The Truth Will Make You free, Of the Death Pen-al-ty

In this week’s passage from the Gospel of John, he addresses his Jewish-Christian based community to tell them that the truth about Jesus. Jesus was sent by God to show them the way to live a God-pleasing life. Today’s sermon speaks to one aspect of Jesus’ teachings. It tells us a truth about the death penalty. The Tenth Commandment says “You shall not commit murder.” Murder is the unlawful killing of an individual. There are clues in the Bible that the death penalty is not the will of the Divine. For the sake of ten righteous people, God would spare the city of Sodom. There have been 150 innocent people released from death row since 1973. That is more than what was required for God. Abraham, Jesus, and God showed mercy over execution.