The Elephant
Dan Kunz
Let’s talk about the elephant in the room right away and get it over with. If he has the power to do so, should a father pardon his son? Absolutely not! Why? Because if he pardons his son, then the rest of us are in a lot of trouble. Wait, what? You probably thought I was talking about Joe Biden’s pardoning of his son, Hunter. Actually, I was talking about God the Father pardoning his son, Jesus. Let’s take some time to look at the two situations and see what we can learn.
Do you suppose Hunter wanted to be pardoned? Do you suppose he thought he might be pardoned? Probably. It appears that Hunter was a “bad actor” for a long time and was not held accountable. Part of his problems stemmed from his drug abuse, which is a terrible thing, but not all actions can be blamed on that. Did Jesus want to be pardoned? Matthew 26:39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” What Jesus was about to experience was so far beyond spending a few years in prison, it’s not even comparable. A criminal pays for his own crimes. Jesus paid for the crimes of the entire world. We can’t imagine what that would be like. He knew and yet he said, “as you will”.
A rather odd thing about Hunter’s pardon is that he wasn’t just pardoned for the two crimes for which he may have gone to prison, income tax evasion and lying on a firearm permit form, (in one he pled guilty and in the other he was found guilty by a jury) he was pardoned for any federal law he may have broken over a ten-year period of time, from 2014-2024. Legal analysists agree the broad scope of the pardon is incredible. Imagine you and I seeking a pardon from God, not just for federal crimes and not just for ten years, but for every sin we’ve committed during our entire life! That’s what we got in our pardon. Jesus, on the other hand, who committed no sins, no crimes, was not given a pardon. Many people say Hunter’s pardon was understandable. What father would allow his son to go to prison if he had the power to prevent it? God the Father loved his Son and could have “pardoned” him, but, instead he loved us so much he did not pardon his Son. He sent him to die for us.
Finally, pardons come in various forms and with various limitations. According to federal courts, presidential pardons are expansive, but not limitless. In the case of our pardon from God, it is completely without limit. We are pronounced sinless, despite the millions or billions of sins we commit. We are pronounced sinless, despite the size of our sins. Little white lies and mass murder are one in the same – gone! Psalm 103:12 …as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. President Biden said repeatedly he would not pardon his son, but he did. Our God said he would pardon us, and he did! He said he would not pardon his Son and he didn’t. We can’t help but stand in awe of the faithfulness of our Heavenly Father. He devised the plan to save us and he executed it. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!