A few weeks ago there were a couple of events put on by churches. Mark Driscoll’s Burn Your Plastic Jesus series saw ten thousand people come to the Entertainment Centre, and another event organised by Sydney’s Asian Christian community, called RICE, gathered about four thousand. They were both pretty successful, but I suspect that they paled in comparison to Billy Graham’s campaigns through the 1950s. "The final meeting in Melbourne was at the MCG and drew 143,750 people. [Just for some perspective, that was a record – the next-highest attendance figure at the G was for an Aussie Rules grand final; 21,000 less people went to a Grand Final than went to hear the Gospel] The final meeting at the Sydney Cricket Ground was linked to the Showground with over 150,000 people attending and another estimated one million people hearing by radio or landline. In the campaign period more than 130,000 signified commitments to Christ."
I scored a few books at the Spring Fair (much to Fiona’s horror - although she has forgiven me for bringing more into the house). One of them was about the 1957 New York Crusade. Billy Graham ran it over 110 days. 97 meetings in Madison Square Garden. On average nearly 18,000 people attended EACH meeting. Over two million people from that one city attended. 56,000 people came forward to publicly accept Jesus. 22,000 of those were under twenty-one.
That’s some big numbers. Even better than just the numbers, I love the idea of that many people physically taking themselves somewhere to hear about Jesus. Not just hearing about him on the radio, or reading someone’s John 3:16 bumper-sticker, but being prodded by the Spirit enough to physically get up and GO!
In our Gospel reading this morning, we see a massive crowd. And they’re chasing Jesus. Have a look at the opening verse from the reading - chapter 3 verse 7: Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed. It’s not the first time – and it won’t be the last time – that he’s chased by a crowd.
In Mark’s account, we can see where people have come from. And, because Mark’s a good writer, he uses an expanding pattern. He starts at the edge of the Sea of Galilee and moves out.
Galilee: relatively local. They might have walked from across the road, or skirted the lake, or come from an area within a 20-kilometre radius. That’s like a walk-in from Bundeena (road, not ferry), or Bankstown just to hear Reg preach. (You’d go, wouldn’t you? Course you would…)
Judea – try walking from Parramatta or Stanwell.
Jerusalem – think past Kiama, Woy-Woy, Blackheath.
Idumea – up to 180km.
Across-the-Jordan and Tyre & Sidon: actually a lot closer, under a hundred kays. But they were foreigners, heathens, Gentiles and, worse, Samaritans...
Crowds can be dangerous beasts, and the fear that the crowd might literally squash him to death is not an exaggeration.
This is a crowd that wants something.In Mark 6 we get this picture: Having crossed over onto the land they anchored at Gennesaret. And as they came out of the boat, people immediately recognised him. They ran around that whole region and began to put the sick onto mats. And wherever he went – villages, cities, countryside – they were putting the sick into the marketplaces and were begging him that even the hem of his garment might touch them. The chaos is growing in intensity. And, what’s worse, it’s getting in the way of what Jesus had come to do – preach!
Back at Mark 1:35 we see Jesus up in the hills before dawn to pray in solitude – only to be chased down by an edgy Simon: “Everyone is looking for you!” Now immediately before this, we read that a great mob had invaded Simon’s own house: 1:33, the whole city gathered together at the door, and Jesus healed many who had diseases and cast out many demons. So Simon’s pretty anxious to find Jesus – everyone is looking for you… in my lounge-room!
What was Jesus preaching? Mark 1:15 “The time has been fulfilled – the Kingdom of God is approaching – repent and believe in the Good News.”
Thousand and thousands are following him. Some thought he was raising an army to overthrow their Roman oppressors and the corrupt kingship of Herod. John records that after the miraculous feeding of five thousand men, they began to say “this one is truly the Prophet, the one coming into the world!” Jesus, having known that they were about to come and seize him and make him King, withdrew again to a mountain by himself. Is that helping him preach or hindering? How is one man going to preach so everyone can hear?
Jesus had a better plan. Back to our reading: Mark 3: 13. Jesus went up on a mountainside, and called to him those he wanted – designating them APOSTLES. What’s the difference between disciples and apostles? The terms seem to be interchangeable when the Gospels speak about these people that Jesus chose. So what sets these twelve disciples apart from what Luke 6 calls “the great crowd of disciples”?
Apostello - . It's the Greek word that means "to send out." Apostolon - is "the sent-out ones". Envoys, designated messengers. And certainly we’ll see them later, through the book of Acts, as the ones sent out, as messengers in His name; the Sent-Out ones with the Good Message. He appointed twelve – designating them apostolon - that they might be with him, and that he might send them out to preach and have authority to drive out demons. These are the twelve he appointed:
He laid the name Peter on Simon; to James the son of Zebedee and John his brother he laid the name Boanerges, which means Sons of Thunder; Andrew; Philip; Bartholomew; Matthew; Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus; Thaddeus; Simon the Cananean (or Zealot), and Judas Iscariot who also betrayed him.
Twelve good men and true – well, nearly. Judas Iscariot we know enough about.
Simon will grow in prominence as being the one most likely to say something rash and regret it instantly. He'll swear to defend Jesus to the death, and will be the first to deny him in front of men.
I doubt very much if these guys would get past initial interviews in most companies –with the exception of Judas (perfect executive material) I doubt that any of these guys would survive a job interview for the lowest levels of management, much less run a business.
But Jesus knows people better than people know people.
To the one who denied him again and again and again, Jesus has that painful, beautiful conversation on a beach:
Simon son of John – do you love me? You know that I love you. Feed my lambs.
Simon son of John – do you truly love me? Yes Lord, you know that I love you. Take care of my sheep.
Simon son of John – do you love me? Lord you know all things; you know I love you. Feed my sheep.
And the last thing that we hear Jesus say to Simon Peter is the first thing we hear him say… Follow me.
Jesus knows people better than people know people. And I'm so thankful for it.
There were thousands and thousands of people who followed Jesus, and there are so many more who follow Jesus today.
Some follow Jesus because… well, it’s traditional. Mum and Dad did it. It's a bit like voting Labor or Republican... It's what we do 'round here...
Some follow Jesus because, tragically, they were told that Jesus would make all their dreams come true and all the bad bits go away.
Some follow Jesus because that’s what good people do, and church is where kind people go, and they like kind people.
Most people, though, follow Jesus for far better reasons than that – and this church is blessed with so many saints that have not only heard the Good Message, they clung to it for dear life, surrendered their old self and their old life at the foot of the Cross. They heard Jesus say follow me. They’ve heard someone like a Billy Graham, or a Jack Derrett, or a Keith Thompson, or a Cath Robertson, or an Alf or a Wilma, or an Alan Watson, or an Al Webb or an Al Robbo, or a Dr Bonamy, or a Bill or a Norma Andrews... or any one of you saints explain what Jesus meant when He said I am the way, and the Truth and the Life. It’s with gratitude that they see the Father’s grace and mercy and it’s with a glad heart that they say thank you that He has chosen them, called them, elected them, said Follow me..
So – time for the hard question. Where are the crowds? Where are the swarming hordes? Where are the vast crowds that we saw fifty years ago in Sydney and Melbourne and New York? What’s changed? Why is it that we call it a miracle to get ten thousand Christians together for one night? What’s changed? What happened?
We’ve forgotten the urgency.
While he was out for the Burn Your Plastic Jesus event, Mark Driscoll dropped into Moore College and gave a lecture. He actually gave us – us being modern 21st Century evangelical Christians – a pretty big serve.
We’ve lost all sense of evangelistic urgency. And we’re not expecting much. And I think he’s right.
Example? If someone like Stu or Matt Redmond or myself told you that we were going to attempt a revival like the Billy Graham crusade… in six months’ time… I wonder how you’d react. If we said that we wanted to win 217,000 souls for Christ… Would you think we were over-ambitious? Delusional? Or just plain nuts? (Strangely enough, we’re working on a plan… true story!)
As 21st Century Bible-believing, Jesus-loving evangelical Christians, we’ve lost all sense of evangelistic urgency. And we’re not expecting much.
Do you believe John 3:16? That God so loved the world that He gave His only Son? That whoever believes in him will not perish? That, Mark suggested, will make all the difference in the world.
We know so well that God will save His elect, but we think that somehow it’ll just happen, that God will just choose someone to go to those people who are part of that elect but who don’t know it yet… We have a hard time seeing ourselves as people God has chosen to go to them… that’s someone else’s job. Like mine. Or Reg’s.
No! It’s not Reg’s job, it’s not Stu’s job, it’s not Matt’s job or Tim’s job or Jai’s or Fi’s or Tracey’s or my job… it’s OUR job.
We ALL get to preach the Gospel. We all get to tell people that great word from Romans 10:12-13; The same LORD is LORD of all, and richly blesses all who call on him, for “everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved”.
But read on… grab your Bibles. Check this. Get to know it. Get this one into your hearts. Paul absolutely nails it. Romans 10:14 and on. You need to know this if you've read that marvellous promise.
How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in?
And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?
And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?
And how can they preach unless they are…
Are what? Apostello’ed. Sent.
Evangelism isn’t just huge Billy Graham crusades. Preaching doesn’t just happen at lecterns like this. Sermons might, occasionally even good ones! But preaching... where does preaching happen?
Preaching happens when someone has enough care and concern and love for another person that they’ll show them how Jesus has saved us from the wrath to come. Paul again – 1 Corinthians 15:3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance [there’s that urgency]: that Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day, according to the Scripture… (By the way, if anyone hasn't done their homework and thought about a very brief Gospel outline, there's a great cheat-sheet...)
A lot of the people who went to those 1959 Crusade understood the urgency. They went out and built churches (people and buildings) from scratch, they started home Bible-studies, they evangelised their families and their friends.
A lot of our young people understand that. I got a text message on Thursday night from one of the guys in Year 12 – he’s got a huge sense of urgency, because he’s only got a couple of weeks left to go. And he’s charging hard. He's talking to a hundred guys in his high school about Jesus. Another four just committed their lives to Christ, and a lot are curious.
Preaching happens when someone has enough care and concer and love for another person that they'll show them how Jesus has saved us from the wrath to come.
Guess what? You're preachers.
And you guys are the bridge-builders. You’re surrounded by workmates, employers and employees and customers. You meet with other young mums, you meet people in shopping-centres and sales conferences. There’s – what? Well over a hundred people here this morning to whom He has given His Good Message... How many souls can be touched by the Gospel carried by a hundred?
And when those thousands carry that Good Message onward?
In 1959, Billy Graham’s 130,000 people listened to the Gospel of Christ crucified and raised, as one man told it, and committed their life to Him.
There’s just under 217,000 people living in the Shire – a little less than double than that 130,000 landmark. So we have the advantage. A little less than two people each…
There are so many people who need to hear – to hear that great Good Message of God’s great love and that amazing grace of His Son Jesus the Christ – so that they can hear him say follow me, to come home to our Father in Heaven.
The first thing Jesus said to Simon the fisherman is follow me. The last thing Jesus said to Peter – the rock, upon whom he truly built his church - was follow me. And then… there was a life filled with getting other people to do likewise.
May it be so with us.
Amen.
Photo of Billy Graham Crusade meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina, 1958. Sourced from http://www.wheaton.edu/bgc/archives/images/PFs/BGEA-1958-Charlotte/006.jpg
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