Hundreds of friends, family members, former colleagues, and supporters gathered on Thursday to celebrate the life and gospel legacy of Jeremy Marshall, the late evangelist, banker, and Christian philanthropist.
8 years ago, Marshall, who passed away in August this year at the age of 60, was given 18 months to live by doctors after a terminal cancer diagnosis.
The service, at St Helen's Bishopsgate late on Thursday afternoon, featured eulogies from two of Jeremy's close friends, prayers by his sister, and an evangelistic sermon by mathematician and apologist John Lennox, inviting listeners to receive the resurrection hope that Marshall himself rested in so publicly and shared passionately.
Lennox's sermon concluded: "Jeremy Marshall, Child of God is now with Christ in heaven. Will you one day join him? Let me close by reading the last words of Jeremy's chapter on hope. 'I implore you,' he says, 'Turn to Him. Take hold of him. You will find hope that nothing in the world can take away.'"
During a career in which he was head-hunted as the first non-family CEO of C.Hoare & Co, the world’s oldest private bank, Marshall committed his life and resources to gospel-spreading projects.
These included supporting movements such as Christianity Explored and the bible-reading resource Word One to One, authoring books on his eternal hope in suffering, as well as leading the purchase of Kingdom Bank, which supports churches and Christian organizations across the UK.
The service included these poignant quotes from Marshall about following and serving Jesus:
[On spreading the good news of Jesus] "Our business is to scatter the seed as best we can and see what happens. We just have to take that first step. The Word of God is inherently tremendously powerful. But seed is no good if it stays in the bag. It needs to be sown, friends."
[On Christ's answer to suffering] "Why doesn't he do something about suffering? The question posed is a vital one for me. I've been living with cancer for 10 years. And for the last eight years, it's been incurable. I've been through intensive treatment, including 40 chemotherapies and 20 radiotherapies. I've had extremely serious issues with my brain, eyes, throat, heart, and lungs. The impact on my family has been enormous. It's been so hard. Yet, all this time I felt that I've been carried by God. How? My answer to suffering is a person, Jesus of Nazareth; he has been of incalculable, limitless help to me and to countless millions of sufferers throughout the world; he can help you too."