Death Penalty-What Would Jesus Do?

Maybe this is a good place to start looking at more New Testament passages.

The prophets brought things so far that even the guilty man is spared if he repents. Was it possible for Jesus to take it farther than that? Here are the words of an innocent victim as he was still being killed, the result of mob spirit, hatred and false accusations.

Luke 23:34

"Father forgive them; for they know not what they do."

A total victory over the spirits of revenge and retribution, do the followers of Jesus Christ still seek that victory in today’s world?

Does it really sound like the Lex Talionis could ever be the fulfillment of God’s will for this earth? The word "talionis" is not the Latin root for "justice" but for "retaliation"! This can never be the essense of God’s justice, to the Christian believer.

Luke 18:11

"The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself ’God I thank thee that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector..."

What does this quote have to do with capital punishment vs. the Christian message? Lots! We live in a time where people are divided into "the good guys and the bad guys". But think about it, which one of us ever gets punished as we really deserve?

Do we ever wonder why it was that God chose to give his law through Moses, a man who was himself guilty of murder?

Exodus 2:12

"He looked this way and that, and seeing no one he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand".

Or why the patriarch Judah was chosen to fulfill so many prophesies and sire the lineage of the Christ?

Genesis 38:24-26

"Judah said ’take her out and let her be burned’ As she was being brought out she sent word to (Judah) "by the man to whom these things belong, I am with child’...then Judah acknowledged them and said ’she is more righteous than I’."

If the many prescriptions for punishment stated in the Old Testament, (and Jesus’ infinitely sharpened version of each in the Sermon on the Mount) serve any purpose it should be first to show us that we are ALL under judgment. There are no clearly defined "good guys and bad guys" in Christ’s perspective.

Matthew 5:21-22

"You have heard that it was said to the men of old ’You shall not kill; and whoever kills shall be liable to judgment’. But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment ...and whoever says ’you fool’ shall be liable to the hell of fire."

Matthew 5:27-28, 31

"You have heard that it was said ’You shall not commit adultery’. But I say to you that every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart."

"...and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery."

Whose conscience can stand unconvicted by these passages in our world today?

These are capital crimes according to the Old Testament law, as are many other sins like disrespect to parents, using the Lord’s name in vain and not keeping the Sabbath holy. Do those who cry for capital punishment in "obedience to God" dare to put themselves under this broader judgment?