Introduction
When I first started in ministry, I had the opportunity to fill the pulpit of a very gifted preacher while he was on vacation. As the day approached, I was riddled with fear and anxiety due to comparing myself, a rookie preacher, to a seasoned communicator. I shared these thoughts with Jimmy Agan, my Pastor at that time. What he said changed my life and became the prayer I pray every Sunday I take the pulpit. He told me, “Only Jesus is big enough to fill that pulpit. Make Him big, nothing else matters.”
Making Jesus the object of our preaching should not surprise anyone. It probably comes as no surprise, then, that this is exactly where so many preachers fall short. They get caught up with preaching details about Jesus, doctrines about Him, or ways He expects us to live. What we do not often hear is a sermon about Jesus that gives you something to grab hold of for salvation or sanctification.
Illustrated In Scripture
Zechariah 8
Two passages come to mind to illustrate this. The first is from Zechariah 8:23, “Thus says the Lord of hosts: In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’” Zechariah sees a magnificent day when the Lord will once again dwell in Zion (v. 3). He calls for His people to return to Jerusalem to dwell with Him (v.8).
The benefits of Zion, however, are no longer appealing only to God’s chosen people; the nations want to dwell with Him, too. This is why Zechariah sees ten men from the nations take hold of the robe of a Jew. The verb “take hold” is in the Hiphil form of hazaq, “to take hold of, seize, or grasp.” These Gentiles will grab onto the hem or robe of a single Jew, begging him to take them to worship God. I do not doubt that this singular Jew points us towards Jesus.
Mark 5
The second passage is from Mark 5:27-29, “She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. For she said, ‘If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.’ And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease.” This woman suffers from a bleeding disease and exercises great faith. She knew that if she could just “touch even his garments,” she would be made well. She, of course, was healed.
What do these texts have to do with preaching? Both depict people so desperate for deliverance, healing, and worship that they grab hold of the only one who can deliver them—Jesus Christ.
Preach Christ For People To Grasp Hold Of By Faith
When we preach, do we make Jesus big enough for the congregation to grab hold of him? Do we hide him behind doctrine, eloquence, and sentimental illustrations? If we preach a robust presentation of the history and exegesis of the doctrine of justification without preaching the One who justifies, we are a resounding gong or a clanging symbol. As powerful and rich as our doctrines are and as helpful as they can be for our congregation, we need to present a Jesus that the congregation can touch.
They need to hear of the wickedness of their sins, but also the wonders of His atonement. They need to hear of the worthiness of His righteousness and the glorious hope that death could not contain Him. They need to understand that saving faith is receiving, believing, and apprehending the mercy of Christ. The Jesus that I can “grab hold of” by faith is the Jesus who is the gospel Himself.. Our Confession of Faith is helpful at this point. It defines saving faith as “accepting, receiving, and resting upon Christ alone for justification, sanctification, and eternal life” (WCF 14.2). Notice the word order: we accept, receive, and rest upon Christ—not on our understanding of the doctrine of justification.
Alistair Begg has a now-famous illustration about the thief on the Cross. The man who once mocked Jesus was told he would be with the Jesus that very day in paradise. When he got to heaven, what were the grounds for him to be admitted into heaven? He couldn’t answer questions about the doctrine of justification, or Scripture, or eschatology. He could only say, “The man on the middle cross said I can come.” Let us preach deeply but clearly, presenting the source of all doctrine as the one alone who can save wretched sinners, inviting them to rest upon His finished work alone for saving faith.
An Example From Church History
Maybe an example from a great preacher will help illustrate my point. I apologize for the lengthy quote, but I think it is necessary. This is an eyewitness account of a sermon preached by John Girardeau in the backwoods of the Low Country, South Carolina, in 1870:
“In a voice tremulous with emotion he tenderly told them of their critical, their very critical condition because of the presence of God’s Holy Spirit, and pointed to Christ as a refuge, an entirely safe refuge. Then his voice changed—the subdued manner was gone—the tremulous tone disappeared. In accents of exultation he proclaimed a divinely glorious Savior. As the fires of Christian triumph flashed from his eyes and flamed forth in his words the hearts of all God’s people were kindled in the joy of His salvation, and tears of gratitude coursed down every cheek.
Just then, in a voice loud and thrilling, he cried, ‘O, sinners, dear dying sinners, this is our Savior. Come to Him just as you are. Come to Him right now.’ In an instant every impenitent person in the house (with a single exception) rose up and rushed forward to the foot of the pulpit. Some outside dashed through the windows to reach the same place. Suddenly there came a strange hush over the house. I expected Dr. Girardeau to lead in prayer or make an earnest exhortation. But no! In clear, sweet and ringing tones he began to sing the well known hymn, ‘Come to Jesus.’ Ere the hymn was finished there was joy in two worlds. In God’s glorious heaven angels were singing and saying, ‘He has saved them.’ In the rude country church sinners were singing and saying, ‘He hath saved me.’” (Kelly, Preachers with Power, 154).
He does not call them to the altar but to Christ. This is a Savior the sinner can grab hold of. Preachers, let us not hold back in giving the people a Savior they can grab hold of for salvation, sanctification, and hope everlasting.
Conclusion
I was once mesmerized by a video of Thomas Deininger. He is a modern sculptor who makes realistic art of birds and other animals from trash and recycled materials. He has one statue that is the head of an eagle. It appears so realistic that if you touch it, you would expect to feel soft feathers and a hard beak. Only as you get closer and move to the sides do you realize it is an intricate structure made up of hundreds of objects. When I say preach a Jesus the people can grab hold of, I think of Deininger’s artwork. Our sermons must be constructed with exegesis, theology, illustrations, and application. They also must present a clear portrait of the Savior. If our people leave our sermons thinking of history lessons and Hebrew verbs, we have not given them a Jesus they can take with them. If we do this, we will have made Jesus big in the pulpit. May the Lord bless us to preach a Savior that the people can grab hold of.
