On millions of inhabited worlds, tens of trillions of evolving creatures who may have been tempted to give up the moral struggle and abandon the good fight of faith, have taken one more look at Jesus on the cross and then have forged on ahead, inspired by the sight of God’s laying down his incarnate life in devotion to the unselfish service of man.
Close in meaning, found by a language model. A match does not mean the teachings are the same.
Therefore let’s also, seeing we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let’s run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising its shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
If it were lawful for us to paint as on a tablet the religion of your story, the spectators wouldn’t shudder at seeing the mother of seven children enduring for the sake of religion various tortures even to death. It would have been a worthwhile thing to have inscribed on the tomb itself these words as a memorial to those of the nation, “Here an aged priest, an aged woman, and seven sons, are buried through the violence of a tyrant, who wished to destroy the society of the Hebrews. These also avenged their nation, looking to God, and enduring torments to death.” For it was truly a divine contest which was carried through by them. For at that time virtue presided over the contest, approving the victory through endurance, namely, immortality, eternal life. Eleazar was the first to contend. The mother of the seven children entered the contest, and the kindred contended. The tyrant was the antagonist; and the world and living men were the spectators. Reverence for God conquered, and crowned her own athletes. Who didn’t admire those champions of true legislation? Who were not amazed? The tyrant himself, and all their council, admired their endurance, through which, they also now stand beside the divine throne and live a blessed life. For Moses says, “All the saints are under your hands.” These, therefore, having been sanctified through God, have been honored not only with this honor, but that also by the fact that because of them, the enemy didn’t overcome our nation. That tyrant was punished and their country purified. For they became the ransom to the sin of the nation. The Divine Providence saved Israel, which was afflicted before, by the blood of those pious ones and the death that appeased wrath. For the tyrant Antiochus, looking to their courageous virtue and to their endurance in torture, proclaimed that endurance as an example to his soldiers. They proved to be to him noble and brave for land battles and for sieges; and he conquered and stormed the towns of all his enemies.
But we see him who has been made a little lower than the angels, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that by the grace of God he should taste of death for everyone.