Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews 11 gives us a list of heroes of faith that is meant to inspire us to walk in the same faith as they did. In chapter 12, we see one final example of faith. We see Jesus, the hero who is the very “founder and perfecter of our faith.” As such, Jesus is worthy of being dealt with in a separate treatment apart from the other heroes.

Jesus is the founder and perfecter (another version uses the words “author and finisher”) of our faith because He is from first to last the archetypal example of what it means to have faith in God. His faith, to put it another way, supersedes the faith of any of the previously mentioned heroes of faith and serves as the preeminent and perfect example as a result. We should look to Jesus, therefore, before we look to any of the other heroes. The faith of the other heroes, exemplary though it is, is not comparable to the matchless faith of Jesus.

The main reason that Jesus holds this exalted position in the hall of the heroes of faith is that He was able by faith to see past the horror of the cross to the joy that was in store for Him. Jesus believed there would be great joy at the right hand of the throne of God and that there would be great joy for having saved the whole creation.

Given His faith, Jesus was able to bear the pain, suffering, and shame of the events associated with His trial and crucifixion. Indeed, Jesus did more than bear them. He “despised the shame.” Instead of allowing shame and pain to overwhelm His soul, He despised them by refusing to give them influence over His choices. By faith, Jesus overcame the shame, and He now sits in the place of highest honor in heaven and earth.

In this world of trouble, we may be called to go through many undesirable things. Like our hero Jesus, however, we must set our minds on the rewards set before us. We will obtain them if we overcome by faith, just as He did.

By John Huisman, friend of Bible League International