The key turned over in the lock, the cell door groaned as it opened, and the old floorboards creaked under his feet. To John all these sounds were happy sounds. For, like the sound of the earthquake that shook the prison in which Paul and Silas were kept so long ago, these were the sounds of freedom.
John was free of the Bedford Jail. Free of its bars and benches. Free to breathe the fresh air. Free to see his family.
“I don’t think I need to remind you of the rules, Bunyan, just be back in the morning.”
The jailer’s voice was gruff, but John thought he saw the man smile as he turned back towards the building.
Standing alone, the prisoner took in a deep breath of the cool, clean air.
What a fine Sunday morning it was! The birds were singing in the trees, a little stream trickled by and his mind was filled with the sermon he would soon preach.
The Preaching Prisoner
John Bunyan was a tinker by trade. A lay preacher by calling. A prisoner by decision of the court.
In the England of the mid-1600s, it was illegal for anyone except ordained ministers to preach. John Bunyan, however, believed that permission to share the gospel was something given by God, not by the government.
John had a calling to preach. He believed it was a God-given commission and a God-given right. So, he preached despite the law which said he couldn’t, and was arrested because of it.
After three months in prison, John appeared at trial. He knew he could be banished, even executed, for his “crimes” but he would not relent. He boldly told the magistrate and the onlooking court, “If I was out of prison today, I would preach the gospel again tomorrow by the help of God.”
He was true to his word. In the following months, he used every pass to see his family as an opportunity to preach to the secret gatherings of believers.
The Things He Held Dear
He tapped gently on the door of a little cottage decorated with wildflowers. He heard excited voices and the patter of little feet inside. In a moment, the door swung open.
“Daddy!”
“Daddy!”
Sarah grabbed his hand and pulled him in. John tugged at his pant leg, trying to show him a missing tooth. One-year-old Thomas, in his high chair, enthusiastically pounded the table with his spoon.
John closed the door behind himself, then knelt and pulled his children near to him. He hugged them for a long time, listening to their chatter and thanking God that he was free to hear it.
When he felt a hand on his shoulder, he rose and kissed his wife.
“It’s good to see you!” He said to the young, dark- haired woman.
Still holding her hand, he made his way across the room to where his eldest daughter, Mary, sat with knitting on her lap. He greeted her with a kiss as well.
“It is good to see you all!”
Elizabeth smiled. “The others are already gathered in the Elrett’s barn, John.”
John Bunyan looked over his family once more. Mary’s golden hair and Sarah’s brown were braided, Elizabeth’s was neatly tied up and all of them, including the little boys, were dressed in their Sunday best.
He nodded. “Give me a moment to clean up and we’ll be off.”
“Shall I send the girls ahead, or should we all go together?”
“We’ll go together. I don’t see how a family going out for a walk could in any way be suspect.”
Elizabeth laughed. “Don’t you know, everything we do is suspect!”
Resilience
John Bunyan wasn’t a man to be silenced. He preached the gospel though he was told not to, though it would cost him the little freedom he had left and everything he held dear.
Eventually, the authorities caught on to the fact that John was preaching while on pass from prison and this small liberty too was taken away.
But John Bunyan could not be stopped. Prevented from preaching in the usual way, he traded his pulpit for a pen and turned to the written word.
For the next twelve years, John wrote in the small cell of the Bedford Jail. There he wrote the gospel message into books which have gone on to be read by thousands! Books, like The Pilgrim’s Progress and Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners, have stayed in publication for more than three hundred years!
In Application
I once heard a quote that went something like this: “In every country in the world men are free to preach the gospel, it is only the consequences that differ.”
Try as I might, I can’t find the original quote, nor the name of the author, but the truth behind these words has stuck with me since I first heard it. We all have the ability to obey God, the question is, are we willing to obey at any cost? Despite any obstacle?
In the face of difficulty and daunting odds, John Bunyan held fast to the conviction of his soul. He met increasing difficulty with perseverance and creativity, using whatever means were available to press on in the work God had given him to do.
John Bunyan obeyed God, refusing to view any obstacle as big enough to stand in his way. Are you willing to do the same?
“And say to Archippus, “See that you fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord.” ” (Colossians iv.17, ESV)
In Christ
Quiana
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