“ When I see the blood,
I will pass over you.”
A preacher of the gospel had gotten permission to speak to the prisoners in the penitentiary. He stood at the end of a long corridor into which all the cell doors opened.
The preacher spoke of the love of God and of the forgiveness the Lord Jesus came to bring to a lost world. When he had finished speaking, he made a tour of the cells to see if any had been convicted by God through the message.
In the first cell four men were playing a game. They had been condemned, they said, on false witness. In the second and third it was the same: there had been a mistake—it was all a lie—they had been slandered. Not a single one was guilty. The fourth was merely there among the prisoners awaiting his trial; he was sure to be acquitted.
Oh, thought the preacher, Christ cannot save anyone here—there is not a single guilty one. Certainly this prison contains only innocent people. The preacher had never seen so many such. They were all victims, and they all accused someone else.
Finally he came to a cell through the grated door of which he saw a man seated, with bowed head and his face buried in his hands. “What’s the matter with you, my friend?” asked the preacher.
The prisoner raised his head. “Oh,” he said, “are you the man who has been preaching?”
“Yes, I am the man.”
“I am so miserable—I can’t bear the burden of my sins.”
“Well, now, would you be happy if you could find someone able to carry them for you?”
“Who could do that?”
“The Lord Jesus.”
“He wouldn’t do it.”
“And why not?”
“Because I have sinned against God all my life.”
“Yet Christ Jesus died for you, and His blood cleanses from all sin.”
The visitor went on to explain that Jesus came to seek and to save all who were lost, and that He bore the punishment for our sins on the cross. The unhappy man raised his head and listened. He had heard of the Saviour, but had never believed in Him. Now he understood the blessed story and that it was for him.
“Let us pray,” said the preacher. “Will you begin?”
“Oh, I can’t! I can’t! I am not worthy. No, no—you pray.”
And while these two men were on their knees—one in the corridor and one in the cell—a trembling voice was heard from within saying, “My God, have pity on me!”
The next day what a change there was in that prison cell! The face of the prisoner was beaming. The prisoner said, “When I saw the Saviour bearing my sins, all of a sudden the weight was lifted. Now I am so happy. I do not believe that anyone is happier than I am!”
Do you know why the Son of God came down that night to that prison and, visiting every cell, stopped only at the last? Because there was a man who knew he was lost, and He came “to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:1010For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. (Luke 19:10)).
“Jesus answering said unto them,
They that are whole
need not a physician;
but they that are sick.
I came not to call the righteous,
but sinners to repentance.”