Jesus: The Law breaker?

"The Israelites did as the Lord commanded Moses."  Leviticus 24:23

Jesus: The Law Breaker!?
By Rev. William Dohle

What makes someone a criminal??

Does speeding make you a criminal?  It is a law you're breaking after all...
Or jaywalking?  Is that a criminal act?
Is someone a criminal if they accidently kill someone?
Or make a mistake on their taxes and steal money from the government?
Are you a criminal if you've been arrested for driving under the influence?
Or for smoking in the non-smoking section?

What makes someone a criminal today?

Background checks may reveal the hidden lives of our neighbors, but what makes them a criminal?

That's not so easy to answer today because we have varying levels and degrees of wrongdoing.  Intention is taken into account.  Motivation is key.  And the severity of what you do matters to our society.

In the Bible, the biggest penalty is reserved for something that isn't criminal at all today.  Blasphemy.  Blasphemy is defined on dictionary.com as "an act of cursing or reviling God."  And its consequences are described in a story from Leviticus.

Now the son of an Israelite mother and an Egyptian father went out among the Israelites, and a fight broke out in the camp between him and an Israelite.  The son of the Israelite woman blasphemed the Name with a curse; so they brought him to Moses. (His mother’s name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri the Danite.)  They put him in custody until the will of the Lord should be made clear to them.
 Then the Lord said to Moses:  “Take the blasphemer outside the camp. All those who heard him are to lay their hands on his head, and the entire assembly is to stone him. Say to the Israelites: ‘Anyone who curses their God will be held responsible; anyone who blasphemes the name of the Lord is to be put to death. The entire assembly must stone them. Whether foreigner or native-born, when they blaspheme the Name they are to be put to death. (Leviticus 24:10-16)

 And, here's the kicker, the man was put to death!  They actually stoned him!

This is just one example of this law that has its roots in Leviticus and continues through even the New Testament where, we are told, Jesus breaks it!  In many places, actually, but especially at the end of his life.

Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?”
  “I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” The high priest tore his clothes. “Why do we need any more witnesses?” he asked. “You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?”They all condemned him as worthy of death. Then some began to spit at him; they blindfolded him, struck him with their fists, and said, “Prophesy!” And the guards took him and beat him. (Mark 14:62-64)

Does this sound familiar?  Look closely at the story from Leviticus.  And then look at the story from Mark.  They're almost the same!  Jesus' story doesn't begin with a fight, but the high priest pronounces him guilty of the same thing!  They both have offended God's Name.

We forget this tiny piece of Jesus' story.  Maybe because we discount blasphemy nowadays.  Maybe because some of us believe Jesus wasn't blaspheming, that he was the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One.

Either way, Jesus' act of blasphemy reminds us to slow down in our own condemnation. Slow down condemning others to death.  Not because they deserve our mercy but because they stand with Jesus, condemned to the same sentence of death.

Today we reserve this sentence for the worst criminals.  The murderers.  They receive the death penalty.  They are treated to this sentence for what they did to others.  The book of Leviticus couples blasphemy and its sentence of death with murder and its sentence of death.

"Anyone who takes the life of a human being is to be put to death." (Leviticus 24:17)

This occurs just after the story of blasphemy.

Where today we may condemn the murderer to the death penalty, we certainly don't condemn the blasphemer to the same fate.  Perhaps, before we condemn either of the murderer or the blasphemer to such a fate, we should look at where Jesus is standing.  Jesus stands, not with the offended, but with the offender here.  He stands with the one condemned to death.  He too suffered such a condemnation for the biblical crime of blasphemy.  He was not stoned for that crime, as Stephen would later be.  He would be crucified by the Romans.  But in his crucifixion and in this condemnation by the high priest, Jesus calls into question the law and its punishment.  In his death, he would question who we judge and why we judge.  By standing with the offenders, Jesus would challenge his followers to stop judging and start loving.

As easy as it is to judge another for what they say or who they are or who they love or what they believe or do, perhaps, if we are a follower of Jesus, we may set aside that judgment.  There's been enough judgment for now.  Instead, let's practice loving people, no matter their reaction.

Forgive us, Lord, for taking on the role of judge and blaspheming your name.  Help us to love and trust enough to care even for the offender.  Amen.