Month: May 2017

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How Could Jesus Speak to Large Audiences?

by Bill Rudge

Scripture indicates that Jesus spoke to large audiences (thousands of people) by the Sea of Galilee. Skeptics said it would be impossible for Him to speak to thousands of people without amplification equipment.

However, I was in Israel at the site of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. The hill forms a natural amphitheater that slopes to the Sea of Galilee and amplifies the speaker’s voice. The air above the Sea of Galilee is very static so that sound waves travel easily. It’s possible Jesus stood at the bottom of the hill and spoke to the crowd who sat above Him.

Matthew 4:25-5:2 gives the following account:

Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed Him. Now when He saw the crowds, He went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to Him, and He began to teach them ….

While standing on the site of the Sermon on the Mount, I was talking in my normal voice to one of the pastors in our group who was almost 100 yards away, and he could hear me plainly. Then, while standing on the shore, we became very quiet and, although several hundred yards away, we could hear two fishermen talking to each other on a small boat.

Once again the Bible is authenticated and skeptics are silenced.

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Quotes on Courage

compiled by Bill Rudge Ministries

“There is a certain blend of courage, integrity, character and principle which has no satisfactory dictionary name but has been called different things at different times in different countries. Our American name for it is ‘guts.’”

Louis Adamic, A Study in Courage (1944)

“It takes courage to resist the peer pressure of your friends – courage not to go with the crowd. It takes courage to face reality. Courage to admit need. Courage to change. Courage to make decisions. Courage to hold convictions. Success is not based on the ability to say yes, but on the ability to say no. Ask any successful man or woman. Ask anyone with honor or virtue who elicits your respect. They will tell you they learned how to say no. However, courage and firmness must be directed by knowledge. You must know what is right in order to know what to resist and what to yield to.”

Edwin Louis Cole, Courage

“If we take the generally accepted definition of bravery as a quality which knows no fear, I have never seen a brave man. All men are frightened. The more intelligent they are, the more they are frightened. The courageous man is the man who forces himself, in spite of his fear, to carry on.”

General George S. Patton, Jr., 19 Stars

“There are really no spur-of-the-moment decisions. Every decision a man makes is based on a lifetime of decisions which either enhanced or diminished his character. Courage is the ability to overcome fear and carry on with the mission. Moral courage, the courage of one’s convictions, is equally important. It takes a different kind of courage to stand up for what is morally right, particularly when others may want to act out of experience or self interest. An important aspect of duty is the courage of each of us to persevere in what we know is right and not make it easy for friends, peers, comrades, or superiors to do the wrong thing. Our professional ethic and individual values or moral principles must not be compromised because of the situation or circumstances.”

Field Manual 100-1

“God is looking for people of courage, strength and power who will stand up and impact this world for Christ. He is also looking for those who will not be compromised by dishonest gain, lying lips or deceptive motives. He is looking for men, women and young people who will live a life of integrity before Him and this world.”

Bill Rudge

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Deuteronomy 31:6