3 Give thought to him who has undergone so much of the hate of sinners against himself, so that you may not be tired and feeble of purpose.
For which cause we do not give way to weariness; but though our outer man is getting feebler, our inner man is made new day by day.
And let us not get tired of well-doing; for at the right time we will get in the grain, if we do not give way to weariness.
If you are hated by the world, keep in mind that I was hated by the world before you. If you were of the world, you would be loved by the world: but because you are not of the world, but I have taken you out of the world, you are hated by the world. Keep in mind the words I said to you, A servant is not greater than his lord. If they were cruel to me, they will be cruel to you; if they kept my words, they will keep yours. They will do all this to you because of my name--because they have no knowledge of him who sent me. If I had not come and been their teacher they would have had no sin: but now they have no reason to give for their sin. He who has hate for me has hate for my Father. If I had not done among them the works which no other man ever did, they would have had no sin: but now they have seen, and they have had hate in their hearts for me and my Father.
And you have the power of waiting, and have undergone trouble because of my name, without weariness.
For this cause, my dear brothers, be strong in purpose and unmoved, ever giving yourselves to the work of the Lord, because you are certain that your work is not without effect in the Lord.
Having our eyes fixed on Jesus, the guide and end of our faith, who went through the pains of the cross, not caring for the shame, because of the joy which was before him, and who has now taken his place at the right hand of God's seat of power.
If you give way in the day of trouble, your strength is small.
Only go in the fear of the Lord, and be his true servants with all your heart, keeping in mind what great things he has done for you.
Even the young men will become feeble and tired, and the best of them will come to the end of his strength; But those who are waiting for the Lord will have new strength; they will get wings like eagles: running, they will not be tired, and walking, they will have no weariness.
A disciple is not greater than his master, or a servant than his lord. It is enough for the disciple that he may be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have given the name Beelzebub to the master of the house, how much more to those of his house!
And for this reason the Jews were turned against Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath.
Give thought to what I say; for the Lord will give you wisdom in all things. Keep in mind Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, who came back from the dead, as my good news gives witness:
And you, my brothers, do not get tired of well-doing.
When he said this, one of the police by his side gave him a blow with his open hand, saying, Do you give such an answer to the high priest?
Then a great number of the Jews had news that he was there: and they came, not only because of Jesus, but so that they might see Lazarus who had been dead and to whom he had given life. Now there was talk among the chief priests of putting Lazarus to death;
Then the Jews took up stones again to send at him. Jesus said to them in answer, I have let you see a number of good works from the Father; for which of those works are you stoning me? This was their answer: We are not stoning you for a good work but for evil words; because being a man you make yourself God. In answer, Jesus said, Is there not a saying in your law, I said, You are gods? If he said they were gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Writings may not be broken), Do you say of him whom the Father made holy and sent into the world, Your words are evil; because I said, I am God's Son? If I am not doing the works of my Father, do not have belief in me; But if I am doing them, then have belief in the works even if you have no belief in me; so that you may see clearly and be certain that the Father is in me and I am in the Father. Then again they made an attempt to take him; but he got away from them.
These words came to the ears of the Pharisees who were with him and they said to him, Are we, then, blind?
So they took up stones to send at him: but Jesus got secretly out of their way and went out of the Temple.
The Son of man has come feasting, and they say, See, a lover of food and wine, a friend of tax-farmers and sinners! And wisdom is judged to be right by her works.
But the Pharisees, hearing of it, said, This man only sends evil spirits out of men by Beelzebub, the ruler of evil spirits.
But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the works of power which he did, and the children crying out in the Temple, Glory to the son of David, they were angry and said to him, Have you any idea what these are saying? And Jesus said to them, Yes: have you not seen in the Writings, From the lips of children and babies at the breast you have made your praise complete?
And when he had come into the Temple, the chief priests and those in authority over the people came to him while he was teaching, and said, By what authority do you do these things? and who gave you this authority?
Then the Pharisees went and had a meeting to see how they might make use of his words to take him.
And Simeon gave them his blessing and said to Mary, his mother, See, this child will be the cause of the downfall and the lifting up of great numbers of people in Israel, and he will be a sign against which hard words will be said;
And the scribes and Pharisees were having an argument, saying, Who is this, who has no respect for God? who is able to give forgiveness for sins, but God only?
The Jews said to him, Now we are certain that you have an evil spirit. Abraham is dead, and the prophets are dead; and you say, If a man keeps my word he will never see death.
And he put his hands on her, and she was made straight, and gave praise to God. And the ruler of the Synagogue was angry because Jesus had made her well on the Sabbath, and he said to the people, There are six days in which men may do work: so come on those days to be made well, and not on the Sabbath.
And it came about that when he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees on the Sabbath, to have a meal, they were watching him.
And the Pharisees, who had a great love of money, hearing these things, were making sport of him.
And some of the Pharisees among the people said to him, Master, make your disciples be quiet. And he said in answer, I say to you, if these men keep quiet, the very stones will be crying out.
So the Pharisees said to him, The witness you give is about yourself: your witness is not true.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Hebrews 12
Commentary on Hebrews 12 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 12
The apostle, in this chapter, applies what he has collected in the chapter foregoing, and makes use of it as a great motive to patience and perseverance in the Christian faith and state, pressing home the argument,
Hbr 12:1-3
Here observe what is the great duty which the apostle urges upon the Hebrews, and which he so much desires they would comply with, and that is, to lay aside every weight, and the sin that did so easily beset them, and run with patience the race set before them. The duty consists of two parts, the one preparatory, the other perfective.
Hbr 12:4-17
Here the apostle presses the exhortation to patience and perseverance by an argument taken from the gentle measure and gracious nature of those sufferings which the believing Hebrews endured in their Christian course.
Hbr 12:18-29
Here the apostle goes on to engage the professing Hebrews to perseverance in their Christian course and conflict, and not to relapse again into Judaism. This he does by showing them how much the state of the gospel church differs from that of the Jewish church, and how much it resembles the state of the church in heaven, and on both accounts demands and deserves our diligence, patience, and perseverance in Christianity.