What Would Jesus Say to Timothy McVeigh
Ballard Assembly Pastor Bob Briggs June 9, 2001
On April 19, 1995, over six years ago, the fragile peace of mind of a nation was shattered when a Ryder Truck, loaded with explosives, detonated in front of the Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma taking the physical lives of 168 people and leaving a mental devastation, not just on the families of the victims, but on the soul of a nation. From shootings in businesses to killings on the nations schools, America has been rocked with random acts of violence. Tomorrow morning, bomber Timothy McVeigh, barring legal intervention, will pay the penalty mandated by a juror of his peers, sanctioned by the laws of this land, having his life ended by lethal injection.
Today, at the Federal prison, people supporting the death penalty and those opposed will make their statements as they begin a vigil lasting until McVeigh’s death tomorrow. I don’t think rational people are supporting the behavior of Timothy McVeigh, just the means of his passage into eternity. Death itself is a process. One that leads us from this life into our eternal reward or eternal damnation. I am not using this morning as a forum to debate the pro’s or con’s of the death penalty. I do want to talk about what Jesus would say to Timothy McVeigh, what He would say to you and I, both on this side of eternity and on the other.
I know how God feels about the random acts of violence which have become too commonplace in our nation. It says in Ezekiel 33:11 God takes no pleasure in the demise of evil people. Whether I support the death penalty or not, as a Christian, I am sadden to see the waste of McVeigh’s life. When I look at the pictures of McVeigh, I see potential lost. The plans the purposes, the what could have been. I also know, past tomorrow morning, there is another judgment awaiting Timothy McVeigh, one which has eternal consequences when he stands before a righteous and just God in the court of heaven, to give account. It is there the dealing of judgment will have much harsher results if one cannot provide the right defense. It is a court that not only will McVeigh face, but one that all of us will one day stand in the docket of to have a sentence given for the life we have lived.
What then, would Jesus say to Timothy McVeigh, what would he say to us. In this conversation Jesus would have, I am operating on the premise of this side of heaven.
I. No Pit is Too Deep.
Jesus would say to McVeigh, he would say to us, there is nothing you have done on this side of heaven that Jesus cannot help you with and through. John 3:16 says For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. Lets be honest, we like that verse when we are talking about a loved one, someone we know, a good person that needs salvation and we want to encourage them to accept Jesus Christ. We have a problem with it when it comes to Timothy McVeigh and the Timothy McVeigh’s of the world. There are Bible believing Christians who would volunteer to push the plunger that administers the lethal injection but how many would do would Jesus did and administer the word of salvation?
Jesus did not come to the righteous, He came to sinners. Paul wrote in Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Have you ever done anything wrong? “Pastor, I have never committed a mass murder.” I didn’t ask that. I asked, have you ever done anything wrong? The Biblical word for wrongdoing is sin. Romans 6:23 gives the penalty for sin. The wages of sin is death. It doesn’t mean you are going to be strapped on a gurney with an intravenous needle into your vein. It is far worse than that. It means you are going to spend your eternal life separated from God. It will make your physical death pale in comparison. A just judge, God, will deal justly with sin according to His word. Just as McVeigh knew the outcome of his crime if he were to be caught, federal law mandates the death penalty. So we also know the outcome for a life of sin, and we will be caught, for eternal law mandates a spiritual death penalty, a place of habitation called hell.
So Jesus comes and says, there is nothing you have done on this side of heaven that I cannot help you through. Do you hear him saying it to you?
2. The Best Time is Right Now.
The best time for Jesus is right now. Jesus would take the time to tell of Zacchaeus. Remember him in Luke 19. Jesus had come to his house. And he told Jesus about the wrong he had done, the sin in his life, how he had cheated people out of their money. Then he told Jesus how he would repent and repay. Jesus said in verse 9 Today salvation has come to this house, because this man too is a son of Abraham. In the next verse it states, The Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.
Not everyone has the advantage of Timothy McVeigh. Most people don’t have a clock ticking away with a marked hour, or a room full of people who will watch either in person on closed circuit television the last moments of your earthly existence. The majority of people take a spin of the wheel not knowing when it will stop, just knowing it will stop. Will you hit the jackpot or will you go broke when that time comes for you? On Monday morning when that lethal cocktail hits his heart, McVeigh will know his destination. Jesus would say today is the best time to know, not just for him but for you.
The thief on the Cross, repentant for what he had done, asked Jesus to remember Him and Jesus said as they both were hanging between heaven and earth, their life on earth ebbing away, I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in Paradise. (Luke 23:43)
3. The Right Decision is Jesus.
Jesus would tell him, the right decision is to decide to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. On my ESPN web page I have a digital tract which says Life is Short, eternity is forever. Many of us allow it to pass by without questioning what comes next, and then we die. It goes on to teach four important truths in making the right decision in life.
a. God loves you. We have talked about how God sent his only son Jesus to provide a way. Jesus is the right decision. John 1:12 states, To all who receive him (Jesus) to those who believe in his name, he gave the right to become the Children of God. That is why the passage in Isaiah I opened with is important for all of us to know. God takes no pleasure in the demise of evil people. God made a way because of His love, for you and I to make it to heaven. He does not want to see us stumble and fall in life, but to rise to the challenge He has set before us. To pursue the dreams and visions He placed in our hearts. The Oklahoma City bombing is about more than just 168 people who lost their lives. It is also about the countless number of other people who also had their dreams shattered with the loss, both on the side of the victim and those who are related to McVeigh, and even McVeigh himself. And the love of God does not change. For some that is a hard thing to accept.
b. Man is sinful. We have talked this morning how all of us are sinner, none of us are perfect. Romans 3:10-12 There is no one righteous, not even one, there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one. It is not a matter of holding our life in the scales of balance looking to see if our good is of greater weight than our bad. We have all sinned and the eternal penalty for sin is death, separation from God.
c. Jesus is the answer. We have seen how Christ has died for us while we were still in sin. Jesus said in John 14:6 I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
4. It is time to decide your fate.
The clock is running for McVeigh, the clock is running for you. Jesus comes to us and asks us to make a decision, to close the deal, to step across in the spiritual, to have our name written in the Lambs Book of Life, our passport into heaven. In Revelation 3:20 Jesus says, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door I will come in to him.
It might be the 23 hour, 59 minutes and 59 seconds passing by, Jesus calls on us to decide our fate. Does Timothy McVeigh deserve the death penalty? All the evidence supports it and there very few who would be in the class of destroyers as he is. Does McVeigh deserve to be in heaven? By most people’s standards, no. By God’s standards, the answer is also no. Do you deserve to be in heaven. By most people’s standards, yes. By God’s standards, no. Sin is sin. Can Timothy McVeigh get into heaven, can you? The answer by God’s standards is yes, through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The clock is running, what are you going to do?
CALL TO REPENTANCE
PRAYER OF DECISION
WORSHIP TEAM CLOSE
