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1. A Detailed Analysis and Explanation

2.  All reference to the Bible are made from the King
James version, and may be different in other versions.
Please bear this in mind if you are researching the
scriptural references.

3.  The Bible is divided into two main sections: the Old
Testament (from the time of Adam and Eve to
Malachi, about 2000 BC) and the New Testament
(beginning a few years before Jesus Christ’s birth and
continuing until about 100 AD)
 The Bible is used in many Christian religions, although
the interpretations of it vary betweens sects. Note that
Martin Luther King Jr was a Baptist, which would have
affected his views.
 In most Christian religions (all that I am aware of), the
Bible is seen to be the word of God, given through his
prophets

4.  In writing about these scriptures and explaining them, I
have written as though the interpretations are fact, that
the Bible is an accurate and true account, that Jesus really
lived, etc.
 Obviously not everyone believes this or agrees with these
interpretations, however for the purpose of analysing the
texts, it is important to see it the way Martin Luther King
Jr would have. As a Baptist minister, he believed that
Jesus truly lived, etc. So it makes sense to look at it from
this perspective, regardless of your own personal views.
Please do not be offended by anything said here or take it
as preaching – that is not the intention at all.

5.  “Storms of persecution” – Opposition is often
represented by storms, with Jesus as a refuge. Many of
Jesus’ apostles were fishermen, so storms were
something that posed problems for them and were
dangerous. See Mark 4:37-41 (next slide) for the story
of how Jesus calmed the storm.
 Isaiah 25:4 – For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a
strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the
storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the
terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.

6.  37 And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves
beat into the ship, so that it was now full.
 38 And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a
pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master,
carest thou not that we perish?
 39 And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the
sea,Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a
great calm.
 40 And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it
that ye have no faith?
 41 And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another,
What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the
sea obey him?

7.  “Could no longer bear such a heavy burden” –
Reference to Jesus carrying the cross. Before he was
crucified, Jesus was forced to walk through the
city, carrying the cross on his back. All the
while, people stood on the side of the road, spitting on
him and yelling insults, etc.
 “Every time such a temptation appeared” – Before
Jesus started his ministry, he fasted in the desert for 40
days. During this time, the devil appeared three times
with temptations, all of which Jesus refused. Despite
being in a weakened state physically, Jesus remained
strong against the temptations. In referencing
this, MLK equates his suffering with that of Jesus.
 See Matthew 4 and Luke 4 for details

8.  “The Master’s burden is light” – The Master is a term
often used for Jesus. He taught that those who
followed him would be relieved of their burdens if
they would let him take them. Through Jesus’
atonement (dying on the cross), he suffered for the
sins and pains of the world, allowing people to be free
of them by accepting Jesus into their lives. MLK,
despite all his sufferings, found relief through Jesus.
 Matthew 11:28-30 – Come unto me,
all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give
you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I
am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto
your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is
light.
 Note the capitalisation of “Master”

9.  “Unearned suffering is redemptive” – Jesus’ crucifixion was
seen as unearned because he never actually committed any
crime. For this reason, his death had the power to atone for
the sins of others – his innocent death counteracted the
wickedness of others who would accept him. MLK is saying
that, like Jesus, he has not committed any crimes, but is
being punished for preaching of love.
 Isaiah 53:3-5 - He is despised and rejected of men; a man
of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it
were our faces from him; he was despised, and
we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and
carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten
of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for
our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the
chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with
his stripes we are healed.
 This scripture also relates to the previous slide – suffering
for us

10.  “The cross” – the cross refers to Jesus’ cross, on which
he was hung and died. In the case of MLK, it
represents the suffering he had to go through as a
result of his beliefs. Again, this reference aims to
equate MLK’s suffering with that of Jesus, giving the
idea that he seeks only for peace, while others who
fight against him are evil, trying to prevent the work of
God from going forward.

11.  “Stumbling block” – A stumbling block is a metaphor
for anything that gets in the way of following Jesus.
MLK uses it to represent the oppression faced by those
who followed him, which scared many people and
caused them to give up.
 Peter 2: 6-8 - Wherefore also it is contained in the
scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a
chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth
on him shall not be confounded. Unto you therefore
which believe he is precious: but unto them which
be disobedient, the stone which the
builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the
corner, And a stone of stumbling, and
a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the
word, being disobedient: whereunto also they
were appointed.

12.  Paul was not always Christian. Initially, he was named
Saul, and was Roman. He fought against Christians
and was part of many attacks on them. He was not
converted to Christianity until after Jesus’ crucifixion
(33-34 AD).
 While travelling on the road to Damascus, Saul saw a
bright light and heard the voice of Jesus, who told him
to stop persecuting his people. The encounter left him
blind and unable to eat or drink. God then sent a
prophet, Ananias, to heal and baptise Saul, who
became Paul from then onwards.

13.  After his conversion, Paul’s life was completely turned
around, and he spent the rest of his days preaching of
God and Jesus, converting many to Christianity.
 Interestingly, aside from the encounter on the road to
Damascus, there is no record of Paul ever meeting
Jesus. All his doctrine came through revelations from
God.
 Paul’s mission took him from Damascus, through
Arabia, Jerusalem, Asia Minor, Macedonia and Italy.
 He was martyred in Rome around 64 AD.
 Paul’s mission was long, and many times he faced
near-death or other suffering because of his preaching.

15.  MLK references Galatians 6:17 –
 From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in
my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.
 He, like Paul, is essentially saying that he has suffered
persecution, hate and temptation just as Jesus did.
 When Jesus was resurrected, he still had the marks
from the nails of the cross in his hands, feet and side.
These “marks” represent his suffering, and are what
Paul and MLK are referring to.
 Once again, MLK asserts that his suffering is just like
Jesus’.

16.  “This I remember, especially in this season of giving, for
these people have followed the example and spirit of
Christ Himself. They have given mankind a priceless “Gift
of Love.”
 Jesus’ death was a sacrifice he made for everyone. He paid
the price for our sins, making the ultimate sacrifice. He
did so out of love, and does not expect anything in return
except to follow him. Since we do not have to pay for our
sins ourselves, this sacrifice is a gift. Those who
suffered, as Christ did, are doing so in the same spirit
because it is unselfish and out of love.
 Corinthians 6:20 - For ye are bought with a price:
therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which
are God’s.

17.  “Forsaken by society” – Reference to Jesus. Although he was
a Jew, the Jews were the ones who demanded his death. He
was rejected by his own people.
 Isaiah 53:3-5 - He is despised and rejected of men; a man
of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it
were our faces from him; he was despised, and
we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and
carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of
God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for
our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the
chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with
his stripes we are healed.
 MLK equates the situations
 Corinthians 4:8-10 - We are troubled on every side, yet not
distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted,
but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always
bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the
life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.

18.  MLK compares the situation of the boys with that of
Jesus to portray them as innocent victims of
undeserved hatred. He shows the culprits to be the
white people, who have put the boys in their
unfortunate situation.
 This also emphasises that the white treatment of
blacks is not a response to violence, but is fuelled by
anger because of their background. Their suffering is
uncalled for, and they are simply dealing with it in the
best way they know how.

19.  “Come to Jesus” – Jesus invites everyone to come unto
him. That is to say that they accept his gospel, and
allow it to change their lives and relieve them of their
burdens. Through him, they can find peace from their
worries
 Matthew 11:28 - Come unto me, all ye that labour and are
heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

20.  “A voice still cries to every potential Peter, ‘Put up your
sword!’” - This refers to the Apostle Simon Peter. After
he cut off the ear of a guard who tried to take
Jesus, Jesus told him to ‘Put up your sword,’ which
meant to put it away. It was a call for him to use other
means than violence.
 John 18:10-11 - Then Simon Peter having a sword drew
it, and smote the high priest’s servant, and cut off his
right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus. Then said
Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath:
the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink
it?

21.  “Caesar will occupy a palace and Christ a cross” –
Caesar was the leader of Rome. At the time, Rome
occupied Jerusalem. The Jews suffered a great deal at
the hands of the Romans.
 MLK creates binary opposition between them – a
palace is a place of luxury and comfort, and has
connotations of power. A cross represents punishment
and pain. Likewise, the white people held all the power
and had the better lifestyle, whilst the black people
had to suffer from them.

22.  This is often a confusing point for some people:
 1 AD was the year of Christ’s birth
 33-34 AD was when Christ was crucified
 There is no “gap” in time between Jesus’ birth and
death – those years were still counted.
 AD stands for “Anno Domini,” which is Latin for In the
year of our Lord. It does not stand for “After Death”
 BC simply stands for “Before Christ”
 There is no year 0 – Time went from 1 BC to 1 AD
 We are currently in 2011 AD, theoretically 2011 years
after the birth of Christ

23.  “Walk and never get weary” – Jesus said that all those
who followed him would be sustained by a spiritual
power that would allow them to exceed their physical
capabilities. MLK was implying that, despite their
suffering, they would remain strong so long as they put
their faith in Jesus.
 Isaiah 40:31 - But they that wait upon
the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up
with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be
weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

24.  “Promised land” – When the Israelites were freed from
slavery to the Egyptians, Moses led them to what they
called the Promised Land. Although it wasn’t actually
that far away, they wandered in the wilderness for
about forty years before they finally reached it and
settled down. During this time, they camped in the
desert. It was very tough for them, but eventually the
suffering helped them become closer to God and
recognise their dependence on him.
 Deuteronomy 6:3 - Hear therefore, O Israel,
and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and
that ye may increase mightily, as the LORD God of thy
fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with
milk and honey.

25.  Using the term “promised land” has implications of a
final goal that is difficult to reach, and will take a long
time to attain, but through great endurance, they will
reap the rewards by finding peace and plenty.
 MLK was encouraging the people by saying
that, though the road to racial equality would be long
and hard, they would one day reach it. They would
need to be faithful first, because they had many trials
ahead of them, and would need to rely on the Lord for
their strength.

26.  There aren’t really any Biblical references in this
essay, which is probably to do with the fact that it was
aimed at a different audience – white people instead of
fellow black people.
 It is possible to make a connection between the
reference “to calm troubled waters” and when Jesus
calmed the sea during the storm (see slide 6).
However, given the context of this metaphor, it might
be a bit of a weak link. Maybe. I’m not sure. It’s up for
your interpretation!

27.  Please remember that these are just the connections I
found – you may interpret them completely
differently, and that certainly does not make you
wrong! I would encourage you to do your own research
to see for yourself, remembering the context in which
each work was written.
 I hope you have found this to be a good starting point
for you!
 http://ibscrewed4english.blogspot.com/

28.  The King James Bible can be accessed online for free
at:
 http://lds.org/scriptures/?lang=eng
 All referencing in this presentation were made from
this site.