Lionheart, they called him. They...
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"Lionheart," they called him. They named him that because of his courage in battle -- and
truly, King Richard I of England was a fearsome warrior.
He led an army to the Holy Land, to try to recapture Jerusalem from the Muslims. He very nearly succeeded. But, there were divisions in the ranks, and the Third Crusade fell apart. The French and the Germans didn't get along with the English. King Richard left for home. It was then that his adventure really began.
Passing through Germany, in disguise, his true identity was uncovered. The German Emperor, Henry VI, threw him into prison. Henry declared he would not let Richard go until the people of England had raised the staggering sum of 150,000 marks.
It was, literally, "a king's ransom." When the king is in prison, the people pay the price. All over England, money was collected to buy King Richard out of prison. Finally, there was enough. The king went free -- and ever after, his return home has been commemorated as the final scene of every Robin Hood movie ever made.
First Peter 1:18-19 says, "You were ransomed ... not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ." That, too, is a king's ransom, although this time it is not the king who needs to be ransomed. Rather, it is the king who ransoms us.
He led an army to the Holy Land, to try to recapture Jerusalem from the Muslims. He very nearly succeeded. But, there were divisions in the ranks, and the Third Crusade fell apart. The French and the Germans didn't get along with the English. King Richard left for home. It was then that his adventure really began.
Passing through Germany, in disguise, his true identity was uncovered. The German Emperor, Henry VI, threw him into prison. Henry declared he would not let Richard go until the people of England had raised the staggering sum of 150,000 marks.
It was, literally, "a king's ransom." When the king is in prison, the people pay the price. All over England, money was collected to buy King Richard out of prison. Finally, there was enough. The king went free -- and ever after, his return home has been commemorated as the final scene of every Robin Hood movie ever made.
First Peter 1:18-19 says, "You were ransomed ... not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ." That, too, is a king's ransom, although this time it is not the king who needs to be ransomed. Rather, it is the king who ransoms us.
