The Incomparable Joy of Just Mercy
“All charges against you are dismissed, Mr. McMillian.”
The real-life experience of Walter McMillian who was falsely accused and arrested for the murder of an 18-year old, Rhonda Morrison. Without any evidence of him committing such a crime, McMillian was unjustly placed on death row and barring a judicial miracle, he awaited his execution. Harvard lawyer, Bryan Stevenson, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative took on McMillian’s case. After a 6-year battle for the truth, he heard those shocking, relieving, joyous, and hopeful words from the mouth of the Alabama judge in 1993 who exonerated him.
Can you imagine what it would be like to hear those words from the mouth of a judge after spending 6 years on death row? Imagine the initial shock that might reverberate through your being. Feel the flood of relief that would wash over you. Listen to shouts of celebration from those supporting you in the background of the courtroom. Envision the joy that would follow. And, as this joy increased, can you envision the hope that would arise within you about the possibilities of a new existence and the new ability to share such hope with those closest to you?
As followers of Jesus, a story like this prompts joy and frustration. We love to hear how justice won out in the end and the innocent man is set free. Yet, we are frustrated by such injustice, such cruelty in the incarceration of an innocent man. Justice is a deep-rooted value for us. We want criminals to be punished. And, we want those who are innocent to be given the opportunity to live free with those they love. As our family watched this story unfold in the form of the movie, Just Mercy, we were able to grab ahold of many of these spiritual parallels we enjoy in the gospel: truth, mercy, justice. Yet, as I reflected further, the gospel of Jesus brought me to a deeper sense of shock, relief, joy, and hope. While we might easily identify with the relieving joy of dismissed charges for McMillian, we have knowledge that in the presence of the perfect, just Judge, we are not innocent. There is dissonance for us in the comparison.
According to the gospel, we come to know that we are not innocent. In fact, we are guilty. We deserve punishment. We deserve the sentence of death as Romans 6:23 states, “For the wages of sin is death.” Our innate craving for justice should make us infinitely uneasy as we dread the fairness of God’s wrath poured out on our sins. In the gospel, we also come to know the innocent One: Jesus. He lived a perfect sinless life. He experienced all the temptations and trials of humanity, yet remained sinless. Jesus willingly subjected himself to the horrors and shame of death by crucifixion. The innocent man died on behalf of the guilty. He died in our place for our sins. This great exchange has become the basis of our salvation. And for those who place their faith in Jesus Christ, this is what purchased our justification. An act of sacrificial mercy paved the way for the guilty to hear the verdict, “not guilty” in the divine courtroom. His mercy toward sinners does not violate his justice in any way. Only in the work of Jesus can such a gift be known and celebrated. Paul emphasizes this reality in Romans 3:23-26,
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”
Because of Jesus, the sinner receives just mercy! His blood covers the guilty. Christ’s death is a substitute for the wretched sinner. This unique mercy leaves us in a state of shock, wells up within us an unspeakable relief, and an incomparable joy. There is no joy like the joy of hearing “Not guilty” because of Jesus. In the midst of all the troubles, you face in this life… in the midst of the isolation…in the midst of facing all your fears… never forget the incomparable joy of justification. If you trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior, you are “Not guilty” because of the redemptive work of Jesus. Because of Jesus, “All charges against you are dismissed…..”
To learn more about Walter McMillian’s case, read Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson. Or, just watch the movie. 🙂