Since, therefore, we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses to the power of faith, as those given us in chapter 11, the exhortation comes in very fittingly to lay aside every weight and sin which so easily entangles us in the race, and to run with endurance the race set before us. It may be asked, What is a "weight"? It is anything that hinders in the race. No athlete, for example, would think of running a race with a heavy cloak on; he would at once be conscious that it was a hindrance, and throw it aside. May God give us grace, then, to cast aside whatever hinders us in running on with endurance in the path of faith, whether that hindrance be a weight or a sin! We have then the example of Jesus Himself. He is the beginner and finisher of faith. It would have been much better had the translators left out the word "our," printed in italics in our Bibles, as it gives the impression that the subject in hand is the perfecting of our faith. The previous chapter gave us many bright examples of those who lived, in part at least, some more, some less, the life of faith; but Jesus, to whom our eye is now turned, ran the whole course from beginning to end without a single faltering step. Whatever lay in the way, He went right through all to the very end. He endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. This is the One whom we have to "consider well." Are we disposed to be discouraged, to grow weary or faint? Let us then consider Him, for His path was one of reproach, of shame, of suffering even unto death itself. They had not yet resisted unto blood striving against sin, as Christ Himself did, and even some of those in chapter 11, who died a martyr's death.
Moreover another way in which suffering might come would be from the chastening hand of God. He chastens His children for their profit, in order that we may be partakers of His holiness, and so that this chastening may yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness. However trying for the time, it is all in love; in order to produce in us what is suitable to Himself.
Mount Sinai and Mount Sion are here put in contrast. The former was the place of the giving of the law, accompanied by signs which showed the majesty of the Lawgiver. The latter is associated with grace—that grace which triumphs over all man's failure. It was after everything had failed and come to ruin in Israel that God set David, His king, upon Mount Sion—the city which He chose, and where the true David will yet reign over the house of Israel forever. It is helpful to remark that the word "and" here divides the different classes named. "And unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem": from Jerusalem below the eye is directed to Jerusalem above, where all is permanent and abiding blessing. "And to an innumerable company of angels, the general assembly": here the heavenly scene unfolds itself. It gives us the surroundings of God's throne above, as it will be in the future day, but known now to faith. We read in the Psalms, "Thousands of angels," and in Revelation 5, "Many angels...the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands." They are the natural inhabitants of heaven, who do God's will. "And to the church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven": it does not say they are born there, but their names are enrolled there. Christ is called the Firstborn. He has this title according to the dignity of His Person. His people are here called the "firstborn ones," in virtue of the infinite grace which has brought them into such a place, and inscribed their names above. "And to God the Judge of all": it is not here God as Father; but He is seen, as the center of this glorious scene, as the Supreme over all. "And to the spirits of just men made perfect": these are Old Testament saints, who have finished their course here, and are seen above, awaiting the day of resurrection glory. "And to Jesus, the Mediator of the new covenant": it is not said that we are come to the new covenant, but to Jesus, the Mediator of it. As to the covenant itself, it will surely be made good to Israel in a future day. "And to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel": the blood of Abel cried for vengeance on his guilty brother, but the blood of Christ speaks of peace and salvation through grace. All these things were well calculated to encourage the Hebrew Christians (who would be naturally exposed to the danger of looking back to the law and the Jewish system) to persevere in the path of faith and to appreciate more fully the place they were brought into by grace.
The chapter closes with a solemn warning to those addressed not to refuse Him who speaks from heaven. What a remarkable "promise" is here given! "Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven." At the giving of the law He spoke on the mount; now the same person speaks from heaven. All created things shall be shaken and removed: but we who are associated with Him who created all, receive a kingdom which cannot be moved, and which will remain when all else passes away.
There are two things here mentioned which are much needed with us all, especially in these days—reverence and godly fear. The soul that is really near God is sure to be marked by these characteristics. Our God is a consuming fire. This is the God the Christian has to do with, and it is well to remember it. This need not cause dread in the heart in the smallest degree, but it is a wholesome thing to bear continually in mind that sin is abhorrent to God. He is a consuming fire against all that is unsuited to His presence.