He Gave Up Vengeance

Payback. It’s a good theme for a mafia movie or a shoot ‘em up Western. But vengeance is a really bad lifestyle choice. It’s not that we don’t understand why people want it—we’ve all been hurt. We all want justice served. But at what cost?

If he wanted to, Jesus could have kept a long payback list for those who had hurt him. At the top of the list would have been the fickle crowd who cried to make him king one weekend, and screamed, “Crucify him!” the next. Then he’d list the names of his closest friends who promised at dinner to stand by him and were gone by breakfast when it got dangerous.

But Jesus didn’t hold it against any of them.

Then came the night, one of the darkest in history, when Jesus was dragged, beaten, and lied about in one corrupt trial to the next—six in all. The tabloids today would have torn the story apart but only the Jewish priests and Roman police knew what was happening that Friday morning between midnight and 8 a.m.

Justice turned a blind eye in Jerusalem that day.

This is how the plot unfolded: From Gethsemane where Jesus was arrested, a battalion of soldiers led him through empty streets to Annas’ house (midnight), then to Caiaphas (1 a.m.), then to the Sanhedrin (early morning), then to Pilate (before 6 a.m.), then to Herod Antipas (7 a.m.), then to Pilate (8 a.m.). By 9 a.m. that morning, Jesus was hanging on the cross.

Yet through the whole unlawful mess, Jesus gave up his right for revenge.

He didn’t fight back.

He didn’t answer his critics.

He didn’t get angry at the wrong time or at the wrong things.

He didn’t argue or try to explain his actions.

He didn’t complain about his unfair treatment.

Instead, he kept quiet and kept talking to his father in heaven.

He only opened his mouth to pray for his enemies, tell his mom good-bye and to forgive.

The reality of what was happening was not lost on him. And nothing about it surprised him. Jesus was determined to accomplish what he came to do.

And he did.

Consider this: Do you ever have vengeful thoughts toward those who wrong you? What would it take for you to turn the other cheek?

Thanks for reading along with us. If you want to explore more of this radical look at the real Jesus, click here.