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Behold the City Jerry and Gladys, an African American couple, began attending our church when they received a Vacation Bible School flier on their door. They wanted a safe spiritual harbor for their grandson Kenny, so they visited our service on a Sunday morning. I remember vividly their first visit. As I asked visitors to stand and tell us how they found out about our church, Gladys stood and sternly said, ?I would like to know why YOU are here.? A silence fell over our service. Gladys clearly wanted to know why a white man had come into a middle class, 80% Black American community, to start a church. I appreciated her honesty and frankness! Perhaps she asked what many thought but feared to verbalize. I was on the spot, and I answered carefully from Scripture from John 4:10. I said, ?Jesus entered the city of Samaria and because the Samaritans had no dealing with the Jews the woman of Samaria wanted to know why she would ask her for a drink. Jesus replied that ‘If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.’ We are here to share the gift of God which is eternal life with people.? My response disarmed her and I could sense the congregation, comprised of Black Americans, West Indians, and Filipinos, breath a sigh of relief. Jerry, meanwhile, had vowed to himself never to attend church for as long as he lived. He had seen too much outward show, hypocrisy and politics in churches, and he had heard too much gossip. Earlier in his life Jerry was an admirer of Malcolm X. I could not believe that Jerry was now dead. I had seen him the night before when he picked up Kenny, his eight-year old grandson, from our weekly Tuesday afternoon Bible Club. His last words to me were, ?If Gladys or I can do anything to help you, please let us know. We love all that you and Debbie do for us.? Gladys and Jerry were raising their grandson, and Jerry was a friend and a father for Kenny. Jerry and Gladys were our friends and they encouraged our church and my family in so many ways. I went over to see Gladys and she woke up Kenny. I entered into his room and told Kenny the news. We cried and prayed together. I felt a great sense of helplessness as I did my best to reach out to this dear family at a time of sudden loss. I realize that the people who have hurts and sorrows in our cities today are not different from those who suffered in Jesus’ day. From the start of His earthly ministry in the city of Nazareth in Luke 4 to His atoning death on Calvary’s cross outside the city of Jerusalem, Jesus Christ intimately involved Himself with city work. His first message in the city of Nazareth incited the violence of the people with which Jesus grew. They rose up with wrath and screamed shouts of death as they ?thrust him out of the city? (Luke 4:29). Jesus was thrust out of his own hometown! In the silence of sadness, Jesus allowed them to push him out of His beloved Nazareth all the way to a cliff that they might brutally cast him down headfirst. Standing on the brink of that hill, Jesus demonstrated sovereign strength and control as he stopped, passed through the midst of them and ?went his way? (Luke 4:30). What a picture of God’s ways! God allows man to willfully reject His Word and His love, but God only allows man to go so far. Ultimately, God will have ?his way.? Thrust out of one city; Jesus was not cast down. He continued ministry in the city without discouragement. He entered directly into the city of Capernaum and preached there. At that point, Jesus stated a foundational principle of his earthly ministry when He said, ?I must preach the Kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent? (Luke 4:43). In 1858 a citywide revival swept the city of Philadelphia. Dudly Tyng pastored a large fashionable church in this city, but like Jesus his strong preaching against sin caused his cultured congregation to reject him. He left this church and began another church that began to grow. He also started noontime meetings at a YMCA. On Tuesday, March 30, 1858 over 5,000 heard him preach a sermon entitled ?Go now ye that are men and serve the Lord? (Exodus 10:11). Over 1,000 men responded at the invitation to commit their hearts and lives to Christ. He said on that occasion, ?I must tell my Master’s message and I would rather that this right arm amputated than to come short of my duty in delivering God’s message to you.? The following Wednesday, in an accident, his right arm was pulled into a farm machine. It became obvious he would not recover from the shock and loss of blood. Before Dudly Tyng would enter God’s presence, however, he whispered these words from his hospital bed: ?Stand up for Jesus.? These were the words that inflamed George Duffield to pen the song with this title. Today we need to stand up for Jesus in the great urban centers of our world and proclaim the word of God. Let us also have this principle guiding our life. ?I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also, for therefore am I sent? (Luke 4:43). As we survey the city work of Jesus Christ let us look at three different cities and three different souls whose needs He met in the city. In each of these three passages we see the word ?behold? and the word ?city.? As a young Christian I began attending a church in NYC and also I read Scripture that pointed me to Behold the City. This was the first message about the city that the Lord greatly impressed upon my heart, and I want to share it with you. My book is taken from this sermon title because the Lord used this in my life to Behold the City. Luke seeks to get our attention to behold the people of the city who received grace from our Lord Jesus Christ. Police cars in New York City contain the three letters CPR. An ambulance crew uses CPR, or cardio pulmonary resuscitation, to breathe life into a victim struggling for breath. The police CPR remind us that they are ministers of God who labor with ?Courtesy, Professionalism, and Respect.? A similar attitude or respect for human life should exist in our hearts for all image bearers of God as we ask God to use us to give spiritual CPR to lost souls through God’s life-giving word. Jesus was unlike the religious rabbis. This leper senses a welcoming spirit from the Savior; he comes humbly and helplessly before the Great Physician. Instinctively trained to run from a religious man, this man with his filthy rags comes to Christ who had laid aside his regal robes in heaven to clothe Himself with flesh for this very purpose; to touch such hopefully hopeless sinners. All of us at one time thought we were hopeless. Nevertheless, when we came to Christ we came with hope. Against hope he believed in hope as in faith he cried, ?Lord, if thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean.? This man had faith in the divine person and power of Jesus Christ. The word, ?canst? is dunamai, a word often translated ?power? or ?miracle.? He believed in His heart that Jesus was Lord who had the ability in Himself to make him clean. The Law said he was to ?Put a covering upon his upper lip? and cry ?Unclean, unclean? (Lev.13:45). When he met Jesus this leper did not cry ?unclean? because He knew Jesus could make him clean. This leper also shows great hope in entering into the city, for they were to ?dwell alone? and ?without the camp? (Lev.13:46). True to His Word, Jesus did not cast him out, for Jesus came ?to seek and to save that which was lost? (Luke 19:10). Jesus performed the amazing. He touched the untouchable, He cured the incurable, and He loved the unlovable. No one is broken beyond repair if they believe and come to the Lord Jesus Christ. If God is going to use us in the city today, we must also do the unthinkable. We must touch the untouchable, love the unlovable, and by God’s grace we can see the incurable, cured. Thousands roam the urban jungles with oozing spiritual sores and deep emotional hurt. Their only hope is the divine touch of the Great Physician. I sat in the subway waiting for the doors to close when the lights went out. I was not a Christian at the time, and I was returning home after a rock music concert at Central Park. It was July in 1977, and when the lights went out in the Columbus Circle subway station I did not realize the extent of gloom. I made my way back up to the street and darkness shrouded the night; the whole city had indeed experienced a blackout. To see this city of bright lights in this condition amazed me. I was able to squeeze onto a bus going uptown. The bus filled quickly with straphangers. At each stop, more people frantically and uselessly tried to push their way onto a bus already packed to the limit. I could see panic in the eyes of those left behind as the bus doors closed. As I made my way uptown to the Bus Terminal by the George Washington Bridge, I heard robbery and looting throughout the city. During the next couple of days there would be over one billion dollars in damage caused by human greed and evil. Some called it ?the night of terror.? Appliance stores, gift shops, clothing stores, and grocery stores were robbed; shelves were emptied bare by thieves. Without the light, sin came to the surface and spread like leprosy. The people loved the darkness rather than light and the blackout demonstrated their sinful, depraved condition. New York City sometimes reminds me of a leper, but we need to love this city that often seems unlovable. We need to touch this city that often seems untouchable. We need to pray our city with its oozing sores will be healed by the power of Jesus Christ! Behold a Dead City Son! Luke 7:11-15 In the city of Nain Jesus meets a dead city son and his despondent city mother. ?Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her? (Luke 7:12). Luke now confronts us with death and discouragement. We see in this city great grief, for more than a son had died. Not only was a mother burying her son but a lonely widow mourned the untimely loss of her only son. Here one sees the passionate longing of a grief stricken mother. At Jewish funerals, flutes, cymbals, and trumpets played a mournful dirge. Friends who carried the coffin were relieved and replaced. During these intervals, loud shouts of lamentation filled the air as professional mourners cried. In the midst of this grief the Lord of life comes to provide great grace. As Jesus sees this heavyhearted funeral procession and this widow in need, ?he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not.? Jesus’ compassion ?approximates the moral equivalent of a physical cardiac arrest? (2). Learn this vital lesson for urban ministry: in the city we must have compassion, for this is the badge of credibility. Our message and life will have credibility when others see compassion rather than complacency. People do not care how much we know until they know how much we care. In compassion, Jesus sees. It was sight that moved Jesus’ inner being. Jesus’ compassion then speaks: ?Weep not.? His words prepared this mother for a mighty miracle. In his earthly life, Jesus never met a funeral without putting it to death! Then Jesus in tenderness touched the unclean coffin. There is practical action behind real compassion. Finally, Jesus speaks again, this time to the dead. Jesus communicates with the power to raise the dead. This is missions! His command conquers death. ?Young man, I say unto thee, Arise? (Luke 7:14). I remember Dr. Ian Paisley praying once, ?Lord: speak with the voice that raises the dead!? His Word still penetrates souls dead in trespasses and in sins and raises them to life. When the grace of our Lord manifested itself, great gladness resulted. When grace meets grief, gladness results. That crowd of mourners turned into a multitude of victors as the young man sat up on the funeral bier and ?began to speak? (Luke 7:15). When the Lord gives life to one dead, there are definite evidences of the reality of life. One indication that one dead in sin now lives is they speak. New converts must be taught to speak to God in prayer and to speak for God as a witness. Another wonderful truth in this narrative is Jesus ?delivered him (the son once dead) to his mother.? Jesus seeks to restore broken relationships in families that have experienced crushing sorrow. ?And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people? (Luke 7:16). Our urban centers are full of widowed mothers who sorrow over the death of their children. We need Jesus’ gracious compassion to move us to action. Real compassion cannot leave us immobile and static. At one time in our church we had five mothers who had sons murdered in cold blood. These mothers needed the comfort found only in the word of God, and it brought my heart great joy and satisfaction ministering to hearts so hungry to hear from God and His Word. Our cities are also full of youth hardened and toughened by the concrete streets. Many know nothing but hatred and rejection. One teen shot and killed a man yet coldly stated, ?It wasn’t nothing. I didn’t think twice about it. If I had to kill him, I had to kill him. That’s the way I look at it cause I’m young. The most I could’ve gotten was eighteen months.? City youth often seek out gangs in order to find security and acceptance. When home and school do not work out, they look to each other for islands of safety and a sense of belonging. The Lord of life still rules and reigns to bring His grace and gladness to the city where grief seems to prevail. In another city Jesus meets a defiled city woman. ?And behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment? (Luke 7:37). Luke beckons us to now gaze upon a woman ?which was a sinner? but now she was a saint. The overwhelming love of God makes whole a prostitute woman. I see three simple secrets revealed by the life of this saved sinner woman. Significant CHANGE: This woman gives to us the secret of how God can effect significant change in the direction of a life. The secret to lasting change is that one repents at the feet of Jesus. Repentance is a change of mind as a gift of God on account of God’s goodness. Real repentance is accompanied by a sorrow for sin and a saving faith in Jesus Christ (Acts 3:19, Acts 20:21, 2 Cor.7:9, Rom.2:4). This woman realized God was good, she was deeply convicted over her sin, and she mourned deeply over her sin. She came to the feet of Jesus to lay down her burden and find the blessing of eternal life. Ministry that does not teach the vital importance of repentance will not see lasting change in lives. Many misunderstand repentance today, both inside the church and outside the church. The fact remains that repentance is a truth that gives us hope that change is possible by the grace of God. Genuine LOVE: This nameless woman also gives to us the secret of loving God much. This woman with a flaming heart of appreciation to God shows us that in the city there is great potential to see souls forgiven and fall in love with Christ. What makes certain Christians love their Savior so much, and other Christians go through the motions of empty service? Who will love Jesus much? Jesus tells us the one who has been forgiven much. ?Her sins, which are many, are forgiven: for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little? (Luke 7:47). Our love for God never earns forgiveness, but the measure of our love for God proves forgiveness. One does not need to sin much in the past to love God much in the present, either. All must come to the realization that we have sinned greatly against God. The greatness of our sin against God lies not so much in the act committed as in the greatness of the Person we have sinned against. Sometimes sinners saved out of wretched backgrounds can shine the brightest for our Lord, for they have a deep consciousness of their sin. Simon the religious Pharisee lacked the essence of true religion, which is a love relationship with God. He never grasped the amazing grace of God’s forgiveness. The woman of the city, however, entered into the forgiveness of Jesus and challenges us to never get over the grace of God in forgiving us of our sin. Our love for God will be in direct proportion to our realization that we have been forgiven much by Him. Real PEACE The third secret we learn from this woman is the secret of real peace. The secret of peace in the soul is discovered through the assurance of salvation. Jesus gives this woman His word of assurance that granted her peace. ?And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace? (Luke 7:50). Teaching the assurance of salvation is one of the first lessons a disciple maker must share with a new convert. Jesus also gave assurance to the paralytic man he healed at the pool of Bethesda. That man did not know much about Jesus, and John writes that when he was questioned by the religious hypocrites he ?wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away? (John 5:13). Afterward, Jesus finds him and teaches him assurance of salvation. ?Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.? The phrase ?behold, thou art made whole? emphasizes to this man that what took place in his heart and body was real. This gave him assurance in the reality of God’s work in his life. I seek to teach young converts very early in their spiritual life the fact of assurance of salvation. This is the secret of going with God’s peace that passes all understanding. In each of these three passages we find two key words: behold and city. These narratives live on, for they help us to behold the city today. People all around us are just like this despised leper, the dead young man, the despondent mother, and the defiled woman. As a young believer I met a vibrant Christian named Joe Colotta. Before his conversion, Joe lived a selfish life of sin and heroin addiction. One night he went to jump off the George Washington Bridge to end his life. He walked to the middle of this massive structure connecting New York City to New Jersey, but he could not bring himself to terminate his earthly life. He felt like an abject failure. Not long after this, he walked through a park in upper Manhattan. He asked himself the question, ?Who is God?? As he looked down in despair, he saw a brief phrase scratched in the ground with a stick; ?God is love.? Soon after this he came to the Lord of love and served our Savior with a heart of appreciation. Beholding the multitudes in the city makes one feel like the little boy on that Austrailian beach. I have heard it told that each year thousands of starfish are washed up on the sand in Austrailia. Usually at night, at high tide, a large wave will bring them in so far that the water will not carry them back out. Then, as the sun shines on the starfish, they slowly dry out and die. One morning a tourist came out of his hotel for a jog. On the beach he noticed a little boy picking up stranded starfish and throwing them back into the sea. There were thousands of them up and down the shore. The man ran up to the boy and said, ?I know what you’re doing and I think I know why you are doing it. But there are thousands of starfish here and miles and miles of beach. Do you really think that what you are doing is going to make a difference?? The boy said, ?I don’t know but I think it will make a difference to this one.? He picked up another starfish and threw it into the sea. The ministry is like that. We must behold the city one soul at a time, having the kind of compassion that makes a difference on the souls we touch. 1. Edersheim, Alfred. The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah. (MacDonald Publishing Company, 1886), p. 495. |