Looking Unto Jesus

Looking Unto Jesus

“’…looking unto Jesus…’ (Hebrews 12:2) Only these three words, but in these three words is the whole secret of life” (Monod). The secret of life is what everyone is looking for; there have been songs written about it, movies produced about it, and lives wasted in search of it. Everyone today is looking for something to put faith in, but putting one’s faith in anything of this world is hopeless. People disappoint, natural disasters happen, treasures are lost, beauty fades. Jesus is the one constant. I Peter 1:2-3 talks of an inheritance that is found in Jesus Christ and will not fade away (New Inductive Study Bible). He is eternal (Revelation 22:13) and the only One worthy of faith. He is worthy of faith because He is faithful (Hebrews 10:23). We look unto Him because in this faithfulness He is our example. As Hebrews 12:2 explains, Jesus endured for a time and then rested. We will do the same, but first we have to endure. Without first enduring Christ would not have been able to rest. The common culture today is characterized with a desire to get something for nothing. Internet scams are built, diets are created, and machines are invented all around this idea. But the Christian life does not follow this same line of thinking. Some might say that this “something for nothing” line of thinking is the foundation of the Christian life since salvation is given freely to all who believe. But while salvation is given freely, it was far from free. Jesus Christ, the second Person of the Godhead, emptied Himself and humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, and it was because of this that God highly exalted Him (Philippians 2:7-9). Just as that first phase of salvation, justification, was far from free, so the third phase of salvation, the saints coming into their inheritance with Christ in the Messianic Age to come (Richards), is far from free. As Christians we must endure the sufferings, hardships, and trials of this life. How is this possible? Just as that first phase of salvation was impossible for us to accomplish on our own, so the third phase of salvation is impossible for us to accomplish on our own. We must fix our eyes on Jesus, putting our faith in Him to save us as He did before.

Why is this faith so crucial to the Christian life? In order to know why faith is so crucial, it is important to know what faith is. Faith is simply believing God, committing oneself to what He has said (Barth 275). Faith is basically appropriation. It is using what belongs to us (Bosworth). Faith is crucial because it is the foundation of the Christian life. Hebrews 11:6 says, “And without faith it is impossible to please Him…” (New Inductive Study Bible). As has already been mentioned, Christians must endure suffering, hardships, and trials of this life. As J. Dwight Pentecost puts it, “Suffering is the necessary prerequisite for maturity” (204). So when these hardships arise, the Christian has two options: to walk by sight, focusing on the troubles, obstacles, and enemies, or to walk by faith, focusing on Christ and what He is doing through these troubles, obstacles, and enemies. Trusting what God says of us is true is the foundation we stand on when facing these adversaries. We can fight doubt by having faith that we are “accepted in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:6); we can fight fear by having faith that God is sovereign (Psalm 103:19); we can even fight death by having faith that we have eternal life (John 3:16). Faith is the foundation on which we can stand and fight.

This faith that is the foundation of the Christian life is not just faith in anything. As the book of Hebrews sets forth, Jesus Christ is the one object of our faith. God is the only One worthy of our faith. There is no one higher. He even has to swear by Himself because there is no one greater than He (Hebrews 6:13). And since Jesus Christ is God, as God the Father refers to Him in Hebrews 1:8 (New Inductive Study Bible), no one is greater than He. For some reason Jew and Gentile alike try to find other objects to put their faith in, but the writer of Hebrews puts all the possibilities under the feet of Jesus. He is higher than the angels (Hebrews 1:4); He is higher than Moses (Hebrews 3:3); He is even higher than the High Priest due to His being designated as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek (Hebrews 5:10). The Melchizedekian priesthood is greater than the Levitical priesthood (Hebrews 7:7). Its greatness is portrayed in two main reasons. As priest Jesus Christ enters the true holy place, into heaven itself, whereas the Levitical priests entered a mere copy of the true one (Hebrews 7:24). Also, Jesus Christ’s priesthood is permanent whereas the Levitical priests were prevented by death from continuing (Hebrews 7:23-24). Through all of these examples, the writer of Hebrews establishes Jesus Christ’s pre-eminence, making Him the only object of our ever so crucial faith.

The importance and the Object of our faith have been established, but what does this faith in Christ actually do for us? First, this faith frees us. Faith places all our confidence on the One who is able, Christ, rather than on the one who is unable, self. We can work in ourselves but the product won’t last for long, and ultimately will be ineffective. However, faith looks to Christ to do the work, making the product permanent and effective. I Corinthians 3:11 states, “For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (New Inductive Study Bible). The product of man’s work is wood, hay, and straw which will be burned up in the fire of judgment, but the product of Christ’s work is gold, silver, and precious stones, which will remain and result in reward (I Corinthians 3:12-15). Faith frees us from the burden of living the Christian life and places that burden on One who is able, Jesus Christ. Second, this faith produces patient endurance. “If by faith we have assurance, confidence, and conviction, we will of necessity patiently endure until we realize that which we confidently expect” (Pentecost 175). Hebrews 12:1 exhorts the reader to “run with endurance the race that is set before us” (New Inductive Study Bible). This race is not a sprint; it is a marathon. The faith we have gives us something to look forward to which will sustain us through the long race. We even have witnesses to encourage us in this way. The eleventh chapter of Hebrews is commonly referred to as the “Hall of Faith.” All of the people in this chapter were looking to something in the future. They did not receive what was promised (Hebrews 11:39), but they were able to endure because they laid hold of the promise by faith (Pentecost 197). This is how they could patiently endure, and that is how we can patiently endure. We look forward to a future hope.

What is this hope that we look forward to and how is faith in Christ related to it? Our hope is to share Jesus Christ’s inheritance, but even within this future hope we are given a present hope, a hope that Jesus Christ is able to carry us through any trial unto the end (Richards). In Hebrews 1:14, we are referred to as “those who will inherit salvation” (New Inductive Study Bible). The salvation emphasized in the book of Hebrews is future glorification, the church saints sharing with Christ His glorious inheritance and authority over the earth in the Millennial Kingdom (Richards). Some may say that this salvation, this hope, has nothing to do with our faith in Christ as far as patient endurance is concerned because it was secure at the moment of our justification. But Hebrews 2:3 says that we can “neglect so great a salvation,” and Hebrews 2:2 says “every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty” (New Inductive Study Bible). These statements imply a penalty will be the result of neglect. Yes, co-residence in heaven, shared intimacy of sons, and conformity to Christ is secure, but co-heirship with Christ over the universe and sharing with Christ His reign over the earth can be lost (Richards). This privilege, this rest, is our hope, what we can look forward to in order to keep us patiently enduring. It is the assurance, confidence, and conviction that will bring about our endurance until we realize what we confidently expect. But it can only be realized through faith in Christ. The Israelites were unable to enter into their rest due to unbelief (Hebrews 3:19), so it stands to reason that the only way to enter into rest is through belief (Hebrews 4:3). But a future rest is not the only hope we have. We also have the present hope of Jesus as the “Captain of our salvation.” He goes before us and paves the way in every phase of our salvation (Richards). He hasn’t just left us on our own to look forward to rest in the future. We can look to Him for relief in the present as well. Two of the reasons for His incarnation were to come to the aid of those who are tempted and to render Satan powerless to hold men in bondage (Hebrews 2:14, 18). So even now by fixing our eyes on Christ, we are able to have relief from our enemies, the world, the flesh, and the devil, allowing us to patiently endure until our future, permanent rest is realized. Therefore, this faith should be a personal part of each of our lives.

For me, personally, looking unto Jesus means knowing who He is. The word translated “looking” or “fixing” in Hebrews 12:2 includes the idea of turning away from other things. So by focusing on who He is, I am not focusing on other things such as myself and my struggles or enemies. If I am looking unto Jesus, I am not looking unto myself. My troubles, struggles, irritations, annoyances, and sin mainly come from my being focused on myself and how I am either not getting what I want or getting something I do not want. If my focus is instead on Christ then those troubles, struggles, irritations, and annoyances can be put in perspective and my response can be Christ-like rather than selfish, resulting in less sin and a better testimony. If I am looking unto Jesus, I am not looking at the world, its rules and examples and customs (Monod). It’s easy to get caught up in what the world says is “right” or “acceptable” since I am living in it and am surrounded by it. But if my eyes are on Jesus then I will be looking at the world through His perspective and will know the truth of what is right and acceptable. I will not be easily deceived and manipulated by the world. If I am looking unto Jesus, I am not looking unto Satan. I will not be terrified by him, enticed by him, or deceived by him because I know the truth (Monod). I will see that while he is powerful, Jesus is more powerful and controls Satan. I will not give into his flatteries because I will know who I am in Christ and will not need to find any affirmation in Satan. I will not be deceived by Satan because I will be walking in the Spirit and be armed with the full armor of God (Ephesians 6:11). Jesus Christ is the answer to my every need both in this life and in eternity.