Tomorrow at our Good Friday service I’ll be preaching from Matthew 26:27-28, looking for an answer to a question – an obvious question for Good Friday: “Why did Jesus die?

The answer is found in three religious sounding terms in those verses – “Covenant”, “Sacrifice” and “Forgiveness of Sins”. To find out more, you’ll need to come along, or wait a day or two and listen to the sermon online…

However, in a teaser, here’s a recent news article on the topic of sacrifice that I couldn’t quite make room for in my talk. (You can read the full article here on www.news.com.au)

Chinese Man Killed Catching Suicidal Girlfriend

A MAN has died after catching his girlfriend as she jumped from the seventh floor of an apartment block in China.

The young Chinese man, identified only by the surname Wang, held out his arms to break the woman’s fall as she plummeted from their apartment in Quanzhou in south-eastern China.

Mr Wang was killed by the impact of his girlfriend landing on top of him, while the woman suffered bone fractures and other serious injuries but was not in critical condition.

The witnesses reported seeing Mr Wang on the street below the apartment, trying to persuade his girlfriend not to jump.

The woman was under treatment for multiple fractures and required surgery, but she did not suffer any life-threatening injuries.

In this tragic story, a young man sacrificed his life to save the life of his girlfriend – who didn’t even want to be saved.

What , you may be asking, could this story possibly have in common with the death of Jesus?