THE SON NEVER MADE IT

‘If anyone hates his neighbor, lies in wait for him, rises against him, and strikes him mortally, so that he dies, and he flees to one of these cities, then the elders of his city shall send and bring him from there, and deliver him over to teh nand of the avenger of blood, that he may die. Your eye shall not pity him, but you shall put away the guilt of the innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with you.’ Deuteronomy 19:11-13

The shedding of innocent blood defiles the land. No amount of scrubbing can wash away the guilt that lies deeply embedded in the soil. Only the death of the perpetrator can atone for the shed blood. Nothing else will do. This law is hard and inflexible. For many of us it seems repulsive. Must the guilt of shed blood require such a draconian remedy? Surely some other payment must be acceptable to a most gracious and kind God? But no. The law stands firm. The avenger of blood must kill the guilty party and his eye must not pity. Perhaps the reason you and I are looking for a lighter penalty is because we know we have shed innocent blood ourselves. We have murdered other drivers on the roads, annihilated the reputation of others, been apathetic to the cries of those who are suffering desperately. Blood is on our hands and we know it. Many of us think we may run to the city of refuge and find safety there only to remember that a guilty man will never get to the safe city but shall be duly slain by an all-seeing Avenger. So the case is lost. We surrender. We are guilty as sin and God’s justice will prevail. May we quickly get our houses in order.

Now I wish to tell you a story. A man had a son. He was perfect and upright in every way. He lived far away from the old town of Sodom where He once lived. It was an exceedingly wicked place. He did not like to visit that old town, yet there was a spark of pity in his breast and he yearned to help it. So he came for a visit. One day as he roamed the fields in that old city, he saw a man, an enemy from old, stabbing another man to death. The son shrieked back in horror. ‘This city really is a wretched place!’ he cried inwardly. The murderer fled the scene while the son ran up to the slain man to see if he could help. The authorities showed up on the scene and the engine of justice quickly began to turn and by a queer set of circumstances the son was accused of the crime. His case was made known to the rightful avenger of blood who, he came to find out, was his own father! What a mass of confusing thoughts crisscrossed his mind. ‘My own father is a righteous man and he will pursue me to kill me in order to satisfy justice. What must I do?’ Knowing he was innocent, the son instantly remembered a safe city about ten miles away called New Jerusalem. There he could explain his plight, prove his innocence and be set free. So he began running…. running hard. Not far behind he heard the heavy steps of his angry father wielding the gleaming sword of justice. Now here the story takes a very confusing turn. The father knew that his son was innocent. Yet with as much determination as can be mustered in a man, he continued to pursue his son to kill him. The foot race was on. If the son could make it to the city he could prove his innocence and be set free. But the father was a good runner and was fast approaching. As the son crested a hill he saw the city lights of the New Jerusalem sparkling in the distance. Almost there. But right as he approached the gate he felt a hand grab the back of his shirt and it threw him to the ground. The son looked up and saw the angry stares of his father with the sword raised. ‘Please father,’ he cried, ‘spare me for I am innocent. I killed no one!’ The father’s frown immediately turned soft. ‘Yes,’ my son, I know you are innocent, but for the sake of that guilty man someone must die. And I have determined to save his life and take yours. Drenched in tears, the son looked up longingly and sighed, ‘whatever you determine is best father, let it be done.’ With that the father brought the sword down with a thunderous stroke and the deed was done. His blood flowed and soaked into the ground. At that very moment the land was vindicated and relieved of the stain of guilt. Birds began to sing. The city of Sodom was spared.

In the following weeks the newspapers wrote articles about this strange turn of events. One journalist mused wistfully about this strange story and thought deeply about what he would write. He jotted down these words, ‘what would have happened had the son reached the safe city of New Jerusalem?’ The son could have lived on and been used in a mighty way to help the sinful city of Sodom get back on its feet.’ But as he wrote this he thought further….. ‘but then the land would still be cursed. ‘No’, he continued on, ‘for the city to live He must die. Only the blood of a truly innocent man could save our city.’ With that he breathed a thankful sigh of relief, put down his pen and wrote no further. He could never explain this mystery.

You may feel many mixed emotions about this story. Its confusing, gratifying, mortifying, dissonant, confronting, sad, and hopeful all wrapped up in one. Who can understand it? How tragic yet how beautiful. Something about it is inexplicable. My reader friend, we have here the essence of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It goes like this. You and I are inveterate sinners… murderers… and we are overwhelmingly guilty. Blood is on our hands and the evidence is clear and convincing. The Avenger of blood is God Himself. His land has been defiled and He will kill us to remove the curse and restore justice. You may at this time be running, hoping to find some safe place to hide, some city of refuge. But God is close behind with a sword and you are doomed. But wait, just as he is about to apprehend you He runs by you. ‘What is this all about?’ you ask in confusion. In the distance another man is running ahead of you. You watch in horror as the Avenger catches him and murders him. You reach the spot huffing and puffing. You look at the Avenger’s face wanting to confess everything. You know the wrong man has been killed. You look at the Avenger and you see him smiling as he stands over a pool of blood. You stutter, then ask pointing downward, ‘who is this man?’ The Avenger says nothing but bends down and strips off the man’s shirt. You gasp in horror. He is wearing one of your old shirts with your name written on it. ‘I killed you,’ the Avenger says. ‘I killed you. Now go home and live.’

‘God did not spare His own Son but delivered Him up for us all.’ Jesus died as an innocent criminal. You go free as a justified sinner. Go figure. That’s the gospel. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. Amen.