The Man Who Took a Bullet for Reagan, And the One Who Took the Cross for Me

Everywhere the President goes, he is surrounded by members of the Secret Service. These highly-trained guards protect current and former presidents, vice presidents, nominees of major political parties, and even foreign diplomats. Their job is simple: protect those under their care at all costs, even at the expense of their own safety. On March 30, 1981, agent Tim McCarthy was called on to do just that as he willingly took a bullet for President Reagan in the line of duty. As shots rang out in Washington, D.C., McCarthy stood between the President and his would-be assassin, likely saving Reagan’s life while risking his own.

Similarly, our salvation was accomplished by Christ, the one and only “Mediator between God and men” (emphasis added). Our well-deserved punishment was on its way when Christ came on the scene and bore God’s wrath in our stead. Like a Secret Service agent that must dress to blend in with the surrounding crowds, Christ was “found in appearance as a man” such that there was “no beauty that we should desire Him” (Phil. 2:8; Isa. 53:2).

The obvious difference is that Tim McCarthy, while heroic on that spring day, was simply doing what he had been trained to do. He was not of any political significance, and most of you probably didn’t know his name until a few moments ago. Yet in the Gospel, roles were dramatically reversed as the King of Kings died for the lowest of sinners. And just as His blood flowed from the cross nearly 2,000 years ago, His grace flows freely to all who place their faith in humanity’s Savior, “the Man Christ Jesus."