A Crowd is Cheering You On

What were you doing Sunday night, February 5? Whether you’re a big football fan or not, chances are you watched at least a portion of Super Bowl XLVI, in which the New York Giants beat the New England Patriots 21-17. It was said to be the most watched program in the history of United States television, with 111.3 million US viewers; in addition to the 69,000 fans who gathered at Lucas Oil Stadium, plus the 2.1 million viewers who watched online.

The week prior to the game, my thoughts raced to the great crowd of spectators who would congregate and fill the stadium.  The image prompted Hebrews 12:1 to come to mind.  “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”

What does it mean that there is a “great cloud of witnesses surrounding us”? Does it mean that there is a crowd of deceased loved ones and saints sitting in a heavenly stadium watching our every move, praying we make good decisions?

In my younger years and before in-depth study of the Scriptures, I believed that to be the case. However, after study, I have come to understand that there are two kinds of witnesses: the kind that watch and the kind that speak. Hebrews 12:1 describes a crowd who speaks to us through the Scriptures, not watches every fumble we make. I like how Christian scholar Ray Stedman explains Hebrews 12:1.

The word “witness” can have either meaning: the act of seeing something, or the act of telling something. Which is it here? I think it is the act of telling. The verb form of this word “witness” (martureo) is used five times in Hebrews 11 ( Heb 11:2, 4) [twice], Heb 11:5, 39) and always refers to the giving of a (confirming) testimony rather than the mere watching of an event. So I take the witnesses of Hebrews 12:1 to be the saints who have run the race before us, and have gathered, as it were, along the marathon route to say, through the testimony of their lives, “By faith I finished, you can too!… This is the way all the witnesses of Hebrews 11 are helping us. They have gathered along the sidelines of our race and they hold out their wounds and their joys and give us the best high-fives we ever got: “Go for it! You can do it. By faith you can finish. You can lay the weights down and the sins. By faith, by the assurance of better things hoped for, you can do it. I did it. And I know it can be done. Run. RUN!”…There are dozens and hundreds and thousands of those who have gone before and who have finished the race by faith and surround us like a great cloud of witnesses who say: “It can be done! By faith it can be done.” *

What does that mean for us on a daily basis?If we’re consumed with guilt over something we’ve done or said, we can look to David in the crowd and hear him cheering us on, “I know how you feel. I’ve ‘been there. Done that.’ Here’s what I discovered.” (See Psalm 32) If we’re in a situation and see no way out, we can hear Joseph calling, “Don’t give up. God works on your behalf in ways that you can’t imagine. Stay faithful.” See his story in Genesis 37-42. If you feel alone, pay attention to the myriad of saints surrounding you and calling loudly through the Scriptures, “You’re NOT alone. You may not see Him, but God is with you.” See Jacob’s story in Genesis 28:10-15. Listen to Jesus’ voice in John 14:16-17, and Peter affirming, “God has ways of delivering you!” (Acts 12:1-19) Paul’s voice can assuredly be heard in the crowd of those cheering for us, “It doesn’t matter what you’ve done, Jesus forgives. Repent and call on Him for salvation and to walk in His ways.” (Acts 9:1-20, Ephesians 2:8-10).

The Giants and Patriots had a great cloud of witnesses calling out to them as they played, cheering them on. We do, too, through the Scriptures. I pray this week as you are “on the field” in your home, at work, in the throes of challenging relationships, and going for the goal, that you’ll consider the great crowd of saints cheering you on – that you can do it; that you can finish well.

Heavenly Father, thank You that You that in Your grand design You designated scribes to record the history of Your people. They, like a crowded stadium, surround and cheer us on in our daily lives. Help us study their lives and learn from them. And may we, like they, “lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us” so that as they did, we can run the race before us with endurance; with our eyes fixed on Jesus. In His Name we pray, Amen.

It’s not too late to join me at the KROC Center for the study, The Plan A Christian in a Plan B World. No prior Bible study necessary. Call 830.3315.5762. Tuesdays,12:10-12:50.

*http://www.preceptaustin.org/hebrews_121.htm