The Titanic’s last hero
by Thomas Ray
Hollywood has made several movies about the Titanic and its tragic end, but I fear they will never tell the story of John Harper, “the Titanic’s last hero.”
John Harper was born May 29, 1872, in Houston, Renfrewshire, Scotland, to godly Baptist parents where prayer and Bible reading was a vital part of each day’s activities. John Harper accepted Christ when he was 14, and by the time he had reached his 18th birthday he had committed his life to preach the gospel. He preached anywhere he had an open door, but most of his preaching was done on street corners and in parks. He earned the reputation as the greatest open-air preacher of his day.
In about 1895, the Baptist Pioneer Mission recruited Harper to do evangelistic church work. God abundantly blessed his efforts, and in 1897 he founded Paisley Road Baptist Church in a suburb of Glasgow with 25 members. No man in the British Isles possessed more zeal and determination to reach the unsaved than John Harper. The church became a beehive of activity conducting several weekly open-air services and engaging in an extensive visitation program — all designed to reach the lost. The church experienced phenomenal growth and within four years they were able to build a building that was enlarged several times until it could accommodate 900.
In about 1904, John Harper married Miss Annie Bell. Two years later she gave birth to a beautiful girl they named Annie Jessie (Nana). Tragically, Mrs. Harper suffered from consumption, and childbirth complications resulted in her death. The sadness that engulfed John Harper only deepened his relationship with God, and his preaching and prayers seemed to come directly from heaven.
In 1910 he was called to pastor the historic Walworth Road Church in London. During his brief London pastorate the old church took on new life and new converts began to fill the empty pews. In the fall of 1911, the renowned Moody Memorial Church in Chicago invited John Harper to preach a three-week revival that was extended to three months. A pastor said, “God used him while here as I never have seen a man used before.”
John Harper returned to London for only a few weeks when he received a telegram from the Moody church imploring him to return and to preach for an additional three months. He accepted their invitation and initially planned to sail on the Lusitania, but he delayed his voyage, deciding to sail on the Titanic.
John Harper, his six-year-old daughter, and her Aunt Jessie Leitch sailed as second-class passengers on April 10, 1912. During the next five (and final) days of his life, he was observed on several occasions sharing the gospel with fellow passengers. On the night of April 14, he was awakened by a loud noise and immediately went to investigate. He learned the ship had hit an iceberg and was taking on water. The captain had ordered the women and children to get into the lifeboats.
He rushed back to the cabin where Nana and Jessie Leitch were sleeping and awakened them. He took his daughter and wrapped her in a blanket, and they headed for the lifeboats. He bent and kissed his precious little girl; looking into her eyes, he told her she would see him again someday.
He turned and headed toward the crowd of desperate and confused passengers. He began yelling, “Women, children, and unsaved into the lifeboats.”
Shortly afterwards, the Titanic began to break in half. John Harper gave his life jacket to an unsaved man saying, “You need it more than I do.” At this point people began jumping into the icy dark waters. John Harper was among them. He was seen swimming franticly to people in the water attempting to lead them to Christ before the icy waters became their grave.
A young man drifted by on a piece of wood. John Harper shouted to the man, “Is your soul saved?”
The man said, “No.”
Harper shouted “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.”
The man drifted off into the dark but later the current drew him back. John Harper shouted, “Are you saved yet?”
“I cannot honestly say that I am.”
John Harper shouted one more time, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Those were the last words John Harper spoke as the icy waters finally engulfed him. Over 1,500 people went into the water; only six were rescued, one of them the young man John Harper had spoken to. The young Scotsman several months later stood in a testimony meeting and stated, “I listened to Rev. Harper’s last message and became a believer in Jesus Christ.”