WHY DID HE KILL THAT BOY? (A Biblical Perspective)

Sunday, July 14^th, I stood up to preach.  I was wearing the traditional robe and stole of an ordained elder in the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church.  Butas the choir sang “Blessed assurance.  Jesus is mine….” I took off the robe, laid it aside, and pulled on a dark hooded sweatshirt, better known as ---- a hoodie.

You see, on July 13^th a Florida jury had acquitted George Zimmerman of all charges in the murder of an unarmed 17 year old named Trayvon Martin.   Mr. Zimmerman admitted shooting and killing Trayvon .  The police verified it.   Mr. Martin and all of the authorities acknowledged that Travon was alone, unarmed, not trespassing, not committing any crime, walking home on a public street.  Everyone involved agreed that George Zimmerman had a loaded pistol when he disobeyed instructions from the 911 dispatcher he’d called about the “suspicious” person in his neighborhood.  Zimmerman followed Trayvon in his car, got out, fought with him, and shot the child in the chest at point blank range.  

The law called it self defense.   The Bible calls it murder. 

There is a theological term for times when the law of the land reaches a conclusion the is opposite to the law of God. 

It’s called INJUSTICE.

So, I preached in khakis and a hoodie---- the same “suspicious” outfit that Trayvon wore the day he died.

I preached a message called JUSTICE IN AN UNJUST LAND?

And some people think I was wrong.  That I shouldn’t have brought such a controversial topic into the church.  That I shouldn’t have used the sacred platform to take sides.  That I should have just let it go.  That I should have encouraged my congregation to accept the decision of the jury and then moved on to appropriately “spiritual” things.

I think what Job thought.

As God lives, who has taken away my justice,

And the Almighty, who has made my soul bitter,
 As long as my breath is in me,
And the breath of God in my nostrils,
My lips will not speak wickedness,
Nor my tongue utter deceit.
FAR BE IT FROM ME
THAT I SHOULD SAY THAT YOU ARE RIGHT;
Till I die I will not put away my integrity from me. (Job 27: 2-6)

In the aftermath of young Brother Trayvon’s death and the acquittal of the man who killed him, there were and are a lot of questions.   The questions in my circle of ministry condense into 4 queries:

1.       Why did he kill that boy?
2.       Why did they let him get away with it?
3.       What are we supposed to do now?
4.       Where was God in all of this?

The Word of God has answers to all of them all.

Today, we’ll answer the 1^st question:  WHY DID HE KILL THAT BOY?

The answer is SIN.

It was sin.

Trayvon Martin looked “suspicous” because he was a stranger.  Mr. Zimmerman called himself the neighborhood watch captain, the protector of THEIR community.   

Zimmerman saw Trayvon Martin in THEIR neighborhood and it made him angry.    He wasn’t angry because Trayvon was trespassing.  He wasn’t angry because Trayvon was disturbing the piece.  He wasn’t angry because Trayvon had done or said anything wrong.  He was angry  because Trayvon was there.

“So what?” you may say.  “That’s not a crime, is it?”

No.  It isn’t a crime.  But is is sin.

And no, that’s not just my opinion.  It’s Jesus’ opinion.

 Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’   But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.” (Matthew 5: 21-22)

In Zimmerman’s eyes, Trayvon was guilty for existing.  Trayvon’s identity marked him as someone who didn’t belong to that neighborhood.  He wasn’t one of them.  He was a stranger.

“So what?” you say. “Kids who look like that and dress like that commit crimes all the time.  It’s not a crime to be suspicious when ‘people like that’ do suspicious things?”

No.  It’s not a crime.  But it is sin.

You shall neither mistreat a stranger nor oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.  (Exodus 22: 21)

Also you shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the heart of a stranger, because you were strangers in the land of Egypt. (Exodus 23: 9)

The Bible condemns the sin of hating strangers without cause.  We have a word for the sin of hating strangers without cause.  We call it RACISM.

Why’d he kill that boy?

Sin.

Now, let’s be clear.  The sin of racism is not exclusive to majority cultures.  In the Exodus context, Israel was a minority ethnicity with no geographical homeland.  They were the gypsies of the ancient world.  And God told THEM not to be racist.

When you get mad, really mad because the staff in the Chinese restaurant speak to each other in Cantonese instead of English------ for what cause are you angry? 

If you were in a fancy French restaurant would you be mad that the staff spoke French, or would you think that the other language made the place seem “classy”?

Yeah, think about that.

When you walk into a convenience store and the people behind the counter look “foreign” does it upset you?    Do you hate them because they came over here trying to take over?  (By the way, when was the last time you tried to buy a convenience store?) 

Whether you’re Caucasian or a minority, the moment you feel angry at your not-like-you brother or sister just for being there, just for being one of “those people” -------- no it isn’t a crime.

But it is racism. 

And racism is sin.

James 1 says that an unchecked sin takes root in your heart and grows into something worse.

But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.  (James 1: 14-15)

Unchecked the sin of greed grows into the sin of theft.  Unchecked lust evolves into adultery and depravity. 

And unchecked racism in the heart of a neighborhood watch captain grew into murder.

Was it murder under the law?  Clearly not.

But it was sin.

Churches may not agree about the legal arguments or the social assumptions of this case.  But the church can agree that sin is wrong.   The church can have a conversation within itself about hating our brothers and sisters without cause.  The church can have a Bible-centered discussion about how God says we are to respond to strangers.

And that may save some other boy's life.

---Anderson T. Graves II   is a writer, community organizer and consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership development.

Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Hall Memorial CME Church in Montgomery, Alabama, executive director of the Substance Abuse Youth Networking Organization (SAYNO) and director of rural leadership development for the National Institute for Human Development (NIHD).

Email atgravestwo2@aol.com
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To hear sermons, read devotions, and learn more about the ministry at Hall Memorial CME Church, visit www.hallmemorialcme.blogspot.com .

You can read more on Pastor Graves's personal blog at www.andersontgraves.blogspot.com  .

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Still to come: Why did they let him get away with it?