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Hebrews 12:1 (ANIV)
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.

DRAWING NOTES:

TIME OF DAY:
Unspecified by the text. I have set the time at mid morning.

LIGHTING NOTES:
The sun is in the top left of the scene, producing light tones on the left of objects, & shadows on the right. You can see shadows on the right of the running people. I’ve made it darker do to the vine shadows on the left of the scene, with brighter highlights on the front runner.

CHARACTERS PRESENT:
Five men running a race. In the background we see two of them have been tripped up by vine branches. The two runners behind them are looking worried.
Notice that the runner in front has a bit of vine still around his wrist.

RESEARCH/ADDITIONAL NOTES:
This cartoon is part of my Olympics 2012 series. I have decided to create some cartoons that refer to athletics, running, races, competing, sports, etc, designed to show what the Bible has to say about these subjects. I was quite surprised at how many references to competition, running a race, & athletics/sports I could find in the Bible! I hope that these Olympics 2012 cartoons will be useful for Christians evangelising during this important sporting event.

The key to this cartoon is in the latter part of the verse, “let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles”. The front runner has done that & is now running his race unencumbered by the vines, which represent “everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.”

The two men behind the front runner are tangled up in the vines (which represent sin & wrong-doing in our lives)
& have taken a nasty fall.

All five men are “running with perseverance the race marked out for them.”

I found some photographs on the internet of marathon race runners & people falling over which helped me to compose this scene. I decided to use grape vines as the plants that tangle, as these were & are very common plants in the Holy Lands. And let’s face it, wine & alcohol can be quite a sin entanglement for some of us, so that plant is doubly representative of sin!

The Bible Knowledge Commentary has this to say on verse 1:
‘The life of faith has been amply attested by this great cloud of Old Testament witnesses. (This does not mean that they watch believers today.) Hence believers ought to run with perseverance (hypomonēs; cf. 10:32, 36; 12:2-3,7) the race marked out in their Christian lives, setting aside whatever hinders and the sin that so easily entangles (euperistaton, “ambushes or encircles”).’

The Greek word hypomonēs means enduring, endurance, patience, perseverance, steadfastness.

The Greek word euperistaton means entangle, beset, encompassing (encircling), surrounding, “wholly around”; (figuratively) a serious hindrance that “encircles” (hampers) someone who desperately needs to advance.

The Bible Knowledge Commentary continues about verse 2 (which is not part of this cartoon, but I include it for the sake of completeness here!):
‘Their supreme Model for this continued to be Jesus, however admirable any Old Testament figure might be. He is both the Author and Perfecter of our faith. The word “author” (archēgon) was used in 2:10 (see comments there) and suggests that Jesus “pioneered” the path of faith Christians should follow. He also “perfected” the way of faith since He reached its end successfully. He kept His eye on the joy set before Him, the “joy” alluded to in 1:9 wherein He obtained an eternal throne. The believers’ share in that joy must also be kept in view. After enduring (hypemeinen, the verb related to the noun hypomonē in 12:1; cf. vv. 3, 7) the cross and scorning its shame, Jesus assumed that triumphant position at the right hand of the throne of God (cf. 1:3; 8:1; 10:12) which presages His and the believers’ final victory (cf. 1:13-14).’

Follow this link to see the black and white version on the Free Stuff page: Black and white version of Hebrews 12 – Throw off sin entanglements in the race
You will need to scroll down that page to see the picture!