Our Great Cloud of Witnesses

May 11th, 2026
by Lance Waldie

Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us…

The “therefore” in v. 1 calls attention back to the previous context in chapter 11 regarding the long list of faithful men and women from the OT who, though imperfect, simply believed God. They lived by faith while looking to their divine reward in the future. Their faith was “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen… for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him” (11:1, 6).

The author of Hebrews was writing to Hebrews, namely Israelites (aka, Jews) who had converted from Judaism to Christianity which is fulfillment of Judaism. Since the sacred writings in Judaism promised a future Messiah who would fulfill all of God’s promises, realized in Jesus of Nazareth, all true Hebrews believed Jesus was, and is, the Messiah, or Christ. These Hebrews, however, were being persecuted by their fellow Hebrews who had not converted to faith in Jesus as the Messiah. Also, they lived and ministered the gospel during harsh times of persecution under the Roman emperors. As hated outsiders, the persecution was weakening their faith.

The Hebrews author therefore highlighted in chapter 11 the saints who had gone before, who had believed God’s promises without ever receiving them on this side of glory. They endured great persecutions (11:35-38), yet they remained faithful. Like Abel, their faith still speaks loudly in spite of their deaths (11:4). This of course was meant to encourage the discouraged. With the testimony of their heroes before them, perhaps they might be reinvigorated.

Therefore, with such a great “cloud of witnesses surrounding” them, those first-century persecuted Hebrew Christians might be encouraged. The mention of “cloud” in v. 1 might have caused them to recall how God had led Israel through the wilderness under Moses—Yahweh “going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way” (Ex. 13:21). The OT saints of chapter 11 acted as a “cloud” to lead those early Christians, as “witnesses surrounding us” (12:1). Yet “witness” (lit. martyr) does not imply that they watch NT saints, like a stadium full of fans. Instead, their example of faithfulness motivates. The only real audience any Christian should care for is God alone, for as Oswald Guinness said, “I live before an audience of One; before others I have nothing to prove, nothing to gain, and nothing to lose.”

So with faithful witnesses of the past surrounding us, how ought Christians to live? First, “let us also lay aside every encumbrance…” An “encumbrance” (Gr. ogkos) is an impediment, not necessarily a sin. In a footrace, an encumbrance might be certain clothing, boots, or a heavy coat that slows us down. In the Christian life, an encumbrance might be social media, TV, certain friends, food—none of which are evil in and of themselves but which can encumber one’s walk with Christ. Each of us must identify these and then lay them aside; abandon them altogether.

Second, Christians must “lay aside… the sin which so easily entangles us.” All are sinners, but not all of us struggle with the same specific sins. Some struggle with gluttony, some with the love of money, some with drinking and drugs, some with sensual pleasures, some with envy, and so on. Each of us is to identify what our struggles are and lay them aside; repent. Like a spider web that captures a fly, so too will our sins so easily entangle us—unto death. We must therefore repent of such sins and run our race without impediments to our fellowship with Christ.

Food For Thought
The main verb in Hebrews 12:1 is “run,” “laying aside” encumbrances and “laying aside” sin being participles that describe the most effective way to “run” the Christian race. In this we see that the Christian life is like a race. But it’s not a race to see who finishes first, as is evident in how others lived and died before us, finishing before we were ever born. No, the Christian race is simply a race to finish—to our ultimate end. Each of us has a different route—some are doctors, some athletes, some homemakers, some restaurateurs, some pastors, etc., each with various turns and winding uphill roads leading to their ultimate end. Who knows why some have to struggle harder than others or why others seem to suffer so much worse? But when it’s all over, we will have run our race. May it be the prayer of our lives every day that we live that we live each daily faithfully and that we die faithfully. And when we stand before our Creator, Judge, and Savior one day, He says to us, “Well done good and faithful servant!”