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Introduction: Hebrews, Augustine, and The City

My name is Kenny. I have the privilege of serving as pastor at Horizon City. Those of you who’ve been with us for a while, you know we’ve been traveling through the book of Hebrews, which is structurally a transcribed sermon. In essence, the writer preached a sermon at some point, transcribed it, and then sent it to this small church that was under fire. This church, predominantly ethnic Jews who had become Christians, but some of them were now considering abandoning the Christian faith and going back to Judaism.

He is writing this letter to implore them not to abandon the Christian faith. As we’ve been traveling through the first 10 chapters of Hebrews, we’ve seen various exhortations and insights from the writer of Hebrews. Now we’ve come to chapter 11, which is one of my favorite chapters in the book. My plan is, next Sunday, God willing, for us to exposit the entire chapter, to go through all of chapter 11.

But today’s message will feel a little bit different than normal because I want to just hone in on one particular phrase. One particular concept that has sort of been alluded to a little bit already in Hebrews, but now takes center stage. It will be examined and highlighted again later in the book. I want to focus on one phrase that comes from Hebrews 11, chapter 10. It’s speaking of Abraham, and it says that:

“He was looking forward to a city that has foundations.”

Now, if you’re not familiar with Hebrews, chapter 11, it is sometimes referred to as ‘The hall of Faith.’ It’s highlighting all these people from the Old Testament. The writer of Hebrews is going through the list of people in the Old Testament who demonstrated great faith, and he’s highlighting these people, and saying, here’s the thing this person did which demonstrates genuine faith.

It is interesting, though, when you know the backstory of all the people labeled or mentioned in Hebrews 11. A lot of them made some good choices, but a lot of them also made some really poor choices. The resumes of the people mentioned in Hebrews 11 are jam-packed with warts.
I take great comfort in that, to know that my resume is checkered and sometimes ugly. My background is not pristine. Yet because of God’s work in my life, I, too, can demonstrate genuine faith.

What an inspiration this chapter is to me and ought to be to us. So he’s going through Hebrews 11, and he’s mentioning these people in the Old Testament. He’s mentioning something each of them did to demonstrate genuine faith. When he gets to Abraham, he mentions something interesting. He mentions that Abraham was looking forward to a city with foundations, a city not built by human hands, but a city built by God.

This is an interesting descriptor for him to hone in on because he could have said all sorts of things about Abraham. Abraham lived a pretty full life. He did a lot of things, made a lot of decisions, good and bad. He’s got a pretty stellar resume in some ways. So, of all the things that he could have said about Abraham to highlight him, I find it interesting that the thing above all that the writer of Hebrews feels the need to highlight is that Abraham was looking forward to a city. This city must have been a really big deal to Abraham. It must have shaped how he lived his life.

Abraham’s not alone in that. More than 2400 years later, after Abraham, there would be a Christian pastor in Africa by the name of Augustine. Augustine was a pastor in North Africa.
He lived in the late three hundreds and early four hundreds. Augustine is probably the most brilliant and most influential Christian theologian in Christian history. Augustine’s influence goes beyond just Christians. He has a profound influence even on unbelieving people. He engages in theology, but also philosophy.

In fact, in the wake of World War II, in the 1940s and 1950s, lots of nations were debating this idea of ‘just war’. What does it mean to commit a war crime? Some people were arguing that it’s a war. You can do whatever you want. Others argued no, look at the atrocities committed during World War II, there needed to be limitations. So there is this moment in the mid-1900s called the Geneva Convention.

A bunch of political leaders from around the globe debated how far is too far in war. They brought in data and literature from all sorts of writings. One of the philosophers that they quoted at the Geneva Convention was Augustine. 1500 years after he lived, a bunch of politicians are using Augustine’s work, along with others, to help them understand how far is too far in modern warfare. It’s a pretty big deal that this Christian pastor in Africa in the year 400 is writing things that are influencing the Geneva Convention in the 1900s.

That gives you a little insight into who Augustine was. Augustine wrote a bunch of books, essays, tracts, and papers. A bunch of his sermons have been transcribed, but his greatest work is a book called The City of God. It took him almost two decades to write. In The City of God, Augustine spends a significant amount of time talking about this great city to come.

Augustine says, Remember the big, great city that Abraham was looking forward to? Augustine spends a significant amount of time writing about that future city. His work, The City of God, would go on to be one of the most influential works in Christian history. In the book, he talks a lot about the idea of the City of God and the City of Man. There are these two cities, and everyone on planet Earth is a citizen of one of those two cities.

We’re all born into the City of Man. Through faith in Jesus, we can then be transferred from the City of Man into the City of God. But everyone is a citizen of one of these two cities. In this age, in this world, these two cities we live in, intermingled, is how Augustine says it. If you are a genuine believer, if you put faith in Christ, you are a citizen of the City of God. If you don’t believe in the one true God, or if your faith is not genuine in Jesus, then you are a member of the City of Man. You are not a member of the City of God.

But Augustine articulates quite vividly that there will come a moment in the future where Jesus comes back and he initiates a great divide, where the citizens of the City of God will be separated from the citizens of the City of Man. The citizens of the City of Man will be condemned and cast out. Then Jesus is going to radically renovate the world in which we live. This earth, it’s going to be way, way bigger, way better than it is now.

The citizens of the City of God will remain in this new, radically renovated earth, and Jesus will live amongst us forever. That’s in essence the trajectory of the Christian faith. Those of us who love Jesus will remain on this planet in this new paradise that Jesus creates for us. Augustine wrote significantly about this. So, full disclosure, I am greatly influenced by Augustine.

In this morning’s message, I’m going to lean a lot on Augustine’s work. Why did Augustine feel the need to write so much about this? Why is Abraham looking forward to this city? Why does the writer of Hebrews, of all the things he can mention about Abraham, why is this the thing that he feels the need to hold up? The city we’re looking forward to is probably a really big deal. We should think about it often.

So this morning, I plan to give you four descriptions of that future city. I’m going to give you four observations from Scripture, and then I want to give you two practical applications. But first, let’s ask God for help.

Father in heaven, we thank you for your word, the Bible, this sacred text that is without error, that accurately depicts the life of Abraham and tells us about that great future city. Thank you for teachers like Augustine and other pastors throughout Christian history who have helped us to understand some of these concepts.

And now, Lord, as we examine a few verses from Scripture this morning, I pray we would think about that future city, and it would shape how we live our lives. Would you be pleased to use the reality of the future city, the one that Abraham looked forward to? May that reality shape how we live in this world. And may we leave this place this morning more convinced of the future city and more passionate about looking forward to it than when we walked in. I pray these things in the matchless name of Jesus.

Amen.

 

Observations From the Text

Hebrews, chapter 11, verse 10, speaking of Abraham:

“For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”

 

The city that Abraham was looking forward to goes by several different names.

It can be confusing because it’s described in different ways. In Hebrews chapter 12, the writer of Hebrews gives multiple names to this city. The writer of Hebrews, speaking about the Jewish people, implies that they missed out on entering into this city because they were disobedient. But then he says this in verse 22, speaking to the Christians,

“But you have come to Mount Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem.”

So in one verse, he uses three different descriptors, three different phrases to describe this future city that Abraham’s looking forward to. He says, it’s Mount Zion. It’s the city of the living God. It’s the heavenly Jerusalem. Those are the three descriptors. The word Zion he’s picking up on from the Old Testament. The word Zion is used dozens of times throughout the Old Testament, primarily by Isaiah and Jeremiah. In their prophecies, they use the word Zion, or sometimes the city of Zion, house of Zion, or Mount Zion. They’re always referring to the same thing.

They’re saying that there’s this moment in the future where all of God’s people from all generations will gather. That gathering is called Zion. He’s saying to them, you Christians, you are the ones who have now come to the entryway of this city, of this great gathering, this heavenly city, this heavenly Jerusalem. Some people argue that these prophecies in the Old Testament are for ethnic Jewish people, for the nation of Israel.

But when you look at what the writer of Hebrews is saying, I don’t think that’s what he’s referring to. The writer of Hebrews is saying the ethnic Jews God was faithful to them in the Old Testament. But all those promises in the Old Testament, they’re actually not for them. They’re actually for you, Christians. You are the ones who are going to enter the heavenly Jerusalem.

The Book of Revelation in chapter 21 refers to this new community, this gathering, as the New Jerusalem. So those are all the different adjectives or descriptors used for this. We have the New Jerusalem, the Heavenly Jerusalem, the House of Zion, the City of Zion, Mount Zion, City of God, City of the Living God, the Holy City, the City with Foundations. All of those descriptors are referring to the same thing: the gathering of God’s people when Jesus comes back.

 

This gathering is the final destination for all genuine believers.

If you die in this world before Jesus comes back, which in all likelihood is going to be most of us. In likelihood, we’re all going to die before Jesus comes back, statistically speaking. So what do we do in the meantime? We were separated from our physical bodies and we’re in heaven. But that is a temporary holding tank. There’s going to come a moment where Jesus radically renovates the earth, and we are then joined with our physical bodies.

But they’re going to be glorified, they will be new bodies. In Philippians chapter 3, we see that we will have bodies the way Jesus had a body post-resurrection. When Jesus rose from the dead, he had a glorified body. He could walk through walls. He wasn’t going to suffer from the things we suffer from. That’s the kind of body you’re going to have.

You’re going to have a physical body that’s perfectly healthy. No cancer, no foot issues, no diabetes, no cataracts, no Parkinson’s, no sleep apnea. What a grand thing that will be. We’re going to have a new body, and we will be with Jesus in this city forever and ever, living in this radically renovated Earth.

Side note, it’s important to note that it’s going to be an actual physical place. I think sometimes we think of heaven as this floaty place. We’re in the clouds, floating around. It will be just as real as your hand is today. We’ll eat food and we’ll spend time together, and we will enjoy Jesus together forever. The new Jerusalem, the city that Abraham was looking forward to, is a real physical place, a gathering of God’s people all together.

 

That future city is going to be a community of sinless people.

When we think of cities, we often think of geography, locations. But that’s not the primary way the Bible uses the word ‘city’ or ‘nations’. Most of the time in scripture, when the word ‘nation’ or ‘city’ is used, it’s not referring to a physical place. It’s often referring to a group of people. We see this in the book of Exodus. The nation of Israel was considered a nation of people before they ever had land.

They moved around. They were nomadic. Abraham was nomadic, moved around, but he was a people unto himself. His family became a people. So when we think about the future city, we shouldn’t think about location. We should think about a people. The New Jerusalem will be a community of believers in Jesus living together in perfect harmony. Abraham was not looking forward to pearly gates or big buildings or streets of gold or extravagant buffets or any other amenity. The streets of gold. How amazing will it be to see the streets of gold?

That’s not the most amazing thing about the New Jerusalem. In fact, that’s not even in the top 1000. One of the most amazing things about the New Jerusalem is that it’s a community of God’s people living together in perfect harmony forever. The thing about this group of people that is most shocking is that we will be sinless. Because of the grace of God, none of us will ever sin against one another. Can you imagine what it would be like to live in a city with millions of other people and no one ever sins?

That’s what it will be. Oh, what will that be like? Can you imagine being in a community of people with no disappointments, no gossip, no betrayal, no heartbreaks, no breakups, no misunderstandings, no miscommunication? A community of people where there are no insecurities or distrust, no racism or bigotry or misogyny or hatred, no sexual immorality, no abortion, no slavery. A city where no one is lonely and no one is hungry.

A community with no war, no attacks, no debates, no theft, no strife. A community where there are no abusive leaders or toxic politicians or exploitation or manipulation or jealousy or envy. No agenda, no ulterior motive, no baggage of any kind. Can you imagine living in a city like that? Every time in this life someone sins against you, you can pause and think, what would it be like to be in a city where that would never happen?

All of us have people we’re close to that we love, and we love things about them. But then there are things about them we can’t stand that irritate us or frustrate us. Imagine every person you know and love who follows Jesus with all the good about them, but all the things about them that are hurtful or sinful sliced away.

Oftentimes, we interact with other believers, and they do something sinful or frustrating toward us, we want to focus on that thing. I would exhort you to think about it in this way: You’re a believer. You’ve done this thing against me. There’s going to come a day when you’re not going to do that anymore. I see in you the day, the version of you that will be in the new Jerusalem. What a day that will be.

There have been all sorts of studies over the years done on what humans long for the most. Universities, think tanks, and all sorts of organizations have done survey after survey, over and over again. The number one thing that people will report wanting the most is a deep connection with other human beings. In a lot of those same surveys, you know what people fear the most? Deep connection with other human beings.

It’s the thing we long for and we’re most afraid of. We’re nervous about what humans may do to us. We want to have deep connections with other people, but other people are the greatest source of pain in our lives. Well, can you imagine being in a city where you can lean into those deep connections and never have to fear being hurt by that person? What a day that will be.
That’s the new Jerusalem.

How do we know we will be sinless? How do we know that will be the case? Well, because Jesus is shaping us and preparing us and transforming us to be that. It’s not dependent on you. If it were dependent on you, it wouldn’t happen, but it’s not dependent on you. It’s dependent on Christ, and Jesus has promised to do it. This is what the Bible tells us in Colossians chapter 1, verse 22: he (Jesus) has reconciled you. Then he tells us why:

“To present you holy, faultless and blameless.”

The reason why Jesus reconciled you was so that eventually he would present you wholly faultless and blameless. In Ephesians 5, the apostle Paul tells us this:

“Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her.”

He did this to present the church to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle. Jesus died for you. He loves you and he has promised that he will do in you what must be done, so that on that day you will be presented without spot, without wrinkle. Jude 1:24 says that God is the one who will protect you from stumbling and make you stand in the presence of his glory without blemish and with great joy.

It is God who is doing the work in you. He is the One who’s going to keep you from stumbling in this life. He is the One who will guide you and protect you. He is the one whom you will stand in his presence, without blemish and with great joy. Then, of course, famously, Jesus says in Matthew 16, verse 18:

“I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail.”

How do we know for sure we will be sinless? Because Jesus is the one doing the work. He will build his church, and all of the gates of hell that seem like they will stand in the way, they aren’t going to prevail. Abraham understood this. The writer of Hebrews tells us that he was looking forward to that city whose architect and builder is God. God is the one architecting the city. God is the one building this community of believers. It is God who will bring it to fruition on that day.

Believers and nonbelievers all long for paradise in some way or another. What we saw happen in the mid-19th century was this significant movement of people beginning to say we don’t have to wait for the future age. We can bring that today. We can bring paradise today if we only have the right political system. That ideology, in essence, is what gave birth to political systems like communism and socialism.

Communism and socialism promise that we can create a utopia on this earth. We can create everything perfect. We can have a perfect city where we never sin against one another if we just provide everything for everyone. The problem is not humans. The problem is the system. If we can only have the right, perfect political framework, then we’ll have perfect paradise. But communism simply cannot change the human heart.

Neither of those systems, communism and socialism, can deliver on the promise. Those systems are ultimately bankrupt because they demand something of humans that humans simply cannot do. That is to behave well all of the time, apart from the grace of God. That’s what communism wants. Communism says, behave, be good, work hard, even though you’re not gonna have any rewards, and even though you don’t have the grace of God at work in your life.

But that simply doesn’t work. Those systems will never work. We should oppose those systems. They are contrary to the reality of human nature. They will never work. At the heart of those systems is a desire to create the New Jerusalem apart from the grace of God. It’s a desire to have politics architect the perfect city, rather than recognizing that only God can architect the perfect city.

We see this with secular progressive politics all the time. The expectation is to do something that we simply cannot do. The expectation is for humans to behave in a way that humans cannot behave. It is like expecting ice cream to never melt in the Florida sun. It’s an absurd, preposterous expectation. We can build Utopia without God, but the reality is, that is a false narrative. If you want to build utopia, you need the only being that can create utopia. Simply put this way, if you want the city of God, you need to have God.

My first point was, the city goes by multiple names. The second point was, it is the final destination. The third point, the new Jerusalem will be a community of perfect believers together. Finally, number four. The fourth characteristic of that great city, and this is the most important one.

 

God will dwell with us in that city.

The apostle John writes in Revelation, chapter 21, verse 3, this:

“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them’.”

Church, we’re going to live with God together, enjoying him forever. When you see his face, it will satisfy your soul more than anything you’ve ever experienced. It will be the most beautiful, most delightful moment that you’ve ever had. I try to think about what it might be like to see Jesus, to see him in his glory, his beauty, to bask in the glory of our perfect Savior. What will that be like?

I think about moments in my life that have been pretty glorious. I remember the first time I had a Shake Shack burger with chopped cherry peppers. It was pretty amazing. It was a pretty glorious moment. I remember the first time I went to Six Flags in New Jersey, and I rode the Batman ride. It was a fantastic roller coaster. I remember the first time I had a great glass of wine, I just thought, wow, this is delicious. I remember the first time I sat watching a sunset with my wife after we were newly married. I remember that moment, how beautiful, delightful that moment was.

I remember the moment when Jalen Hurts threw that 46-yard touchdown pass to Devontae Smith to seal the game. What a glorious moment that was. I remember the moment my first child, Lettie, was born. I remember when the midwife handed me that purplish-looking creature that I thought was an alien. I remember just holding her. I remember the joy. I remember how beautiful she was to me. I remember the delight that I felt in that moment.

Church, all of those things, they pale in comparison to the moment we will see Jesus. When we see his face, it will be more beautiful, more delightful, more satisfying, more joyful than any of those things. Nothing in this life will compare to the moment when we see him face to face. We will be in a city where we stare at him forever and ever and ever. There will be nothing like it. Those are the four descriptors we see in scripture of the city of God.

 

Keep Your Eyes Focused on The City

I want to give you two points of application. Number one, when you face suffering in this world, think about the future city. Think about Zion. Think about the new Jerusalem. In Revelation 21, verse 4, the apostle John tells us that when we enter into that moment, when we all gather together, this is what we can expect:

“Jesus will wipe away every tear from our eyes, and death will be no more, neither will there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore. The previous things have passed away.”

Grief, crying, and pain will be no more. So in this life, when you face grief and crying and pain, none of us will escape that. We will all face those things in this life. But in this life, when you face that, you can pause and you can think about the moment to come, where it will all be wiped away.

In this age, in this life, make no mistake, we will suffer as long as we are intermingled. The city of God and the city of man are living intermingled. In this age, there will be pain. We are all finite and fallen creatures living in a broken world. We are affected by our own sin and by the sinful choice of others. It’s inescapable.

But when you face great pain in this life, in those moments, you can pause and think about the future moment to come, where it will all be wiped away. In the moments of this life, when you experience the curse of sin, the sting of death, you can pause and think about the future. The Apostle Paul tells us to do this, and models this for us in Romans, chapter 8. In Romans, chapter 8, verse 18, the apostle Paul is saying, when he’s facing pain in this world, this is what he does:

“I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing to the glory that is to be revealed.”

What an unbelievable statement. In this life, you’re gonna face afflictions, sufferings. The glory to come is so magnificent, you can’t even compare the current to that. It feels like he’s almost invalidating the pain we feel in this world. But I don’t think that’s what he’s doing. He’s not making light of the pain we feel in this world. He’s just trying to make much of the glory that is to come.

I remember a couple of weeks ago, I was talking to someone about my wife and me looking to buy a house. We were able to buy a house about six weeks ago in Clermont. I remember looking at some houses, and I was talking to a real estate agent, and the real estate agent said, This one house I really liked was about 800,000 dollars. I was like, that’s about triple what we can afford, so we probably can’t buy that one.

She told me, with her agency, because of all this stuff happening, it wouldn’t surprise her if one day that house was worth 80 million dollars. I thought to myself, imagine if that were true. Imagine if someone came to you and said, I’m going to sell you a house today for $800,000. You’d think that’s a lot. That would hurt paying for that. It would cost me something. I would feel the pain of that today. But what if I knew for sure it’s going to be worth 80 million dollars. That’s well worth the suffering I’m experiencing in this world.

That’s the sentiment on display in Romans 8. The apostle Paul is trying to say, This world is real. It’s painful, but what you’re gonna get is so valuable. This is gonna feel like nothing. There’s gonna come a moment with the pain of this world and you’re gonna look back and think, that was nothing.

He says a similar sentiment in Second Corinthians, chapter 4, verse 17. Paul, speaking of suffering and affliction, calls it light and momentary. Now, if you know the life of the Apostle Paul, he experienced a lot of painful situations. We read this and can’t believe Paul is making this statement. The afflictions of this world don’t feel light and momentary at all. They feel heavy, like they’re going to go on forever and ever.

Paul says, keep your eye on the future that is to come, the glory that is to come, and the heaviness of this world will feel lighter and eventually will be wiped away. The rest of that verse, 2 Corinthians 4:17, He says:

“For this light and momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.”

The suffering you endure in this world is preparing you for a weight of glory that you can’t even imagine. So in this life, when you experience pain and suffering, think about the glory to come. Paul helps us understand that it will give us the strength to endure. The glory that is to come will comfort you.

In the 1600s, there was a great Puritan preacher by the name of John Bunyan. He wrote one of the most famous books in Western history, The Pilgrim’s Progress. Some of you may be familiar with it, if you’re not familiar, the story is about a man named Christian. Christian is on a pilgrimage towards the celestial City. That’s what John Bunyan called it.

Along this pilgrimage, Christian meets another man by the name of Mr. Standfast. So, Mr. Standfast and Christian they’re going on this pilgrimage, and toward the end of their time together, Mr. Standfast is looking forward to the celestial city. He knows he’s about to die.
He’s about to enter the other side.

Mr. Standfast says to Christian, ‘The waters of this life indeed are to the palate bitter and to the stomach cold. Yet the thoughts of what I am going to and the convoy that waits for me on the other side do lie as a glowing coal at my heart.’ This life, sometimes it’s bitter. This life is so cold. When I think about where I’m headed and the convoy, the group of people that are there waiting for me, they’re already in. They’re already in a moment where they’re experiencing the glory of God. They’re waiting for me.

Abraham is already there experiencing the glory of God. When I think about the convoy that awaits me, it burns in my soul like a glowing coal, Mr. Standfast says. The pilgrimage toward the City of God is strengthened by our knowledge of that future city and gives us great comfort to endure the difficulty of this life. The pilgrimage toward the celestial city is most successful when we keep our eyes on the celestial city. So, Christians, keep your eyes on that.

 

Our Response to Thoughts of the City

The second point of application this morning. The thought of the new city should warm your heart. It should do something inside of you. You can use this as a diagnostic tool. As I’ve been talking about this as we’re reading passages of scripture from Romans, Corinthians, Hebrews, and Revelation 21, as you hear these scriptures, as you hear the reality of what is to come, it should be warming your heart.

You should have a reflex or reaction to this. Remember when you were a kid, you went to the doctor and they gave you a little rubber hammer, they kind of popped it on your knee, and your leg would pop up, showing you the reflex. If you respond to it, that means you’re good, your reflexes work. But if you get popped on the knee with a little rubber hammer and your foot doesn’t move, or it barely moves, that means something is wrong.

The concept of the celestial city, the New Jerusalem, is like that rubber hammer popping you on the heart. If throughout this sermon, you haven’t moved at all, something’s wrong. This is a diagnostic tool for you. What should happen is you should think about what an amazing moment it’s going to be. It should flood your soul with joy. Or it would also be appropriate to respond like, I’ve not thought about that much. I’m lamenting that I have not thought about it, but I intend to think about it more.

But if you sit here this morning and you think to yourself, that’s cool, New Jerusalem, I bet that’s gonna be good. But it doesn’t do anything in you. It doesn’t warm your heart, it doesn’t stoke your affections for Jesus, it doesn’t cultivate in you a passion for Christ, it doesn’t grab you or nearly bring you to tears. If nothing is happening on the inside of you, something’s off.

I challenge you this morning, if that’s you, take that to the Lord in prayer. It could mean many different things. It could mean that maybe there’s some sin in your life that you need to repent of, you haven’t brought to the Lord, you need to deal with. Or maybe there’s a relationship in your life that’s fractured, it’s causing you to not see clearly. Or maybe you’re just apathetic. Maybe you’re at a place in your Christian faith where you’re just so-so. Or maybe, you think you’re a genuine Christian, but your faith is not genuine.

If you genuinely believe in Christ and you are one of his, when you think about being with him forever and ever, it should do something in your soul in the moment. If it doesn’t, you should go to him in prayer and say, Lord, what is it about me, what’s going on inside of me that this doesn’t grab my heart, this doesn’t stoke my affections for you? But if it does stoke your affections, if you do find comfort, then you can know the Lord is working in me. He has promised to complete the work he began in me.

 

Conclusion: Jesus Looks Forward to the City

One final thought. Abraham looked forward to the City. Lots of Old Testament saints look forward to the City. Augustine looked forward to the City. But there is someone in all of human history who’s looked forward to the City more than you and more than anyone else. He’s greater than Abraham. His name is Jesus. Jesus is looking forward to the City. Jesus longs for the day when he’s going to be with us and we feast with him forever. This is what gave him the strength to endure the cross.

In Hebrews, chapter 12, verse 2, it tells us that it was the joy set before him. He endured the cross. There’s a future picture set in front of Jesus, and Jesus sees it. The new Jerusalem. The celestial city, with my people enjoying one another forever and ever and ever. I’ll do the cross. I’ll go through this to get there with them.

It was for the joy set before him that he endured the cross. He went on a mission to ensure that our joy could be had. To remove the obstacle between us and him, and that was sin. Church, that is mega love. Jesus suffered the consequences of our sin. He died a brutal death on a Roman cross in our place. It should have been you and me on that cross.

But Jesus dies in our place. He takes the penalty that we deserved. Pays the spiritual debt that we owed. So that there will be no more obstacles between us and the celestial city. So that now we can march into a community of people, a perfected people, where we enjoy one another together forever and ever. We will feast with him. We will see him, we will enjoy him. We will be satisfied by Him. That will go on forever and ever and ever.