Charles Spurgeon and the simple look that saves
- Ottawa Gospel Hall
- Nov 8
- 2 min read
What can one young voice do in a hurting city? In 1854, a 19-year-old named Charles Haddon Spurgeon arrived in London with a Bible and a burden. Within months, halls overflowed and thousands leaned in to hear a clear, gracious message of hope: the gospel. Our sermon traces his remarkable journey—and points us to the same Saviour Spurgeon loved to preach.
A simple command that changed a life
On a snowy Sunday, a teenage Charles Haddon Spurgeon slipped into a tiny chapel. The regular preacher was absent, so a tradesman stumbled through a short message from Isaiah 45:22: “Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.”
The layman kept pointing to Jesus: “Look to Me—I’m hanging on a cross… I’m shedding my blood… I’m rising from the dead.” Then he turned and said to Spurgeon, “Young man, you look miserable… you have nothing else to do but look.” Spurgeon later said, “Oh, I looked—I looked until I could have looked my eyes away—as I realised that the Lord Jesus had died for me.”
Who Spurgeon pointed to
Spurgeon’s strength wasn’t fame or eloquence; it was where he looked. He kept pointing people to Jesus Christ: the one Mediator (go‑between) who gave Himself for us. “There is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5–6, NKJV). Our problem is sin, our continual turning away from God. But Jesus bore our guilt on the cross and rose again. Salvation is a gift received by trusting Him.
A voice that carried hope and why it matters now
Soon after arriving in London at nineteen, Spurgeon preached to overflowing crowds. Yet the point wasn’t the crowds; it was the message. People left not saying, “What a preacher,” but “What a wonderful Saviour Christ is.” Spurgeon cared for bodies as well as souls, helping start orphan care and many ministries for the poor, because grace overflows in love.
Another story tells of Spurgeon testing the acoustics of the Crystal Palace. He simply lifted his voice and quoted Scripture: “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). A workman in the gallery overheard the words, came under conviction, and later trusted the Saviour.[1] God still uses His Word to reach ordinary people in ordinary moments.
The open invitation: look and live
Isaiah’s command still stands: “Look to Me, and be saved.” Looking is turning from self‑reliance to Jesus, repenting of our sin and placing our faith in Him. While the invitation is proclaimed globally, it is also intensely personal. If you see your need today, take God at His word and look to the Lord Jesus.
Footnotes
Spurgeon recounts this Crystal Palace incident in C. H. Spurgeon’s Autobiography, Vol. 2, The Full Harvest (connected to the 1857 Crystal Palace service). He writes that during an acoustics test he proclaimed John 1:29; a workman heard the text and later came to faith in Christ.
