Isaiah 53:5, HCSB
John Summerfield Staples lived in the 19th century, and died in Pennsylvania in 1888. He had served in the Army during the Civil War, having enlisted in 1862 as a private. He only served a few months, though, due to illness. Discharge papers read that John was being released due to “great disability and a broken down constitution, result of typhoid fever of nearly four months continuance.”
Later he moved to Washington, D.C., where he worked with his father as a carpenter. One day in October 1864, a representative of President Abraham Lincoln approached him with a very important request. Would John serve as a recruit for President Lincoln?
During the Civil War, it was customary for many important citizens and officials to pay someone to be a stand-in, or substitute, for them, taking their places in the Army. President Lincoln was not allowed to serve in the Army due to his position, and wishing to set a good example, he paid John $500 to stand in for himself in the army.
For the next eleven months, John Summerfield Staples served in Company D, Second District of Columbia Infantry. He was stationed in Alexandria, Virginia, and worked as a clerk and prison guard. He mustered out in September 1865.
In Isaiah 53, we learn of One Who became our substitute in a different way. We are the ones who sinned against God, and since the punishment for sin is death, we are the ones who deserved to die. But Jesus became our Stand-in, our Substitute, of the Highest Sort. He went to the Cross, carrying our sins. He died in our place.
In Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, you can visit the grave of John Summerfield Staples. Beneath his name and Army regiment information are the words, “Substitute for Abraham Lincoln.” While Jesus was still on the Cross, Pilate had a sign hung over him which read “Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews.”
It could just as easily have read: “Jesus—Substitute for Every Sinner Ever Born.” And that includes each of us.
--Rocky Henriques, www.uticabc.com