What does it mean to run a race surrounded by witnesses? In the first Olympics of modern times in 1896, the crowd not only cheered but literally surrounded one runner. The games had returned to their place of origin in Greece to inaugurate a new era. One of the largest crowds had gathered in the Olympic stadium, the location of the finish line, to witness the end of the marathon.

As word began to spread that the front-runner and likely gold-medalist was one of their own, a Greek athlete, many of the onlookers poured out of the stadium and ran backward along the route to greet the leader of the race. When the crowds got to him, they began running alongside him, almost crowding the course too much for the runner to pass. Finally passing through the crowds leading up to the stadium, the winner entered to the sound of deafening cheers and then, remarkably, both the Crown Prince and Prince of Greece jumped down from the royal box and ran across the finish line with him. Then they carried him with them in triumph up to the royal box.

Can you picture the kind of excitement that comes when a hopeful crowd knows that one of their own runs toward their home turf? That’s the scene playing for us here to close out the Faith Hall of Fame in Hebrews. The long list of ordinary heroes made remarkable in the Lord is here not just for entertainment value. Instead, these remarkable saints surround us on our journey and cheer for us. The author of Hebrews encourages us to rid ourselves of the things that weigh us down and to keep Jesus firmly in our sight. Jesus has run before us and will carry us over the finish line.