John Harper was born to Christian parents on May 29th, 1872. It was on the
last Sunday of March 1886, when he was 13 years old that he received Jesus
as the Lord of his life. He never knew what it was to “sow his wild oats.”
He began to preach about four years later at the ripe old age of 17 years
old by going down to the streets of his village and pouring out his soul in
earnest entreaty for men to be reconciled to God.
As John Harper’s life unfolded, one thing was apparent. – he was consumed by
the Word of God. When asked by various ministers what his doctrine consisted
of, he was known to reply “The Word of God!” After 6 years of toiling on
street corners preaching the gospel and working in the mill during the day,
Harper was accepted into the Baptist Pioneer Mission in London, England.
This set Harper free to devote his whole time of energy to the work so dear
to his heart. Soon, John Harper started his own church in September of 1896.
(Now known as the Harper Memorial Church.) This church which John Harper had
started with just 25 members, had grown to over 500 members when he left 13
years later. During this time he had gotten married, but was shortly
thereafter widowed. However brief the marriage, God did bless John Harper
with a beautiful little girl named Nana.
Ironically, John Harper almost drowned several times during his life. When
he was two and a half years of age, he almost drowned when he fell into a
well but was resuscitated by his mother. At the age of twenty-six, he was
swept out to sea by a reverse current and barely survived, and at thirty-two
he faced death on a leaking ship in the Mediterranean. Perhaps, God used
these experiences to prepare this servant for what he faced next…
It was the night of April 14, 1912. The RMS Titanic sailed swiftly on the
bitterly cold ocean waters heading unknowingly into the pages of history. On
board this luxurious ocean liner were many rich and famous people. At the
time of the ship’s launch, it was the world’s largest man-made moveable
object. At 11:40 p.m. on that fateful night, an iceberg scraped the ship’s
starboard side, showering the decks with ice and ripping open six watertight
compartments. The sea poured in.
On board the ship that night was John Harper and his much-beloved
six-year-old daughter Nana. According to documented reports, as soon as it
was apparent that the ship was going to sink, John Harper immediately took
his daughter to a lifeboat. It is reasonable to assume that this widowed
preacher could have easily gotten on board this boat to safety; however, it
never seems to have crossed his mind. He bent down and kissed his precious
little girl; looking into her eyes he told her that she would see him again
someday. The flares going off in the dark sky above reflected the tears on
his face as he turned and headed towards the crowd of desperate humanity on
the sinking ocean liner.
As the rear of the huge ship began to lurch upwards, it was reported that
Harper was seen making his way up the deck yelling, “Women, children and
unsaved into the lifeboats!” It was only minutes later that the Titanic
began to rumble deep within. Most people thought it was an explosion;
actually the gargantuan ship was literally breaking in half. At this point,
many people jumped off the decks and into the icy, dark waters below. John
Harper was one of these people.
That night 1528 people went into the frigid waters. John Harper was seen
swimming frantically to people in the water leading them to Jesus before the
hypothermia became fatal. Mr. Harper swam up to one young man who had
climbed up on a piece of debris. Rev. Harper asked him between breaths, “Are
you saved?” The young man replied that he was not.
Harper then tried to lead him to Christ only to have the young man who was
near shock, reply no. John Harper then took off his life jacket and threw it
to the man and said, “Here then, you need this more than I do…” and swam
away to other people. A few minutes later Harper swam back to the young man
and succeeded in leading him to salvation. Of the 1528 people that went into
the water that night, only 6 were rescued by the lifeboats. One of them was
this young man on the debris.
Four years later, at a survivors meeting, this young man stood up and in
tears recounted how that after John Harper had led him to Christ. Mr. Harper
had tried to swim back to help other people, yet because of the intense
cold, had grown too weak to swim. His last words before going under in the
frigid waters were, “Believe on the Name of the Lord Jesus and you will be
saved.”
Does Hollywood remember this man? No. Oh well, no matter. This servant of
God did what he had to do. While other people were trying to buy their way
onto the lifeboats and selfishly trying to save their own lives, John Harper
gave up his life so that others could be saved.
[Excerpt from “The Titanic’s Last Hero” Moody Press, 1997. Author unknown]
~~
Dr Bob Griffin
[email protected] www.grif.net
“Jesus Knows Me, This I Love!”