I famously joined the band in high school to get out of PE. Now, I have to admit, this metaphor is a difficult one for me as there is not one athletic bone in my body. “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,” to the faithfulness of God, “let us also,” as they did, “lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” They stand and they say to you and me, “I bear witness that He is who He says He is and He does what He says He will do.” So why are they witnesses? They’re not witnessing me run the race, so much as they are standing witness to the faithfulness of God to all generations. This great cloud of witnesses is not looking at me, they are looking to Jesus. That’s how I read it.īut that doesn’t fit with the context of the book. I read this, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,” as, All of the people in Hebrews 11, they’re all looking down on you, Jen, and they are cheering for you, girl! They are just cheering you on as you’re running that race. And yet, in my years of reading Hebrews 12:1-2 out of context, I saw this passage as something that centered on me. And the Book of Hebrews is a letter about the supremacy of Christ.

So I say all the time that the Bible is a book about God. Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Instead of an excerpt from the study book, below is an excerpt from a transcript of Jen’s video teaching:

Jen wilkin attributes of god