“You and your companion have trespassed on the land of my people, Cliff Hanger. For that… “Proclaimed the stern faced native chief, “you will be put to death!”
“But we didn’t know!“ exclaimed Skip. “We—“
The Chief’s raised hand cut the teen’s words short.
“Our law—“ continued the native leader, “allows you to make one final statement which will determine how you will die. If the statement you make is false, you will be thrown into a pit of deadly snakes—if the statement is true, you will be shot with poisoned arrows.”
“Some choice!” Skip scoffed.
The regal native turned to leave. “We will await your statement over here.” As their captors moved aside, Skip turned to Cliff anxiously.
“It’s a no win situation, Cliff! What do we do?”
To the young sidekick’s surprise there was a slight smile on Cliff Hanger’s face. “Do you remember when the priests were trying to trip up Jesus with their questions?” The tall adventurer began. “They asked him a question that if Jesus answered truthfully, his enemies could have him put to death.”
Skip shook his head vigorously. “But Jesus would never lie—so he was in a no win situation too!”
“Right Skip, and since Jesus knew this, he told the priest that he would answer their question if they answered a question that Jesus himself would ask.”
Skip’s eyes narrowed as he tried to remember the story as Cliff continued. “Jesus asked them, ‘Was John the Baptist’s baptisms from heaven or was it merely the work of a man?’”
Skip lit up. “Oh yeah!” he recalled. “The priest knew that if they said John’s power was from Heaven, then Jesus would ask why the priest refused to believe John.”
“And-” Cliff added, “If they dared to say it was merely human work then the many believers of John, who were gathered around, would start a riot.”
“So the priest said they couldn’t answer because they didn’t know.”
“And Jesus responded ‘Then I won’t answer your question.’ Jesus used his enemies own trap to turn it around on them and put them in a no win situation.”
Skip nodded, “But how does that help us to escape our enemies?”
“Think about the Chief’s question while I go and have a talk with him.” Cliff replied. He patted his young friend on the shoulder and made his way to the small crowd of natives nearby.
Within 5 minutes Cliff returned with a broad grin across his face. “Gather your things, kid, we are free to go!”
Skip’s mouth gaped wide. “But—how?”
“Simple,” Cliff answered with a sly wink, “I followed the Chief’s instructions. But more importantly—I followed Jesus’ example.”
What is the one statement that Cliff could have made to help them out of this seemingly impossible situation? The solution is below this picture of Cliff !
Solution:
Cliff’s statement was this; “You will throw us in the snake pit.”
This presented the natives with a problem. If they threw them in the snake pit that would make Cliff’s statement true, which means they should have been shot with arrows.
The natives could only shoot the explorers with arrows if Cliff makes a true statement.
But if they had, that would have made Cliff’s Final statement false.
Since the natives had no way out of their situation, they were forced to set the adventurers free, just as the Pharisees who were unable to stump Jesus.
We don’t have to choose the way we die, but God has given us the power to decide where we will go after we die. We will either go to heaven to live in joy with Jesus or go to Hell to live in horrible pain with the Devil.
Make sure you’ve chosen Heaven by giving your life to Jesus.
