Our Substitute
John and William were identical twin brothers, who in growing up in the mid 1800s in England, did everything they could together. They went to the same school, same sporting events, played the same games, and did exactly the same courses at University. There was however one important difference. While John responded to the Gospel and became a Christian, William did not. In fact it became very obvious that finishing university was a watershed in their lives. They began to go their different ways. John became a respected lawyer, freely representing people who could not afford a lawyer, while sadly, William went down the pathway of crime.
It was some fifteen years after going their separate ways, that William was charged with murder, after a bank robbery went terribly wrong. It was not long before William was sentenced to death by hanging, and he was placed on death row to await his execution. John was broken hearted at the mess his twin brother had gotten himself into, and was even more distressed that he would meet his death while not being a Christian.
John made a brave decision taking advantage of the fact that they were identical twins. He visited his brother in death row as a lawyer, and when they had been left alone, John quickly undressed, urged his brother to give him his prisoner's clothes, and then helped William put on his own lawyer's clothes. Before calling the guard to let him out, John showed William a note in the pocket of his coat that he wanted him to read on reaching freedom. The guard came, and not knowing any different, released the prisoner, while the free man, not guilty of any crime, went to his death. John willingly gave himself as a ransom for his brother.
Without that ransom, William would have had to pay the penalty. With his brother paying the ransom, William went free. The ransom made the difference. That's true not only in the life of William - it's true in our own personal lives. You and I face a terrible penalty, and the ransom makes all the difference. Not just for now, but for all eternity.
The penalty every one of us faces is spelled out in six stark words in the Bible: "The wages of sin is death" Romans 6:23. In other words, what we get paid for running our life our way instead of God's way is "death". And the Bible makes it clear that death isn't just your heart stopping. It's a spiritual death - eternal separation from the God who made us.
"Hell" (yes it's real) is the word God uses to describe an unspeakable eternity without Him, without His love and with no relief. It's a price I deserve to pay because I have made ME the centre of my universe and I have pushed God to the edge - if not right out of my life altogether. It's a price we all deserve to pay. Now we know why our fear of death is not an irrational one. However that fear can be turned into joy.
But then there's the ransom. Jesus tells us about it in Mark 10:45: "The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many." The price for you to go free has been paid by God's Son. When Jesus was going through that awful agony of the cross, He was literally paying for everything you've ever done against God. For you to pay for your sins would take an eternity in hell - in other words, you could never pay it. But the Son of God was paying your price, going through your hell for you, as He sacrificed His life on the cross that Good Friday some 2,000 years ago. He literally took your place and mine!
So the price has been paid. But only you can personalize for yourself what Jesus died to do for you. Your penalty before God is marked "paid" the moment you put your total trust in Jesus Christ to be your own personal Saviour, who alone can forgive your sins. A rescuer comes and throws out a line to a drowning person, but that person has to grab the line. Jesus has done everything that was needed to be done for your sins to be forgiven, for you to be rescued from an awful eternity. But you have to grab Him with all the faith you've got and say, "Jesus, You are my only hope, please forgive my sins, I repent for not loving you first and foremost."
Have you ever done that? If you never have, and you want to be able to go to bed tonight knowing that you're forgiven and knowing that you're going to heaven, and knowing that you are right with God, you can reach out to Him right now. His promise is that He will receive you. Yes, that's His promise. And of course, as your heavenly Father welcomes you into His family, your loving response will be to follow, serve and obey Him with the whole of your being.
William found that the ransom was the difference between paying the price and going free. He read the note where John explained all that Jesus had done for him - especially that Jesus came to be a ransom for him.. William became a Christian - and that's how we know this true story. Jesus Christ shed His blood to pay the price for you. Don't risk another day without Him. Love and serve Him faithfully. Grace and peace....