Jesus – Human Rights Advocate 

The right to liberty, equality before the law, freedom, justice, and dignity. These are a few of what one might consider "human rights." Jesus was concerned at times with all of these. He saw the wrongs in his society then, even as we see some of the same wrongs today.

We know that Jesus was not someone who engaged in civil disobedience; he did not take a stand on issues of his day. He steered clear of the political arena, and he was most concerned about the spiritual life of the individual, not necessarily social justice. But when he did talk about social issues, he voiced his strongest criticisms about pride, cruelty, ill-treatment of the poor, and hypocrisy.

Jesus participated in daily activities and commerce without aiming to revolutionize the economic system, although he frequently pointed out the injustice of unfair wealth distribution. He never taught that possessing wealth was wrong, but he did criticize its unjust distribution. While recognizing the significance of social justice and fair labor practices, he didn't offer specific instructions on how to achieve them.

During the cleansing of the temple in Jerusalem, we see the Master at his most indignant as he cleared the temple of the money-lenders and those powerful religious leaders who routinely abused the poor and uneducated, declaring that the temple had become a "den of thieves."

In particular, Jesus advocated for women. From his first realization of how unfairly his own mother was treated in the temple to the establishment of the Women's Evangelistic Corps to his compassion for the two courtesans, Jesus lifted women from obscurity and second-class status to the dignity of children of God, spiritually equal to men.

In his pronouncements and opinions about issues of his day, we see Jesus grappling with some of the same issues we face today. We can rest assured that he sees and understands the perils of human rights abuse. However, Jesus' mission was focused on the spiritual life of the individual. He stood above the concerns of the world and proclaimed the spiritual realities of the gospel of the kingdom.

Although the Master never said it was wrong to have wealth, he did warn of the dangers of valuing material wealth over eternal values and counseled that the accumulation of wealth must never be the result of the unfair exploitation or the enslavement of anyone. And if such wealth has been ill-gotten by these means, it should be returned to those who were oppressed or to their descendants.

Jesus counseled the rich to adhere to the laws of justice, equity, and fairness. When presented with a choice between who should benefit from one’s wealth, to favor the needy and those who suffer hardships through no fault of their own.

Jesus denounced the unjust exploitation of the weak by the strong. Those who enjoy the privilege of wealth should avoid preying on those who are the most vulnerable, less educated, and less fortunate. The principles of human brotherhood and simple decency dictate that any such inhumane treatment must be avoided.

Jesus once advocated for a poor man in court who had been falsely accused of a crime. He addressed the court, urging it to treat even the lowest of its citizens with the same justice that it treats the rich and powerful. The possession of money and influence – or its lack thereof – should have no influence in a court of law in determining one’s guilt or innocence. The health and integrity of a nation are dependent on the court’s impartiality and fairness for all of its citizens. No matter what anyone’s economic circumstance may be, matters of guilt or innocence should be administered as a sacred trust. Civil government should have, at its core, the values of justice and fairness, just as religion is based upon mercy.

When the judge reopened the case and examined the evidence more carefully, the case was dismissed, and the prisoner was set free.

In Jesus’ time, divorce was grossly unfair to women. A man could divorce his wife for trivial reasons: she was a poor cook, she didn’t keep the house clean, or he found someone who was prettier. And these ridiculous reasons for divorce were especially reserved for the Jews and the elite Pharisees. Jesus held marriage in high regard. And he communicated his displeasure of these careless and lenient divorce practices that favored men; in particular, the Pharisees. The Master saw such practices as unjust to women and children because they put men in a position of unfair advantage over women. Jesus only approved of divorce laws that gave women an equal footing with men.

Women in the times of Jesus were decidedly second-class citizens. They were marginalized in the synagogues, as Jesus discovered when he attended his first Passover at age thirteen. His mother, along with all other women, was kept out of sight of the main floor. It was an offense for a man even to acknowledge his wife in public. Jesus stood up against such unfair treatment of women; he established the Women’s Evangelistic Corps, which elevated women to the status of teachers of truth. He delivered an "emancipation proclamation" to these women when he set them apart for gospel teachings and ministry, a proclamation which set all women free for all time to take their place as spiritual equals with men. In his era, this was a revolutionary act.

This elevation of women was cemented on the day of Pentecost when Jesus’ Spirit of Truth was bestowed on everyone, men and women alike. No longer can any man presume to discriminate against women in the fields of ministry or spiritual teaching, for all in the spiritual kingdom of heaven stand on an equal footing before God.

In other instances, Jesus demonstrated his acceptance and respect for women. When Ganid wanted to chastise the two courtesans for approaching them on a public street in Corinth, Jesus would not allow it. He spent a considerable amount of time explaining to Ganid that judging women on how they make their living was unfair. Often, women suffer from the vagaries of fate. Sometimes, they are under economic or other pressure when they decide upon such a way of making a living, but they are not necessarily wicked or deserving of scorn. The two women resonated with Jesus’ words, crying together at his kind understanding of them. Ganid was moved to apologize to them, and together, they took the women to a safe place where they could be fed and housed until they could create a better future.

One of the most important revelations of Jesus’ divinity was made to a woman of "questionable" character who belonged to a class of people known as the Samaritans. Besides being a woman, Nalda was from a class of people hated and despised by most Jews. Again, Jesus saw into her heart, favoring her with this important revelation and lifting her into a position of dignity.

Although Jesus generally worked behind the scenes doing good, when he cleansed the temple, he was decidedly an activist. Jesus did not approve of the commercialization of the temple environs; within its sacred space, money-lenders had been permitted to gain a foothold, charging visitors exorbitant fees just to exchange the money they had for the Jewish silver whose use was required for any purchase. These money-lenders raked in large profits for this service that was needed to purchase a live animal that could be offered as a sacrifice. This was also a source of great profit for the priests, as they routinely overcharged for these supposedly blemish-free animals. Large pens were set up for scores of cattle and other livestock in the temple courts.

As Jesus began to speak one morning in the temple, a young man was in the process of moving a large herd of these animals from one pen to another. The animals were braying and bellowing, creating a racket. The last straw was when Jesus saw a humble Galilean, a man whom he knew, being ridiculed and shoved around by a group of condescending and arrogant Jews.

Jesus calmly went to the young man who was driving the animals, took his whip from him, and began to drive the herds right out of the temple. He then proceeded to open all the other pens, liberating all the animals, who he quickly drove from the area. This, in turn, inspired the thousands of pilgrims witnessing this act, to charge the bazaar and overturn the tables of the money-lenders and other merchants. And all of this happened within the space of about five minutes. By the time the Roman guards arrived on the scene, all was quiet again.

Jesus rose to the speaker’s lectern and declared: “You have this day witnessed that which is written in the Scriptures: My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations, but you have made it a den of robbers.”

This display of Jesus' divine indignation reveals the way he felt about commercializing religion and its practices. Moreover, it clearly illustrates his attitude about the unfairness of the priests and money-lenders profiteering at the expense of those poor and uneducated visitors. Taking action against such unfairness was the way Jesus addressed the issue of using religious, economic or political power by the few against religious idealists. Jesus was protecting those who were not able to protect themselves against such wickedness.

While the examples above reveal Jesus as a person who recognized injustice when he encountered it, and while these examples may resonate with our perceptions of the Master as a champion of the downtrodden and the oppressed, Jesus ordinarily said very little about the social issues of his day or any other. He strongly denounced cruelty, hypocrisy, and oppression. But his mission was not that of a moral or social reformer. He was always positive in his teachings about what it meant to be righteous, ethical, and moral, emphasizing the importance of such things in the personal religious lives and individual experiences of his followers.

If Jesus were here today, he might be a great disappointment to those hoping he would take sides in the social causes of the day. As he was then, he would be even now, fostering the progress of the individual and teaching us the best way to cultivate and improve our inner spiritual lives, which helps us discover for ourselves the real solutions to the problems of society.

Jesus taught us to love our enemies, resist vengeance, and have faith in the ultimate triumph of goodness over evil. The gospel of the kingdom, the fraternity of all under the fatherhood of God, was then, and is now, the highest ideal of social achievement. As we grow towards that ideal, real social justice and equality will be realized.