JESUS’ SACRIFICE

Why was Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross necessary for our salvation? The next story will help us understand this better.

There were once two brethren, one was a Christian and the other one was a materialistic atheist. The Christian brother tried often to help his brother understand the forgiveness and salvation that God sent through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, but he didn’t have much success because his brother didn’t feel guilty of anything, neither did he feel the need for forgiveness and salvation of sins. One day his brother was part of a robbery which ended up with somebody dead. He was followed by the police and with blood stains on his clothes, he ran to his brother’s house. “Help me!” he begged; “I killed somebody!” The Christian brother saw in this tragedy, a way to help his brother understand the salvation of sins that Jesus brought through His sacrifice and he decided to follow Christ’s sample. “Give me your clothes and take mine.” When the police entered the house, they arrested the Christian brother, who later on trial, declared that he was guilty. The sentence was death by hanging. His only desire was that a letter was given to his brother at the time of his execution, but not before. While he was climbing the scaffold, the policeman handed to his atheist brother the following letter: “Beloved brother I am happy to give my life for you because I love you and because I know that this way you also will understand that only Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross as a payment for our sins, could make us see the truth that we need salvation from sin. Accept Jesus and you won’t be guilty of your sins before God! Jesus paid for us, just like I’m paying for your crime now. Beloved brother…. those clean clothes which I gave you… keep them clean.” 
The brother began to understand…

THE CHANGE

After this, the atheist heart opened up to God. His love began to bring fruit in his soul and he broke down crying and repenting for his sins. Immediately he ran to the judge and said, “I am the guilty one, I am the murderer, my brother is innocent! Free him!” The judge said, “The lifeless body of your brother is already taken down from the scaffold. A crime was committed, the guilty man already confessed and is executed. The case is closed.” 
The atheist brother became a Christian. He changed his environment, the people he hung around with and… 
he kept his clothes clean, just like his brother asked!

Not one religious doctrine could save us from sins and death, neither can it make us repent from our heart for our sins. Only the sacrifice full of love from our Savior, done in our place for our sins, can make us understand how much He loves us, can bring us to repentance and can help us accept it as the only way to salvation.  

1 Peter 1:18-19 “For as much as you know that you were not redeemed (from sins) with corruptible things…but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” 

 A love story

 (A true story)

   The slave trade was abolished in Great Britain in 1807. The king of the Bonns (Bonni is part of Nigeria today), was making much gain from the trade with the slaves, and he was terrified by the law. The trade continued in America until it was abolished in 1865. William was a young English man who went to America to search for riches. After he managed to put enough money aside, he was on his way back home. It was 1849 and the slave trade was flourishing in America.

 It happened that he passed by New Orleans, the main slave market. On the podium was a beautiful black woman. Many prepared their money but a bidder, known for his meanness and perversion, was offering more money than anyone else. William offered ten percent above his last offer. In hate, the bidder increased his offer. William added another 10%, but his rival still added and the price grew a lot. The bidder screamed to William to stop, saying that no slave was worth that much. But William doubled the total sum & won the bid. The young woman, abused from her trip from Africa to the States, was looking at her new master with contempt. She gathered a bunch of saliva in her mouth and as soon as the chain was put around her neck and then given to William, she spat him in the face. William wiped his face with calmness. He went into an office and managed to get a document. He came back to the slave, took the chain of her neck, gave her the document and told her: “Go, you are free!’’ The young woman didn’t understand. William repeated: “You are free, you can go. This is your freedom document” The black woman stammered: ‘’Free? You spent all that money for me, to set me free & I spat you in the face?’’ She fell at his feet & kissed his boots and wiped them with her tears. Then she said: ‘’All I want now is to serve you!’’

 Doesn’t this look like a familiar story? Doesn’t it remind us of ourselves, before we understood the value of what Jesus did for us, when He paid with his precious blood for our freedom from sin which was leading us to perdition? How many times did we mistreat Him and spit Him in the face? Never? Yes, we did. When? Mat 25:40, 45-46: ‘’Truly I say unto you, whatsoever you did to one of these little ones, you did it to Me.’’ That wife or brother that we hurt or cheated, we did it to Jesus. What are we now? We are like the slave at the feet of Jesus, thanking Him for freeing us. He didn’t just free us from slavery, but from a long eternity separated from God. What will we do now? Will we continue as if nothing happened and be part of the world? Or will we dedicate ourselves to the Lord Jesus, our Savior?

Jesus will never be taken away from us!