One's Response to the Cross

One’s Response to the Cross

Philippians 2

In the first four verses, Paul writes of attitudes every Christian should possess, summing it up in verse 5 by saying – “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” He goes on to present Jesus as the perfect example of humility, even willing to offer himself on the cross.

Paul proceeds to present three truths about Christ: (1) He is God, (2) Who took on human flesh, and (3) Now has been made Savior and Lord. The challenge before us is to understand who Christ is and what He did for us. Maybe in a few words, the story of Maximilla Kolb can help us understand.

Maximilla Kolb was a Franciscan priest arrested in February of 1941 for helping Jews fleeing from the Nazis escape Poland. He was sent to Auschwitz, one of the most feared of all concentration camps. There he cared for the sick and dying. There was a camp rule that any successful escape would result in the death of 10 prisoners picked at random. They would be placed in a dungeon and would die of exposure and starvation.

In July of 1941, an escape was discovered and the prisoners were called out. Ten names were called, one of which was Frances Canauggicip, a Polish Jew. When his name was called, he fell to his knees and cried out, “My God, have mercy. I have a wife and children.” At that moment, Maximilla Kolb stepped from the line and asked permission to take his place. Though we will never know why, that exchange was allowed, and on August 14 Maximilla Kolb died in that dungeon that should have belonged to Frances Canauggicip.

That story came to light a number of years ago on the NBC nightly news. At that time, Frances Canauggicip was still living, and as an old man, he told the story to reporters as tears streamed down his face. He took them into his back yard, where he had erected a monument in memory and honor of Maximilla Kolb, the man who had died in his place.

In microcosm – that is the gospel – in order for you and I to live, someone had to die in our place. And if that thought ever strikes our hearts with anything close to its true meaning, our lives will never be the same again.