Dr. Emil Grubbe was a pioneer in the use of x-ray technology for the treatment of cancer patients. In fact in 1896 he was the first physician ever to use an x-ray beam in the treatment of a cancer patient. Because of Emil Grubbe, even though you may have never heard of him, many of you have found hope for a new life and an extended life because of what x-ray technology has been able to do for cancer. What he did in helping to save and extend the lives of millions of people did not come at an easy price. In his lifetime, Emil Grubbe had 93 operations himself. He lost most of both hands as well as several sections of his face due to radiation burns. As he was trying to discover how to use x-ray methods effectively, he suffered enormously because of it. He continued to suffer that way until just one year before he died. What then makes the sacrifice of Jesus upon the cross different from the sacrifice of Emil Grubbe or the thousands of others just like him down through the pages of history? How is the death of Jesus on the cross different from the sacrifices that other men have made on behalf of others? The significance of the death of Jesus is found in who he was and is and in why he died. It is in the fact that Jesus was and is the Son of God. He was not just another human being; he was God’s only begotten Son. His death upon the cross was for the sins of all humanity.
