A Caring Courtroom: Truth, Justice & the Gospel Way

Introduction

Exodus 23:1–9 ESV

1 “You shall not spread a false report. You shall not join hands with a wicked man to be a malicious witness. 2 You shall not fall in with the many to do evil, nor shall you bear witness in a lawsuit, siding with the many, so as to pervert justice, 3 nor shall you be partial to a poor man in his lawsuit. 4 “If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall bring it back to him. 5 If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying down under its burden, you shall refrain from leaving him with it; you shall rescue it with him. 6 “You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in his lawsuit. 7 Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent and righteous, for I will not acquit the wicked. 8 And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of those who are in the right. 9 “You shall not oppress a sojourner. You know the heart of a sojourner, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.

Botham Shem Jean is from the nation of St. Lucia in the Eastern Caribbean. He got his undergraduate degree from Harding University, a small Christian college in Arkansas. Following college he got a job with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Texas. His 26 years of life came to an abrupt and tragic end on September 6, 2018. A white, off duty, Dallas police officer Amber Guyger mistakenly entered Mr. Jean’s apartment thinking that it was her own.

This past week she was convicted of murder and sentenced to ten years in prison. During the trial former officer Guyger said that she feared for her life when she entered Botham’s apartment. However, she also admitted to not following proper protocol in assessing the situation at the beginning. There was also text message evidence presented in the case that indicated some racial bias on her part.

There was a mix of emotions, particularly among African Americans this week. First, there was a sense of disbelief, but also a satisfaction that the judicial system had found a white police officer guilty in the killing of an unarmed black man. Then, there was a feeling of disappointment and anger at the ten year sentence, knowing that she could be out in five. On radio talk shows you had African Americans call in and share how they’d been given the same sentence for far lesser crimes. People wanted to know, what if the situation were reversed? What if an off-duty Black police officer had shot and killed an unarmed White woman sitting in her own apartment? Would the sentence be so light?

But the conversation around this trial became even more intense following the hug that went viral. Botham’s 18-year old brother, Brandt gave a victim’s statement and then asked the judge if he could approach Amber Guyger. He said, “If you are truly sorry, I know I can speak for myself, I forgive you...I think giving your life to Christ would be the best thing that Botham would want for you," he told her. “I love you as a person, and I don't wish anything bad on you.”

"Can I give her a hug, please?" Brandt Jean asked. "Please." When the judge said it was OK, Guyger rushed over to Brandt and wrapped her arms around him. They held each other in a long embrace, while sobbing could be heard in the courtroom. African American State District Judge Tammy Kemp wiped away tears from her eyes during the moment.

The visceral reaction to that moment is captured in two comments I heard while listening to an African American radio talk show the other day. One African American man called in and said, “What is wrong with that boy? If I were a member of his family in that courtroom, I would’ve reached over and punched him in the face! Maybe forgiveness later, down the line, but right now I want to see her suffer! I want her to experience some pain! Why are you running to forgive so fast?”

The next caller was another African American man, and he had a different take. He said that justice had been done with the conviction. Then he talked about Brandt Jean’s hug and the fact that the judge hugged her as well and gave her a Bible. He said, “What I witnessed was a caring courtroom.” He was implying that justice and mercy are not mutually exclusive or necessarily contradictory.

Now, let me be clear. This is a complex issue. We’ve been engaging it in our own family. There is an ease with which our society will celebrate Black expressions of forgiveness towards whites and use them as model pictures of reconciliation. And there is also an ease with which our society will deplore Black expressions of public protest against systemic injustice. So this isn’t a neat and tidy issue. It’s a messy one.

And I think our text helps us to wrestle with what is good and just and right, particularly for people for whom Jesus Christ is Lord. I got the title for this message, “A Caring Courtroom,” from that caller I mentioned earlier. It fits the context, which is dealing with lawsuits, fairness, equity and justice for God’s people. Legal matters are presented in this passage, but it’s not a proof text for American jurisprudence. It is a passage that helps us to grasp the implications of what it means to obey God’s command to love our neighbors. I have three P’s for this message. The purpose of this passage. The predisposition of the human heart. The promotion of justice.

Purpose

Our passage is situated in the second section of the Book of Exodus. Chapters 1-18 focus on God delivering his people from slavery in Egypt; saving them. Chapters 19-24 focus on the giving of the Law, and chapters 25-40 focus on worship. Here’s the point. The purpose of this passage is wrapped up in its context. The Lord is explaining how his people are to live in light of the fact that he has saved them. They are situated at Mount Sinai. God told Moses in , “I have come down to deliver my people out of the hand of the Egyptians.” Then the Lord says in v. 12,

“True justice must preserve the humanity of the convicted and the victim.” - Rev. Dr. Mike Higgins

Exodus 3:12 ESV

12 He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”

And three months after their exodus they come to Sinai and the Lord speaks to them with poetic tenderness,

Exodus 19:4–6 ESV

4 ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; 6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”

EX19.4

The Law always comes in that context. God has demonstrated his power to save and deliver. Now that they belong to him, they need to know how to live. Now that you’re a liberated people, how are you to live? We hear the ten commandments in chapter 20. Commandments 1-4 are about our duty to love God. They’re summed up in the command to love the Lord with all our heart, soul and might. Commandments 5-10 concern our duty to love our neighbors as ourselves (). And here’s the beauty of it. God doesn’t just give them these terse commandments, he begins to flesh out what they look like in practice. Our nine verses are working out the implications in a legal setting of commandments 6,

Exodus 20:13 ESV

13 “You shall not murder.

8,

EX

Exodus 20:15 ESV

15 “You shall not steal.

9,

Exodus 20:16 ESV

16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

and 10.

Exodus 20:17 ESV

17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”

And here’s a connection for you. What does it mean to be a Christian? The Christian life doesn’t start with a list of do’s and don’ts. It’s rooted in love. It’s rooted in an undeserved love from God to us. It’s rooted in God’s love directed towards rebellious people who are his enemies because of their rebellion. And when, by faith our eyes are opened to see and receive that love, we respond by confessing and repenting of our sinful and rebellious ways. And we put our hope squarely in him. Then we’re able to grasp the fact that his law is a gift, not a vice. We’re able to say like the psalmist in

Psalm 119:97 ESV

97 Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day.

Predisposition

God works this way when it comes to people because he understands the predisposition of the human heart. He understands what our tendency is. He understands that our tendency is to love those who love us back.

You have a sandwich structure in these nine verses. Verses 1-3 and 6-8 give us simple commands, “You shall not,” language that apply to giving testimony in a court. Verses 4-5 in the middle are situational laws. If, or when, this situation takes place, then this is what you must do.

We’re going to talk about the bread bracketing the sandwich in a minute, but listen again to vv. 4-5,

Exodus 23:4–5 ESV

4 “If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall bring it back to him. 5 If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying down under its burden, you shall refrain from leaving him with it; you shall rescue it with him.

If you come across your enemy’s stray ox or donkey, you will surely return it to him. If you see the donkey of someone who hates you lying down exhausted under its burden, you will refrain from abandoning him. You will surely free it with him.

This isn’t so much about ox and donkeys. It is God, with shock and awe, telling his people that neighbor love is to be extended to people they despise and people who despise them. God knows us well. Where are we most likely to ignore and reject the implications of what it means for us to love our neighbors? It’s with those who, for whatever reason, we believe are not worthy of that love.

Stop and think about this for a minute. Do you know of someone hates you? Do you know of someone who despises you? Even if you don’t, imagine that you do. What is your natural inclination toward that person? Especially if you see that person with a real need that you’re able to meet. An Israelite who came across someone’s stray ox or donkey, would know that person is suffering a loss in their ability to provide for themselves and their family. Both of the situations described in vv. 4-5 effect someone’s livelihood. And the Lord knows that the Israelite’s natural inclination is to have this attitude. “Good! You deserve it! This is God getting you back for how you’ve been treating me!”

God doesn’t call his people to engage in karma. He calls them to engage in compassion! And it’s never more evident than when those who have done us wrong are in a position of real need and we have the opportunity to come alongside and meet that need. And this is why the context of the passage matters. Israel receiving this message a delivered people would know that’s precisely what the Lord did for them. They were helpless, mumbling, grumbling, complaining against God, and he saved them.

In many respects these verses may be summed up in Jesus’ words from the Sermon on the Mount (). “Love your enemies.” Extend and express love to those you and others despise in practical ways.

Matthew 5:43–48 ESV

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

MATT5

The command for those who understand that they have been the undeserving recipients of the lavish love of God—the command for those people to love their enemies is not just a new testament idea. It’s always been the call. Do you hear what Jesus says? He that this love of enemy is the demonstration that you are children of your Father in heaven. Because that’s what he does.

Author Arthur Brooks has a new book out titled, Love Your Enemies. In it he argues that America’s current national problem, particularly as it relates to our political climate, is a culture of contempt. That is, a culture where our disposition towards people who disagree with us is a toxic combination of anger mixed with disgust, “the unsullied conviction of the worthlessness of another.” This is the attitude we often bring to social media posts where there’s disagreement. He writes,

Every single one of us is going to have an opportunity on social media or in person to answer somebody’s contempt. So are you going to do the right thing and make the world a little bit better; show your strength; and try to make your enemies your friends? Or are you going to make the problem worse? That’s a question that each of us gets to answer—probably in the next twenty-four hours.

See, here’s the deal. You and I don’t own any ox or donkeys, but there is a nowness to the opportunity to actively reject the disposition of contempt towards those we find utterly intolerable and to express the kind of love that demonstrates a desire to will what is good for those we tend to despise.

Promotion

And it’s not rejecting a predisposition of contempt and hatred for those we tend to despise. It’s also an active promotion of what is just and good. Look at who are referred to in those sandwich verses 1-3, and 6-8, the wicked in v. 1.

“You shall not join hands with a wicked person to be a malicious witness.” This is referencing a court case. So, the wicked person being described is someone who’s guilty of the crime. Don’t spread a false report the Lord says. Don’t deal in lies. That word for malicious has the sense of violence and wrong. The Lord is saying that it’s not only wrong to give false testimony, but there is violence and harm done when you try to make the guilty look innocent. We see that in vv. 7-8. Where v. 1 forbids making the guilty look innocent, v. 7 forbids making the innocent look guilty. And v. 8, “You shall not take a bribe because it blinds those who see clearly,” connects a likely reason for the temptation to pervert justice, self-centered gain and benefit.

Then, in v. 2, it’s “the many,” or, “the crowd.” The sense here is that very often, the crowd exerts pressure to side with the majority opinion. And, then, v. 3 is surprising. It says, “You shall not be partial to, or show favoritism to a poor person in their lawsuit.” When I was translating that verse from the Hebrew text, I was struggling. I was like, “Is that what it really says?” I was expecting more of what we see in v. 6. “You shall not pervert the justice due to your needy in his lawsuit.” That’s more in line with what we normally see in the Bible when it comes to the marginalized. It’s normally that they’re taken advantage of and you have to promote their cause. In fact, some biblical scholars have postulated that there’s a corruption in the Hebrew text in this verse because with one character the word “poor” in v. 3 changes to “great.” And it would be, “you shall not show favor to the great in his lawsuit.” But that’s not what it says. There’s no textual evidence for that. In a legal case, the Lord is forbidding giving an advantage to anyone. The poor have no advantage in society, but it’s forbidden to show favoritism in the courtroom even to the disadvantaged. As one commentator put it, God’s people are to do what is right, not simply what feels right.

With God there is never the perversion of justice. There is only the promotion of justice. The same point is made in with reference to both poor and great.

Leviticus 19:15 ESV

15 “You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor.

LEV

At the heart of a caring courtroom is the cause of justice. Whose agenda drives our attitudes and disposition as we wade into the messy waters of the history of systemic injustice around race, ethnicity and class? Are we more informed by a heart of love that comes out of an understanding of God’s love that has been put on display for us in Jesus Christ, or are we more informed by the opinions in our echo chambers on social media and cable news?

The attitude towards their neighbors that God’s people were to have is summarized in v. 9, “You shall not oppress the sojourner since you all know the sojourner’s life because you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.” You know what it’s like to be on the margins God says. You all know what it’s like to be on the outs. You all know what it’s like to be unable to trust the system because the deck is stacked against you. And that’s the attitude you bring to the issues of justice.

This love that God calls us to, commands us to exhibit, is independent from attraction. It is often most profoundly expressed in promoting the cause of those the world (or our community) is likely to despise, ignore, reject; promoting the cause of those who are most vulnerable.

Let me bring this back...

“True justice must preserve the humanity of the convicted and the victim.” - Rev. Dr. Mike Higgins