“Consider Him (Jesus) who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.” (Hebrews 12:3-4)
Although we will pause in our study of Daniel for a message about Easter, the theme of spiritual warfare, which we have studied in Daniel 10, could not be better illustrated than what our Lord went through in the garden of Gethsemane and on the cross. “From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.” But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.”(Matt. 16:21-23) Both Satan and mankind (the world) through Satan’s lies of self-protection and even self-exaltation, tried to tempt Jesus not to suffer and die for our sins. Then in the garden of Gethsemane we see in our Lord Jesus, for the first time in his humanity, a conflict in His will and God’s will. (Though Jesus did not have sinful flesh as fallen man does, we see in this struggle in Gethsemane His example of crying out to God for His power to say yes to the Father’s will; See Psalm 22) “And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and began to pray, saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.” And after He prayed we see God grant Jesus His power mediated through an angel: “Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him. And being in agony He was praying very fervently (or “more earnestly”), and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground.” (See Luke 22:39-44)
[“Immediately after the angel strengthens Jesus, Jesus was able to pray “more earnestly,” says Luke 22:44: “And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.” A high level of emotional agony can cause people to sweat blood. The condition, called hematidrosis, involves sweat glands hemorrhaging.” http://angels.about.com/od/AngelsReligiousTexts/f/What-Does-The-Bible-Say-About-An-Angel-Helping-Jesus-Before-The-Crucifixion.htm] [“We can conclude quite justifiably that the terminology used by the gospel writer (Dr. Luke – a physician) to refer to the severe mental distress experienced by Jesus was intended to be taken literally—i.e., that the sweat of Jesus became bloody (commonly referred to as hematidrosis). (cf. Robertson, 1930, 2:272). From these factors, it is evident that even before Jesus endured the torture of the cross, He suffered far beyond what most of us will ever suffer. His penetrating awareness of the heinous nature of sin, its destructive and deadly effects, the sorrow and heartache that it inflicts, and the extreme measure necessary to deal with it, make the passion of Christ beyond all comprehension.” http://www.apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=11&article=1086 ]
In the movie, The Passion of the Christ, Satan is visibly portrayed in Gethsemane whispering lies that tempt Jesus to not go to the cross. Also in this scene and in Scripture, Jesus models for us how to deal with temptation by 1) Asking his three key disciples (Peter, James, and John) to come with Him and support Him by praying for Him. Likewise we need to share our temptations with others who can stand with us in prayer and accountability. (James 5:16) 2) Secondly, Jesus models heartfelt, honest prayers to God in order to receive His power to overcome temptation. (Heb. 4:14-16; 5:7-8; Psalm 22) 3) Thirdly, Jesus models self-denial, “not my will but Thine be done.” 4) But He also models faith as a weapon of warfare (Eph. 6:16) in the midst of temptations. “Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the (future) joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Heb. 12:2) “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Heb. 12:1) Faith, by definition, is always future (wait on the Lord versus grab it now for myself) and always unseen. As we obey the Lord by faith we may experience (see) the blessing thereafter, but the full blessings of faith are only realized in heaven.
The Lord gave me another week-end of trials to test my faith once again in what He is showing me about spiritual warfare in Daniel 10. I spent hours of prayer Sunday morning trying to grasp what He was saying to me through this trial. As I was praying earnestly He opened up Hebrews 12:1-11 to me personally (it became rhēma not just logos). The key word for me was “resist” as modeled by Jesus as He resisted temptation to the point of shedding blood. (See “resist” as a weapon of warfare in Eph. 6:13, James 4:7; 1 Peter 5:9) As God gave me this word I resisted the enemy’s standard temptation to self-pity and self-focus (this is not fair, life is hard, etc.) which is the very temptation Satan tempted Peter with when he tried to stop Jesus from suffering the cross. “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.” (Matt. 16:21-23) Then I got this parable on Satan’s ways of temptation. Falling into sin when tempted is like buyer’s remorse. You see (sight versus faith) something you want now (and faith is always willing to wait on the Lord) and although you can’t afford it you want it now so badly that you buy it on credit. Then a few weeks or months later you have buyer’s remorse because what you bought lets you down and yet you are now stuck with years of payment (consequences) and Satan is laughing and ridiculing you to boot. The cost of disobedience is always greater than the cost of obedience (self-denial) in the long run.
Let’s look at an opposite example of buyer’s remorse as Moses lived by faith versus sight. “It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to share the oppression of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin (and experience buyer’s remorse). He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of Christ than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead (future, waiting on God) to his great reward. It was by faith that Moses left the land of Egypt, not fearing (faith kills fear) the king’s anger. He kept right on going because he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible (faith versus sight).” (Heb. 11:4-27) Note also that Daniel and his three friends are referred to as men who lived by faith (vv.33-34) as are all of the OT saints in Hebrews 11. Then the first verse of Hebrews 12 calls us to look at them, look at their example of living by faith and then look ultimately to Jesus, the Example of living by faith. And we look to Jesus not just as an example but as our Source of faith. (Gal. 2:20; Phil. 4:13) As we study and learn from real people of faith in the Bible (like we have with Daniel and his three friends) we are inspired and edified by their lives, even though they are physically dead. “Although Abel is long dead, he still speaks to us by his example of faith.” (Heb. 11:4)
Application: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses (Daniel and the OT saints in Hebrews 11) let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us (the Greek word for “race” is “agon” (like agony) and it means conflict, fight, or contention), fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy (future reward) set before him (by faith) he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (He was/is exalted to the highest place; rewarded for His faith and obedience). Consider him (think about Jesus’ great pain when He was tempted) who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines (child training) the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.” “Endure hardship as discipline (all trials – big ones and little ones); God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good (we know this by faith), in order that we may share in his holiness (our ultimate good is to glorify God). No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful (don’t be stoic but take your real pain to a real God and cry out for His help not to sin and thus abort the valuable lesson He wants you to learn). Later on (faith is always future), however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace (you reap what you sow but the farmer has to wait; Gal. 6:7-9; James 5:7-11) for those who have been trained by it.” (Heb. 12:1-11) “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation (God) will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it (without falling into sin).” (1 Cor. 10:13) In the trial/temptation, submit to God, pray for His power to help you, and look for His way of escape that He promises is always there.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION AND APPLICATION
1.”Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Heb. 13:7-8) How does the writer of Hebrews tell us to “qualify” the leaders/pastors/preachers who speak the word of God to us before we imitate their faith? Which “Leader” had the best outcome of every leader who has ever lived? (See Phil. 2:5-11)
2. “Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy (future reward) set before him (by faith) he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (He was/is exalted to the highest place; rewarded for His faith and obedience). Consider him (think about Jesus’ great pain when He was tempted) who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.” (Heb. 12:2-4) It was only in the Garden of Gethsemane that we see Jesus’ will in conflict with His Father’s will and yet He resisted the temptation to deny the cross even to the point of hematidrosis (sweating blood). [“From these factors, it is evident that even before Jesus endured the torture of the cross, He suffered far beyond what most of us will ever suffer. His penetrating awareness of the heinous nature of sin, its destructive and deadly effects, the sorrow and heartache that it inflicts, and the extreme measure necessary to deal with it, make the passion of Christ beyond all comprehension.” http://www.apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=11&article=1086 How do you “fix your eyes on Jesus or “consider Jesus” when running your faith race and struggling with temptation?
3. “Endure hardship as discipline (all trials – big ones and little ones).” How else may we consider trials and hardships other than God’s loving discipline?
4. (a) God disciplines us for our good (we know this by faith); (b) in order that we may share in his holiness; (c) our ultimate good is to glorify God by sharing in His holiness. Do you agree with all three of these purposes for discipline (through hardships/trials, etc.)?
5. “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful (don’t be stoic but take your real pain to a real God and cry out for His help not to sin and thus abort the valuable lesson He wants you to learn). Later on (faith is always future), however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace (you reap what you sow but the farmer has to wait for his crop; Gal. 6:7-9; James 5:7-11) for those who have been trained by it.” (Heb. 12:1-11) How is this statement the opposite of buyer’s remorse?