Luke 10:1-20 - “Life in the City”
Are you a country boy or a city slicker? Do you like life in the great big open sky,
or does the hustle and bustle of people and traffic really ring your bell? Are you more like “welcome to the jungle” or
“take me home, country roads?”
Today our readings set before us a number of different
cities – Chorazin and Bethsaida, Tyre and Sidon, Sodom, and Jerusalem. And in
each of these cities, Holy Scripture instructs us in matters of faith. Let’s consider this morning, “life in the
city” from a biblical perspective.
The first city mentioned in Scripture was founded by
Cain. After he killed brother Abel and
was cursed to wander, he eventually settled down and build the first human city
– naming it after his firstborn Enoch.
Once a farmer, and we saw how that ended – now the children of Cain are described
for their achievements and inventions.
But what they lack is the seed of promise – that inheritance now passes
through Seth. And so for all of his
notoriety, and for all of his descendant’s successes – they end up missing that
one thing most needful.
The next city mentioned is Babel, with its tower. Another exercise in human pride that brought
the judgment of God and now the scattering of peoples and confusing of
languages. So far cities aren’t doing so
well in Scripture.
There’s Jericho – a city of pagans that God’s people
conquer by God’s action alone – knocking down the walls with trumpet
blast. It is the first of many pagan
cities to fall as the Israelites conquer the promised land.
There’s Nineveh “That Great City”. Capital of the infamously cruel Assyrian
empire. The prophet Jonah is sent there
to preach a short sermon, “yet 40 days and Nineveh will be destroyed”. Only four words in the Hebrew! And yet, these wicked people declared a fast
from the king to the peasant and even the livestock. And God relented of the disaster he had
planned for them.
There’s Babylon – another imperial capital, where the
Jews were taken in Exile. It boasted of
many wonders, and was known for its famous Hanging Gardens. But it, too, becomes a symbol of wickedness
and opposition to God’s people – “Babylon, the whore” as she is called in
Revelation.
Athens, Corinth, Rome – so many cities in Scripture,
we can’t mention or describe them all.
But few are as infamous as the two Jesus mentions in Luke 10: The Jewish
cities of Chorazin and Bethsaida. Cities
near Capernaum in the north, and those three together are sometimes called the
“gospel triangle” for there Jesus focused much of his teaching and preaching. Indeed, he also did many miracles among
them. You would think that such
familiarity and the blessings of miraculous signs would mean they embraced
Jesus with great faith! But you would be
wrong. On the whole, they did not receive
him. On the whole, they did not
believe. So much so that Jesus takes this
very unusual step of placing a curse on them.
He remarks that if he had done all the miracles that
he did there, in say, the gentile cities of Tyre and Sidon, that they would
have repented long ago! And
Capernaum! Don’t think you get off
easy. You, too, will receive your share
in the judgment, and be brought to Hades!
History knows little of Chorzin and Bethsaida, beyond
this, that they rejected the Christ.
Actually, they’ve done some archaeology in Chorazin, and unearthed a
synagogue with some strange carvings there – it seems a representation of
Medusa was carved into the synagogue wall.
Thus, at least at one point, it seemed they mixed their Judaism with
Greek mythology. Perhaps this is a hint
of the spiritual problems from which they suffered – seeking to be like the
world, rather than receiving the Kingdom of God in Jesus Christ?
In a similar way, the villages and towns where the 72
preached – some received the word with joy!
And some rejected them, and were subject to the shaking off-of-foot-dust. What was the difference? Repentance and faith. Yes, the disciples did heal and cast out
demons. But this doesn’t impress
Jesus. He’s rather concerned with people
having their names written in the book of life, in Heaven. He wants sinners to repent and be forgiven,
to turn from sin and live in him.
And so, in the most general sense, when Scripture
speaks of a city, a town, or a village, it’s really focusing on a gathering of
people there – who many times act as one.
And what’s always most important about them is spiritual. Either repentance, or unbelief. Either in receiving Christ, or rejecting
him. And we all know which side we’d
rather be on.
But if there’s one city worth studying in all of
Scripture, it’s Jerusalem. Jerusalem,
Jerusalem, who kills the prophets. The
city that would also condemn and crucify the Christ. Jerusalem, the home of the temple – but also
of kings who though themselves greater than the King of Kings. The city made into a capital by King David,
and the city which hailed the Son of David with their “hosannas”.
Jerusalem. Built on Mt. Zion. It stands, in Scripture, for the sum total of
God’s people. And depending on whether
the passage is speaking in judgment or mercy, showing forth law or gospel, the
tone of Scripture can really change.
Take our Old Testament reading from Isaiah, which compares Jerusalem to
a nursing child, comforted by her mother, carried on her hip. Rejoicing.
So it is for God’s people in Christ.
But that same Jerusalem can also be a byword, a curse, smoke in God’s
nostrils, when they turn away from him in faithlessness and sin.
Jerusalem, finally, serves as a picture of the Church
in her glory – as we saw not too many weeks ago in our Easter readings from
Revelation. The Bride of Christ, the Holy
City, beautifully adorned for her husband and presented to him, Jesus Christ,
for an eternal union. What a picture of
our future, Christians, in that holy city.
It’s not surprising, perhaps, that the secular world
has picked up on this imagery and used it in service to civil religion. And maybe that’s not too far from our minds
on this 4th of July weekend.
Some have borrowed this language about Jerusalem and
sought to apply it to these United States: The “City on a Hill”, for instance. To
speak in terms of America as they imagine it should be – or maybe is – a bright
gleaming example of goodness for the world to see.
And while it’s certainly no sin to love your home
country, or to be patriotic, some would go so far, to make national pride into
a idol itself, or blur the distinction between the Kingdom of God and the
kingdom of this world. Make no mistake,
the Church of Christ has existed long before the USA and will exist and remain
long after. Nations rise, kingdoms
fall. But the word of the Lord remains
forever.
And when we see with clear eyes the many flaws of our
nation – not just the deteriorating culture and morality, killing the unborn,
sexual perversions, but also the shrinking churches and declining number of
Christians – perhaps we ought to be more concerned. For if Jesus curses Chorazin and Bethsaida
for their unbelief, what would he say about a nation that has been blessed as
we have, and yet seems to appreciate so little?
Pray, Christian, for your country, your state, your town,
your church, your family – whatever “city” you find yourself a part of – pray
that we would all repent of our sins, turn from our wicked ways, receive Jesus
Christ and live. Individually, and as a
whole!
Some years ago, Brenda and I drove through a small
town in the southern part of Michigan.
And upon entering, a large sign proclaimed this town’s “claim to
fame”: “Home of the 1989, Division 2,
Women’s Volleyball 3rd place finishers” (or something like that –
the story has been exaggerated over the years).
I wonder what Keller, Texas might be known for. I wonder even more, what Messiah, Keller
might be known for. What’s our claim to
fame? May it be this: that we are repentant sinners whose names are
written in Heaven, written in the blood of Jesus Christ crucified. That’s worth
noting. That’s worth rejoicing
over. That’s why this place
matters. For in this gathering, we are
gathered into Christ. And in Christ, we
have life, forever. Let us therefore be
that city on a hill for all who would come here, and as we go out from
here. Gathered to Christ, there is
always “life in the city.”
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