Matthew 11:1-5 And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples… Martin Luther, of a kindred .spirit with the Baptist, and with a like task to perform, had many days of despondency, and passed through many conflicts of unbelief. He writes: "One may overcome the temptations of the flesh, but how hard it is to struggle against the temptations of blasphemy and despair." Again: "Having all but lost my Christ, I was beaten by the waves and tempests of despair and blasphemy." Bunyan, who, with his wonderful imagination, could body forth the things unseen and spiritual, as if he could see them with his eyes, hear them with his ears, and touch them with his hands, had many conflicts with unbelief. "Of all temptations I ever met with in my life," he says, "to question the being of God and the truth of His gospel is the worst, and worst to be borne. When this temptation comes it takes my girdle from me, and removes the foundation from under me. Though God has visited my soul with never so blessed a discovery of Himself, yet afterwards I have been in my spirit so filled with darkness, that I could not so much as once conceive what that God and that comfort were with which I had been refreshed." Parallel Verses KJV: And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities. |
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