A FAR, FAR BETTER THING
In Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities, the young Frenchman Charles Darnay was condemned to die by the guillotine. When Sidney Carton learned of his friend’s situation, he determined to lay down his life in place of his friend. He determined to do this, not because he loved his friend, but because he had compassion for his wife and child.
The night before Darnay’s execution, Carton gained entrance into the dungeon and changed clothes with the condemned man. The next day he was put to death as Charles Darnay. Before he died he said, "'Tis a far, far better thing I do than I have ever done."
This is exactly what Jesus has done for us. He put on our filthy garments of sin and went to the cross--in our place. Isaiah said that God had laid on him the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53.6).