Why does Hebrews 12:2 say to “despising the shame”?

When it says “despising the shame” in Hebrews 12:2, what does that phrase mean?

In the face of every difficulty, we look to Jesus as our greatest model. 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 sat at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:1–2, ESV).

The author of Hebrews uses the metaphor of a race to describe the faith of his readers. Jesus has already finished the race we’re in. He has finished the race of faith and is now enthroned at God’s right hand on the throne in heaven. Keep your focus on Jesus, and you will accomplish your mission. Our Lord’s unwavering patience and obedience provide us with an example of how to handle adversity. Keeping Him in mind at all times will give us the fortitude we need to make it through any difficulty. In addition, we can have hope because we know that until Christ returns, the One who began a good work in us will see it through to completion (Philippians 1:6).

When He went to the cross in obedience to His Father, Jesus suffered more than any of us ever could. Jesus endured unfathomable pain and humiliation on the cross: “He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with profound misery. We ignored him and turned our backs on him. We did not care that he was despised. Nevertheless, he bore our frailties; he bore our sufferings. And here we were under the impression that all his problems were divine retribution for his crimes. For our disobedience, for our crimes, he bore the piercing and the crushing. To make us whole, he had to be beaten. That’s why Jesus got flogged—so that we could get well (Isaiah 53:3–5, NLT).

Neglecting the embarrassment is the same as despising it. For whatever reason, Jesus opted to overlook or ignore the humiliation that would befall Him on the crucifixion. As He took on the sins of the world, He allowed Himself to be mocked and rejected by humanity. Think of the shame the Lamb of God, who was without sin, must have felt. The humiliation of the cross, however, was something Jesus deliberately disregarded. He faithfully accomplished the mission God planned for Him (John 17:4).

What gave Jesus the strength to look upon the shame of the cross with contempt? The main theme of this section of Hebrews is the faith that He had in the future. To the Lord, “the joy that was set before him” was of paramount importance. He had trust that God would bring him back from the dead (as prophesied in Psalm 16:8-10 and fulfilled in Acts 2:24-33) and raise him to the highest position of honor and glory in heaven (see Psalm 110:1; Acts 2:34–36).

For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all” (Hebrews 10:10, emphasis added). This salvation was part of the joy placed before Jesus, the motive that enabled Him to endure (Hebrews 10:10, NLT). Jesus knew the shame and humiliation He would endure on the crucifixion, but He chose to ignore them. Instead, He focused on the eternal reward and the salvation of souls that His crucifixion would bring about (see John 3:14–16; Acts 5:30–31; Romans 5:9–10; 10:9–10; 1 John 4:9–10; 2 Timothy 1:9–10; Revelation 7:9–10).

The heroes of faith shown in Hebrews 11 were able to persevere because they kept their eyes on the future and the joy that was waiting for them (Hebrews 11:10, 14–16, 24–27). As the apostle Paul put it, “I am willing to endure everything if it would bring salvation and eternal glory in Christ Jesus to those God has chosen” (2 Timothy 2:10, NLT). Keeping our eyes on Jesus helps us overcome weakness and press on through adversity, “despising the shame” (see 2 Timothy 2:11–12; Romans 6:8; 8:17; Hebrews 10:36). He is the reason we can face the challenges ahead of us and complete the work that God has for us to do (Philippians 3:12–14).