefore, today, and every day, Fix your eyes on Jesus as you run your race.  Amen.

May the LORD our God be with us, just as he was with our fathers.  May he never leave us or abandon us.  May he turn our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways.  Amen.