Bits of Torah Truths – Torah Concept in the NT: Let Us Lay Aside Every Weight – Episode 626
Hebrews 12:1
לָכֵן גַּם אֲנַחְנוּ, אֲשֶׁר עֲנַן עֵדִים כָּזֶה אוֹפֵף אוֹתָנוּ, נָסִירָה נָא כָּל מַעֲמָסָה וְגַם אֶת הַחֵטְא הַלּוֹכֵד עַל נְקַלָּה, וּבְסַבְלָנוּת נָרוּצָה אֶת הַמֵּרוֹץ הֶעָרוּךְ לְפָנֵינוּ,
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Hebrews 12:1
12:1 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, (NASB)
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The Torah contains rich thematic parallels to the exhortation in Hebrews 12:1 to “lay aside every weight.” While the NT frames this as shedding hindrances to spiritual endurance, the Torah embeds this principle in laws and narratives that call for purity, separation, and removal of burdens that obstruct covenantal obedience and holiness. – Torah Parallels to Lay Aside Every Weight – Unleavened Bread — Exodus 12:15 “Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven out of your houses…” Leaven (chametz) symbolizes corruption, pride, and spiritual baggage. The removal of leaven before Passover is a physical act of laying aside what defiles a direct parallel to shedding spiritual weight. Yom Kippur — Leviticus 16:29–30 The Day of Atonement is a national purging, a laying aside of sin and guilt. The high priest removes impurity from the camp through ritual and intercession. Purification Laws — Leviticus 11–15 These chapters detail how to remove ritual impurity (e.g., skin disease, bodily emissions). Though physical, they symbolize the need to shed what contaminates, spiritually and communally. Idolatry Purge — Deuteronomy 7:25–26 Israel is commanded to destroy idols and reject anything that defiles. This is a radical laying aside of spiritual weight, cultural, emotional, and material. Garment Laws — Deuteronomy 22:11 Symbolic of separation and purity, not mixing what is incompatible. Spiritually, this reflects the call to remove entanglements that hinder holiness. Hebrews 12:1 urges believers to “lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles.” The Torah parallels this through: Physical purging (leaven, impurity, idols), Ritual separation (garments, clean/unclean laws), and Covenantal cleansing (Yom Kippur, sacrificial system). In both the NT and the Torah, laying aside burdens is essential for walking in obedience, purity, and endurance. This is how the Author of the book of Hebrews taught Torah, the Torah has not passed away!
