I am outraged. And I am disgusted. Understand that as you read. It will not be my intention to pull any punches. As a pastor, it has always been my practice to err on the side of grace. I will not do that here. If I err, I will purposely err on the side of the law. If you can’t handle that, stop reading.
I made the mistake the other night of reading the Grand Jury Report on the child molestation charges against former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky. He has been charged with 40 counts of child molestation. It has left me unsettled for days. According to witnesses and the victims themselves, Sandusky molested eight boys on multiple occasions over 15 years.
More disheartening and disgusting is that these boys were part of a foundation started by Sandusky called “The Second Mile”, which was created to encourage and support boys from abusive homes. Many of the boys were molested in the Penn State shower rooms. For ten years or more, multiple PSU leaders and coaches, including legendary coach Joe Paterno, knew of- or even witnessed- the allegations, yet did nothing about it. Arguably, turning a blind eye and covering up the abuse, enabling Sandusky to prey upon young boys- and perhaps even worse!- for 15 years.
As I write, there are more than a dozen other boys who have come forward, as well as a horrific investigation into even more sinister and sickening allegations.
You go right ahead and sit high on your horse and tell me that everyone is innocent until proven guilty. Although seemingly noble, it’s a load of manure. First of all, we’re all guilty (Romans 3:23). Nobody’s innocent. Secondly, 12 sinful jurors can consider all the evidence they want, and can make decisions based on a strong “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard, but the bottom line is this: You are not innocent until proven guilty. If you are guilty, you are guilty. Period.
And don’t pull out Matthew 7:1 and stick it in my face. “Judge not, lest ye be judged” is one of the most misquoted verses in the bible. Simply put, you and I are not to judge the soul. That’s God’s job. But you better believe that the Lord gives us not only the right, but the responsibility, to judge actions. In fact, the Lord condemns us if we do not judge the wrong deeds of others: “If I say to the wicked, 'You shall surely die,' and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand.” (Ezekiel 3:18)
Make no mistake, Jesus loved the world (John 3:16)… and even begged His Father to forgive those who were killing Him (Luke 23:34), but… don’t think for a moment that the actions of Jerry Sandusky don’t make Jesus sick to His stomach. Jesus pulls no punches: “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.” (Matthew 18:6)
Strong words, eh? Don’t miss what Jesus is saying here: Jerry Sandusky would have been better off dead than to do what he did. (Reminds me of what Jesus said about another man: “Woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born."- Matthew 26:24.)
One commentator writes on Matthew 18:6- “The sin is so heinous, and the ruin proportionally so great, that he had better undergo the sorest punishments inflicted on the worst of malefactors, which can only kill the body. Hell is worse than the depth of the sea; for it is a bottomless pit, and it is a burning lake. The depth of the sea is only death, but hell is tormenting.”
As much as my sinful nature wants to judge Jerry Sandusky’s soul to the deepest levels of hell, that’s not my job. But for me to suggest that Sandusky would have been better off dead? Well… quite frankly… that’s what Jesus would do.
My gut feeling is that Jerry Sandusky will soon meet his Maker, most likely by his own hand. It would fit that he lived life as a coward, so it would not surprise me that he die as one.
At the end of this sad story, the truth is simply that Jerry Sandusky deserves hell. But then again, so do I.
Here’s the naked truth: I am a much better man than Jerry Sandusky, but both he and I have fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). It’s just plain stupid for me to feel good about getting closer to the mark than Sandusky, while we’re both falling to our deaths, neither capable of crossing the gap on our own.
Sandusky may ultimately come to see his deplorable sins for what they are. Depraved. Insidious. Sickening. And if he is cut to whatever heart remains in his soul, he may find himself broken before the Lord, begging for forgiveness.
And Jesus… well... He will happily give it.
If this is the case, then Jesus will welcome Jerry into heaven.
But pardon me, Lord, if I don’t look for him when- by Your grace alone- I get there.
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