I've always had a slight problem with these words. My strong sense of justice has an issue with the idea of Jesus unlocking all the prison cells and letting convicted criminals wander free. But that's not really what this verse is saying.He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners (Luke 4:18)
This week the Anglican church in New Zealand is focusing on penal reform (you may have heard about the Bishop's week-long incarceration on the steps of the Cathedral). Last night as I read this verse in the booklet produced to guide Bible study and prayer on the topic it suddenly struck me that I had been interpreting these words incorrectly all my life. Part of God's mission in the world may involve releasing people from prison; there are plenty of innocent people in prison and plenty of guilty people who would benefit from some other kind of sentence. I think this verse is primarily about setting people free from sin. God wants all people to be set free from a life of slavery to sin and who needs that more than people whose sin has hurt themselves and others so much that our justice system says they must spend time in prison?
It's not just convicted criminals who need to be set free from sin. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). The Bible even describes sin offerings for unintentional sins (see Leviticus 4). God doesn't say "you murderers and rapists, you're doomed, but you small time liars and cheats, you're ok, you can still come to heaven, you'll just get one-star accommodation not five." I am a sinner too, it's just that the sins I have committed have not been declared worthy of a prison sentence by society. Remembering this alters the way I think about prisoners and our justice system. Remembering that we are sinners too gives us greater compassion for prisoners and greater motivation to see people set free from sin and our penal system working to improve lives not just lock people up.
Sure we don't have a habit of torturing people or locking up political opponents but our justice system could still be better. The Ministry of Justice is already working towards increasing and expanding restorative justice services and has introduced a court in Auckland that is specifically for people with drug and alcohol addictions and focuses on treating their dependency. There is still more to be done. We need to better address the causes of crime, better cater for and involve victims and communities, utilise community-based alternatives to prison more, better look after the families of prisoners, and continue to improve rehabilitation and reintegration services.
I'm not saying we should do away with prisons altogether or that punishment shouldn't be one of the aims of our justice system. The Lord is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished (Numbers 14:18). There are people who need to be punished for the wrong they have done by being sent to prison and there are people who need to be separated from the rest of society to prevent further harm being done. But locking them up isn't the only, or necessarily the best option for many people.
What can we do? There is plenty we can do. We can start by educating ourselves more on the topic and the situation in New Zealand at the moment. We can get involved in groups that visit prisons, groups that work with prisoners' children, groups that think about and promote penal reform, groups that focus on rehabilitation or reintegration of prisoners. The most important thing we can all do is love our neighbours. Loving people, and all that that entails, can go a long way to addressing causes of crime; supporting criminals, their families and their victims; and help ensure successful restoration, rehabilitation and reintegration.
For more information check out:
http://justspeak.org.nz/
http://www.rethinking.org.nz/
http://www.justice.net.nz/
http://www.pfnz.org.nz/
