OUR PILGRIMAGE WITH CHRIST
DR. JIM DIXON
HEBREWS 11
MAY 29, 1994
Varanasi is the name of a city in Northern India. It is the most holy city in the Hindu world. Every year hundreds of thousands of Hindu men and women make a pilgrimage to that holy city to bathe in the allegedly sacred waters of the Ganges River. Mecca is a city in Western Saudi Arabia. It is the most holy city in the Islamic world. Every year millions of Muslims make a pilgrimage to the city of Mecca to visit the great mosque, to circle the Kaaba seven times, and to kiss the Black Stone, which allegedly fell from heaven. The concept of a pilgrimage is common in the religions of the world
The Bible also speaks of the concept of a pilgrimage. It is generally rendered with our word sojourner. The Greek word is parepídemos. This is the word for pilgrim or pilgrimage in the Bible. But the Bible gives a new definition to the concept of the pilgrimage. For Christians, the pilgrimage, the journey, is lifelong. By definition, a pilgrimage is a journey to a holy place. Biblically, the pilgrimage for the Christian is lifelong, and the holy place is not in this world. The holy place is heaven itself. It is the new Jerusalem. We are on a journey as Christians. That journey is lifelong, and our destination is heaven.
That is why in our passage of scripture for today, in Hebrews 11, we are told that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were sojourners on the earth, pilgrims on the earth, looking forward to a better country, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, but is preparing for them a celestial city.
This morning, as we focus on the subject of the Christian pilgrimage, I have two teachings. The first teaching is this: It does not matter how long the journey is with respect to your pilgrimage in Christ. It may be long. It may be short. A Christian’s pilgrimage begins with birth, not physical birth but spiritual birth. It begins with what the Bible calls regeneration. That is why our Lord Jesus Christ, when speaking to Nicodemus in John 3, tells us that we must be born anew.
We must be regenerated. Jesus said, unless people are born anew, they will not see the kingdom of heaven. They will not come to the gates of heaven unless they are born anew. “Gennao anothen.” Those are the Greek words. They mean “born from above.” In other places in the Bible, the word is “anagennao,” which means “born a second time.” You have been born physically, and you must now be born spiritually. The Bible tells us that spiritual birth takes place when we believe in Jesus Christ, when we respond to His command to follow Him, when we embrace Him as Savior and Lord. That is the beginning of the journey. That is the beginning of the pilgrimage, and it is just the beginning.
Throughout our lives, we follow Christ as Christians. We walk with Christ until we come to death. The journey begins with spiritual birth, and it ends in physical death. That is how we arrive at the holy place. That is how we arrive at the new Jerusalem; and our Shepherd, our Guide, our Lord Jesus Christ, is with us even in death. He says, “I’ll never fail you. I’ll never forsake you. I am with you always (Hebrews 13:5b).” “Though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we fear no evil, for he is with us” (Psalm 23:4).
So this is the pilgrimage. It is the journey of the Christian from spiritual birth to physical death. It does not matter how long it is. For some people that journey is just a few years from spiritual birth to physical death. For other people it is many decades. It does not matter. What matters is that we follow Christ. What matters is that we are faithful to Christ. This was the message that our Lord Jesus had for Simon Peter as Jesus spoke to Peter by the Sea of Galilee. You may know the story. Following His resurrection, Jesus had breakfast by the Sea of Galilee with His disciples. After breakfast, he took a walk with Peter and told Peter how Peter would die. He told Peter that he would die a death of crucifixion. Do you remember how Peter turned around and saw John following them? Peter said to Jesus, “What about John? How long is he going to live?” And Jesus said to Peter, “If it be my will that John live until I come again, what is that to you? You follow me?” (John 21:21-22). It does not matter how long the journey is. It does not matter whether you live a long time or a short time. Just follow Christ.
John lived longer than any other disciple of Christ. Just a few weeks ago, we were on the island of Patmos. Those of us who went to Israel and to Greece went to the island of Patmos in the Aegean Sea. I looked forward to going to Patmos because I had never been there before. We got off the ship and went on tour buses. We went up a winding road to a monastery built over a cave, and we went down into the cave.
In that cave, our tour guide pointed to a damp corner in the cave. He said, “That’s where John, the apostle, went every day to pray.” He pointed to a hole in the wall of the cave and said, “This is where John put his head while he was praying.” We were a little surprised and wanted to know where he came up with this stuff. Then the tour guide said, “If you look at the top of the cave, you see a crack rising up above the top of the cave. That’s when Jesus spoke, at the crack in the cave. Then if you follow the crack, you see where it splits into three directions—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” We looked at each other and thought, where did they get this stuff?
The truth is we do not know whether John was ever in the cave, but we know this. We know that John was on that island. We know he was on the island called Patmos. And we know our Lord Jesus Christ appeared to him there, resurrected and alive. Christ appeared in all of His heavenly glory. The Bible says, “his face was like the sun shining at full strength” (Revelation 1:16). “His voice was like the sound of many waters” (Ezekiel 43:2). We know that John fell down before Him, being so moved by the presence of the Son of God. We know that on that island John received from Christ a revelation. You can read it. It is the last book in your Bible.
We know that John was very old at that time. Our tour guide told us that John died at the age of 104 in the city of Ephesus. We do not know that. We do know that he was very old. Most Bible scholars and most church historians believe that John was well into his nineties when he died. Most Bible scholars and church historians also believe that John was very young when he first heard the words “follow me.” When he first began to walk with Christ, many Bible scholars believe that John was a teenager. They believe that his pilgrimage, his journey with Christ lasted more than 75 years on this earth. From his spiritual birth to his physical death, the pilgrimage, John’s journey was longer than 75 years. Yet, it does not matter. For us, it seems so important how long we live. But in the eyes of God, it does not matter. The only issue is whether we are faithful unto death. Jesus said this in his message to the seven churches. “Remain faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Revelation 2:10).
Time magazine, this last week, had a strange little article about the last meals that executed people ate. John Wayne Gacy, the serial killer who was executed on May 10th of this year, had fried chicken, fried shrimp, and French fries as his final meal. I guess his health did not really matter. As you go through the list of executed criminals, every last meal was kind of like that until you get to Joan of Ark. According to Time magazine, Joan of Arc’s last meal was holy communion. That seems appropriate for a woman who is the patron saint of France.
Joan of Arc was born in the year 1412 to a peasant family, a rather well-to-do peasant family. She was reared in a Christian home and developed a great love for Jesus Christ. She confessed her commitment to Christ publicly at the age of 7. When she was 13 years old, she began to have visions where she claimed that the archangel Michael, the leader of the armies of heaven, appeared to her and told her that she was to lead the people of France out of bondage. This was in the midst of the Hundred Years War with England. England was the oppressor of France at that time. She was told that she would, by the power of God, lead the people of France out of bondage.
At the age of 17, she did an amazing thing. She went to King Charles II (who was as yet uncrowned because the city of Reims where the Notre Dame Cathedral is and the place of coronation was currently in the possession of the British) and asked for an audience. She was granted this audience, but first King Charles II wanted to test her. She had never seen him, and when she came into the Royal Hall, he was not sitting on the throne. He had one of his servants dressed in royal garb sitting on the throne. He was standing off to the side in common clothes with a number of other people. She immediately discerned that the person on the throne was not the king, and she picked the true king out of the crowd.
He tested her further and said, “Yesterday, I was praying and asking God for a number of things. I want you to tell me what I was praying for.” She told him exactly what he was praying for, and he was impressed. Any encyclopedia, any history book will tell you that is why King Charles II allowed Joan of Arc at the age of 17 to lead a segment of the French army. And this she did. In that year, she led the armies of France to victory after victory. She recaptured the city of Reims, and she stood by the side of King Charles II as he received his coronation. But at the age of 18, Joan of Arc was captured by the British and thrown into prison for a year. There, she spent much time in prayer and fasting.
At the age of 19, in a mock trial, she was accused of sorcery because of her visions, and she was burned at the stake. By all accounts, her final two words were simply, “Jesus. Jesus.” She was beatified in 1909 and canonized in 1920. She died at the age of 19. She died while still a teenager. Most people would say, “What a tragedy to die when you are just a teenager.” That is how we view life. But, in the sight of God, it does not matter. The only issue is, are you faithful? Was she faithful? That is the only thing that matters. Was she faithful? It does not matter whether the pilgrimage is long or short. What matters is are you faithful. When Joan of Arc stood before the One whose name she spoke, when she drew her last breath, was she found faithful? That is all that matters. Be faithful unto death.
Last week I was having lunch with Dan Stavely. Some of you know Dan. He used to be the football coach at the University of Colorado. Dan is kind of a legend at CU, and he is a committed Christian man. He is 82 years old. He has walked with Christ for some time. He is a big man. Powerfully built and still really big. As we had breakfast together, he ordered a ham and cheese omelet, and it was big. He took his fork and cut the omelet into five sections. I thought he was going to take each section and cut those again. But no, it was five bites. Five bites. He just took his fork and scooped them up and slammed them home. I was impressed.
The great thing about Coach Stavely is not that he can eat an omelet in five bites but that he is a great man of Christ. He is 82 years old and still serving Christ. He disciples college kids, and he has scores of college kids that he calls. He calls my kids and disciples them. Every day, at the age 82 and approaching 83, he goes to CU or UNC or CSU— two days at CU, two days at CSU, and one day at UNC. He has kids he disciples. He goes to campus Monday through Friday, from nine to four, and each hour is reserved for different kids. He sits down with. He takes them through the Sermon on the Mount. He takes them through the parables of Christ. He takes them through the exodus, the wilderness wanderings, and the promised land. He teaches them from scripture. He builds into those kids. In the evening time, Dan and his wife have college kids come into their home, and he disciples kids there.
He said to me this week, “I don’t like the word commitment. I don’t like the word commitment because there are degrees of commitment. You can be a little committed or a lot committed. I don’t like that. I like the word surrender. You’re either surrendered or you’re not. No degrees. You’re either surrendered or you’re not.” And he said, “I want to be surrendered to Christ. I want to keep serving Christ until I drop.” That is what it is all about. Faithful unto death. It does not matter how long the journey is. It does not matter whether you live 99 years or 19 years. It does not matter. Follow me. That is what matters. Faithful under death.
A second message this morning concerning this pilgrimage in Christ is this: It does not matter how hard it is. This weekend my wife Barb is in San Diego. She is visiting her mom and dad, who are ill, and her sisters. She left Thursday and flew on Continental Airlines out of Stapleton Airport. She was seated in the plane and continued to sit there for quite a while. She was wondering what was going on. Finally, the pilot spoke and said, “We’re having trouble with the fuel gauge.” It is something you do not want to hear. The pilot said, “Just remain seated, and we think we’ll have it fixed before long.” So she continued to sit on the plane. After a while the pilot came on again and said, “We can’t fix the fuel gauge. You are going to have to get off the plane. We’ll find another plane for you.” So Barb got off, went into a waiting area, sat down, and waited for Continental to find another plane. Finally, Continental said, “We can’t find another plane, so you will need to take some other flight.” Some people got on a Continental flight to Vegas and would then switch to another airline to go to San Diego. As that would take a long time, Barb got on a flight to Orange County, to the John Wayne Airport, and called to have her parents or one of her sisters pick her up there.
It was a hassle kind of trip, and it can be like that when you fly. Sometimes it is easy and sometimes it is difficult. Is that not right? Sometimes the flight is uneventful and easy. Other times it is a hassle; it is difficult. Is life not like that? Is the journey not like that? Is the pilgrimage not like that? Sometimes it seems easy; other times it seems hard. If you look at the lives of various Christians, do you notice that some Christians seem to have an easy journey and other Christians have a really hard journey? It does not matter. Before God, it does not matter.
Perhaps you have heard of William Mitchell. At the age of 46, William Mitchell was burned beyond recognition. His face was horribly disfigured, and he was burned over 65% of his body. In the aftermath of that horrible tragedy, he was no longer able to hold a fork. He could not go to the bathroom by himself. But after sixteen surgeries and months of rehabilitation, he began to be able to do most things. He actually taught himself to fly a plane. Four years after the tragic accident, he was flying his plane when something went wrong with the controls. He crashed the plane, shattered his thoracic vertebrae, twelve of them, and was permanently paralyzed from the waist down. It is safe to say his life was not going very well—horribly disfigured over 65% of his body through a burning and now permanently paralyzed from the waist down.
Yet, the story of William Mitchell is well known to many. His story has been told by many, from Time magazine to the New York Times. He went on to build a great company in the state of Vermont. In terms of the number of employees, it was the second largest company in the state. He went on to become the mayor of his city and ran for Congress. He ran with the slogan, “Not just another pretty face.” I guess he had a warped sense of humor. I do not know whether William Mitchell was a Christian. I do not know that, but I do know this. He said, “In life there are no setbacks. There are no setbacks, only starting points.” That is what he said. “No setbacks, only starting points.” For the Christian that is true. If you believe in Jesus Christ, God wants you to know on this pilgrimage, on this journey in this world, there are no setbacks. There are no setbacks because of Romans 8 28. What does Romans 8 28 say? Romans 8 28 says, “We know that everything works together for good for those who love the Lord and are called according to his purpose.”
I do not know what that verse means to you, and sometimes the verse is misunderstood. Robert Clark lived in Scotland decades ago with his wife and nine children. He was a poor man. His dream was to live in America. He worked for many years, as did his wife, to try to scrape together enough money to come to the United States with their nine children. Finally, they had the money. They got their passports and booked passage on a brand new trans-Atlantic liner. They were really excited. Seven days before they were to board that ship and head for America, a dog bit their youngest son. The doctors were afraid that he had rabies. So they quarantined the boy for 14 days, and they had to miss the ship.
Ships did not go to America very often back then, and he was kind of angry. Seven days later, when the ship left, he was at the port. He saw the ship leave and wept. He was a Christian, and he said he felt like cursing Christ, even cursing his youngest son, for keeping them from this journey. Five days later, news came to all of England that the ship had gone down. It was April 15, 1912. The ship was the Titanic, and 1,503 people died. Robert Clark, his wife, his nine children, surely some of them would have died had they been on that ship. But because of that dog bite, they were safe at home.
Is that what Romans 8 28 refers to? All things work together for good, even dog bites. When I talk to most Christians, that is how they interpret it. They interpret it to mean that everything, every setback, every seeming tragedy is really something that is going to protect us or provide something wonderful for us. I do not think that is the thrust of the passage. Sometimes it is true. We have a wonderful and magnanimous God, and it is true that many times things that seemingly are negative are actually used to protect us and provide for us. But the message of the passage is tied up with the word “agathos,” the word that is rendered “good.” That word “agathos” oftentimes refers to moral excellence. All things, everything works together for your moral transformation. That is what the verse is saying.
God has one purpose for your life and mind, and that is to transform your character. That is what that verse is promising—in this pilgrimage called life, in this journey of the Christian life, before we get to the gates of heaven, as we live on this earth, everything will work together for your transformation into the likeness of Christ. Look at the very next verse, Romans 8 29. ” For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son.” Image, the image of His Son. God wants to make you, a Christian woman or man in the midst of this pilgrimage, to be a kind of image. He wants to transform you into the image of his Son; and everything in your life, everything is meant towards that great purpose.
I do not know what you want out of life, but I will tell you this: I know what God wants. God wants to transform me. God wants to transform you. He wants to make us like His Son. That is what the pilgrimage is all about. It is not just getting to the gates of heaven. It is being sanctified, transformed into the very image of the Son of God. No setbacks. Everything in your life and mine is meant by the Father for this loving purpose.
Two years ago, Barb and I were driving to Aspen. On the road from Glenwood Springs to Aspen there was a fifteen-mile stretch of construction work. It was slow going. There was a lot of stopping and starting. When we got through the fifteen miles, there was a big sign that read, “Construction ended. Thank you for your patience.” As Christians, when we come to the end of our lives, that is the sign God ought to hang on us. “Construction ended. Thank you for your patience.” That is what the Christian life is all about. That is what the journey is about.
Our time is up and as we close, I will tell you a story about Theodore Roosevelt. Years ago, while president of the United States, he was returning to America from Africa. His trip to Africa was not on any official business. It was kind of a frivolous trip. He was doing some exploring and some hunting. The New York Times stated that he was killing water hogs. When he returned to the Port of New York, the mayor of New York City was there. The governor of the state of New York was there. Thousands of people lined the harbor. Bands were playing as Theodore Roosevelt came off the ship. On that same ship was another man named Reverend Michael Morrison. He had also been to Africa. During his time in Africa, which covered many years, he had led 10,000 people to Jesus Christ. He was on that same ship coming into the Port of New York, and there was no one there to greet him. No bands were playing. People did not line the street. There were no governors or mayors to greet him. He made his way to his house and to his wife and children. He told his wife about the scene at the harbor and how strange it felt. His wife smiled and said to him, a quote that I think you have often heard, “I think the Lord would say to you, you’re not home yet.”
We are not home yet. The celebration is not going to take place in this world. It is going to take place in the next world. That is what God wants to remind each of you who claim the name of Jesus Christ. You are not home yet. This world is not your home. This is a pilgrimage from spiritual birth to physical death. It does not matter how long the journey is. Just follow Christ. Be faithful until death. It does not matter how hard it is. It does not matter. All things are by His design and are meant for your sanctification, your transformation into the very likeness of the Son of God. Be faithful. Be clay in the hands of the potter and know that one day you will indeed see Christ face to face.
Our hope and prayer for you is that you will hear Him say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21). “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world” (Matthew 25:34). Our hope and prayer is at the end of your life, you will be able to say with the Apostle Paul, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7-8). Let us close with a word of prayer.