The Bible in Poetry: The Gospel 2

 

Extracted from the Bible In Poetry

From Genesis to Revelation

The Gospels 2 

The Message of John the Baptist

Repent was the message preached by the Baptist, John,

Calling all men to repentance just before the coming dawn;

Son of Jewish parents considered by God as blameless,

Heralded the good tidings of the Christ for every crisis.

 

John quoted from Isaiah about making the crooked straight,

About being the children of Abraham but being full of hate;

O generation of vipers, who warned you from the wrath to flee?

Know this very moment that the axe will be laid to the tree.

Publicans came to John to tell them what they should do,

Take no more from any man, than what is appointed you;

And the soldiers also demanded what to do at this stage,

Accuse no man falsely and be satisfied with your wage.

Make straight the way he said as he ministered all day long,

Eating locusts and wild honey and yet was mighty strong;

Many heard the word of God and came to him and pleaded,

Repent and be baptized he said was what the people needed.

The people grew in expectation and they asked excitedly,

Whether John was the Christ but he answered in humility;

For they cometh one after me whose shoe lace I can’t unlatch,

Jesus, Lamb of God, unparalleled, unchallenged, unmatched.

John Baptizes Jesus

When Jesus had come to John, to the Jordan from Gallilee,

Requesting to be baptized, John asked, “Why come to me?”

“Let it be so,” he said, “that I might fulfil all righteousness.”

For Jesus did his father’s bidding, nothing more, nothing less.

At the baptism of Jesus John was given much proof,

The heavens were opened then as God confirmed this truth;

God’s spirit descended on him in the likeness of a dove,

And God’s voice sounded from heaven, “This is my Son I love.”

  

The Temptations

Straightway after this was he in the wilderness to be tempted,

Satan would do his worst for Jesus was not to be exempted;

But Satan would be defeated as Jesus passed all tests,

As our object and example he had proved to be the best.

The devil confronted him that he’d turn stones into bread,

Man lives not by bread alone but God’s word Jesus said;

To the top of the temple and required to jump was another,

Tempt not the Lord God was how the Lord had countered.

The second temptation in Luke, in Matthew it was the third,

On the top of a mountain, shown the kingdoms of the world;

All these I will give to you if you bow down and worship me,

Jesus told him who to worship then commanded him to flee.

The Death of John the Baptist

Not all people were happy with the words that John had said,

Herod and his brother’s wife wished that John were dead.

Herod was living with Herodias, Philip’s adulterous wife,

And soon they would combine to take John the Baptist’s life.

Herod the tetrarch agreed to grant his niece her desire,

Having watched her dance he did so greatly admire;

She requested the Baptist’s head serve it on a platter,

Herodias was satisfied that Herod dealt with the matter.

Just as John had said he had known he must decrease,

As Jesus came to the fore he the Son of God increased;

And thus began a ministry the world had never known,

Jesus paid the price for the seeds that man had sown.

The Call of the Twelve

Jesus began with calling twelve disciples to himself,

He told them that this calling was not to gather wealth;

He gathered them around him and taught them of his will,

Today as we read the Bible their works are with us still.

There were James, John, Philip, Peter, his brother Andrew,

James the son of Alphaeus, Thomas and Bartholomew;

Judas the brother of James and Simon called Zelotes,

The one who betrayed the Master, Judas Iscariot.

 

The Sermon on the Mount

 

When he saw the multitudes he went up into a mountain,

And his disciples with him he began to teach by saying;

Blessed are the poor in spirit for heaven’s kingdom is theirs,

Blessed are they that mourn for their comfort will appear.

Blessed are the meek ones for they shall inherit the earth,

The blessed shall be filled that after righteousness thirst;

Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy,

Blessed are the pure in heart, with God they will get to be.

Blessed are the peacemakers for they are all God’s children,

Blessed are the persecuted, theirs is the kingdom of heaven;

Blessed are they that are reviled for the Lord Jesus’ sake,

Rejoice and be exceeding glad for your reward is great.

You are the salt of the earth but if the salt has lost its savour,

How can it then be salted when it is salt without a flavour?

You are the light of the world you should shine for all to see,

That men will see your good works and God will get the glory.

Jesus taught of the kingdom, the sower that went out to sow,

About seed in all types of soil and many that did not grow;

But some fell in good soil and brought forth a great harvest,

Those who heed the word of God are geared to pass the test.

Stewart Russell © 2013