By Mark Wilmoth

Barry Bonds sits atop the list of All-Time MLB Home Run Leaders, with 7 more homers than Henry Aaron. Most baseball fans, however, won’t honor Bond’s achievement as much as they do Aaron’s, because Bonds was caught using performance-enhancing drugs while Aaron’s record is clean. Bonds cheated, but Aaron played the game fairly.

Most people develop a sense of fair play early in life. In a New Yorker article entitled The Psychology of Inequality, Elizabeth Kolbert describes a study conducted with 3-year-olds. The kids were paired off and given blocks for play and then, after a time, told to put the blocks away. The kids were given gold stars for helping with clean up, but the stars were intentionally distributed unfairly. The kids, most of whom couldn’t count, still noticed the disparity. If one child received 4 stars while another was given only 2, the child who only had two usually complained about the inequity. The researchers were amazed, however, at how often the child with 4 stars would turn and share with the one who had only 2, even before a complaint was voiced. “Fair” is a concept learned early in life.

Perhaps that explains why legal experts and Bible students alike often detect the unfairness in Jesus’ arrest, trial and execution. From Jesus betrayal at the hands of a close associate (Judas Iscariot) all the way through to Jesus’ cry of “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit,” there’s a great deal of cheating and chicanery.

Take, for example, the abuse Jesus was given by the arresting officers. Luke 22:63-65 (NIV) reads, “The men who were guarding Jesus began mocking and beating him. They blindfolded him and demanded, “Prophesy! Who hit you?” And they said many other insulting things to him.” Despite not yet being condemned, Jesus is still tortured.

When Jesus was tried for his alleged crimes, the initial hearing was held in the home of the High Priest, an illegal venue. The trial occurred at night (illegal) and involved “witnesses” who were told to lie (illegal). After a sham trial before the Jewish Sanhedrin in which Jesus was found guilty and condemned (another illegal act, since Jewish custom included at least a one day “cooling off” period after a trial before a death sentence could be imposed), Jesus was taken to the Roman Governor, Pilate, for his ratification of the Sanhedrin’s verdict. Pilate listened as false charges were made against Jesus – that he subverted the nation, opposed paying taxes to Caesar (Jesus, you’ll remember, said, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s (Luke 20:25), and claims to be King, a rival to Caesar. None of the charges was true, but deceiving Pilate didn’t bother the Jewish religious leaders. Even though Pilate proclaimed Jesus’ innocence at least 3 times during the trial, he still handed Jesus over to be executed, washing his hands of the matter.

Jesus wasn’t treated fairly!

Actually, Jesus tried to prepare his followers for unfair outcomes. Think back to the Parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15. The story ends with the older brother complaining to his father, “It’s not fair, I’ve always been the good son, and now you throw a party for this ne’er-do-well? Consider the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard, in which the workers who have only worked for an hour are paid as much as the workers who have labored all day in the hot sun. And think about the prayers of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector in Luke 18. The Pharisee brags loudly about how good he is, but the Tax Collector can only pray, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner” (Luke 18:13). In the story, you’ll remember, it’s the Tax Collector who goes home forgiven, not the well-behaved Pharisee. That’s not fair.

No, in a fair world, good people get rewarded while evil people suffer; hard workers get paid more than their less energetic counterparts. And in a fair world, thieves can’t ask for mercy during their execution and find themselves headed for Paradise.

That’s why no one should ask God to be “fair.” In a fair world, it would be us hanging on that cross, not Jesus. Philip Yancey writes, “Good Friday demolishes the instinctive belief that this life is supposed to be fair” because, in a fair world, every human would be headed to Hell for eternity. Never complain that God is unfair; just ask for mercy!

Mark Wilmoth is with Pinehurst Christian Church in Marietta and can be reached at Minister@PinehurstChristianChurch.org