Jesus Visits John

And Delivers His First Speech

By

The Twelve Apostles

Jesus Visits John

Now, on the morrow Jesus came again and stood with John beside the ford.

And Delivers His First Speech

And John prevailed on Him to speak. Standing forth, Jesus said.

“You men of Israel, Hear! The kingdom is at hand.
Behold the great key-keeper of the age stands in your midst;

and with the spirit of Elijah he has come.
Behold, for he has turned the key;

the mighty gates fly wide and all who will may greet the king.
Behold these multitudes of women, children, men!

“They throng the avenues, they crowd the outer courts;

each seems to be intent to be the first to meet the king.
Behold, the censor comes and calls,

Whoever will may come;

but he who comes must be willing to prune himself of every evil thought;
must overcome desire to gratify the lower self;

must give his life to save the lost.

“The nearer to the kingdom gate you come,

the more spacious is the room;

the multitudes have gone.
If men could come unto the kingdom with their carnal thoughts,

their passions and desires, there scarcely would be room for all.
But when they cannot take these

through the narrow gate they turn away;

the few are ready to go in and see the king.

“Behold, John is a mighty fisher,

fishing for the souls of men.

He throws his great net out into the sea of human life;

he draws it in and it is full.
But what a medley catch!

A catch of crabs, and lobsters, sharks and creeping things,

with now and then a fish of better kind.

“Behold the thousands come to hear the Wild Man of the hills;

they come in crowds that he may wash them in the crystal flood,

and with their lips they do confess their sins.
But when the morrow comes

we find them in their haunts of vice again,

reviling John, and cursing God, and heaping insults on the king.

“But blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see the king.
And blessed are the strong in heart,

for they shall not be cast about by every wind that blows;
But while the fickle and the thoughtless have gone back

to Egypt land for leeks and carnal herbs to satisfy their appetites,

the pure in heart have found the king.

“But even those whose faith is weak,

and who are naught but carnal manifests,

will someday come again,

and enter in with joy to see the king.

“O men of Israel,

take heed to what this prophet has to say!

Be strong in mind; be pure in heart;

be vigilant in helpfulness; the kingdom is at hand.”

When Jesus had thus said, He went His way, and with His six disciples came to Bethany; and they abode with Lazarus many days.

Explanations:

1. People were mainly concerned with earthly life, to the neglect of the spiritual dimensions of life, which is far more important.

2. Multitudes followed Jesus Christ, because they wanted their problems solved, their needs provided and their desires fulfilled.

3. In all, people failed to bring their spiritual needs to the Master for healing, for explanations, for spiritual growth and for spiritual development.

4. Being the Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ knew the importance of spiritual foods and developments, and that was why He was often teaching and giving corrections.