Titanic's Untold Hero: The Preacher Who Wouldn't Stop

The sinking of the Titanic has been immortalized in countless films and books, but amidst the well-known tales of tragedy and survival lies a remarkable story rarely told. Pastor John Harper, a widowed preacher traveling with his six-year-old daughter, demonstrated extraordinary courage and unwavering faith during humanity's most famous maritime disaster.
Harper's story challenges us to examine our own priorities and reminds us that our most meaningful impact often comes when circumstances seem least favorable.

Chapters

• 0:05 Episode Introduction
• 0:19 The Titanic's Famous Story
• 0:52 Introducing John Harper
• 1:44 Harper's Actions During the Sinking
• 3:15 The Impact of Harper's Sacrifice
• 4:38 How We Can Apply This Today

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:05

Good morning and welcome to Starting Right with Danny Mac. I'm going to be here every Monday to Friday to help you get a great five-minute start to your day, so grab your cup of coffee, sit back, relax and let me help you start your day right. The sinking of the Titanic is one of the most famous events in history. Almost everybody has seen at least one movie about it and there have been dozens of movies and many, many more books written about it, trying to explain what happened and why it happened. And there were also many of the personal stories, the emotional stories of people who died when the ship sank, but also those who survived. And I've heard many, many of those stories and I thought there was probably nothing much more new that I could learn, until I came across a story that I want to share with you today. This is the story of John Harper. He was born in 1872, and by the age of 17, he was one of the street evangelists who began proclaiming the word of God at every chance that he had. As his theme verse he took for himself 2 Timothy 4, verse 2. Preach the Word of God, be prepared whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke and encourage your people with good teaching. In September of 1896, he started his own church, now known as Harper Memorial Church. When he opened the doors he only had 25 members, but over the next 13 years he grew the church to over 500 members. During this time he'd also gotten married, but was unfortunately widowed shortly thereafter. But from that marriage John had a daughter, a little girl by the name of Nana. That marriage John had a daughter, a little girl by the name of Nana.

Speaker 1: 1:44

On the night of April 14, 1912, john Harper and his six-year-old daughter were aboard the RMS Titanic At the time it was launched. The ship was the world's largest man-made movable object, and then, at 1140 pm on that night, an iceberg scraped the ship's starboard side, showering the decks with ice and ripping open six watertight compartments. The seawater simply poured in, according to the 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 would be reasonable to assume that this widowed preacher could have easily gotten on board this boat to safety for himself. However, it seems that it never even crossed his mind. He bent down, kissed his little daughter, looking in her eyes, and told her that she would be seeing him again someday. He briefly watched the lifeboat lower down the side of the ship and then turned and walked away. He knew he had work to do. He started yelling women, children and unsaved into the lifeboats. It was only minutes later that the Titanic began to rumble deep down within itself. Most people thought it was an explosion. Actually, the giant ship was literally breaking in half. At this point, many people jumped off the decks and into the icy, dark water. John Harper was one of these people.

Speaker 1: 3:06

That night there were 1,528 people who died in the frigid waters. John Harper was seen swimming frantically to people in the water, leading them to Jesus. Before the hyperthermia became fatal, mr Harper swam up to one young man who had climbed up in a piece of debris. 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. Harper then took off his life jacket, threw it to the man and said here then you're going to need this more than I am, and he swam away to other people telling them about Christ. A few minutes later, harper swam back to the young man and succeeded in leading him to salvation. Of the 1,528 people that went into the water that night, six were rescued by lifeboats. This young man was one of them.

Speaker 1: 3:54

Four years later, at a survivor's meeting, this young man stood up in tears and recounted how John Harper had led him to Christ. Harper had tried to swim back to help other people but because of hypothermia and the intense cold he had grown too weak to swim, and it's reported that his last words before going under the waters were Believe on the name of the Lord Jesus and you will be saved. Believe on the name of the Lord Jesus and you will be saved. It's very ironic that while the Titanic was sinking, there were many people on board the ship who were trying to buy their way onto the lifeboats, selfishly trying to save themselves. But John Harper gave up his life so that others could be saved saved to have eternal life beyond this earth.

Speaker 1: 4:37

Here is a man who truly lived out his favorite verse of scripture. He preached the word of God and he was prepared, whether the time was favorable or not, jumping into those icy waters. His one goal was to help people to find eternal life and peace with God. I hadn't heard that story before, but I'm awfully glad I did hear it. And you know, when a man's actions back up his words, like John Harper's did, that his relationship with God was incredibly real and incredibly powerful. You and I have the same word of God to live by, to be prepared to declare God's word whether the time is favorable or not, and we need to recognize the opportunities and prioritize those opportunities when they come. I encourage you this morning be prepared, be ready, look for the opportunities to share God's love with people around you. Have a great day, my friends. We will talk again tomorrow. Thank you for listening today and I invite you to join me Monday to Friday, right here on Starting Right with Danny Mac.