Love and Vindication

I watched A Good Woman tonight. I learned a valuable lesson.

True love doesn’t need vindication.

At the end of the movie, Mrs. Erlynne (Helen Hunt) makes an incredible sacrifice. She allows people to believe she was waiting for a man in his room to protect the reputation of another. Everyone had been gossiping about her. Now, their claims had been vindicated. Mrs. Erlynne had not changed. She is still a slut. She silently walked out of the room.

Another aspect of the work of Jesus became clear to me tonight. I think this aspect of his ministry makes his sacrifice so much more profound.

On the cross, Jesus wasn’t vindicated.

Jesus made a claim and everyone believed he was a liar. They killed him for being a blasphemer. They mocked him and told him to get off the tree if he was who he said he was.

When he breathed his last on that cross, everyone knew he was a liar. The Messiah was to be a conqueror, not a common criminal. Even his closest friends doubted him. One of them pretended not to know him.

The thing is, if what Christians say about Jesus is true—and I believe it is because I am a Christian—Jesus could have come off the cross. He could have been vindicated. He could have jumped off and he would have proven to everyone, right then, he was who he said he was.

But love doesn’t need vindication.