Pioneer and Perfecter, Part 2

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, ²fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” – Hebrews 12:1-2

I like the phraseology of the King James Version: Jesus is “the author and finisher of our faith.” It’s not only lyrical; it also suggests a process. What the Lord begins, He ends. The journey of my faith will be successful because Christ finishes what He starts. I find that comforting!

Yet as we learned in last week’s post, the Greek term translated “pioneer” in the NIV (and “author” in the KJV) refers to leadership. We can think of it in terms of primacy. It has chronological significance but it emphasizes status more.

In light of this, “finisher” might not be the best translation for the second word in the pair. The two aren’t separate poles; they’re thematically similar. And this isn’t the first time the writer of Hebrews describes Jesus with a pair of titles. Here’s the prior instance:

“Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession: Jesus.” – Hebrews 3:1 (NASB)

The writer isn’t contrasting the roles Jesus played in the drama of our redemption. Rather, he’s highlighting the capacities Christ fulfilled to secure our salvation. So while “apostle” and “high priest” aren’t synonyms, they’re combined and integrated in the person and work of Jesus.

One more point. It looks like “confession” in 3:1 serves the same purpose as “faith” does in 12:2. Jesus presides over our confession of faith. He is the source, overseer, and, as we’ve begun to touch on, perfecter of our declared allegiance to Him.

What’s the writer trying to communicate by calling Jesus a “perfecter”? The Greek noun is teleiotes and occurs only in Hebrews 12:2 in the whole Greek New Testament. The word family from which it derives is more common. For example, the verb, “I perfect” (teleioo), occurs in 23 verses. If we keep digging into the etymology, we reach the root noun telos which means “end” in two basic ways: a finalization or an aim. It’s not hard to see how these align with the chronological and status aspects of Christ’s primacy.

In fact, we could argue that the primacy or superiority of Christ over the old covenant is the dominant theme of the book of Hebrews. He’s greater than what Israel had–angels, Moses, Joshua, priests, sacrifices, and laws. 

But there’s something common to both covenants which the writer mentions throughout the letter: the problem of perfection. At first glance, it doesn’t seem like perfection would be a problem, but it is. What makes Jesus the perfect Savior? How do we become perfect in Him? Is perfection even possible for us, and if so, how?

Hebrews contains 12 verses with either a verb or a noun related to perfection. There are too many to cover in a single post, so what I’ll do is deal with one set next week and the second set the week after. Exploring these verses will help us understand how Jesus is the perfecter of faith.

What we can be sure of is that Jesus is our multifaceted Savior. As we look to Him, we will find the perfection our hearts dream of and our minds imagine. What we lack, He provides! Good news indeed!