“Murder Mystery on Friday Evening.” I turned toward Lynne as the elevator began to ascend to the third floor. Our family had just arrived at our vacation condominium, and we were taking our bags up on the cart. Lynne, Roger, Shirley, and I all love a good mystery, so we decided to book it through the concierge desk. I don’t think we gave much thought to the line that said, “Where everyone is a suspect!”

On Friday night, we made our way to the lakeside pavilion. The theme was a speakeasy in the early 1920s, and all 18 participants were given scripted roles to play. Lynne was a socialite, Shirley was a journalist, Roger was a bookie (he won the award for “most in character”), and I was pilot Bo Hancock, ruggedly handsome and a little dense (I kept telling everyone the “ruggedly handsome” line). We all had a list of character qualities (or lack thereof) and secrets we didn’t want the others to discover.

One of my secrets was having an affair with “Vixen,” a notorious con artist. We all roamed the room trying to find out the other characters’ secrets. The “billionaire” speakeasy owner was the first to be murdered, and the “detective” began to investigate. I missed my optional cue to drunkenly blurt out to the detective that I had killed her parents in a plane crash. I thought I was supposed to do that between murders two and three, but it was actually one and two. The detective went down next so it was too late to tell her anything.

As the clues were provided, I began to have doubts about my character. The clue I inadvertently failed to provide made me appear guilty. Then my love, “Vixen,” was murder number three. She had been having an affair with the billionaire behind my back. At this point, everyone was wondering, “Is it I?” Turned out that I was the murderer, which no one figured out (not even me) when we each wrote down our suspect and their motive.

I was reminded about another upper-room scene with a similar plot. Jesus told His disciples, “One of you will betray me” (Matthew 26:21), and, like our murder mystery, they were all “suspects” at this point. They all asked the same question: “Is it I, Lord?” (v. 22). After Jesus described the consequences for the betrayer, Judas asked, “Is it I?” (v. 25). Jesus confirmed that it was him.

From that narrative you would think there was only one individual responsible for Jesus’s death — Judas. But Scripture makes it clear that all of us are responsible for His death. “For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:22-23).

We all understand that Jesus died for sinners, but we seldom drill down on that and make the personal application — He died for me. My sin put Him on the cross. “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person — though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die — but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:6-8).

His death was not just for people we think are righteous, but for the unrighteous as well. “He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2).

It was fun doing the murder mystery, and I got a kick out of playing the (ruggedly handsome) Bo Hancock murderer role. But when it comes to the death of Christ on the Cross, I am ashamed and humbled that my sin put Him there. But the good news is, He did not leave me there. He paid the price for my sin, and I have the “not guilty” verdict rendered.

That is what the scary word “propitiation” means. That was when grace entered the picture. “Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I’m found, was blind but now I see!”

After 46 years of walking with the Lord, I still sin and fall short, but oh how amazing is that grace today. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

How about you, Man of Valor? Have you come to the realization that Christ died just for you? If you have, then you will have love for your Savior and a heartfelt desire to serve Him with “all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind” (Luke 10:27, KJV). If not, maybe you need a Holy Spirit court date to hear the evidence against you, and then hear the sentence — case dismissed. It will change your life.

What say ye, Man of Valor?