Saturday, February 26, 2011
Friday, February 11, 2011
A Parable (From Hebrews 2:1-4)
In another time and another place, three men went to jail. It was a dungeon, actually. According to the law of the land, they had all committed crimes worthy of life in prison. The laws were clear. Their crimes were clear. The consequences were clear. They had no further appeals. Their sentence left them hopeless and beyond redemption. Life in prison was the only destiny they had earned.
But one day a lawyer came to each of the three men, saying “I’ve got good news and bad news. The bad news is that you can’t get out of this prison on your own, you deserve your sentence and you will die here unless you hear and accept the good news...” “Well, what’s the good news?” they said. “The good news is that someone else has volunteered to serve your sentence for you and the Judge has agreed to allow this for your sakes. All you have to do is accept this new plan and you can go free.”
The first man said, “Well, I don’t believe I should be here in the first place. I haven’t done anything nearly as bad as these other two... besides, don’t you know who I am? I was told I would be delivered eventually, but not by the likes of you... I’m staying right here.”
The second man said, “Well, let me think about it... I’m not sure I believe you... sounds a little too easy to be true. I think I’ll hold off.”
The third man said, “That’s awesome! Where do I sign?” He accepted the gift and was let out of prison.
The judge heard about the other two and he had pity on them in their foolishness. It turns out that it was his own son who had agreed to take their sentence. That’s why it was enough to satisfy the justice of this particularly just judge. It’s also the reason he wanted as many of the prisoners to take advantage of his son’s sacrifice as possible. So, going the extra mile, he sent his son, the same one who had offered to take their sentence, to talk to the prisoners in person.
The son said to the two prisoners, “I wanted to come down to this dungeon myself to explain to you that I am actually the one who is going to pay the price for your life sentences. I am going to do this by allowing myself to be executed for your crimes. Since I am willing to do this for you, won’t you please accept my gift and come out of this dungeon?”
The first man said, “Thanks, but I’m waiting for another way out.” The second man said, “I’ve thought about it and I just don’t believe this makes any sense. How could your death pay my sentence? How could your death pay the sentence for all of us? Besides, it isn’t so bad down here anyway... I think I’ll pass.” As the son began to sadly walk away, he said, “Well, I’m going to have to die for the first guy regardless of your decisions, so I sure hope you change your minds.”
After the son had given his life, the two prisoners stayed in jail, even though they could have come out at any time. The Judge continued to have compassion on them. He tried one last thing. He found the first man who had been let out of prison and sent him to plead with the other two. The man was loathe to return to the dungeon, but out of love for the forgiving Judge, he went down anyway. He said to those who had once been his fellow prisoners, “You guys don’t know what you’re missing. It’s great out there. What are you waiting for? Your sentence is already paid. All you have to do is believe it is true and make your own decision to accept the forgiveness and freedom that is being offered to you. Why won’t you accept this good news like I did?”
But by now the two men had experienced all the pains of prison and they had grown hardhearted and angry. They were furious that their friend had been let out of his sentence and they had begun to hate the Judge, somehow blaming him for their own mistakes and foolishness. Sadly, they told their former dungeon mate to leave them alone and they settled even more deeply into their hopeless fate.
The End?
But one day a lawyer came to each of the three men, saying “I’ve got good news and bad news. The bad news is that you can’t get out of this prison on your own, you deserve your sentence and you will die here unless you hear and accept the good news...” “Well, what’s the good news?” they said. “The good news is that someone else has volunteered to serve your sentence for you and the Judge has agreed to allow this for your sakes. All you have to do is accept this new plan and you can go free.”
The first man said, “Well, I don’t believe I should be here in the first place. I haven’t done anything nearly as bad as these other two... besides, don’t you know who I am? I was told I would be delivered eventually, but not by the likes of you... I’m staying right here.”
The second man said, “Well, let me think about it... I’m not sure I believe you... sounds a little too easy to be true. I think I’ll hold off.”
The third man said, “That’s awesome! Where do I sign?” He accepted the gift and was let out of prison.
The judge heard about the other two and he had pity on them in their foolishness. It turns out that it was his own son who had agreed to take their sentence. That’s why it was enough to satisfy the justice of this particularly just judge. It’s also the reason he wanted as many of the prisoners to take advantage of his son’s sacrifice as possible. So, going the extra mile, he sent his son, the same one who had offered to take their sentence, to talk to the prisoners in person.
The son said to the two prisoners, “I wanted to come down to this dungeon myself to explain to you that I am actually the one who is going to pay the price for your life sentences. I am going to do this by allowing myself to be executed for your crimes. Since I am willing to do this for you, won’t you please accept my gift and come out of this dungeon?”
The first man said, “Thanks, but I’m waiting for another way out.” The second man said, “I’ve thought about it and I just don’t believe this makes any sense. How could your death pay my sentence? How could your death pay the sentence for all of us? Besides, it isn’t so bad down here anyway... I think I’ll pass.” As the son began to sadly walk away, he said, “Well, I’m going to have to die for the first guy regardless of your decisions, so I sure hope you change your minds.”
After the son had given his life, the two prisoners stayed in jail, even though they could have come out at any time. The Judge continued to have compassion on them. He tried one last thing. He found the first man who had been let out of prison and sent him to plead with the other two. The man was loathe to return to the dungeon, but out of love for the forgiving Judge, he went down anyway. He said to those who had once been his fellow prisoners, “You guys don’t know what you’re missing. It’s great out there. What are you waiting for? Your sentence is already paid. All you have to do is believe it is true and make your own decision to accept the forgiveness and freedom that is being offered to you. Why won’t you accept this good news like I did?”
But by now the two men had experienced all the pains of prison and they had grown hardhearted and angry. They were furious that their friend had been let out of his sentence and they had begun to hate the Judge, somehow blaming him for their own mistakes and foolishness. Sadly, they told their former dungeon mate to leave them alone and they settled even more deeply into their hopeless fate.
The End?
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