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Themes: Compassion AJH Reginald Denny slowly eased his big truck off the Freeway. His headed down the Los Angeles streets which were very familiar to him. Several times a week he made the same trip with his big truck. He knew the streets well.
What he didn't know however was that just a short while before, the entire area had erupted into a riot. As he approached an intersection, men surrounded his truck. They sprang for the door and pulled him out. Then, they began beating him. They hit him with their fists. They kicked him with their feet. One man bashed a fire extinguisher over his head. The kept beating him for twenty or thirty minutes.
Television and newspaper reporters had descended on the area to see what was happening. The TV crews began recording the scene of the beating. It was instantly beamed back to homes all over the area.
T.J. Murphy and his friend, Tee Burnett sat in their living room watching it all on the screen. As they watched, they turned to each other. "Somebody's got to get that guy out of there" one said to the other.
They ran to their car and drove to the scene not far away. They expected to find police cars converging on the area. But when they got there, there were no police, only the beaten man and a crowd of people.
By this time, the man was struggling to get back to his truck. He could barely stand. The two men were joined by two very brave women as they charged through the crowd and helped him into the truck. Then one of the men drove the big truck as one of the women gave directions, trying to see through the shattered glass of the windshield.
Time was critical. Denny was beginning to sink. When they eased the rig up to the emergency room entrance, Denny suddenly went into convulsions and almost died. He was rushed to emergency surgery and survived. A few minutes of delay and he would have died.
When Reginald Denny's friend heard about what had happened to him and how four people had risked their lives to save him, they were shocked. They were amazed that four strangers would risk their lives to save a man whom they didn't know.
But the Bible tells of a Savior who not only risked His life, but actually gave His life (Matt 20:28). It was not for people whom He didn't know. It was for sinners whom He knew all about. He knew that we were sinners, that we were actually enemies (Romans 5:10).
The Lord Jesus came into the world to save sinners (1Tim.1:15), not those who were his friends. He died for us to save us from something far worse than being hurt or injured. He died to save us from the penalty of our sins. He died to save us from hell.
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Jim Batterton
