“The Judge and the Convict”
Picture a man in his early thirties who lives with his girlfriend and her 5-year-old daughter. One day, the couple got into a heated argument. Their dispute turned deadly when the man grabbed a heavy lamp from the coffee table and bludgeoned his girlfriend to death.
His murderous rage did not stop there but spilled onto the 5-year-old girl who stood crying in the corner. Afterward, the man cleaned up the crime scene and disposed of both bodies.
A few days later, the man was arrested for murder and eventually put on trial.
Having been found guilty of a double homicide, the murderer shuffled into the courtroom with his feet in shackles and wrists in handcuffs, ready to receive his sentence. Nervous and anxious, he waited for the dreaded session to begin.
Minutes later, a look of shock washed over the criminal’s face when the judge entered the courtroom. He expected to see the same judge who presided over his trial. But instead, the Chief Judge stepped up to the bench. It was his father, whom he had not seen or spoken to since running away from home as a teenager.
The judge graciously sat down and then quickly scanned the courtroom. When his eyes fixed upon the convicted felon, he recognized his adult child and was immediately filled with love and compassion despite the horrendous circumstances. After a few moments, the judge breathed a deep sigh and called a recess to collect himself before handing down his sentence.
Meanwhile, the seated convict was elated to see his dad presiding despite their estranged relationship and his recent felony convictions. Deep down inside, he knew his father still loved him, so he comforted himself, thinking:
“Surely, my dad's trying to find some technicality or loophole to get me out of this mess. He’d never let me suffer in prison for the rest of my life. After all, I’m his child!”
A few minutes later, the Chief Judge returned to the bench with tear-stained cheeks. Upon seeing the emotion on his father's face, the felon was even more convinced that he would be set free. But to his utter disbelief, his father sentenced him to death by lethal injection.
When the judge finished issuing the convict's sentence, he slammed down his gavel. Immediately, sounds of joy filled the courtroom. The victims' family and friends shouted, clapped, and cheered excitedly because their loved ones received the justice they deserved. Yet, the convict sat speechless, staring in disbelief at his tear-stained father’s face, thinking:
“How could he sentence me to death?”
As the thought repeatedly raced through the felon’s mind, he heard the judge’s gavel slam down in rapid succession. An immediate, abrupt hush came over the courtroom, and everyone’s gaze turned to the bench.
Without any explanation, the Chief Judge stood up, stepped down from the bench, and walked toward his convicted child. He embraced him with both arms and whispered, “I love you,” while tears of unconditional love streamed down his cheeks.
Next, to everyone's shock and utter disbelief, the judge removed his judicial robe, placed his hands behind his back, and ordered the bailiff to remove the felon’s handcuffs and shackles and put them on him instead. Then, he instructed the bailiff to take him immediately to the execution chamber to suffer the punishment his child deserved. The bailiff readily complied.
The Chief Judge suffered and died in his child’s place that day to satisfy his own ordered judgment and punishment so his boy could be set free and live.
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 6:23
