Jesus Was a Known Criminal
When you know what you need to do, but the rules forbid it
Sometimes, in life, you have to choose between doing what is right and doing what is legal. Yes, there is a difference!
Let me explain by giving an example.
When we were expecting our third child, my wife and I, having been through childbirth twice already, thought nothing could surprise us. Our third child shattered that illusion.
When my wife’s labor progressed rather more quickly than the previous two, we were suddenly faced with the very real possibility of not making it in time to the hospital and our baby being born at home, or worse, in the car. Our first child’s labor was so long that we had time to return some videos to the video store on the way to the hospital, so the speed at which my third child wished to make her entrance into the world was truly breath-taking.
The trip from our home to the hospital is usually around a thirty-minute drive, but I got there in fifteen. I achieved this feat by completely disregarding any of the usual interest I might have in keeping the law and focussing instead on the needs of my wife and my barely unborn child. By driving at near 100 miles an hour the entire way there, I was able to deliver my wife to the maternity ward a full three minutes before our baby was born. Time to spare! Yeah, baby!
The thing is, as I reflect on this experience, if, by chance, a police car had tried to intercept us that night, if they had driven up behind me with their sirens blazing and light flashing, it would not have stopped me. I would have continued on and dealt with the consequences later.
Fortunately, it was the middle of the night, and there was almost no traffic and, mercifully no traffic cops to contend with.
Regardless, what mattered most at that moment was doing the right thing by my wife, even if it meant breaking the law. The most loving course of action was to act in civil disobedience to deliver the most life-giving outcome.
Jesus, the lawbreaker
Let’s be perfectly clear.
Jesus wasn’t crucified for nothing. Jesus was a lawbreaker. “If this man were not a criminal,” Said the…
