Pure Hope in the Midst of a Sewer by James Johnson

As Captain John Miller lay dying on the bridge, a Nazi bullet lodged in his chest, Private James Ryan knelt at the side of the man who had risked his entire unit to find and rescue him. Before his eyes finally glazed over, Miller whispered to Ryan, “Earn this...earn it!”

Fifty years later, as the elderly James Ryan stands above John Miller’s grave, he says, “Every day I think about what you said to me that day on the bridge. I’ve tried to live my life the best I could. I hope that was enough...I hope I earned what you did for me.” Following this scene, Ryan asked his wife, “Have I been a good man?” For fifty years he was tormented by the realization that he could never do enough to earn what Miller and his men did for him.

Many readers will recognize the scenes from one of the most powerful films in recent history, Steven Spielberg’s “Saving Private Ryan.” Contrast this story with Jesus, who gave His life so that we could live. His dying words were not “Earn this,” but “It is finished!” Had He said, “Earn this,” you would have quickly come to realize that there’s no way to earn what it cost Jesus to give his life for yours.

In Acts 3:14-16, Peter identifies Jesus as “the Holy and Just One,” and the “author of life.” Consider the context of Peter’s speech. He and John had just used the life-giving power of Jesus to heal a crippled beggar at the temple gate in Jerusalem. This man had been crippled from birth and was a common sight at the temple. For obvious reasons, the man’s healing attracted a lot of attention. But had they not seen this before? Had not Jesus previously performed many healings in their sight?

Through his sermon, Peter sought to use the now-healed beggar as a living parable to the incredible healing, life-giving power of Jesus. He appealed to their sense of history: “The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus” (Acts 3:13). This lent credibility to Jesus in the eyes of some. He continued by appealing to recent history: “You disowned the Holy and Just One and asked that a murderer be released to you. You killed the Author of life, but God raised Him from the dead...” Without a doubt, Peter was equating Jesus with God Himself. The description “Holy and Just One” was a common reference to God at the time. Who else could have so completely healed the sick and crippled of heart and body? Only the power of God could have done this, and clearly Peter ascribed this power to Jesus as well. It was this power alone that could restore life and health to mankind, life that was forfeited long before when Adam and Eve sinned. It is clearly this power of the pristine Jesus that qualified Him for the title, “Holy and Just One” and “author of life.”

We can do nothing to earn the renewed life Jesus offers us. Our lives contain nothing redeeming enough to qualify us for such healing. The world is a sewer of filth, and each of us has been affected in some way. Yet the purifying Jesus lives today. The fact that He can offer such a gift, because of His death and resurrection, is why He is still the “the Holy and Just One,” and is what sets Him apart from every other savior mankind has ever invented and will ever devise in the future. The challenge placed before us is unchanging from generation to generation: do not reject “the Holy and Just One.” Receive the Author of Life, and He will give you a new, clean life.

ENCOUNTER: In your life, how have you tried to “earn it”?