Once, a deeply loved and perfectly just king discovered that someone was stealing from his royal treasures. To uphold the law, he decreed that if the thief was caught they would receive a punishment of ten lashes. However, the stealing continued, and the king raised the penalty to forty lashes, which was essentially a death sentence.
When the king’s guards finally caught the thief, everyone was shocked because the thief was the king’s own daughter.
The kingdom waited to see what the king would do, if he pardoned her, his justice would be compromised, but if he punished her, his love for were would by broken.
On the day of the sentencing, the king’s daughter was tied to the execution post. The people were in disbelief that he would go through with the execution. But…
Just as the executioner raised the whip, the king shouted for him to stop. The king walked forward and wrapped His body tightly around his daughter to cover her, and ordered the executioner to strike. When the first executioner objected that hitting her would mean hitting the king, ultimately resulting in his death, while his daughter would be set free.
This illustration symbolizes how God handled humanity’s failures. Because God is just, the penalty for wrongdoing had to be paid. He chose to step in and pay that penalty Himself through Jesus.
This story was once told by Charles Spurgeon of a Saxon king who had the reputation among his tiny kingdom of being the most just king.
From Pity to Praise 