1. Jesus Is Better
2. So Press On!

As most all of you know, Yvonne and I spent the week in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. I was invited to teach a week-long course on the book of Hebrews at Jackson Hole Bible College, where David, our youngest child is spending a year studying the Bible. The tag-line to the college is “One year of Biblical Foundation and Creation Apologetics.” Indeed, this is what it the college is. It’s a year of intensively studying the Bible, with an healthy mix of Creation Apologetics. During the year, they work through much of the Bible. They also take some trips, they are heading out next week to Mount St. Helens to look at geological evidence of what took place there 40 years ago to learn evidence for Noah’s flood. In about a month, they will head down to Kentucky to spend a week at the Creation Museum and the Ark Encounter.

The college is actually on three acres of land. During the summer, it’s a summer camp, where groups come in for a week at a time. During the winter, it’s place where students can stay all year long. The mornings were cold, but the afternoons didn’t disappoint. The camp itself is pretty rustic.
Being in Jackson Hole, it was beautiful there. The fall colors were in full bloom.

Here’s a picture of the classroom and all of the students enrolled this year, all 18 of them. The number of students varies each year, but I think that this this is a pretty typical class size. I like to describe these students as taking a gap year, to set the direction for their lives in the future. We have found the program to be very helpful in the spiritual formation of our children. Carissa, Hanna, and Stephanie have all attended the college. If you look closely in class, you can see David, in the bottom left corner. If you also look closely at the classroom, you can see a few buffalo, an elk, and a moose, who are permanent students at the college. They hear everything that is taught.

Typically, their classes are taught in a modular format. They invite a visiting professor to come and teach for a week. Two weeks ago, a pastor came into teach the book of James. Last week, a pastor taught on Proverbs. This past week, I taught on Hebrews. One of the things that I appreciate about the college is their live-stream. They live-stream all of their classes onto YouTube. If you want to watch my class, for three hours every day, you are more than welcome to do that. Simply search YouTube for “Jackson Hole Bible College,” and you will see their live-stream.^[1] Two of my grandchildren were watching the live-stream and were frustrated with it, because they thought it was FaceTime, and I wasn’t responding to them when they talked with me.

Anyway, that was my week. It proved to be a busy week, with class every morning, Then, I held a public reading through the book of Hebrews each day. Then, I had papers to grade, and prep for class the next day. But it was a great week, spend meditating upon the book of Hebrews.

For this morning, I thought it would be best for you all if I preached a message on the book of Hebrews, as it has been on my mind all week long. I want to preach a sermon from my opening lecture, where I overview the entire book of Hebrews. Here is the theme of Hebrews: “Jesus Is Better, So Press On!”

Now, we don’t know who the author was who wrote the book. “Only God Knows” who the author was. But we do know the audience of the letter. Hebrews was written to Hebrews. It was written to weary Jewish Christians, who were on the verge of giving up on Jesus and returning to their Judaism, back to the priests and sacrifices. And the author argues that Jesus is better than everything that the Old Covenant had to offer. The author, then, urged the readers to press on in faith embracing the better covenant that brings a better hope, established by the perfect priesthood of Jesus Christ and his once-for-all sacrifice.

The letter, I believe, was actually a sermon. After my opening lecture, the content of which will form my message this morning, I quoted the book from memory to show how well it preaches and exhorts the people to stay true to Jesus. So, here’s my first point,

1. Jesus Is Better

First off, Jesus brings,

• A Better Revelation

We see this in the first few verses of the book.

Hebrews 1:1-2
Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son,

There are many ways that we can communicate in our day and age. We can communicate to the masses by Tweeting and posting videos or articles on the internet. We can communicate personally with others by text, by email, by phone call, by FaceTime, by letter, and in person. In the days of the Bible, they had basically two options. They could write to each other. They could communicate in person (which included communicating through a personal envoy). By far, the most personal and, (I would argue) effective of the two is communicating in person, where you can see facial expressions, and hear tone of voice.

We see these two forms of communication in these two verses. We see the prophets of old writing what the Lord says. We see Jesus coming in person. The author’s point is this: the revelation of Jesus is better than the revelation of the prophets as he comes in person. This is especially true when you consider who Jesus is. Look again at verse 2,

Hebrews 1:2-3
whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

Jesus is God, himself, who came to earth to communicate with us! And as verse 4 says,

Hebrews 1:4
having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

This is the next point the writer to the Hebrews makes. Jesus is

• Better than Angels

The author spends the rest of chapter 1 demonstrating this from the Old Testament Scriptures. He says,

Hebrews 1:5-6
For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”? Or again, “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son”? 1And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God's angels worship him.”

Here you see the difference between Jesus and the angels. Jesus is worshiped. But the angels worship Jesus. He has a throne in heaven (according to verse 8). He is the creator (according to verse 10). And Jesus is the one (according to verse 13) to whom God said,

Hebrews 1:13
“Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”?

We learn all of these things from the Old Testament. That’s one of the things that is so great about the book of Hebrews, he relentlessly goes back to the Old Testament to justify his points.

In chapter 2, the author uses Psalm 8 to answer the objection that many had about Jesus: How can Jesus be greater than the angels if he was a man. Psalm 8 argues that Jesus, was made only temporarily lower than the angels: Look at chapter 2, beginning with verse 5,

Hebrews 2:5-8
For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. It has been testified somewhere, “What is man, that you are mindful of him, or the son of man, that you care for him? You made him for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honor, putting everything in subjection under his feet.” Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control.

Yes, Jesus was a man, but later, the Lord would put “everything in subjecting under his feet,” including angels. Jesus is “Better than angels.” In chapter 3, we also see that Jesus is

• Better than Moses

The crux of the argument begins in verse 3,

Hebrews 3:3-6
For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses—as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.) Now Moses was faithful in all God's house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, but Christ is faithful over God's house as a son. And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.

Don’t miss the effect that such words would have had upon the Jewish people to whom the write wrote. To them, Moses was the best! He was like the Billy Graham of the day. The one through whom God redeemed the people of Israel. The one who pleased with God on their behalf. The one who through whom God gave the law. And yet, Moses was a mere servant in God’s house. But Jesus was a faithful son over God’s house! Jesus is “Better than Moses.”

In chapters 4 and 5, we also see that Jesus is

• Better than the High Priests

In chapter 4 and verse 14, we are told that

Hebrews 4:14
We have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God,

He is different than the other high priests, in that they were weak. but Jesus was perfect. We see this in chapter 5, beginning with verse 1,

Hebrews 5:1-3
For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people.

Jesus, on the other hand, is the perfect high priest. Look at verse 9,

Hebrews 5:9-10
And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.

This Melchizedek is explained in chapter 7. It’s a difficult portion of Scripture. We don’t really have time this morning to look at it in depth. I refer you to the live-stream from this past week at Jackson Hole Bible College. But, this Melchizedek teach us that Jesus is,

• Better than Abraham, and

• Better than the Priests of Aaron

Jesus is better than Abraham, as Mechizedek, who is made like the Son of God, blessed Abraham and collected a tenth of the spoils from Abraham. According to chapter 7, verse 7,

Hebrews 7:7
It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior.

That is, Melchizedek was superior to Abraham as he was the one who blessed Abraham. Further, Jesus is better than the Levitical priests, because their priesthood never brought perfection to the people (Hebrews 7:11), but the priest of Jesus did. Consider Hebrews 7:28,

Hebrews 7:28
For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.

Let’s keep going. Jesus has brought in

• A Better Covenant

This is shown in chapter 8, where the writer quotes extensively from Jeremiah 31, the portion of the Old Testament that explains the New Covenant. Here is the key to the promise:

Hebrews 8:10-12
For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”

Then comes the punchline in verse 13,

Hebrews 8:13
In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

I love the argument here: When the Old Testament mentions a “New Covenant,” it means that the first covenant was flawed and in need of a better covenant. And a covenant that brings with it an internal dimension mention with forgiveness of sins, is the new covenant that Jesus brought to us.

Jesus also has

• A Better Tabernacle

We see this in chapter 9. The author mentions how the tabernacle where the Jews worshiped was merely a copy of the heavenly tabernacle. The priests ministered in the copy. But Jesus was a priest in the original, the heavenly tabernacle. The summary of the argument comes in verse 24,

Hebrews 9:24
For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.

Thus, as Jesus ministers in the heavenly tabernacle, his ministry is better than any earthly ministry.

Then, finally, Jesus was

• A Better Sacrifice

We see this emphasized in chapter 10. The argument goes like this: The earthly priests offered their sacrifices over and over and over again. But Jesus offered one sacrifice that was effective for all time. There are three powerful summary verses in chapter 10 that all say this very thing:

Hebrews 10:10
And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Hebrews 10:14
For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

Hebrews 10:18
Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.

His sacrifice is better! It was a once-for-all sacrifice that ends the need for any other sacrifice to be offered.
__________

Wow! That was a crash course in the theological argument of the book of Hebrews: “Jesus is Better.” Take a big breath.

Jesus is better than everything the Old Covenant offered. He is better than angels, better than Moses, better than any of the priests. Jesus brings a better covenant that is based upon a better sacrifice.

So, why did the author mention all of this? Because his readers were being tempted to go back to the Old Covenant, back to the old familiar practices of the priests and the sacrifices. These Jews grew up bringing their animals to the temple to be offered as sacrifices for the forgiveness of their sins. It was all so tangible and real. It was something that they could do for themselves in an effort to be right with God. But Jesus is so different. We don’t come with sacrifices according to the Old Covenant. We come to Jesus with faith, believing that his promise to us is better.

It’s not that these people were being tempted by their own doubts. There were others in the Jewish community who were trying to pull them back into their Judaism. They were actively trying to pull them back into their old manner of

And that’s why the book of Hebrews was written: to encourage the readers to “press on” in their faith. That’s my second point this morning:

2. So Press On!

This is the argument of the book! Jesus is better than the Old Covenant, so press on in believing and following him!

The same argument comes to us. Oh, we may not be tempted to fall back into the Jewish system of religious sacrifices and priests. In fact, none of us have ever even brought a single lamb for a sacrifice, as the original readers had done on many occasions. But we can be tempted to fall back into our old ways, before we believed in Jesus.

We may be tempted to fall back into worldly wisdom, seeking guidance from secular ideologies and philosophies over God's Word. We can think of how such things worked for us in former days, and that it might work for us now as well. We can turn back into the self-help author who was a genuine help to us in times past, rather than realizing that Jesus is our true help.

We can fall back into working hard, prioritizing work over rest, family, and relationship with God. Before we understood God's grace to us in Jesus to rest from our works, we may have been engaged in being super-productive. It helped us to feel good and accomplished. These busy things may be good things as well, feeding the poor and helping the homeless at the food bank. Yet all of this is useless when it comes to being justified by God. We simply need to rest in Jesus and what he has done for us.

We can fall back into materialism, seeking fulfillment through possessions and wealth instead of in Christ. In former days, we found satisfaction in all of the worldly advantages that wealth brought. We liked the vacations and the cruises and the tickets to the big game. But now, we don't have as much "stuff" as we had before. Our activities don't seem quite as exciting as before. We can feel empty because of our former life. But Jesus calls us to seek our fulfillment in him, not on the worldly goods.

We can fall back into living for status, pursuing fame, reputation, or approval. We did this by climbing the corporate ladder or seeking a large following online. We did this by priding ourselves to have the answers to the problems that many have, so they came to us. Jesus wants us to live for him and for his glory, not for ours.

We can fall back into our addictions, drugs, alcohol, or other substances that provided comfort or escape. When things were difficult or stressful in our lives, we sought diversion through these things in order to cope. But now, coping means trusting in Jesus to help you through the issues of life. His help is far more productive and long-lasting than anything that any substance can give.

We can fall back into legalism, depending on rules and rituals for righteousness rather than grace through Jesus. This made life a bunchy easier, as we found comfort in doing the right things and avoiding the wrong things. When you fulfilled all of your duties, you felt good as you were convinced that God was good with you because you did all of these things. Yes, it missed the heart, but it sure was easy. But after finding Jesus, however, we have found that true religion is of the heart, which is much more difficult to accomplish. It's easy for us to long for the former days when we simply had to focus upon what we did, rather than focusing upon our affections.

We can fall back into our manipulations of anger and bitterness, holding on to past hurts, resentment, or grudges. We liked the control that such attitudes held upon others. We could work the situation to get what we wanted. But now, we are told to leave it to the Lord to judge. "Vengeance is mine" says the Lord. Yet, we find this difficult, because, seemingly the Lord never quite fulfills such a promise.

We can fall back into a life of distractions. Perhaps you loved the screens before you heard about Jesus. You loved gaming and how many hours you could enjoy, mindlessly living in a virtual world. But in coming to Jesus, you realize that it's better to enjoy hours with him. He is better to watch and enjoy. Yet, your temptation in a time of stress is to fill the hours with the excitement of the virtual world.

All of these temptations are what we might deal with. I’m here to tell you today, based upon the message of Hebrews, that Jesus is better than all of this!

His wisdom is best. The best treasures are found in him. It is better to rest in him, than work to gain approval. He can take away all fear and anxiety and anger and bitterness. His sacrifice alone is sufficient for us to stand before the Lord. His forgiveness is better than vengeance. We can be content in all things in Jesus.

So, my exhortation to all of you this morning is simple: “Press on!” “Press on” in believing in Jesus. “Press on” knowing that a life following Jesus is best life. “Press on” trusting that the Lord has your best in mind through all of your life.

In the book of Hebrews, the writer of the book intersperses all of his arguments for the superiority of Jesus with warnings to his readers. There are five such warnings in the book. These warnings to the Jews are every bit as application to us today as they were some 2,000 years ago when they were written.

So, let’s look at the first warning:

• Don’t drift.

We see this in chapter 2, verses 1-4.

Hebrews 2:1-4
Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

I trust that you see the exhortation in verse 1, “Lest we drift away from it.” How easy is it to drift!

I’m picturing an easy flowing river. And people in that river, just sitting, just sitting in their innertubes, just drifting, just drifting down the river, enjoying their lives with nothing difficult and with nothing strenuous. All the time, they are unaware that the Niagara Falls are awaiting them. This is the picture of the first warning that we have in Hebrews: Don’t drift!

Don’t neglect your Bible reading. Don’t neglect your praying. Don’t turn away from your church family.

The second warning comes in chapter 3:

• Don’t harden your hearts.

We see the core of this exhortation in chapter 3, verses 7-11, in which the writer quotes from Psalm 95.

Hebrews 3:7-11
Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness, where your fathers put me to the test and saw my works for forty years. Therefore I was provoked with that generation, and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart; they have not known my ways.’ As I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter my rest.’”

The exhortation comes in verse 8, "Don’t harden your hearts." Don't harden your hearts against the Lord and against his word!

I’m picturing someone casually strolling down a path. And along this path, there’s a sign, a large, glaring radioactive warning sign. But they keep walking, not even glancing at the sign, just enjoying the walk, not even breaking their stride. nothing urgent. They don’t realize that they’re heading toward a dangerous zone, and the further they go, the more the radiation builds up. They’re unaware of the invisible threat surrounding them. not noticing how the danger intensifies with every step.

This is the picture of what it looks like when we harden our hearts. It’s subtle, it’s easy to ignore, but it leads us closer and closer to destruction.

We see the third warning in chapter 6,

• Press on

This exhortation is seen in chapter 6 and verse 1,

Hebrews 6:1-2
Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.

You see the exhortation there in verse 1, “go on to maturity.” The New American Standards says, “Press on to maturity.” This is where I get the verbiage of my point and the title of my message this morning.

I’m picturing runners on a challenging course, pushing themselves with every stride. They’re not just going through the motions. They’re straining with eyes focused ahead. Every muscle of their body is engaged. Nothing is easy. The road is uphill, the terrain rough, but they’re determined to keep moving forward, pressing on, refusing to slow down. They know the finish line is ahead, and the journey requires all their effort. This is the picture of what it means to press on to maturity in Hebrews 6:1. It’s not about drifting or coasting. It’s about straining toward what lies ahead, embracing the challenges, and running the race with perseverance.

So, be active and engaged in the work of the lord. Don’t settle for spiritual complacency. Always seek to deepen your relationship with Christ. Embrace the daily disciplines of grace in your lives. Pursue holiness. Serve others. exercise your gifts. stand firm in your faith. pursue peace in the body. be a giver. be an encourager. be patient with others. bring forth fruit in your lives.

Trust in the Lord for these things: 6:3 And this we will do if God permits.

Here’s the fourth warning:

• Don’t set Jesus aside

This warning begins in chapter 10, verses 26-31. It is the most severe of all of the warnings in the book of Hebrews:

Hebrews 10:26-31
For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

For the Jews in this book, sinning willfully is probably referring here to rejecting Jesus and returning to their Judaism. Knowing of his sacrifice, and the forgiveness that he offers, and then, returning to the old Jewish sacrifices.

For us, it probably refers to rejecting Jesus and his body. Knowing all about the sufficiency of the sacrifice of Christ to cleanse us from sins, “sinning willfully” to reject it all.

I don’t think that this refers to the Romans 7 sort of sin, where you are doing what you don’t want to do in your struggle with your flesh. Rather, it’s the deliberate rejection of Jesus, to live in high-handed rebellion against him.

I think that the words of Jonathan Edwards are appropriate here. In his famous sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” he writes,

The wrath of God is like great waters that are dammed for the present; they increase more and more, and rise higher and higher, till an outlet is given; and the longer the stream is stopped, the more rapid and mighty is its course, when once it is let loose.

It is true, that judgment against your evil works has not been executed hitherto; the floods of God's vengeance have been withheld; but your guilt in the mean time is constantly increasing, and you are every day treasuring up more wrath; the waters are constantly rising, and waxing more and more mighty; and there is nothing but the mere pleasure of God, that holds the waters back, that are unwilling to be stopped, and press hard to go forward. If God should only withdraw his hand from the flood-gate, it would immediately fly open, and the fiery floods of the fierceness and wrath of God, would rush forth with inconceivable fury, and would come upon you with omnipotent power; and if your strength were ten thousand times greater than it is, yea, ten thousand times greater than the strength of the stoutest, sturdiest devil in hell, it would be nothing to withstand or endure it.

The bow of God's wrath is bent, and the arrow made ready on the string, and justice bends the arrow at your heart, and strains the bow, and it is nothing but the mere pleasure of God, and that of an angry God, without any promise or obligation at all, that keeps the arrow one moment from being made drunk with your blood.

Indeed, "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Hebrews 10:31).

OK, let’s look at our last warning:

• Don’t come short

We see this in chapter 12. Look first at verse 15,

Hebrews 12:15
See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled;

I have seen this take place, where someone comes short of the grace of God, then a “root of bitterness” springs up within them. They spread their discontent in the church, and many are defiled by their own bitterness.

So, don’t come short of the grace of God! Realize that God’s love covers a multitude of sins! that’s God’s grace is all-sufficient for us! Consider the way that Hebrews 4:11 says it, “Let us therefore strive to enter that rest.” Work hard to rest in God and in his love and grace. Don’t come short of God’s grace.

Look at verse 25.

Hebrews 12:25
See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven.

If we refuse Jesus, we will not escape the judgement!

Such is the message of the book of Hebrews: “Jesus Is Better, So Press On!” Let’s conclude with the first two verses of chapter 12 as this captures the heart of these warning sections:

Hebrews 12:1-2
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 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.

John Colter was a mountain man. He loved the outdoors. He loved the wilderness. He loved an adventure. He was one of the few who travelled with Lewis and Clarke on their expedition of 1804-1806. He was skilled in hunting and trapping. As the expedition ended, John Colter took the next two years to continue his exploration of the newly purchased Louisiana Purchase. In 1807, he became "the first known person of European descent to enter the region now known as Yellowstone National Park, and to see the Teton Mountain Range." ^[2]

He was a tough guy, exploring these ranges in the winter months even when the nighttime temperatures are routinely 30 degrees below zero. After returning to report his findings, he again left to explore the wilderness. One event on that exploration has made John Colter famous.

Colter and a man named John Potts had set some traps and were travelling upstream in their canoe on a Branch of the Missouri river called Jefferson’s Fork, checking their traps for animals. Soon, they found themselves surrounded by hundreds of Blackfeet Indians along both sides of the river. The Indians demanded that they come ashore. Colter guided the canoe to the river bank and came ashore. Colter was immediately disarmed stripped of all his clothes, shoes and all. John Potts, however, never got out of the canoe. Instead, he attempted to make his escape. But, he was quickly shot full of arrows.

The Indians then held a counsel to figure out what to do with John Colter. Initially, they thought of setting him up as a mark to shoot at. However, they decided to make sport of him. The Indian Chief placed his hand on Colter’s shoulder and asked him if he was a fast runner. Colter, aware of the custom of the Blackfeet Indians, replied that he was very bad runner, even though, in fact, he was a good runner.

Like a fox at a fox-hunt, John Colter was let loose to run for his life. He was given a few hundred yards' head start. Then, at the chief’s commands, several hundred Indians were released in pursuit of their fox. Colter could hear the horrid war whoop of the several hundred Indians, who began their hunt. Knowing that his life depended upon it, John Colter ran as fast as he could. Before him was a flat plain, about six miles in breadth, until the Jefferson River. The plain was covered with the prickly pear, which tore into his bare feet. The Indians who pursued him had the advantage of wearing their moccasins.

Colter was half way across the plain before he looked behind him, only to see hundreds of Indians still in pursuit, scattered along the way. He had gained ground on most of them. But, one Indian, who carried a spear in his hand, was less than a hundred yards away.

Within a mile of the river, he began to hear the footsteps of this Indian. At every step, he expected to be struck down by the spear of his pursuer. When he looked back, he saw that he was not 20 yards ahead of him. So, Colter stopped suddenly, turned around and spread out his arms. The Indian was startled by Colter’s actions and stumbled to the ground, while he attempted to throw his spear, which stuck in the ground and broke. Colter snagged the appointed part of the spear, pinned the Indian to the earth, killing the Indian, and then continued his flight toward the river.

When the first of the Indians arrived at the place, they stopped and waited for others to join them, upon which they let out a hideous yell. This delay helped Colter, who finally arrived at the edge of the river, fainting and exhausted. He dodged behind the cottonwood trees, gaining some cover and jumped into the river. Fortunately, there was a small island, against which a raft of drift timber had lodged. He dove under the raft, and after a few attempts, was able to get his head above water among the trunks of the trees, covered over with smaller wood to the depth of several feet.

Only a few moments after securing himself, the group of Indians arrived at the river screeching and yelling. The Indians searched for him for much of the day, frequently walking on the raft, where Colter, chilled by the water was able to see them through the chinks in the raft. His greatest fear was that they might set the raft on fire. However, by night fall, the Indians had given up their search. Under cover of the night, Colter dived from under the raft, and swam silently down the river a considerable distance. Finally, he landed and continued to travel all night.

At this point, John Colter was greatly relieved at having escaped from the Indians. But, his situation was still dreadful. He was completely naked, under the burning sun of the day. The soles of his feet were entirely filled with the thorns of the prickly pear. He was hungry and had no means of killing game, although he saw an abundance around him. And, to make matters worse, it was at least a seven days journey to Lisa’s Fort, where he would find care and safety.

Most men would have died on the way, but John Colter made it to safety, surviving mostly on a root that was much esteemed by the Indians, known as "Ground Potato." ^[3]

What a great story. In fact, it’s such a great story that John Colter has an historical marker in Stuarts Draft, Virginia, where he was born, which speaks of how he ran for his life. ^[4]

Let us run for our lives! This is what John Colter did. This is what Hebrews is calling us to do. We are to run and press on and keep running toward Jesus. Run as if your life depends upon is, ... because it does.

So let's run for our lives, fixing our eyes upon Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. Let us not fall away. Let us press on. This is the book of Hebrews. This is the call on us today. Run for your life!

This sermon was delivered to Rock Valley Bible Church on October 5, 2025 by Steve Brandon.
For more information see www.rockvalleybiblechurch.org.

[1] Here are the links to the classes:
September 29, 2025 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9SKkq798e8
September 30, 2025 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLAhT2xxMBg
October 1, 2025 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoWAXccCRS0
October 2, 2025 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aglw9uQRLy8
October 3, 2025 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKWDFHwEKd0

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Colter

[3] My text above followed the account recorded by John Bradbury, who personally spoke with John Colter and recorded his story. The complete text of the story can be found here: http://lewis-clark.org/content/content-article.asp?ArticleID=2616

[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Colter