Two workers at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station desperately needed medical care. One had suffered a heart attack, and the other was experiencing life-threatening gastric issues. The only way to ensure their recovery was to launch a rescue mission. Due to harsh conditions, however, including darkness and -75 degrees Celsius (-103°F) temperatures from February to October, planes didn’t normally risk flying to the outpost during winter. But the pilots were determined to rescue the workers—and they did, despite enduring a difficult two days of challenging flights.
Stories of rescue are inspiring. The greatest rescue story was when Jesus rescued us from sin. The apostle Peter wrote, “ ‘He himself bore our sins’ in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness” (1 Peter 2:24). He rescued us by bearing our sins in His body. He carried them as a sacrifice—a sacrifice in which he “suffered for you” and for me (v. 21). On the cross, Christ bore “the curse of the law” (Galatians 3:13) and endured our shame. He was wounded so we might be healed, and He died so that we might be delivered from the penalty and power of sin (1 Peter 2:24; Isaiah 53:5).
How amazing it is to know that we were rescued from our own desperate condition by one who was willing to endure the harshest of conditions for us!
What does the rescue Christ provided mean to you? How can you help others experience it?
Dear Jesus, thank You for Your incredible sacrifice and for rescuing me.
Learn more about Having A Personal Relationship With God.
Peter wrote this letter to encourage believers in Jesus who were suffering in a hostile world. He instructed them to live God-honoring lives and to do good deeds (1 Peter 1:15-16; 2:11-12). In response to undeserved suffering, believers are to be like Christ and imitate His character. The sinless One, in submission to the Father’s will, endured the pain and humiliation of the cross to save us (2:21-23). Peter affirmed that Jesus’ sacrifice is the heart of God’s salvation plan (v. 24), alluding to Isaiah 53:10: “It was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and . . . the Lord makes his life an offering for sin.” Scripture calls this the “atoning sacrifice” (1 John 2:2; 4:10) or “propitiation” (esv) for our sins. The sinless Christ “personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right” (1 Peter 2:24 nlt).
