The Book of Hebrews

Part 32: It’s Time to Fly (Heb. 12:1-15)

I. Letting Go

After its powerful recap of the heroes of faith—which we found were just stories pointing us to faithfulness of Jesus—we come to the famous passage about a “great cloud of witnesses.” We will read it in the Passion Translation.

1 As for us, we have all of these great witnesses who encircle us like clouds. So we must let go of every wound that has pierced us and the sin we so easily fall into. Then we will be able to run life’s marathon race with passion and determination, for the path has been already marked out before us. —Hebrews 12:1 TPT

The letter of Hebrews has given us much truth and encouragement, and now we are coming to the end where we are reminded this isn’t about reading a letter or studying a book—it’s about living our lives. We’re called to run the race of life with passion and focus and freedom.

As far as “the sin we so easily fall into,” the context of the letter shows us this is referring to the sin of unbelief in God’s word. The whole purpose of this book has been to deliver to us the revelation of Christ’s work—the word of the Gospel. Every sin that gains access into our lives is rooted in some kind of unbelief or resistance to the truth of the Gospel.

We are made to run the race of life knowing how free and loved and healed we are in Christ. We are do this with a light and joyful heart.

This translation says, “we must let go of every wound…” Other translations say every “weight” or “burden.”

The people to whom this letter was written were going back to a very specific kind of bondage: the heaviness of religious effort, guilt-based works, and things of that nature. This is a final call for them to leave that behind (no matter what the people and culture around them think).

The translation of “wounding” is significant, however. In life we receive wounds, whether from bad circumstances, other people, or things we do to ourselves. These can cause inward “infections” that end up weighing us down with unforgiveness, anxiety, or depression.

Hebrews calls us firmly to the reality of forgiveness and freedom in Christ. We are called to truly receive forgiveness for ourselves and release it to others. But we are not just forgiven—we have to reckon with the fact that we have actually, truly died with Christ. If this is true, then it makes sense the writer would say it’s time to let go.

Other translations say lay aside or put away. This is a term used for laying aside clothing. In other words, there are things we still “wear” as believers—depression, addiction, shame, etc. In reality, these things do not fit us anymore. As we always say, they are not our identity. We don’t have to wear it. We are freer than we realize.

There’s an interesting scene in the 2023 film Wonka with a group of flamingos at a zoo. One of the characters asks why they don’t fly away? Willy Wonka, the hero of the story, suggests, “Perhaps they haven’t thought of it.” *“You’re kidding,”* is the response, to which Wonka says, “No, I’m serious. The thing about flamingos is they need someone to show ’em the way.”

Later on, Wonka grabs a mass of balloons and soars above the earthbound flamingos. When they look up and see him, they immediately take to the sky.

There is a powerful message here of how people stay stuck to the “earth” in a subpar existence, waiting to die until we experience true freedom. But the revelation of the Gospel comes to remind us that we are heavenly creatures who are not bound to fleshly limitations. This is the message the author of Hebrews is reminding us of. We are new creations, one with the life and love of Christ.

As the letter draws to a close, the author essentially says it’s time to fully embrace this message and let go of everything that says otherwise. This is the faith to which we’re called—and there is a cloud of witnesses who went before us cheering us on.

II. Looking Into the Christ Mirror

For many of us, this first verse sounds appealing and incredibly hopeful, but it can leave us wondering how we do this. The answer comes in the next verse, and it is incredibly simple. So simple the over-analyzing and slow-to-believe mind will have a hard time accepting it.

In essence, the author summarizes everything in the letter. The answer has been there all along, but he is saying it in a simple and short way.

2 We look away from the natural realm and we focus our attention and expectation onto Jesus who birthed faith within us and who leads us forward into faith’s perfection. His example is this: Because his heart was focused on the joy of knowing that you would be his, he endured the agony of the cross and conquered its humiliation, and now sits exalted at the right hand of the throne of God! —Hebrews 12:2 TPT

Looking unto Jesus is forever and always the way into freedom.

This brings us back to the spiritual message in Wonka. The flamingos looked up and saw this remarkable person flying. This awakened something in them. When we see Jesus and his overcoming love and faith, we gain a revelation of who we are. As we’ve thoroughly discussed, Jesus did not have a superhero “flesh.” He was 100% human and proved our humanity is custom designed to fly. We are made to soar.

The old earthbound identity is not ours.

This means need to be careful about overthinking our wounds and our sins. There is a place for acknowledging, confessing, and getting counsel for anxiety and depression in order to find the root wound. However, the Gospel shows that when you get there, the answer is to let it go. Forgive and look away from yourself to Christ and the fact that you died with him.

Many ministries and Christian resources focus so heavily on sin and wounds and demonic influences that the simplicity of the Gospel is lost.

Before long, the “flamingos” are stuck in classes learning about all the details of their past as well as all the problems out in the atmosphere. They get these constant “flight lessons” but never actually go out and fly. This is because they are never told they are actually free.

The simple offense of the Gospel is that Jesus took our wounds and pain on the cross. The joy set before him was us. He came to redeem us—and he finished the job. He endured the agony of the cross and arose victorious over our sin and darkness. He now sits in victory, exalted at the right hand of the throne of God.

We are seated there with him. We are raised into the perfection of Jesus. His nature belongs to us.

Let’s go back to the crescendo of the whole “song” of Hebrews, the powerful revelation in chapter 10:

14 For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. —Hebrews 10:14

After this verse, the author goes on to call people into a faith-filled community while also giving some warnings about the pitfalls of self-reliance and religious systems. After this, in chapter 11, he points to stories of those who received a testimony through God’s faithfulness. But then the 11th chapter ended with this:

39 And all these, having gained approval (a “testimony”) through their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40 because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect. —Hebrews 11:39-40

They were waiting for something better—that “something better” has come. In the days of the Old Testament when these people lived their lives, Jesus had not yet come. But now he has, he endured the agony of the cross, and by that “offering” of his body, we have been set apart (or “sanctified”) in him. We are in Christ and now raised with him to the right hand of God (Ephesians 2). The old is gone and the new has come.

Those witness in heaven and us on earth—the living and the dead—were all included in Christ’s representative work. We have now been made perfect in him because we have been given the “clothing” of his identity. He now defines us. Everything from the old order is forgiven and buried.

We are now surrounded by a cloud of witnesses who are enjoying the full revelation of this truth. They are cheering us on. And in this life, where we do not see or feel it all the time, we are called to embrace the faith and let go of all religious weight, bondage, pain, and fly away.

We do this by looking away to Jesus … truly listening to his Word … paying much closer attention to this message … setting our focus on him in communion … encouraging one another in these truths.

And we look at his example and the revelation dawns in our hearts—we are One.

I can fly.

3 So consider carefully how Jesus faced such intense opposition from sinners who opposed their own souls, so that you won’t become worn down and cave in under life’s pressures. 4 After all, you have not yet reached the point of sweating blood in your opposition to sin. —Hebrews 12:3-4 TPT

Nothing compares to what Jesus went through. All of us have tasted different “slices” of the “fruit” of suffering. Some of us have tasted intense rejection by authority figures, some have tasted betrayal from friends or family. Others have been physically wounded, some even tortured and killed.

But none of us have endured the pressure in Gethsemane as the weight of the whole world rested on his shoulders. This is when he “sweat blood” (Luke 22:44).

Jesus understands our suffering more than we can imagine. He went through every form of suffering possible—and he overcame.

Jesus’s overcoming spirit, his life of rising above everything the enemy threw at him—this is now a Mirror for you look in to see who you are.

We are not called to grit our teeth and try harder and strive our way through life. We are called to spread our wings by looking at Jesus and remembering who we really are.

III. Discipline: A Father’s Training and a Mother’s Touch

All of us are growing at different stages in this journey of awakening. As we’ve learned, Jesus himself had to grow as well (Hebrews 5:8; Luke 2:40). He became who he already was.

We are victorious sons and daughters who are being trained to be who we already are.

Even though the work is finished, the author acknowledges there is still pain and struggle in this journey. With that we come to a beautiful part of this book:

5 And have you forgotten his encouraging words spoken to you as his children? He said, “My child, don’t underestimate the value of the discipline and training of the Lord God, or get depressed when he has to correct you. 6 For the Lord’s training of your life is the evidence of his faithful love. And when he draws you to himself, it proves you are his delightful child.”

7 Fully embrace God’s correction as part of your training, for he is doing what any loving father does for his children. For who has ever heard of a child who never had to be corrected? 8 We all should welcome God’s discipline as the validation of authentic sonship. For if we have never once endured his correction it only proves we are strangers and not sons. —Hebrews 12:5-8 TPT

This is a famous passage on God’s discipline in our lives where, once again, the Passion does a wonderful job highlighting the meaning and texture of certain words—in this case: discipline.

In this broken and angry world, filled with insecure and angry authority figures, the word discipline has been tainted to mean something to do with punishment and disapproval. The real meaning cannot be further from this.

The word was used primarily for training, such as an athlete getting ready for a race. Hence, the opening of this chapter fits in this with meaning.

God trains us to run the race of life successfully with freedom and joy. Sometimes, things are allowed to rise up in us or come against us so that we can come into a deeper revelation of Christ and walk more solidly and more determined in our true identity.

Persecution, for example, is the main New Testament form of opposition. Persecution forces a child of God to dig deep into the supernatural love of Christ within them.

In the passage—the Lord’s training of your life is the evidence of his faithful love—the Passion footnotes highlight how the term for “faithful love” in the Aramaic language was often used for a mother’s love. In this passage we have both the strength of a Father and the nurturing, comforting love of a Mother at work in our journey.

This is a complete Parental love we have in God as he walks us through difficulty. We are not alone or abandoned. Our Father is there training us to fly when resistance comes our way. As a heavenly Mother, God is there at every moment to comfort and soothe and encourage us.

Here is a more classical translation of this verse:

6 For whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.” (NKJV)

This is an accurate translation, but it is using certain words that do not convey the heart of the text. The words chasten and scourging speak of reprimanding and even a physically beating an unruly child. This does not match the reality of the text. This is why using multiple translations is helpful.

Here is another example of a similar passage that gets misread:

2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. —John 15:2

In reality, the words “take away” are not an accurate picture of what Jesus is saying. Here is how the Passion translates it, using the same definition that can be found in Strong’s Concordance (a resource that utilizes the King James Version and other more literal translations):

2 He cares for the branches connected to me by lifting and propping up the fruitless branches and pruning every fruitful branch to yield a greater harvest. —John 15:2 TPT

This is the more accurate translation. It not only depicts what a farmer would actually do with an unfruitful branch in a vineyard (lifting it up with sticks and other mechanisms to receive more sunlight); it communicates the real heart of God.

If you are not bearing fruit in your life, God is not casting you aside (or scourging you with punishment). He lifts you up to his heart, like a good Father or Mother. He is calling you to look higher to the Son. He is telling you how much he cares for you and believes in you and wants you to succeed. He may allow circumstances to teach us lessons, but the lessons are meant to awaken the joy of discovering our victorious identity in Christ.

11 Now all discipline seems to be painful at the time, yet later it will produce a transformation of character, bringing a harvest of righteousness and peace to those who yield to it. —Hebrews 12:11 TPT

None of this is meant to minimize the fact that the loving training of God can be intense and even painful. Depending on how addicted we are to the old identity or how much we resist the inner release of love and forgiveness, certain things we go through can seem like God is angry at us.

But God is always there, training us to fly. And God holds none of our issues—our “sins”—against us (2 Corinthians 5:19; 1 Corinthians 13:5). He has let them go in Christ. He only wants us to do the same, to find deeper healing in his love and in the truth of his finished work.

This leads us to call of verse 12:

12 So be made strong even in your weakness by lifting up your tired hands in prayer and worship. And strengthen your weak knees, 13 for as you keep walking forward on God’s paths all your stumbling ways will be divinely healed! —Hebrews 12:12-13 TPT

You are going to grow, and you are going to prosper because victory is already in you.

When we refuse to give up, victory always unfolds before us. One of main things that gets us to give up is because we think God is angry with us or abandoning us. This causes us to give up on ourselves. This is why we relooked at the meaning of certain difficult verses which are read through some religious mindsets.

When we choose to set our hearts toward Jesus and his love for us, things shift. When we choose to engage in communion, and begin to worship the Lord and listen for his voice, strength flows out of us. When we choose to forgive ourselves and others, wounds heal up and the weight drops. When we trust that right now we are forgiven and free no matter what, our wings spread. And we give the Holy Spirit opportunity to lift us up.

One of the main ways we are called to soar is in the area of relationships. This will be explored in the final chapter (after the author gives an important charge in the second half of chapter 12 that we will explore in the next session). This is why we have the following verse:

14 In every relationship be swift to choose peace over competition, and run swiftly toward holiness, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord. 15 Watch over each other to make sure that no one misses the revelation of God’s grace. And make sure no one lives with a root of bitterness sprouting within them which will only cause trouble and poison the hearts of many. —Hebrews 12:14-15

The key thing we need to see here: It is missing the revelation of God’s grace that causes us to not experience holiness. We are holy—set apart in Christ—but we are called to grow in outward holiness, walking in maturity as sons and daughters who know who they are. If this isn’t happening, we are missing the revelation of grace and what Christ has done for us and as us.

This revelation of God’s grace is also what protects us from the bitterness that poisons relationships. When we see God’s grace toward us, it empowers to release negativity toward others.

Follow-up Encounter:

*As you prepare to take communion, ask the Lord where there is still “earthbound” thinking in your life. Where do you not see that you have to ability to rise up and fly? *

*Ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you and begin to celebrate the word of God as you partake of Christ’s life. As you eat, remember that you are looking to him as the Mirror of your true identity. *