On 13 January 1982, millions of television viewers watched as a balding, middle-aged man swam in the icy cold water of a river in Washington DC. Seven inches of snow had fallen that day. The water was so cold that life expectancy was no more than a few minutes. A helicopter quickly reached the scene, and let down a rope to haul the man to safety. The viewers at home were amazed as the man twice grabbed hold of the rope, then quite deliberately let it go. Each time the rope was lowered to him, he had a chance of survival, but he chose to let it go. And – in front of millions of avidly watching viewers – the man eventually died. It seems like a futile and pointless death. But we need to see the broader picture.
Five minutes earlier, at four o'clock p.m., Air Florida 90, a Boeing 737 jetliner carrying 83 passengers and crew, departed from National Airport’s main runway. However, the ice that had built up on the wings as it waited for take-off prevented it from gaining sufficient altitude.
Traffic on the nearby 14th Street Bridge was heavy with commuters. The Washington Post newspaper described what happened next:
With an awful metallic crack, a blue-and-white jet swept out of the swirling snow... smacked against one of the bridge's spans, sheared through five cars like a machete, ripped through 50 feet of guard rail and plunged nose first into the frozen Potomac River.
The survivors struggled in the freezing river amid ice chunks, debris, luggage, seat cushions and jet fuel. A rescue helicopter arrived. Life vests were dropped, then a flotation ball. The television cameras picked out a balding, middle-aged man, passing them on to the others. The helicopter then let down its rope. The man, who was a strong swimmer, swam as fast as he could to the rope, grabbed it, and gave it to somebody else who was then pulled to safety.. This happened twice before – exhausted – the man drowned. When we have all the details in front of us, an apparently futile death is shown to be purposeful, daring and amazingly loving.
There are two ways of seeing the cross. We can see it from a human perspective, as a pathetic and needless death. Or we can see it from God’s perspective, as our only means of rescue. Our lives, as well as our deaths, will be determined by the way in which we respond to what Jesus did on the cross.
- from a book called 'Christianity Explored'
