Corrie ten Boom, Her Story (continued)
4. The Interrogation
AFTER TWO MONTHS in the cell, I was called in for interrogation. The judges, the Sachbearbeiters, had a tremendous amount of power, and you had no rights whatever. They could give you a short sentence, a long sentence, or sentence you to death. You were totally in their hands.
I will never forget the moment when I was brought before my judge. I knew that not only my own life was in his hands, but that I could incriminate many friends and co-workers. If I were forced to tell about them, it could mean their death sentence, too.
I prayed for wisdom to answer all the questions of the interrogator, and there were many questions! I had to give my whole life history, even what I did in my spare time. .
I told him that I taught a Bible class for feebleminded people who could not go to church because they could not understand sermons. "They need the Lord Jesus just as much as you and I do," I said to this National Socialist judge.
He replied, "What a waste of time! Isn't there far more value in cotiverting a normal person than an abnormal one?"
My answer was, "If you knew Jesus, you would know that He has a great love for everyone who is despised or in need. It is possible that a poor, feebleminded child has more value in His eyes than you and I together."
He was angry when I said that, and he called the policemen, saying, "Take her back to her cell."
JESUS IS VICTOR 389
The next day I was brought again before my judge, who said, "I could not sleep during the night. I was thinking over what you had said about Jesus. I don't know anything about Him. We have plenty of time for the interrogation. First, tell me what you know about Jesus."
Boy, was that an opportunity! I began, "Jesus is a light come into this world. No one who believes in Him remains in darkness. Is there darkness in your life?"
His answer was, "Darkness? There is no light at all in my life. I hate my work. My wife is in Bremen, Germany. I don't even know if she is still alive. The town is being bombed heavily every night now. It is possible that she was killed this very night."
Suddenly the contact between us was on a totally different level. He was no longer the judge, but simply a man in great need, and I, his prisoner, could give him real encouragement as I brought him the Gospel.
I said to him, "Jesus once said, 'Come to me, all who are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Come to me—all. That means you, too. Come unto Jesus and He will give you rest. Tell Him your sins. He has never sent away any sinner."
I had a good talk with that man, and from then on he was no longer my enemy, but my friend. He helped to save my life and did his utmost, though unsuccessfully, to set me free.
Of course, he still had to do his job, and so he showed me papers found in my house. To my horror I saw names, addresses, and particulars which could mean not only my death sentence but the death of my family and my friends as well.
"Can you explain these papers?" he asked. "No, I cannot." I felt miserable. (You will say, "Why did you have such dangerous papers in your house?" In our underground efforts to save Jewish people, I worked with many young people who did remarkably courageous work. But they were not always careful, so these papers were found in my house.)
The judge knew even better than I how dangerous those papers were. Suddenly he turned around, opened the door of the stove, and threw all the papers into the stove. At that moment it was as if I understood for the first time the text in Colossians 2:13, 14 PHILLIPS: ...God has now made [you] to share in the very life of Christ! He has forgiven you all your sins: Christ has utterly wiped out the damning evidence of broken laws and commandments which always hung over our heads, and has completely annulled it by nailing it over His own Head on the Cross.
In heaven there are dangerous papers for us all, and whether we believe it or not, we will have to come before the judgment seat of God. If we have refused Jesus Christ in this life, then the Judgment Day will be terrible. But if we have received Jesus as our Saviour and Lord, then we have nothing to fear, because Jesus nailed these terrible papers to the cross when He died for the sins of the whole world—your sins and mine. That is what I understood when I saw those papers destroyed by the flames in that stove.
Years later I met that judge in Germany, and I asked him, "Did you bring your sins to Him? It says in the Bible, 'If you confess your sins, He is faithful and just to forgive you, and He will cleanse you from all unrighteousness.'"
His answer was, "No, I did not do that. 1am a very good man, and I have never committed sins."
"Tam sorry you think that, because that means you cannot have salvation. Jesus will never ever send away anybody who comes to Him. But there is one kind of person in the Bible that I must tell you about.
"That was the Pharisee who said, 'I am good.' And Jesus could not and would not help him. If the time comes when you know you have sins, that you are a sinner, don't forget what I told you. The Bible tells us that Jesus has accepted our punishment at the cross, and the only thing we have to do is to receive Him as our Saviour and come to Him and confess our sins."
He thought a moment and then suddenly said, "I know a sin that I have done."
I said, "All right—bring it to the Lord at once. Ask His forgiveness and thank Him for His forgiveness." He did.
Later in the evening he said, "I see another sin in my life." "So, you know that you are a sinner. That is good. Just bring it to the Lord and ask forgiveness," I replied. When for the fourth time he remembered a sin which needed to be brought to the Lord, I knew he was ready to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as his Saviour.
I said, "Now you can accept Jesus. You know that you need Him." He did, and I know that his sins were forgiven and that his name was written in the Book of Life.