Died For Me

During World War 1 the Prince of Wales visited 36 severely wounded men in a hospital in the outskirts of London.

The Prince and his escorts went through the main ward and shook hands with most of them. As preparations were made to leave, the Prince indicated that he had only seen 30 men.

“Where are the other 6?”

The Prince was informed that the 6 others were extremely severe cases, and therefore in a different section of the ward. The special visitor demanded to see them.

Five severely maimed and injured men were viewed.

“But where’s the last one?” again the Prince inquired.

Although the Prince was told that the man’s grotesque appearance would be unbearable, the Prince insisted on seeing him.

Sadly, just as the Prince arrived at the bedside, the patient succumbed to his massive injuries and passed away.

The Prince stood silently for a moment, then moving towards the man, stooped and kissed him!

With a breaking voice the Prince of Wales was heard to say, “Died for me.”

Nearly 3,000 years earlier the Prophet Isaiah prophesied the death on the cross of a man who would die for all of mankind.

“But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.”

Isaiah 53:5

Written 700 BC how could an Old Testament person even begin to understand the idea of Christ dying for our sins (our transgressions and iniquities) – actually bearing the punishment that we all deserve.

But God was pulling aside the curtain of time, to let the people of Isaiah’s day look ahead to the suffering of the future Messiah, and the resulting forgiveness that His death made available to all mankind.

When I asked Jesus

“How much do You love me?”

“This much”, He answered,

and He stretched out His arms and died.