Writing this series has been taxing on my mind and I assume a sobering or depressing topic for all who have read the gory details.  Based on the number of times I had to use words associated with ‘death’ in some form Google probably thinks I am obsessed with it and may report me to the FBI or something.  Well, if one were to do a search in the Bible on the variations of dead, die, kill, murder, and other words like it you would find it highlighted 1,718 times in the KJV.  It is a serious topic in the Bible and is discussed often as every human in history has experienced death or will with the exception of Elijah and Enoch, including Jesus who we know was murdered. 

BUT, His death set all of mankind free from sin just as one sin made by Adam caused this disease, thus I start with good news from Romans 5:17 “For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.” (NLT version)   I prefer the topic of Grace and invite you to a link that is much brighter than this topic oddly titled Five Letter Words, of which G-R-A-C-E is a focal point in the Bible as it overcomes the evils of this world.

But, with the forgiveness of sins, the grace of God, salvation, and all that, how does a modern-day Christian view the death penalty?  In part 1 of this Juror #97 series, I mentioned that several potential jurors were eliminated for religious reasons.  Some did not identify which religion they belong to but I do know for a fact several identified themselves as Christian.  Some said they could NOT be unbiased in a death penalty decision because they did NOT believe in the death penalty.  Their thought being it is not Christian-like.   However, other Christians said they could not be unbiased in a death penalty decision because they felt strongly that the death penalty IS the ONLY option.  How could both be staunch on opposite opinions?  How could Juror #97 honestly say I could be unbiased and evaluate the facts and make a decision one way or the other primarily on the evidence?

Part II highlights collateral damage eliminating the argument that some crimes are victimless or only the one who is harmed is the sole victim.  Many are affected by crimes and thus consequences and punishments are a necessity to be carried out by the government entities called the justice system.  Part III discusses how important it is for arrests, trials, and sentencing to be executed quickly.   I sadly add that typically other than arrests and initial court appearances the justice system is anything but quick due to all the red tape and case overload.   I believe this verse is a key one applicable for Christians to understand.

In the essence of saving time, I reference various articles that point to the death penalty in the old testament.  Also for your research pleasure are pros and cons from different viewpoints

– The Old Testament clearly identifies crimes where the Jewish Law required the death penalty.   Click here for 30 Bible references, some of which were quoted as examples by Jesus.

– Prison Fellowship.org provides scriptural pros and cons in one source here.   Some use the same verse to back up each side.  And we wonder why Christians have different opinions and disagree on so many things.  But, that is ok.   I believe neither are condemned for being wrong on gray areas.  Some things God will make clear to us if we dig and seek the answers, and surely if we’re humble He’ll let us know when we’re off base.  I may be editing and correcting some of my words and points in these four documents later, God knows.  You will see my personal sway, like it or agree with it or not.

– The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission established by the Southern Baptists published its view on capital-punishment.   While pointing out solid arguments of Why God established the death penalty, they emphasize the need for Christians to address the matter soberly and with a mindset that it is important to be certain the person is clearly guilty and the crime beyond any accidental intent.

– Juror #97 likewise wishes to be sure that while pointing out atrocities and political misgivings that it indeed is a sensitive topic to be dealt with gently.  It should not be avoided though.   I by the way identify as non-denominational if you care to know.

– The Presbyterian church, like some other mainline denominations, has a counter view stating the Love of Christ counters any evil doing.  They in fact implore their members to stand against legislation seeking to increase or re-instate capital punishment. 

Having looked at the data this Average Joe has already evaluated many other factors regarding the topic.  I must look at the coincidences that brought me to discuss this topic and start with #97.  There are only two points in the Bible where 97 is found.  I detail it in part 1 focusing on Psalm 97 where we as believers or ones who LOVE the Lord are also implored to ‘hate evil.’ Hating something is considered ‘not Christian’ to some but Psalm 97 describes how God is a God of Justice who protects us from wicked people.  The other reference is about the Law from Psalm 119:97 which in the Amplified version simply says “Oh, how I love Your law!  It is my meditation all the day.”    I am no expert in Hebrew or Greek, but my research seems to say the meaning of the word ‘law‘ is saying in common terminology the whole of the Bible cover to cover. 

Jesus had this to say about the law in Luke 16:16-17 – ” “The Law and the writings of the Prophets were proclaimed until John; since then the gospel of the kingdom of God has been and continues to be preached, and everyone tries forcefully to go into it. ¹⁷ Yet it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for a single stroke of a letter of the Law to fail and become void.”   

In Mathew 15,  which I suggest you study if not understanding what I am about to say, the experts of ‘the law’ were getting on Jesus and the disciples for not doing a ritualistic hand washing, which in their opinion the law said they should have done.  Jesus turned the mirror back on them calling them hypocrites because they would use the excuse of not helping their own elderly parents because they needed to tithe to the synagogue instead.  Jesus in turn quoted an old testament verse on capital punishment –. ^15:3  “Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.“

In other words, Jesus pointed out that these politician lawmakers observed some rules to make themselves look good in the eyes of other people while neglecting those in need to pay for their mansions.  Psalm 58 in the TPT describes their real view –

“God’s justice? You high and mighty politicians know nothing about it! Which one of you has walked in justice toward others? Which one of you has treated everyone right and fair? Not one! You only give “justice” in exchange for a bribe. For the right price you let others get away with murder!“

When we look upon the greatest parts we love about Jesus Christ it is all grace and all love. For some, there is nothing else, which is an inaccurate portrayal of the One who is both the lamb and lion. One must also examine the trinity.  Jesus and God are one or understand it as you interpret the hard-to-understand complex distinctions of the three-in-one topic.  Think then in terms that Jesus wrote the original laws.  Jesus found in Genesis that the people had been intermixed with the devil’s spawn and it became impossible to right the DNA for all of the people on earth.  It was Jesus who had to make the hard decision regarding Noah and the Ark.  It was Jesus that had to make the hard decision for destroying the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. 

But, it was also Jesus who in His mercy and grace forgave Moses of murder and used him to deliver the people from slavery.   It was Jesus in His mercy and grace who forgave David of his adultery and murder and had him reign as King and set up the Temple of God.  Jesus’ bloodline included David. He transfigured with Moses a murderer and with Elijah who was present when 450 prophets of Baal were slain.   Although later, both Moses and David paid the consequences for their sins.   Moses was deprived of entering the promised land and David did not see the temple completed.  Depressed Elijah went to heaven without dying.  Do you see It was Jesus who forgave Paul, an old testament law enforcer, who wrongly had Christians murdered?  Paul as we know went on to write most of the New Testament. 

It was Jesus who while not under the law but under the future of Grace forgave the woman who had committed adultery.  The Pharisees wanted Him to say follow the law of Moses and give her the death penalty.  Instead, Jesus had mercy on her but, then told her to go and sin no more.  Many argue that Jesus ended the death penalty at that moment.  But Jesus was not under the law after John the Baptist, the new covenant was at that point being introduced.  But did it end justice and the law?

I believe NO. 

It instead placed Christians into the realm of having to follow the authority of the land.  That guy Paul who wrote Romans 13    tells us to  ‘Let every person be subject to the governing authorities.‘   Ideally, the hope was those Romans would all find salvation under the blood of Jesus the lamb’s forgiveness of sins.  If the reader here does not understand that, find the most important answers you need to know on that topic, such as the Grace thing I mentioned at the beginning of this Portico thought stretcher.  

If Christians are writing the laws everything should be laid out fairly and justly for all while also setting rules for the lawless so we do not have another Noah or Sodom & Gomorrah situation again.  As 1Tim 1:9 says ‘For the law was not intended for people who do what is right. It is for people who are lawless and rebellious.‘   Paul wrote that knowing the history of the corrupt Roman rule that had put him in jail.  He could have said, don’t follow the government overthrow them unjust fiends.  He did not.  Sadly for us in the U.S. it appears the pre-Paul Romans have taken over the laws again.  God forbid we go back so far before the ‘roman catholic’ church took over Rome and have Christians fed to the lions for entertainment.

The law we have today for the believers is one where we are to live amongst fellow believers separate in spirit but ‘not of the world, just as I am not of the world’ John 17:16.    It was foretold in Isaiah 59:21 that our Christian life would be one not of written laws but of that very word Jesus said would not change in the spirit of the law, a Grace-balanced law, on our hearts.  ²¹ “And this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit will not leave them, and neither will these words I have given you. They will be on your lips and on the lips of your children and your children’s children forever. I, the Lord, have spoken!“

Jesus knew we would be in a conflicting world with conflicting messages.  What I write here is confusing requiring careful thought when I say there are varying messages on how to deal with crime. But it should not be difficult to understand that we are to deal with evil severely and swiftly.  Two examples in the new testament are noted in Acts of Jesus sentencing people to death.  One was a Roman ruler named Herod Agrippa – ²¹ On an appointed day Herod dressed himself in his royal robes, sat on his throne and began delivering a speech to the people. ²² The assembled people kept shouting, “It is the voice of a god and not of a man!” ²³ And at once an angel of the Lord struck him down because he did not give God the glory and instead permitted himself to be worshiped, and he was eaten by worms and died.”  Acts 12:21-23

The other incident happened in Solomon’s Portico (where the Joe’s Portico theme was derived) as described in Acts 5:1-16 –  “But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. ² And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles’ feet. ³ But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.”

⁵ Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. ⁷ Three hours later when his wife came in, not knowing what had happened Peter asked her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much?” She said, “Yes, for so much.”

 Then Peter said to her, “How is it that the two of you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord?  ¹⁰ Then immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. ¹¹ So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things.

¹² And through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people. And they were all with one accord in Solomon’s Portico. ¹³ Yet none of the rest dared join them, but the people esteemed them highly. ¹⁴ Believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, ¹⁵ so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them. ¹⁶ Also a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed.”  

I believe these two examples written in Acts tell that Jesus had not sent an edict to let laws be erased; as some say His gentle treatment of the downtrodden woman brought an end to capital punishment.  I understand those who think differently.  But if the new testament supposedly ended punishment for crimes or blaspheme I consider this as evidence it was not the case with the book of Acts giving scary examples. I am unaware of any Ananias and Sapphira events in the church since that time.  Instead, I believe it was an early warning to understand the power of the Holy Spirit is serious and not to be treated like a game.  It is similar to what happened to Uzzah when he touched the Holy Ark of the Covenant  and died on the spot after David brought it back to Jerusalem.  The laws of the land, like them or not, are intended to be followed by Christians and punishment rules carried out by the government.  Thus, we need to be involved in voting as a minimum item towards making sure a government is fair.  We should be watching and ensuring the government/police are not inflicting cruel and unusual punishment on anyone.  Nor should we let them lighten things so much that anarchy reigns. 

We are to deal with helping those who cannot help themselves and be a defender of women and children and the oppressed.  I presented the whole story of Ananias and Sapphira and included verses 12-16 which tell of the 1000’s of miracles that happened in the Portico area.  We live in a world where evil dwells and even in churches it happens.  There is a mix and we don’t simply ignore the bad and expect God to whoosh it away.  It is our responsibility!   Who would have thought in our generation that things could become so bad that over 200 mass shootings have happened in the U.S. in less than six months, and all else I mention in parts 1-3 of this series?  Who would have thought that daily news of war across the globe in 2022 would take the lives of ‘tens of thousands‘  on both sides in another war? 

What are we doing in the midst of it all to protect our own, let alone the rest of the world?

Isaiah 59 tells what God/Jesus thinks before He sent His Spirit to dwell in us to live a righteous and just life.  It is talking about us today!  We already have HIS Holy Spirit living in us.  God is looking for us to use what He gave us to be intercessors on behalf of the children.  On behalf of those who are being human trafficked and sex trafficked and murdered. 

¹⁴  Justice is pushed back,
And righteous behavior stands far away;
For truth has fallen in the city square,
And integrity cannot enter.

¹⁵ Yes, truth is missing;
And he turns away from evil makes himself a prey.who
Now the Lord saw it,
And it displeased Him that there was no justice.

¹⁶  He saw that there was no man,
And was amazed that there was no one to intercede on behalf of truth and right;
Therefore His own arm brought salvation to Him,
And His own righteousness sustained Him.

¹⁷ For He the Lord put on righteousness like a coat of armor,
And salvation like a helmet on His head;
He put on garments of vengeance for clothing
And covered Himself with zeal and great love for His people as a cloak.

¹⁸ As their deeds deserve, so He will repay:
Wrath to His adversaries, retribution to His enemies;
To the islands and coastlands He will repay.

¹⁹  So they will fear the name of the Lord from the west
And His glory from the rising of the sun.
For He will come in like a narrow, rushing stream
Which the breath of the Lord drives [overwhelming the enemy].

²⁰  “A Redeemer, Messiah, will come to Zion,
And to those in Israel who turn from transgression sin,” declares the Lord.

²¹ “As for Me, this is My covenant with them,” says the Lord: “My Spirit which is upon you writing the law of God on the heart, and My words which I have put in your mouth shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouths of your [true, spiritual] ^[e]children, nor from the mouth of your children’s children,” says the Lord, “from now and forever.”

We can walk away from what has happened here in Monroe, NC and pretend as if nothing happened and move on.  We can ignore that the laws of the land are being taken over by unrighteous men and women and ‘wait for God to do something.’  But the fact of the matter is He has done something.  I make you aware with facts and figures and statistics and stories of where we are today.  If your eyes are sore from reading but your heart is not broken with sorrow at the evil that abounds, you miss the many points made. 

 – Jesus is looking to us to help anyone that we can – with what He has already given us, His Spirit that lives inside us.  The death penalty is a definite yes.  It has already been determined for all of mankind.  Everyone reading this knows everyone has been given the death penalty already as Paul told those Romans in 6:23 ‘For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God that is, His remarkable, overwhelming gift of grace to believers is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.‘ 

To change a world gone this far is not impossible.  We were born to deliver people from the hell they deserve, that we ourselves also deserve, were it not for the Grace of Jesus and His sacrifice carried out for our sake.

I had the opportunity to share this good news with a blood relative of JLB’s.  Since I am under counselor-client confidentiality per the Pro-Life pregnancy center that I worked at (not just saving babies from an unfair death but helping the men/couples that produce them as well) I cannot tell you how exactly that turned out.  But, let’s say the seed was planted.   I pray for the soul of JLB that before he receives the consequences that he should receive in his vein per the law of the state of North Carolina – that he repents.   Based on his lack of remorse I have no idea where he will be, that is God’s decision.  I pray the powers that be that have stopped all executions since 2006 see the truth and change how they operate.  The prayer list could continue for those who seem to fall in this category –  ‘Justice makes no sense to the evil-minded, but those who seek God know it inside and out. ’Proverbs 28:5 

More so, I pray for the victims and those who have been collateral damage like the Mother of Zaria Burgess and the many others mentioned in part II of Juror 97’s coincidences.  I pray we fight to prevent things as it happened to Zaria and that we follow our calling and –  “Speak up for the people who have no voice, for the rights of all the down-and-outers. Speak out for justice! Stand up for the poor and destitute!”  Proverbs 31:8-9

I pray for those of us who call ourselves believers in right standing with God are filled with The love that causes us to turn to Him in prayer to turn our nation around.  Help this nation to not turn our back on God as the latest quarter design has done. Believe it or not it takes love to dole out discipline and justice.  Jesus Wept over death.  Imagine how it must have felt for Him to have to deliver the consequences to His children to those in the day of Noah. It is only because of His great endurance that He has not returned to complete what is eventually going to happen in the great day of judgment.  Ephesian 2:4 But God, being so very rich in mercy, because of His great and wonderful love with which He loved us,

Let us be the light we are called to be and that each day we focus our personal life to be filled with spiritual integrity and lead those we encounter to be righteous ones, that is right with God.  As the last line of Psalm 97 says let us live as we say we believe and do exactly this – ^{12 “}Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous ones [those whose moral and spiritual integrity places them in right standing with God], And praise and give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.

I pray that anyone who doubts their standing with our Lord Jesus Christ will get right with Him now.   When that day comes, whether today or years from now, what will the verdict for you and I be when we stand face to face with God?   I pray that all who have read through this hard story will hear their verdict read regarding an eternal Death Penalty of – No!!!

P.S. – I do not like popup ads, sign-up requests, book/conference promos, and requests for donations everywhere don’t you?   But, getting the word out about new posts for a 100% free-to-you website is a tough task on social media.  If you would like to be notified about new posts and occasional insiders only heart-pours, pop me a quick email to JoesPortico@gmail.com, and I’ll add you to my mailing list.   And please make a comment in the block below that says ‘I’d love to hear your comments on this topic’, we all love interaction and opinions from readers and I don’t claim to be an expert on anything.