Focus
Do you find it hard to focus? Some of you do in my sermons, because I can tell it’s your favorite time to nap! What about when your husband or wife is talking? Many of us are not hard of hearing, but we just have selective hearing. In order to run the race well—and remember, the race we’re talking about is the Christian life…looking more and more like Jesus and walking with Jesus—in order to run the race with endurance, we need to focus.
Hebrews 12:1b-2a says, “Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith.”
Today, we’re talking about how we keep our eyes on Jesus, especially when everything else tries to pull us off course. If we focus on Him, we’ll have the strength to keep running, no matter what.
Set your focus on Jesus. He is the ultimate example and ultimate goal.
Hebrews 12:2a tells us to look “to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith.” The key word here is “looking.” “Looking” here doesn’t mean a casual glance. It’s a laser focus. It’s like when you saw your spouse for the first time and said, “wow” and you couldn’t look away.
This word “looking” means to fix your gaze, to focus exclusively on one thing. And when you focus on one thing, what do you do to everything else? Everything else fades out of focus. Everything else is background noise. For the race, it’s the idea of a runner locking their eyes on the finish line, blocking out everything that could distract or slow them down. And do you know what the finish line is in this race of faith? Jesus. And why Jesus? Jesus isn’t just our example—He’s the finish line. He is the ultimate example and the ultimate goal.
Why Jesus? The writer of Hebrews makes it clear that Jesus is both the “founder”[1] and the “perfecter”[2] of our faith. As the “founder,” He’s the one who initiated and established our faith. He paved the way, setting the course for us. Our faith itself is a gift from Him (Eph. 2:8). As the “perfecter,” He’s the one who completed it, enduring everything necessary to secure our salvation. He’s the one that will see it through to completion. He is why we can have certainty of our salvation. We are not the perfectors of our salvation. Christ is. Jesus is the only way we can reach the finish line. And He ensures that those who are in Him will.
Think about the race Jesus was on for a minute. What was His finish line? His finish line was your salvation. And Jesus finished the race perfectly. He ran with endurance, facing opposition, suffering, and ultimately the cross. And He did it for the joy set before Him—the joy of seeing you saved and redeemed. So when the writer of Hebrews tells us to fix our eyes on Jesus, he’s saying, “Look at the one who’s already run the race and won. The one who did it for you.”
Now, let’s get practical. If we’re talking about focusing on Jesus, there are things that tend to take our focus off Him. When the distractions of life start piling up—work stress, family drama, temptations, worries—what’s your instinct? For most of us, our gaze shifts to the problem, the obstacle right in front of us. We start looking around, focusing on everything except Jesus. But the writer of Hebrews is saying that if we’re going to run this race well, we can’t afford to take our focus off Jesus. It’s like Peter stepping out of the boat in Matthew 14. He walked on water as long as his eyes were on Jesus, but the moment he looked at the wind and waves, he started sinking. The same principle applies here. When our eyes are fixed on Jesus, we find the strength to run with endurance, no matter what storms are raging around us. When we focus on Him, we’re reminded that He endured the ultimate suffering—the cross—because He saw the joy ahead. And that’s the perspective we need, knowing that no matter what we face, there’s joy and victory ahead if we keep running.
Jesus endured the cross for the joy set before Him.
Hebrews 12:2a tells us that Jesus “endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” When the writer says that Jesus “endured the cross,” the word[3] used means to remain steadfast under great suffering. That’s like what we talked about last week. The word for race is the same word where we get our word for agony. But Jesus remained steadfast—He endured—under that great suffering of the cross. Jesus wasn’t passive. He was actively choosing to endure suffering for a greater purpose. His endurance wasn’t simply about surviving the cross. It was about accomplishing a greater purpose through the cross.
So, what was that greater purpose? What allowed Jesus to endure the cross? The writer of Hebrews says it was “for the joy set before Him.” Jesus looked beyond the pain, beyond the humiliation and shame, and saw the joy on the other side. That joy was the fulfillment of God’s redemptive plan. Your salvation. It was the joy of knowing that His sacrifice would open the door for you to be reconciled to God. It was the joy of seeing lives transformed and eternally saved. Jesus endured the worst agony for the greatest joy. Your salvation.
But there’s more. The phrase “despising the shame”[4] means that Jesus viewed the disgrace of the cross as insignificant compared to the joy and glory ahead. In the Roman world, crucifixion was the most shameful and humiliating death possible, designed to strip a person of all dignity. But Jesus wasn’t focused on the shame. He was focused on the outcome. He saw past the temporary pain to the eternal glory that would follow, and that perspective allowed Him to endure. It’s not that He ignored the pain. He fully experienced it! But He saw beyond it. His eternal glory and your eternal joy.
Now, think about what this means for us. The writer of Hebrews isn’t just giving us a history lesson. He’s giving us a strategy for our own endurance. Jesus shows us that the key to persevering through suffering is keeping our eyes on the bigger picture—the joy set before us. When trials come, when the race feels impossible, when we’re tempted to give up, we need to remind ourselves that there’s a greater purpose at stake. The pain we endure now is temporary, but the joy and reward that await us are eternal.
This is why fixing our eyes on Jesus is so crucial. He not only gives us the example but also shows us that suffering isn’t the end of the story. It’s part of the process. Romans 8:18 says, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” Jesus embodies this truth perfectly. He walked through suffering because He knew that on the other side was a joy and a glory beyond imagination. That’s what kept Him going.
So, what’s the “joy” set before you? It might be the promise of eternal life, the hope of seeing Jesus face-to-face, or the fulfillment of God’s purpose for you in this life. Whatever it is, fix your eyes on that joy, with Jesus at the center. When the race gets hard, when suffering comes, remember that God has something greater for you beyond this moment.
To faithfully endure, focus on eternity.
Hebrews 12:2a calls us to look at Jesus, who endured the cross and is now seated at the right hand of God. This frames our perspective in light of eternity. We must keep an eternal perspective while we endure. Jesus shows us that the key to finishing the race of faith isn’t just about removing weights or sin. It’s about fixing our eyes on what lies ahead. He endured because He saw beyond the immediate pain to the joy that awaited Him, and that’s the perspective the writer of Hebrews is encouraging us to adopt.
The phrase “for the joy set before Him” is crucial in our understanding here. It wasn’t just the joy of conquering sin and death. It was the joy of being reunited with the Father, fulfilling His redemptive mission, and making a way for us to enter into eternal life. Jesus had an eternal perspective that gave meaning and purpose to His earthly, temporal suffering. He saw that every step of His journey, even the painful ones, was a part of a greater plan, and that’s what kept Him moving forward.
Life can be overwhelming, and sometimes the race feels impossible to finish. The pressures of work, family, personal struggles, and the constant demands of life can make it feel like we’re carrying more than we can handle. The temptation is to focus on our immediate circumstances, on the weight of what’s happening right now. But the writer of Hebrews is telling us that the secret to enduring is not to focus on the pain but to focus on the promise—what lies ahead. It’s about seeing beyond the temporary trials to the eternal reward.
This is why the Bible repeatedly encourages us to have an eternal perspective. In 2 Corinthians 4:17-18, Paul says, “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen.” That’s what Jesus did. He looked beyond the immediate suffering of the cross to the glory of what was coming. And that’s what we’re called to do.
One of my favorite quotes of all time is from C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity where he tackles the issue where people say “They’re so heavenly minded that they’re no earthly good.” Hear what C.S. Lewis says:
"Hope is one of the Theological virtues. This means that a continual looking forward to the eternal world is not (as some modern people think) a form of escapism or wishful thinking, but one of the things a Christian is meant to do. It does not mean that we are to leave the present world as it is. If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next. The Apostles themselves, who set on foot the conversion of the Roman Empire, the great men who built up the Middle Ages, the English Evangelicals who abolished the Slave Trade, all left their mark on Earth, precisely because their minds were occupied with Heaven. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this. Aim at Heaven and you will get earth “thrown in”: aim at earth and you will get neither. It seems a strange rule, but something like it can be seen at work in other matters. Health is a great blessing, but the moment you make health one of your main, direct objects you start becoming a crank and imagining there is something wrong with you. You are only likely to get health provided you want other things more—food, games, work, fun, open air. In the same way, we shall never save civilization as long as civilization is our main object. We must learn to want something else even more.
Most of us find it very difficult to want “Heaven” at all—except in so far as “Heaven” means meeting again our friends who have died. One reason for this difficulty is that we have not been trained: our whole education tends to fix our minds on this world. Another reason is that when the real want for Heaven is present in us, we do not recognize it. Most people, if they had really learned to look into their own hearts, would know that they do want, and want acutely, something that cannot be had in this world. There are all sorts of things in this world that offer to give it to you, but they never quite keep their promise."[5]
But how do we maintain an eternal perspective when life gets hard? Renew your mind daily with God’s Word. When we saturate our hearts with God’s promises and truth, we’re reminded that the race we’re running isn’t just for today. It’s for eternity. It’s about looking past the temporary struggles and reminding ourselves that God has promised something far greater on the other side.
Another practical step is, choose gratitude. When we intentionally focus on the blessings God has given us, even in the midst of trials, it reorients our perspective. Instead of being overwhelmed by the pain, we start seeing God’s hand in the midst of it. It’s choosing to say, “God, I may not understand what’s happening right now, but I trust that You are working all things for good.”
Finally, surround yourself with reminders of eternity. This might mean spending time with other believers who can encourage and remind us of the bigger picture. It could be reading stories of faithful saints who ran their race well or listening to worship that centers our hearts on God’s eternal promises. The more we fill our lives with reminders of eternity, the more we strengthen our ability to endure.
Jesus’ example shows us that endurance isn’t just about surviving. It’s about thriving. It’s about finishing well. And nothing allows you to finish well better than having an eternal perspective. Jesus didn’t just endure the cross with gritted teeth. He endured it with joy because He saw what was coming. And that’s the challenge for us today, to look beyond the immediate, to see the eternal, and to let that vision of what God has promised fuel our endurance.
[1] ἀρχηγός, archēgos
[2] τελειωτής, teleiōtēs)
[4] αἰσχύνης καταφρονήσας, aischynēs kataphronēsas
[5] C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, Harper edition, 2001), pp. 134-135.
