Heb. 12:1-11, Synonym Study of “patience” (2)

Before the listing of the verb form (hupomeno) here are a couple of observations about yesterday’s noun listing.  One is to note the strong link between perseverance and hope.  Perseverance is never the end in itself.  It ultimately is tied to our experience of hope in affliction.  And note that perseverance is one of the major “virtues” of the Christian life.  Either it was part of a list where one virtue led to the next (e.g. Rom. 5, 2 Pt. 1), or tied to “hope” in the three cardinal virtues (faith, hope and love; e.g. 1 Th. 1:3), or part of a list of virtues that command true religion (e.g. 1 Tim. 6:11).  Having said that, hupomone is not in the Gal. 5:22-23 list of the fruit of the Spirit but makrothumia (patience, longsuffering) is.

hupomeno (verb): to endure, bear bravely, calmly (this is a compound term, combining “meno,” to remain, the term used in John 15 and 1 John, “to abide”, with “hypo,” which in English means it is remaining that is extreme.) 

·       Mt. 10:22: he who endures to the end will be saved (also Mt. 24:13; Mk. 13:13)

·       Lk. 2:43: Jesus at age 12 lingered behind in Jerusalem

·       Ac. 17:14: brothers sent Paul away, but Silas and Timothy remained

·       Rom. 12:12: rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing in prayer (this especially fits the gift of mercy in 12:8)

·       1 Cor. 13:7: love bears, believes, hopes and endures all things

·       2 Tim. 2:10: Paul endured all for sake of elect

·       2 Tim. 2:12: if we endure, we shall also reign with Him

·       Hb. 10:32: the Hebrews had previously endured a great struggle with suffering

·       Hb. 12:2: for the joy before Him Jesus endured the cross, despising the shame

·       Hb. 12:3: Consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners

·       Hb. 12:7: if you endure chastening, God is dealing with you as His sons

·       Jas 1:12: blessed the man who endures temptation

·       Jas 5:11: we count them blessed who endure

·       1 Pt. 2:20: so what if you are beaten for your faults & you take it patiently; but if you do good & suffer & take it patiently, that is commendable before God.

More than once there has been a connection between “endurance” and joyfulness.  What God produces is “joyful” patience (Col. 1:11).  The endurance is characterized by “rejoicing in hope” and is produced through constant prayer (Rom. 12:12).  Jesus, for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross (Heb. 12:2).  God does not produce endurance that is characterized by complaining and griping.

Now, if I may make a suggestion, if you have time go back through this list and the one in the previous post and see how many times this quality if used of God.  In our next post we plan to let the “classic” word study scholars comment on this family (hupomone) and the other family (makrothumia).