I recently came across a photo of a Japanese pilgrimage site with statues of Mary and the Japanese martyr Yasutaro as he endured torture for refusing to renounce his faith. His torture involved being imprisoned in a Sanjakuro, a three-foot square cage. I have experienced being trapped in a small space with restricted movement, and even for a short period, it is physically and psychologically hard to endure. The nature of Yasutaro’s torture stopped me in my tracks; it was a physical suffering I could imagine and the thought of enduring it triggered a visceral response in me.

Around the same time that I encountered Yasutaro’s imprisonment, I heard a talk about the cross and the speaker spoke of Jesus choosing to be pinned to the cross.

In the hours before he breathed his last and surrendered his very life, not only did he experience excruciating agony, he also experienced being trapped, immobilized by the piercing nails. Jesus chose to be pinned to the cross because it was the remedy for sin, which imprisons and enslaves humanity. If we remain in sin, we will be trapped for all eternity in a prison worse than our wildest imaginings.

I’m overwhelmed by Yasutaro’s witness. He knew that turning his back on the one who died to free him from the everlasting prison of hell meant a far worse fate than being locked in a torturously small cage. Jesus is the all-powerful God of the universe, and no one could have kept him on the cross if he had decided to come down, but he didn’t. He chose to be there for you and for me. As we begin this new year, let’s resolve to flee from the enslavement of sin and its eternal trap and embrace the freedom Jesus offers.