One hundred thousand pounds of dynamite along with gas, gunpowder, detonators and fuses waited for use in the copper mine up in the hills five miles away from Nacozari, Mexico. Their explosive might lay quietly in the storage dump of the bustling town of five thousand nestled in a bowl-like valley a little south of the Arizona border. Just outside the vast storage dump, Jesús Garcia climbed back up into steam engine #2 to drag the open-topped boxcars of hay, about ten thousand pounds of dynamite in wooden boxes and supplies up the steep grade to the mine. As the train began to pull out of the yard, sparks flew out of the smoke stack and settled on one of the dynamite crates. Smoke quickly began drifting up out of its sides. It was shortly after 2:00 p.m., November 7, 1907, less than a week until Jesús planned to celebrate his twenty-fourth birthday.
Despite his age, Jesús Garcia Corona was already highly respected and loved. He’d begun work at the American-run mine at seventeen years old and within only three years had risen from waterboy through four promotions to full-fledged train engineer. The Moctezuma Copper Corporation thought enough of him to send him to the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis. His reputation for his excellent work ethic and clear head had grown steadily. Just the month before, the brakes of his wood-fired steam engine had failed while running on the steep grade. Jesús immediately reversed the engines, dumped sand on the tracks to increase friction and got the train stopped only fifteen feet from the end of the tracks.
The handsome Jesús with his dark black moustache and jaunty hat found plenty of time for his childhood sweetheart, María de Jesús Soqui. Now that she was his fiancée, he frequently found occasions to hire the best bands in town to serenade her.
Back at the supply depot in Nacozari, a mine official stepped from his office and spotted the smoking box of dynamite. His screams sent García and his crew scrambling to put out the fire. But sparks and wind ignited the box cars filled with hay and the smoke from the dynamite box thickened steadily. Then small flames began to spurt from the box. Over the din and smoke a voice rang out, “Get out ... go away ... run ... leave me alone!” The fireman was kicked from the cab and the remaining crew ordered to decouple cars that hadn’t caught fire. Then Jesús slammed the engine to full throttle and raced for the edge of town. He couldn’t let the train run by itself; the steam would quickly die out and the engine roll back down the grade toward the dynamite warehouse, his fiancée, his mother and the other five thousand unsuspecting residents. Jesús García gunned for the far side of a small ridge that would shield the town from the railroad tracks.
Nearly two thousand years ago Jesús García’s namesake sat in a large upper room somewhere in a far larger town than Nacozari and on the edge of a far more explosive situation. For four thousand years, the situation had been worsening and difficulty mounting. Unless something could be done, all those He loved faced certain destruction.
Straining with all its might, the little engine passed behind the small ridge that shielded Nacozari. Ahead lay a small Camp 6, something like a small suburb to the town. If Jesús could just make it past the camp he would be able to leap from the train and let it roll ahead into a mountain wilderness. He cleared the final two houses. Only 160 more feet and he could bail out.
Thousands of years before Jesus Christ had no plans for “bailing out.” He allowed Himself to be seized by those that hated Him and brought to an unjust trial. There the judge declared, “I, having examined Him before you, have found no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accuse Him” (Luke 23:1414Said unto them, Ye have brought this man unto me, as one that perverteth the people: and, behold, I, having examined him before you, have found no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accuse him: (Luke 23:14)), just prior to turning Him over to the mob to be cruelly tortured. The Lord Jesus Christ knew exactly what He had to do in order to liberate the ones He loved from the explosive, destructive mess of disobedience and sin that they (and we) had created. His plan included horrific suffering where He would be punished by a holy God in order to take away the sin of the world. Matthew 27:44Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that. (Matthew 27:4)2 Says, “He saved others; Himself He cannot save.” And so calmly, consciously, purposefully He offered Himself up as a sacrifice for sin.
Below in Nacozari, at 2:20 p.m., windows across town were shattered by the sudden detonation of ten thousand pounds of dynamite. For two minutes, gravel and hunks of metal rained from the November skies. And then it was over. Somewhere near Camp 6, searchers found a single boot with a few unrecognizable remains attached. Ashes from the remains and the boot are now buried near a beautiful bronze bust commemorating “The Hero of Nacozari.” This fall, the town, now known as Nacozari de García, will hold its annual parade on November 7 in honor of their fallen hero. When someone stubs their toe and yells “Jesus,” they aren’t talking about Jesús García. A monument stands in Mexico’s capital in his honor.
Of course, some honor the memory of Jesus Christ as well. But many hate, despise or ignore Him or scream His name when they are angry and frustrated. Why? No doubt there are many reasons, but this one at least is fundamental: the “Lord” at the front of His full title. He’s not just a loving friend, but also someone with authority over us. Any supreme authority over us exposes the rebellion hidden inside our sinful nature. Remember when one of our parents or our teachers ordered us to do something that went against our personal wishes, hopes and “what made sense” at the time? Regardless of whether our temper flamed up outwardly or our resentment smoked inside, the response proved what kind of hearts we have — rebellious ones. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked” (Jeremiah 17:99The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9)).
Another key reason for the hatred is tucked away in this wonderful statement from His Word. See if you can find it. “When we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:66For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. (Romans 5:6)). No one in Nacozari had to admit they were helpless or ungodly to benefit from Jesús García’s courage. But to receive the benefit from Christ’s death on the cross, we must admit that we have disobeyed and sinned against a holy God. Unable to rescue ourselves, we depend completely on what Jesus Christ did in dying and shedding His blood to prepare a way where we could be saved from the judgment we deserve.
The beauty of God’s plan of salvation is that it requires nothing from us but receiving it. Jesús García acted with monumental courage — literally. However, he acted without prior plan for the good of ones he loved and with hope that he would escape death. He almost made it before suffering instant death. The Lord Jesus Christ with clear purpose acted this way. “When we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son” (Romans 5:1010For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. (Romans 5:10)). That death involved hardly-imaginable physical suffering on a cross and unimaginable suffering from God as punishment for sin He had not committed.
What really mattered for all those in Nacozari on November 7, 1907, wasn’t the local soccer match or the lunch menu — it was the courage and sacrifice of Jesús García. What really matters to you today isn’t your next raise or who wins the next World Cup — it’s how you respond to the love shown to you by Jesus Christ. “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:3636He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him. (John 3:36)). Will you honor the Son of God by believing and receiving what He says?
Find out more about what really matters in the next story, Finding Peace.