One week ago, along with millions of people, we watched on live TV as former President Donald Trump suddenly grabbed the side of his head and dropped behind the podium where he was beginning a campaign speech in a rural community in Pennsylvania. Time and breath were suspended for the next 30 seconds or so. We knew he had been shot. We saw Secret Service officers pile on top of him. Was he dead? Was he alive, but seriously wounded? Then he rose from behind the podium with blood on his face and fist raised defiantly in the air, and the thousands gathered at the rally erupted in loud cheering.
Trump's photo, with the US flag in the background against a clear blue sky, is destined to become one of those iconic images that mark a momentous instant in history. Many details surrounding that attempt are still unknown, and if the experience of past assassination attempts (successful or not) is any guide, we’ll never know the full truth. Not to worry, there will be no shortage of conspiracy theorists who are happy to connect the dots for us.
But time enough has passed for us to reflect on hypothetical outcomes and to look at what the actual outcome has been. In Trump’s own words, he turned to look at a chart that had been put up behind him, and at that very moment a bullet from a high-powered rifle whizzed within ½” of his skull, passing through the top of his right ear. Much has been said, and much more will be written, about the various possibilities of what could have happened. Here are the obvious scenarios:
1) Trump is killed immediately. Reflection on his initial reaction rejects that option. If it had been a kill shot, Trump would not have reached to feel his ear and looked at the blood on his hand, then ducked behind the podium. He would have gone limp and dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes.
2) Trump survives, but suffers injuries to his head. The question then is, how serious are they? That question was answered in large part when he stood up behind the podium, asked for his shoes, and told the Secret Service agents to wait while he rose above them and put a defiant fist in the air and repeatedly said, “Fight! Fight! Fight!”
We pause for a moment to consider the repercussions of either of those scenarios.
Trump at that point was less than a week away from having his nomination confirmed as the Republican candidate for President, with elections less than 4 months away. If he had been killed that day, there was no other obvious replacement for him. Not only would the carefully planned upcoming convention be thrown into complete disarray, the whole political scene leading up to the elections would be like a giant jigsaw puzzle being completely taken apart just as the last pieces were about to be put in. What could be worse than that?
In a way, scenario 2) could have been worse. What if Trump were still alive, and the question would then be,
“Is his condition such that he can’t function properly, either on a personal level, or even more importantly, as President?”
“Does the Party have time to wait and see how bad his injuries are?”
But thankfully, the whole country (and the world) was spared that scenario, so we move from speculation to what really happened.
3) Trump is wounded, but the injury is minor and although bloody, it’s superficial. Obviously shaken, and after going through an understandable period of shock, his subsequent activities are evidence that his mental and physical capacities were not affected in any palpable way.
If anything, that experience only served to heighten Trump’s political resolve and further cement his standing in the minds of his followers. Some or many of those who were ambivalent about him before have been forced to reassess their opinion of him. Of course, there are others who are so obsessed in their opposition to Trump that they close their eyes to the obvious facts and make ridiculous statements, but like Paul wrote to Timothy, my rule is to “avoid foolish and unlearned questions.”
4) Then there is the fourth scenario, the one no one thinks about: what if the bullet had missed him by a hair? (In this case that's as literal as it is figurative.) No one ever talks about that. We talk about Scenario #1. What if Trump had not turned his head at that precise moment and the bullet had been ½” closer. Those milliseconds of time and millimeters of distance would have changed the course of an election, of a country, and consequently the course of world affairs. But “what if” the bullet had been ½” higher and missed hitting Trump’s ear at all?
"A miss is as good as a mile"
He might have stood up and raised his fist defiantly in the air, but there would have been no blood smeared on his face. It is the image of that blood that converts an otherwise newsworthy photo into an iconic photo destined to be included in every collection of historical photos in the future. Had the bullet been just ½” higher, there would have been no blood at all. Trump would have gone on to be nominated as the presidential candidate, but the image would not be the same. Cynics would say the shot had not even been close. As the adage goes, "A miss is as good as a mile." But as Trump has reportedly said to friends, he carries that wound on his ear as proof that the story of an assassination attempt is not a hoax.
The Spiritual Application
Here comes the spiritual application. If you have listened to any of my podcasts or read any of my blogs, you know there will be one. I do work hard to make my texts interesting to readers or listeners, but my purpose is not to entertain, disseminate trivia, spread sensational theories, or merely give my personal opinion on any and every person or event that comes along. I am not seeking “likes” or interested in collecting “clicks”. Here is what this article is about. It’s not about Trump and not even about politics. It’s about the blood.
The Blood Makes All the Difference
Blood has always made all the difference. From the first blood shed in the Garden of Eden, as an innocent animal was sacrificed by God to cover the effects of Adam and Eve’s sin, to the blood sacrifice made by Abel that was acceptable to God, in contrast to Cain’s offering of the fruit of his labor that God rejected, blood has always made the difference. In the OT, the most striking instance of that importance led to Israel’s release from the 400 years of bondage in Egypt. To escape the tenth plague—the death of the firstborn of every family and of the cattle of the field—the Israelites were commanded to sacrifice an unblemished lamb and sprinkle its blood on the door posts of their house The LORD had said “When I see the blood, I will pass over you.” Exodus 12.13 Life or death? The blood made the difference.
The importance of the blood is summarized in Hebrews 9.22, “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” But the sacrifice of unblemished animals is only symbolic; the blood must be that of an unblemished member of our fallen race. We are all blemished by sin, but the blood shed on the cross was the fulfilment of all that symbolic sacrifice in the OT: “For you know that you were redeemed from your empty way of life inherited from the fathers, not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish.” 1 Peter 1.18-19
Many years ago, I listened to a recorded sermon, in which the preacher was emphasizing just how precious the blood of Jesus is, and he said that Jesus’ blood is so precious, that “just one drop is sufficient to pay for my sins.” While that dear brother was not heretical, since heresy is based on the idea of causing strife and division and that was not his purpose, his doctrine is fundamentally flawed. If, in history, the sins of just one person were the only ones paid for, it would have required Jesus’ death. The blood from the wounds on His back, the crown of thorns on His head, the nails in His hands and feet would have been a lot of blood, but that was not enough. Had Jesus only swooned and fainted on the cross before being taken down, one explanation proposed by followers of Islam, there would still be no forgiveness of sins. Bleeding in it itself was not enough. Jesus had to die, but He did not bleed to death. “When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" Then bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.” John 19.30 Each of the four gospels use a different expression at this point, but they all indicate Jesus died as an act of His will. He was already dead when a Roman lance was thrust into His side, and water and blood gushed forth, not in the trickle of blood we see in paintings and images of Christ on the cross. Even though He was dead, He still shed His blood.
So whenever you see that photo of Donald Trump, and you will, don’t make the mistake of elevating him into a hero figure to be worshiped in some way or another. Admittedly, the events of that moment and the reaction of its principal figure evoke a certain admiration, but think for a moment about how different that moment would have been without the blood. Trump can show his wound as proof he had bled. After His resurrection, Jesus called the attention of His disciples to the wounds in His hands and side that were proof He had shed His blood, but that’s where the comparison between Trump and Jesus ends.
Jesus is the one who “set us free from our sins by His blood” Rev. 1.5 He has redeemed people for God by His blood from every tribe and language and people and nation, Rev. 5.9. By His blood He has cleansed us from all our sins and saved us from eternal perdition.
Trump will always be remembered as being covered in his own blood. That’s the difference the blood makes. But what’s important to each of us is whether we are covered by the blood of Jesus. There are no words that adequately express what a difference His blood makes in our eternal destiny. Just like the Israelites in Egypt, we are given a choice. the choice between eternal life and eternal perdition. The blood makes all the difference.
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