Above all the witnesses of faith listed in Hebrews 11, the author directs our eyes to Jesus. He is not just another example: He is the “founder and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). He is the origin of our belief, the one who sustains it, and the one who brings it to its glorious completion.
Jesus endured the cross, not out of mere obligation, but “for the joy that was set before Him.” He saw beyond the horror of Golgotha to the eternal redemption of His people and the glory of the Father. He faced the agony, the shame, and the hostility of sinners, not with bitterness, but with purposeful endurance (Isaiah 53:11; Philippians 2:8–11).
The shame of the cross was real public humiliation, brutal rejection, and cursed death. Yet He “despised the shame” (Hebrews 12:2), meaning He looked beyond it. He counted it as nothing in light of the joy ahead. This is not just theology, it is a call. The writer urges us: “Consider Him… so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted” (Hebrews 12:3). Jesus didn’t merely suffer: He trusted. He committed Himself to the Father even in death (Luke 23:46), leaving us an example to follow (1 Peter 2:21–23).
So what about us? The writer reminds us, “In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood” (Hebrews 12:4). It’s a sobering and motivating truth: we may suffer, we may feel weary, but we have not yet endured what our Savior endured. Whether it’s the discomfort of denying a sinful desire or the pain of facing persecution, we are called to press on, not by our own strength, but because Jesus already walked the road before us, and now walks it with us.
He is with us always (Matthew 28:20), and His Spirit strengthens us to endure, not with grim resignation, but with joy-filled trust in the One who overcame the grave. As Paul wrote, “if we suffer with Him, we will also be glorified with Him” (Romans 8:17), and even now we share in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death (Philippians 3:10).
Endurance is not a lonely task, it is a shared walk with the crucified and risen Lord. So don’t lose heart. Fix your eyes on Jesus. He endured. And because He did, you too can endure.