“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
King James Version (KJV)
12:2 Looking - From all other things. To Jesus - As the wounded Israelites to the brazen serpent. Our crucified Lord was prefigured by the lifting up of this; our guilt, by the stings of the fiery serpents; and our faith, by their looking up to the miraculous remedy. The author and finisher of our faith - Who begins it in us, carries it on, and perfects it. Who for the joy that was set before him - Patiently and willingly endured the cross, with all the pains annexed thereto. And is set down - Where there is fulness of joy.
Heb 12:2 Looking unto Jesus. In running, Jesus should be constantly regarded as the example. The author and finisher of [our] faith. Not "our faith", but "the faith" in the Greek. The Gospel, which rests upon faith, is meant rather than the individual faith of the saint. Jesus is its author and perfected it. He is the exemplar of all who live by faith. Hence we should look to him. For the joy that was set before him. The joy of saving men and of sitting at God's right hand. Endured the cross, despising the shame. Not only its pain, but its shame. It was in that age the most ignominious of deaths. And is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. In the place of heavenly honor.