You Can't Judge Me!

          

          

              The day had come when all the nations were to be judged.  One by one, God heard the testimony of all those on the earth, the living and the dead,  and one by one He began to separate them onto His right and onto His left.  At the sight of this many who had suffered much began to take exception to the fact that anyone could judge them having not experienced the same hardships from which they were cast.  They shouted out to each other “How can a God who lives outside the presence of sin even begin to judge we who are encircled by evildoers day and night?” and “Living in such a place of privilege without pain and without tears, how can He presume to sit as a magistrate condemning those with circumstances He cannot even pretend to understand?”  Having sufficiently rallied themselves against God, they requested that the act of separation cease and that the Almighty lend them an ear to make their case against Him.  Gracefully and without fear of any judgment, our Father granted His accusers a moment to let themselves be heard.  One by one they came from the ends of the earth accusing the Lord and saying, “How do you know that You would not have acted in the same way as we have if faced with the same intolerance and injustices, and how do You know that we SHOULD be without sin when you are not weak like we are?” 

An African American man, having been buried since the 1960’s came before Him with rope marks still imprinted on his neck saying, “I was killed for no other reason than that I was hated due to ignorance.  I did nothing wrong and yet I was convicted in front of a prejudiced jury who wanted nothing more than the blood of someone who made them uncomfortable and they did not understand.  How then can You judge me since You know nothing of such things?”  

A victim of the Nazi holocaust next approached the throne with the tattooed reminders of her previous life.  She looked towards God’s patient eyes and said, “Look at these scars.  Have I not already been judged?  My suffering and death were given to me solely because a country and its leaders were afraid of my beliefs.  How then can You judge me since You know nothing of this kind of persecution?”

Each person approaching the throne had a new accusation for the Lord.  Each doubted God’s ability to understand since He had never had to endure suffering, pain, persecution or sorrow while sitting upon His throne enjoying the praises of the angels.  God waited compassionately for each person and each charge to be completely exhausted.  Upon there completion God asked the nations, “What then would be your judgment upon Me?”  The many nations and each of the nation’s many accusers deliberated for some time so that they could return an answer to the Lord that would relegate Him to tears and humble Him to the point that He might have no grounds for unjustly passing judgment on the children of the earth who had already been through so much.  Finally, they had reached a conclusion and were ready to bring their judgment against the Almighty.  As a delegation they decided that He should be made to endure all that they had endured so that He would understand.  They decided He should be made a man like them and placed on the earth to suffer that He might be qualified before being permitted to indict anyone of any charges.  Each accuser would be given the opportunity to place their own sorrows upon Him to make sure that he would have the opportunity to understand their point of view.

The hanged African American man said, “Let Him be convicted before a prejudiced jury who wants nothing more than the blood of a man who makes them uncomfortable and let Him be killed for no other reason than that he was hated due to the ignorance of others.”

The holocaust victim said, “Let Him show the scars of this judgment as permanent as tattoos and let Him be persecuted by a country who was afraid of what He believes.”

A man in a business suit said, “Let Him feel the pressures of having so many mouths to feed and yet have such limited resources.  He will surely not have time for His family or time for spiritual things when faced with such a challenge.  Only then let Him judge me.”

An Ethiopian woman said, “Let Him suffer hunger so that you can count His bones and let his thirst be so great that his tongue sticks to His jaw.”

Next, a man in prison clothes said, “Because I was executed of a crime I did not commit, let the iniquities of another be placed upon His head and let Him pay the price for their sins even though He has done no wrong.”

A pregnant teenager said, “Let Him know what it feels like to be pierced by the hypocritical glances of many accusers who judge Him to be a sinner but don’t understand the whole story.”

A leprous man came giving judgment saying, “Let Him suffer the rejection of men, being despised as one from whom men hide their faces.”

A woman who had long suffered from depression said, “Let Him know what it feels like to be all alone with no one left to show you compassion.” 

His next litigant was a frail creature suffering from anorexia and bulimia.  She said to the jury, “Let Him know what it is like to have no desirable form or beauty.” 

Then a figure in funeral clothes approached the throne saying, “Because I have been widowed, let Him know what it feels like to be abandoned by His bride and left to suffer the biggest challenge of His life with no one to support Him.”

His next tear-filled challenger was a young man with fresh wounds who came saying, “Let Him know what it feels like to be betrayed by the closest of His friends.”

A long-suffering mother came and said, “Let Him be filled with tears over the insubordination and defiance of the children whom He loves so much He would be willing to die for.  Let Him see their wayward direction, plead with them to listen to wisdom, and then stand by watching them continue in their hard-heartedness.”

Approaching next was a fatherless child who said, “Let Him suffer with the absence of the support of His father.”

A heartbroken lover said in His presence, “Let Him feel the devastation of love lost so great that His heart is like wax melted within His chest.”

An overworked mother said, “Let Him feel the stress of everyone wanting something from you all the time and never bothering to ask ‘How are you doing?’”

A homeless man came forward and hurled out, “Let Him know what it is like to spend the night in the freezing cold because you have no place else to lay your head.”

On and on the prosecution littered a barrage of indictments against Him; each rendering their own form of justice making sure that every possible form of suffering would be dished out so that He might more clearly understand what it is we suffer in the deficiency of this cruel kingdom.  Surely He would not even be able to stand against the measure of His own judgment, and in so realizing this He might then render a favorable judgment on them due to the extenuating circumstances that led them to never be able to surrender to Him.  When the judgment of the nations had been completed, the Lord then opened His mouth to answer the accusers:

To African American man He replied, “Was I not convicted before a prejudiced jury and killed for no other reason than that I was hated?”

To victim of the holocaust He said, “And do I not also have the permanent scars of the judgment of my countymen?”

Answering each in turn, He said to the businessman:   “Did I not feed thousands with a few loaves, and find time for prayer despite being pressed on all sides?”

To the Ethiopian, “Did I not suffer on the cross such that one could even count my bones?  Did I not also thirst but then was only given sour wine?” 

To the prisoner, “Was I not also a prisoner executed of a crime I did not commit?  Were not the iniquities of the entire world placed upon Me even though I did no wrong?”

To the pregnant teen, “Have I not also been pierced and have I not also been counted among sinners being made to endure unspoken judgments?”

To the leper, “Was I not the rejected cornerstone?”

To the depressed, “Was I not alone when my sheep were scattered?” 

To the anorexic bulimic, “Was I not voluntarily made common and without majesty?”

To the widow, “Have I not been abandoned continuously and unceremoniously by the bride I came to serve?”

To the betrayed, “Do you not believe I understand what it is like to have a close friend do the unthinkable against me?”

To the long-suffering,  “Have I not also spoken ‘O Jerusalem… how often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing?’”

To the fatherless, “I too cried out to My Father, ’why have You forsaken Me?’”

To the heartbroken, “Do I not also know the pain of a broken heart?  While yours suffers and will be healed, Mine has even exploded inside my chest.”

To the overworked, “I have only known service and when have others ever asked Me how I am doing?”

To the homeless, “Do you not remember that ‘the Son of Man has no place to lay His head?’”

To each He answered in like manner, giving a sympathetic but challenging response for every accusation.  Finally, with one fell swoop He stated to all, “You have accused Me of these things because you have not known My Son who is in Me and I in Him.  If you would have known Him, you would have known that I have suffered not only these things but so much more.  You would understand that though I would have been justified to judge you without doing so, I also suffered so that I would be blameless before any accusation.  It is because you have chosen to be blinded by your own sufferings instead of acknowledging the saving power of the death, burial, and resurrection of my Son, Jesus Christ, that you have now been condemned.  For had you been able to see past yourselves you would have found sanctuary in knowing there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  Go now and find your home in the outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Putting their heads down they knew that He was right.  They had heard the stories and were now reminded of the messages they had rejected from their parents, friends, pastors, and co-workers. He had endured these things and He had in fact endured even greater.  Laying down their scepters at the feet of the Savior, they exchanged them for shackles and began to march.  As they walked in file away from the Light, they realized how they had used their circumstances to try to justify their lives.  They remembered how they felt somehow prepared with the armory of these accusations if in fact there was a God that they would have to stand before.  How silly those arguments now seemed in response to an Almighty, All-knowing, Star-breathing Creator whose judgment comes out of the heavens, not from the perspective of the throne but from the cross.