A life for a life

Imagine a busy market in a distant foreign land. It is hot and dusty and a bustling place with lots of trade and activity. People are walking back and forth and the shouts of market workers can be heard from all sides. Skinny stray dogs scurry around looking for a meal. An exchange of goods… and people.
Even people are traded there as if they are utensils. People without identity who struggle to please their owners.

And there you are, in the middle of it all.
You are tired and actually don’t want to go on. A hard poke in the back tells you to continue walking. Relentlessly you are pushed on by a man who snarls his orders at you. Always those orders.
You are a slave. Bound in a web and at the mercy of your master’s whims every day. A collar around your neck constantly connects you to him, as if you are a dog. He is your owner.

You used to dream of freedom, but that hope is long gone. The way to be redeemed as a slave in this country is almost impossible. Your master must give permission for your freedom. And that will never happen with the master who owns you. He not only uses you as a slave, but he takes a bestial pleasure in taunting you every day.
No, you are hopelessly trapped and ensnared.

With a heavy pack on your shoulders, you walk on like this among the crowd, anonymous, a nobody.
And suddenly there is a man in front of you, blocking your way. He is calm of stature, purposeful and looks at you with friendly eyes. The first smile you’ve seen in ages. After all, who cares about a slave?
Oddly enough, the man doesn’t step aside for you, but extends his hands to you and takes the heavy load off your shoulders. Then he reaches for the collar that is around your neck and breaks it in half. As if in a daze, you hear his kind voice say, I have searched for you and finally found you. Today is the day of your redemption. I set you free.

You hear your master cursing behind you. You are puzzled and confused. Does this man not know the rule that applies here?
To free a slave without permission is under penalty of death. A life for a life!
Does he realize what he is doing!? Seriously he nods in response to your question with still that smile around his mouth.

And then suddenly everything goes into overdrive. Your master erupts into hellish rage. There is cursing and ranting. How dare this man redeem HIS slave. How dare he do this! How dare he do this act! It is punishable by death! That means life for life!

Before you realize it, you are roughly pushed aside and this man is thrown down before your eyes in a frenzy. The incessant rain of vicious blows begins. As if in slow motion you watch in horror and see it all happen.
How great is the contrast of pure hatred and aggression of the attacker and the love and surrender of this man. The beating continues, but the man does not run away.
He chooses very consciously for your freedom, not his own….
Once more your gaze crosses his. You see the torture in his eyes, but also the determination and intense love.
For you!

A life for a life…
There you are.
Free.
The burden is off your shoulders. The collar around your neck is broken.
Your day of redemption. Never to be forgotten!
Who was this man? What was his name?
His name is JESUS CHRIST.

For in the same way God loved you, He gave over His Only Son Jesus so that you could live in freedom. Free from the power of sin, Satan and oppression.
Free to live His life that He has given you.

I have come to give you My life in all its fullness. – Jesus

Enjoy this Beautiful Song!