On a cold and snowy afternoon on Jan. 13, 1982 in Washington, D.C. Air Florida Flight 90 crashed into the 14th Street Bridge and then into the icy waters of the Potomac River. Only five passengers and one flight attendant made their way out of the submerged wreckage and made it to the surface. They clung to a small section of the tail that remained afloat. A rescue helicopter arrived and dropped a lifeline. One of the passengers, 46-year-old Arland D. Williams, Jr., repeatedly gave up the rescue line to other survivors until finally he was the last one left to be rescued. But when the chopper returned for him, he was gone.
Williams sacrificed himself to save others. He gave up his life so others could live. That's an amazing love that promotes that kind of willingness to die that other might live. That story of self-sacrifice reminds me that I owe my life to a man like that. His name is Jesus. Good Friday and Easter are a vivid reminder of the One who was willing to die in my place so that I might have life. Given the choice of letting you and me die for the sinning we have done, He passed the lifeline to us and died in our place.
In 1 John 2:2 the apostle John makes clear what was going on when Jesus the Son of God was dying on that old rugged cross. "He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins" - He is the One who did the dying that we should have done. You and I did the sinning. Jesus did the dying.
Jesus was not a victim. At the cross, He fulfilled His obligations and did what He set out to do. Earlier, Jesus had said: "For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father." (John 10:18) He didn't die because Roman soldiers nailed Him to a cross. He died because He loves you so much that He let them nail Him to that cross. If He didn't take your hell, you would have to.
So when Jesus hung on that cross that Good Friday and said, "Father, forgive them" - He was forgiving you. When He cried out, "My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?" the answer is, "Because of you and me." The things you and I have done wrong may not seem bad to us, but they are so serious that God the Father had to turn His back on His own Son because His Son was carrying that sin. In the hellish darkness of Good Friday, God the Father turned His back on God the Son so He would never have to turn His back on you.
Hymn writer Charles Wesley states it well, "Amazing love, how can it be - that You, my God, should die for me!" Contemporary worship leader and songwriter Chris Tomlin penned these words as he reflected on the amazing love of Jesus Christ who willingly died for us:
I'm forgiven because You were forsaken,I'm accepted, You were condemned.I am alive and well, Your Spirit is within me,Because You died and rose again.
(Chorus) Amazing love, How can it beThat You, my King, should die for me?Amazing love, I know it's true.It's my joy to honour You,In all I do, I honour You.
The sacrifice has been made. The ultimate tragedy would be that, after the price Jesus paid for you to be forgiven, you would still miss heaven, and still pay the penalty for your sin because you never grabbed the lifeline. What better day could there be for you to grab it than this anniversary of the day He died for you.
How do you grab the lifeline? By telling Jesus that you're sorry for all the sin of your life, that you want to be done with it, that you're putting your total trust in Him and His death for you as your only hope of heaven. Don't wait. Grab the lifeline.
Ted Goossen is pastor of the Mennonite Christian Centre Fellowship at 328 Thompson Dr.
