The True Emancipator!

Marcus Regulus and William Wallace died for the love of their countries. Abraham Lincoln lost his life for the success of the abolition of slavery in the United States. Louis Riel was known as a murderer and traitor to some, but was a hero and martyr to the small, oppressed community of Metis he lost his life for defending. And not many people know the name of Nathuram Godse, a Hindu fanatic, but mourn, even today, the loss of the man he murdered. On January 30th, 1948, the genius and the man known as Mahatma Gandhi was martyred in his quest for peace between Muslims and Hindus. Then along came the black emancipator and civil rights activist, Martin Luther King Jr., who lost his life in martyrdom for his cause. And there was Jim Elliot, martyred by the Auca Indians of Ecuador, in his attempt to bring them the glad tidings of Jesus Christ. And as much as the stories of these men’s lives have had an impact upon mine, it is limited. For in the blood they shed for there different passions, there was no redemptive value. Their martyrdom redeemed no one, though inspired many. What makes the great Martyr, Jesus the Christ, different than all these men is that He was also God, and as such the very nature of the blood he shed had redemptive value. That is, it redeemed, rescued, or emancipated the people for whom He died. So though we may respect these other men, and men and women like them, Jesus is the only one worthy to be worshipped. With the Psalmist may we say today, “But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord; I say, ‘You are my God!’” (Psm.31:14)